Aries
Mar 21 - Apr 19
( I AM )
Body Part: Head
Keywords: Warrior, Initiator, Impulsive, Assertive
Phrase: I AM
Description of Sign and How it Behaves Within the Chart System
Aries is the first sign of the Zodiac wheel, in the first house. Its symbol, the Ram, shown in the image above. Aries is also the first sign of the season, Spring, when life first begins anew after the long winter. It represents the beginning of things. The beginning of life, an action, and things like creative ideas. A fire started, a spark of an idea, taking action right away are all energies of Aries.
As a cardinal fire sign, Aries is an initiator. Assertive and full of energy, Aries likes to start things, be the first, and often doesn’t have a lot of fear about it. Aries just goes for it and worries about the rest later. Aries know who they are through action, which is fueled by the element of fire. Aries teaches us to have confidence, independence, and face our fears head on to achieve goals and get things done, things that come naturally to them. Aries are the the heroes and heroines of the Zodiac. Warriors, leaders, and even the light bearers. They are adventurous and thrill-seekers.
With these energies, Aries love to overcome challenges and obstacles. They are problem-solvers and solution seekers, which is what makes them such great leaders and warriors. They like to push the boundaries of what is thought possible or find adventures that take them to uncharted waters. They are pioneers of whatever chosen field they put themselves into. The phrase associated with Aries is, “I AM.” They show us what a sense of belonging means when it is inherent and embodied fully in action. To belong is taken, not given. It’s a choice available to everyone who wants to strengthen Aries in their chart and life.
Aries is the first of the three fire signs in the Zodiac. It’s different from Leo and Sagittarius in that it starts and leads, whereas Leo will continue what is started and Sagittarius will share what was started and growing.
As a sign, Aries is differentiated from the first house energies and its ruling planet, Mars, as the actor. The costume the actor wears in a play. For instance, if the Moon is in the sign of Aries, the natal chart owner’s emotional temperament would be impulsive, driven, fearless, and an initiator. Other aspects to the Moon can change how the Moon behaves, but in simplistic terms, it would take on the energy of Aries when doing Moon things, such as the nurturing part of you might be independent and passionate.
Aries is motivated by individuality and separating itself from the rest. It is opposite the sign about relationships, Libra, which focuses on “we.” Aries is more focused on “me” and defining oneself through experiences. Aries thrives on being able to be free and bold in life in order to develop its soul through situations of what it can and can’t do, though Aries thinks it can do it all, similar to the Fool card in tarot. They are not afraid to try new things, start new things, or be in front of the crowd testing things out. New experiences for them are exhilarating as the adrenaline rushes that come with thrill. They get their sense of security from unfamiliar circumstances as much as other signs get their sense of security through familiar situations.
Description of Sign and How it Potentially Behaves in Relationships
Aries are passionate lovers who know how to make you feel special.
Tips if you’re reading for your Aries:
Fire is the element of Aries and will be the predominant energy of Aries in a relationship with a natal whose Aries is strong in their chart. Because of this, Aries needs to feel independent and have their sense of freedom to maintain balance. This isn’t to say they should run the show and there shouldn’t be boundaries in the relationship, but these types are not necessarily the types that like to be tied into relationships where their partner isn’t self-assured and independent too. They need you to have your own life. They need you to be confident enough to stand-up and take initiative as well. Your ability to do this will help balance out any tendencies of Aries taking over and taking too much. Especially if the Aries believes everyone should be like them, or has other tendencies to control the interactions through emotional outbursts of anger or other controlling tendencies. With an Aries, you’ll need to learn how to lovingly put your foot down. Also, keeping a sense of mystery will keep them guessing in fun and healthy ways, so long as you use it ethically. You don’t want to burn your Aries with deceptive behavior or you’ll push them away. Aries are not typically the types to consider their partners in decision-making. They like to just go with it and figure the rest out later. This might take some work on your part to help them understand how this can hurt or even destroy relationships. Self is their instinctive nature and so cooperation is something they’re here to learn. Helping in loving and compassionate ways will produce better results than trying to challenge or tear them down to see your point of view.
Example, how does this sign behave compared to other signs?
What is the difference between a sign, house and planet function?
What are it’s goals and motives in life and with people?
Find Like-Minded Friends
When using positive and negative traits, they should be taken lightly in the sense that sometimes positive traits can be bad and negative traits can be good depending on the situation. For instance, sometimes an impulsive interruption can stop someone from saying something they’ll later regret. Or, sometimes being aggressive can help one to stand up to a bully and protect innocent people. It’s imperative not to judge these tendencies too harshly, or in black and white terms. Discernment and wisdom are needed. Evaluating yourself is far more constructive than judgement. If you’re out of line, work to correct it to get along better with people. But in today’s society, things are very twisted and sometimes we need to be a person in a situation that the status quo would normally frown upon. To build a better society, we need to become our best friend and mentor, to understand how to use both our positive and negative traits to transform society into something more egalitarian and peaceful. Sometimes bullies need to be put in their place. But sometimes, we are the bully and we need to be put in our place. Letting go of ego and pride can greatly aid in all of us in learning the right behavior needed in a situation.
