Nick Land (Capricorn)
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The philosopher Nick Land is Capricorn (the goat), hence his qualities are as follows: he takes a rational (calculative) approach above all, characterised by prudence, and associated with a desire to conform to disciplined behaviour. His character is essentially self-repressed, passive, and restrained—yet also practical and enterprising.
This conforms to Land’s philosophy: his slogan is “coldness be my god” and he calls for Thatcherism+++ or classical liberalism (+++)—those ideas taken to the absolute limits (beyond the limits). So the market must decide and the market is ruthless and conservative (if not costive)—as with a shark, not an inch is wasted (it’s a war machine).
So it’s rational, calculative, and prudent to the nth degree—and, further, Land pins his hopes on (or has calculated the probabilities around) a super-intelligent AI that engages in recursive self-improvement and will instantiate the above values in an absolute way.
Further, Capricorn is identified with various “culture gods” that teach man civilisation. Land is known for his contacts with various egregores or Lemurian entities through numerology—and these relate to his overall project, one which is fundamentally about civilisation (as Alan Clark might have meant “civilisation”—disciplined and upright, like a great cathedral).
So, again, this is typical Capricorn (in communication with Promethean gods to bring man to civilisation, possibly through rites carried out in the dark)—the goat also being associated with the dark (the unconscious) and, thanks to Christian myth, with the horned Satan (Land being a Nietzschean who is against all but “dark Christianity”—the more Calvinistic the better).
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The Capricorn is cautious, methodical, and resourceful—characterised by seriousness and self-containment. They are prudent and plan to achieve their ambitions—they plod along or, like the mills of God, grind slowly; again, Land frequently refers to “Providence”—and this reflects the Capricornian attitude towards a long process of salvation characterised by Calvinisitic hard work (often painstaking, as in scientific research—“autistic”, numerical).
Ideal careers include ones in which the Capricorn can develop constructive systems of production and administration. As a philosopher, Land is a system-builder—but his work has a practical aspect, being orientated towards cybernetics and the free market and not “airy speculation”. He moved to Shanghai to be at the epicentre of a society that put the ideas he admired into practice—again, practical.
The Capricorn’s primitive urge is to conform to disciplined behaviour and that chimes with Land’s co-creation of neoreaction—an idea dedicated to a return to a disciplined and ordered society as admired by men like Carlyle and the great Victorian civilisers. The Capricorn’s primitive desire is for self-sufficiency, to experience life factually, and to contribute to a calculable and purposeful process. So, again, we see the Scottish crofter or the American pioneer archetype (libertarian+++)—the opposite to anyone who lives on state handouts or “just wants to express themselves”.
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Point of interest: we have now entered the Age of Aquarius—and it has some sympathy with Land’s philosophy; it’s an age characterised by dissolution and cold impersonal rationalism (think: transgender, cashless society, AI development). However, this age is also connected to a concern for collectivity and the rights of man—as well as a desire to be unique and quirky (in other words, “wokeness” is the classic belief for this age—it’s collective and socialistic yet individualistic; it’s chaotic and atomised). The Age of Aquarius is an age of electronics and communication—AI will grow in power.
However, the Age of Capricorn is the age after Aquarius—the age of disciplined, purposeful civilisation based on cold calculation is in the next age. This means that Aquarius is a preliminary to Land’s envisaged society—it’s in sympathy with it insofar as it’s cool and rational and electronic and will dissolve all old customs and traditions (many of which are decadent and need to be dissolved); but it’s out of sympathy with Land because it’s frivolous and quirky and cares about “human rights” (the brotherhood of man)—it’s not serious and practical (it’s a quirky programmer in California with a trans flag sticker on their laptop).
Yet the Age of Capricorn will come—and that’s when you’ll see a Land-like civilisation with serious AI (perhaps it will take that long to develop). Once Aquarius has washed everything away—the remnants of Christianity, decadent traditions and cultures, several nations—its technology will be put to serious “Scotch” purposes.
How long will that take? An astrological age lasts about 2000 years and Aquarius has only just begun—so in about 2000 years we might see a civilisation like the one envisaged by neoreaction. By that time, Land will be a figure like Jesus is today—some man who may or may not have existed who, oh so very long ago, talked about a way to live that became the norm for 2000 years.
That’s a long time to wait, but, then again, the mills of God grind slowly—and the Capricorn is patient in its perseverance.