Conversely, we have many leaders today who are driving our planet into the ground. They may be mighty leaders, but they don’t seem to comprehend the magnitude of destruction we are experiencing spiritually, physically, mentally and emotionally as a species, nor do they seem to know how to fix it or otherwise care to. It’ll be up to those who do care to work together towards a different future for the planet. When we share the common goal of neutralizing our destructive tendencies by striving for similar morals and values, it helps to guide our beliefs and actions with ourselves and others towards a better world. If you would like to be a part of a group of other astrologers who are striving towards this goal through self-empowerment and catalyzing others, please join the Plutonian Paradox Astrology Facebook group. You are not alone!
Positive Traits
- Self-assured
- Independent
- Confident
- Leader
- Innovative
- Pioneer
Negative Traits
- Impulsive
- Impatient
- Poor listener
- Selfish
- Interrupts others
- Aggressive
Aries in the Houses
1st House rule by Aries – This is full on strong fiery Aries energy. A person with Aries in the first house will be innovative, take action, and be all about the self in appearance and body. This person might very independent and have obvious leadership qualities because they often aren’t worried about what others think of them.
2nd House ruled by Taurus – In the second house, Aries has strong values that aren’t shied away from. The second house represents areas of life around values, possessions, self worth and esteem.
3rd House ruled by Gemini – Strong communicator but can be selfish at times in their perceptions of communication styles. Takes initiative in learning and independent with siblings and friends. In younger years might have a lot of energy and struggle to sit still. Strong curiosity and questions about everything. Independent thinker.
4th House ruled by Cancer – This house is about roots, family, childhood and parents. This can represent who one is at home and not necessarily a side they show to others. Aries here may have had strong leaders as parents, whether just in the home environment or at large out in the community or world. Taking action is innate and maybe it’s hard to sit around at home. Taking charge and staying busy is usually preferred. Whatever the energy is used for Aries in the fourth house loves to lead, and sometimes to the point where they start to overshadow other people. However, they can be people who help others learn how to take initiative, lead, and even survive in the world.
5th House ruled by Leo – Creativity, self expression, romance, children, and joy are all things represented by the fifth house and Leo. Aries in this house can lead in these with great enthusiasm, initiative and passion. Aries wants to be first and fully immersed in these areas, which can lead to great success in this house. Aries has natural confidence and so mixing that with self expression, it can make creativity a natural talent of theirs.
6th House ruled by Virgo – In this house, Aries might be running circles around other people when it comes to getting the day to day work done. Active in health, service and organizations, Aries may shine in leading in these areas due to their innovativeness, natural
7th House ruled by Libra –
8th House ruled by Scorpio –
9th House ruled by Sagittarius –
10th House ruled by Capricorn –
11th House ruled by Aquarius –
12th House ruled by Pisces –
Stereotyping the Signs
In Facebook astrology groups, there are a lot of people who are “sign shaming,” “chart roasting,” and otherwise stereotyping and bullying a group of people with a particular Sun, Rising, or Moon sign as all bad. There are few things to say here about this. For those people who are stereotyping with harsh judgements towards others, these are areas where they need to heal due to becoming toxic with pain. You are free to stand up against them and get into “word wars” with them, but in the end, this doesn’t serve anyone because nothing changes. In fact, things just grow worse as more and more people become defensive and nasty. We become a cesspool of toxic and infected thinking, which sadly is seen all across social media.
But we can fix this by becoming individuals who strive for better.
To resolve this, we must understand a few things. One, both the person stereotyping and the people in their mind that caused their jadedness need healing. Who here is baggage free? None of us have a place to judge or bully others in that way. Two, stereotypes are derived from a group of people who do in fact act a certain way. So there is an edge to truth in certain kinds of stereotyping. And I stress the fact that it’s certain kinds of stereotypes, because there is definitely negative stereotypes that come from people who just hate certain people for no reason except something superficial, like their skin color or religious/spiritual beliefs. Outright hatred and abuse are different subjects. But there are other kinds of stereotypes where it is kind of true in a way. And this is important to note, because being able to understand and validate that can help in learning effective boundaries with others. If a group of people are stepping on toes, or worse, people need to negotiate new boundaries with them. If it’s something less serious, then maybe it’s okay to just accept that group for who they are and let it go if no harm is coming of it.
An example is that all people of a certain sun sign are bad. While these people may demonstrate character traits that aren’t yet developed, it doesn’t mean all people with that sun sign are not developed, or even that the stereotype means that group of people are bad. And just like with other social issues like this, it greatly helps you, astrology, and societies if we can learn to evolve and develop ourselves enough to see that stereotyping in and of itself is an underdeveloped emotional and social intelligence. So we have to work together with this because we are all underdeveloped in some ways and most of us are spending our lives working on these things within us that are difficult to other people. If we can learn to love a little more, instead of hate, we stand a chance of healing as a world. When you learn how to have effective boundaries, you stereotype less. When you have more unconditional love for yourself, particularly your faults and shortcomings, you have more patience with others and theirs.
Possible Career Paths
Iron worker, fire fighter, surgeon, martial arts instructor, military, police, first responders, extreme athlete,
Sign's Contribution to Humanity and Place Within the Body of Humanity
As a Light Teacher – What it brings to teach us positively: A seed of energy is an initiation of action upon a vision, no matter how big or small. Like the sperm entering the egg, an energetic reaction occurs when the two meet. Similarly, when we take initiative to do something, we take action and force some sort of reaction. Aries teaches us how to not be afraid of these kinds of consequences because they teach us about ourselves in this world. Everyone is unique so what one may give and receive may be different for another.
It is important that we all use this energy in our lives because it’s the essence of our authenticity. It teaches you about your authority and power over yourself, your body and your own life. This authority, or lack of it, goes with you through the rest of the natal chart and throughout your life. How are you using your authority constructively? How are you using it destructively?
As a Dark Teacher – How we can grow from the negative: When Aries energy is blocked or aspected harshly in the chart, this can cause the darker side of Aries to come out in varying levels depending on other things going on in the chart. Some of the dark traits of Aries would be using this power to control others through emotional outbursts, selfishness, emotional manipulation, abusiveness and aggressiveness, victimization and childishness. Aries will exhibit strong lack of emotional intelligence because with blocks and hard aspects this usually means there is something in the emotional body that was traumatized and therefore repressed at some earlier time. This can be healed through doing shadow work and will free Aries to become the natural born leader that it is.
How to Transcend
Shadow work is super important right now for humanity because we are going through a lot of changes and shifts. It’s been a major theme in spiritual groups for some time. It’s one of the hardest things to do for us because none of us really want to look at our shadows. It’s hard to look at what we fear, what we don’t like, what we see as ugly about ourselves or situations we’ve been in. It’s hard to look at what we don’t want to believe is true. It’s easier for the brain to exist in something a fairytale land than true reality because true reality is quite harsh.
It’s not recommended for most people to go through shadow work without a professional to help you. This is because shadow work can bring up very dark feelings that might push some people in places they don’t need to go. They don’t need to go there because they’re believing lies that make them want to cause harm to themselves. This is very normal for all of us to go through those thoughts, but some erroneously follow through with them. Erroneous meaning that they weren’t true and committed an action on a lie. So please make sure you have a professional and even friends and family who can support you if you take up shadow work. You need people to keep you on the right side of your reality and remind you who you truly are so you won’t fall into the traps of these lies.
If you would like to delve further into shadow work with Plutonian Paradox, please check out this ebook on simple steps you can take to resolve Aries in the Shadow. (coming soon.)
Otherwise, please feel free to research this information on the web. There are tons of amazing resources out there for you to help you on your journey.
Integrations of Opposite Signs
The opposite sign from Aries is Libra. Aries is about the self, whereas Libra is about others and relationships. To balance and integrate this polarity, Aries must learn to cooperate with others. Learn that there are other points of view in life that are equally important to yours. Learn to listen more attentively, incorporate other’s views into your decisions, learn to communicate before acting when in relationship with others. Striving to develop healthier relationships by focusing less on self and more on win/win situations in relationships and groups. Learn to be a team player and how this also can meet your needs to survive and thrive. When you have a loving, supportive group of people around you, you all work together to help each other thrive together as a community.
We All Have This Sign Within Us
Look for how this sign shows up in your personality. To transcend, look at how you demonstrate the positive or helpful traits. Harder, look for how you demonstrate the negative or less than helpful traits. This might require some shadow work since it is human nature for us to ignore, block, and deny our darker traits.
We all have Aries in our charts and the energies can be felt through Aries the sign, the first house, and the ruler of Aries and 1st house, Mars. Whether you have planets in Aries, first house or not, you still have Aries within you. Those that have a dominant or ruling planet of Mars, a lot of planets in Aries or the 1st house, will have a stronger energy of Aries in their personality. Those with less planets will have less, but that doesn’t mean you can’t work to cultivate Aries into your life. Aries energy is especially helpful for signs who instinctively follow others or tend to take the backseat in life. You can greatly improve the balance of your chart by developing more Aries-like energy.
Conclusion
The themes of Aries are things like ambition, self, identity, being first or firsts, beginnings, taking initiative, leadership, adventure, passion, forging ahead, jumping in with both feet, courage and bravery. Aries will be the first to try something and lead the way. Sometimes this causes them to appear foolish and immature, however Aries knows that risk-taking can sometimes succeed and sometimes fail. To be able to always try again no matter the outcome, to be able to experience life for the sake of experiencing as much as possible, to feel the freedom and adrenaline rush of constant exposure takes a certain kind of fortitude that Aries does the best. These kinds of people are who have helped us to make advances in society on all fronts. They are the types who fearlessly jump into dangerous situations when lives are at risk. Aries is the epitome of evolution, seeing what works, what doesn’t, and always moving on to more exciting things to innovate those too with their uniquely creative perspective of being on the front lines of life. To behold the awesomeness of an Aries, and allowing them to be full in their innate talents is a sight to behold and that no other sign can do quite like an Aries.
Want to Learn More About Aries?
If you’d like to experience Aries energy visually, checkout the Meditate on the Signs image gallery. A collection of images compiled to help embody the characteristics of each sign.