Aries in Classical Astrology

Aries, the Ram, is the first sign of the Zodiac. The sun enters it on the day of the spring equinox, usually March 21st. Aries belongs to the element fire, its quality is cardinal and its charge is positive. Its Ruler is Mars, and the sun exalts in it. Its motto is: "I am." In the complete horoscope chart, Aries brings impul­sive energy to planets or Houses therein.

Your Zodiac Sign

Those who have Aries as their star sign are born when the sun was in Aries, normally March 21 - April 19 (it differs slightly from year to year, because of the leap years). Therefore, it is also - more correctly - called the sun sign.
     The sun in your horoscope is your natural self - what you are when you relax, when other planets in your horoscope are not active. It is your basic drive, a character you have as an ingredient - more or less evident in all you do and all you are. It is the most important point in your complete horoscope chart, but of course it is not the only thing that describes your personality. You need to look at all the components of your birth chart, to get a correct astrological description of your­self.
     If your sun sign is Aries, you are not much for relaxing. Actually, you might have a hard time relaxing if you are inactive. You need to do something, be involved in something. You also tend to be quite impulsive with your actions, a strong believer in the principle that it's better to do something wrong than nothing at all. You are quite energetic.
     A Zodiac sign does not give exactly the same influence all through its 30°. Its first third has something of a cardinal quality, whatever the quality of the sign as a whole is, its second third is slightly more fixed in quality, and the last third is more mutable.
     If the sun is in the beginning of Aries, you are very impatient and impulsive, indeed. If it's in the middle of Aries, you are quite proud of what you do, and persistent. If the sun is at the end of Aries, you are extre­mely impatient, to the point that you have trouble finishing what you started, and prefer just moving over to a new project.

Your Father

The sun in the horoscope also represents your father (the mother is represented by the moon).
     If you have the sun in Aries, your relation to your father is active and impatient. It is probably mutual. You may not talk much, but you enjoy doing things together - and challenging each other. When you talk, it's often in an argument, but you rarely stay angry with each other for long.

The Planets

When another planet or other point of the horo­scope is in Aries, it is also affected by the sign, getting some­thing of its character. Here are those points, what they stand for, and how they are affected by Aries:


    Sun   basic drive - Aries brings unrest and vitality.
    Moon   longing - Aries brings frustration and impa­tience.
    Mercury   curiosity - Aries brings impulsiveness and improvisation.
    Venus   affection - Aries brings creative urge and delight.
    Mars   aggression - Aries brings a quick temper and a challenging attitude.
    Jupiter   luck - Aries brings surprises and "easy come - easy go".
    Saturn   duty - Aries brings a demanding attitude and intolerance.
    Uranus   contemplation - Aries brings an improvising mind, with difficulty to concentrate for long.
    Neptune   fantasy - Aries brings a wild imagination and restless dreams.
    Pluto   catharsis - Aries brings sudden and drastic changes, rarely foreseen.
    Ascendant, AC   attitude - Aries brings some rude­ness, and obvious impatience.
    Medium Coeli, MC   self-image - Aries brings over-estimation of one's own capacity, but eagerness to achieve.

The Houses

In the astrological Houses, the Zodiac signs also bring their characters, influencing the environments de­scribed by the Houses. Here are the twelve Houses, what they stand for, and how Aries affects them:

1. Identity - Aries makes you seem impulsive and impatient.
2. Resources - Aries makes you adaptive to circum­stance.
3. Communication - Aries makes your friends come and go, and your study often disrupted.
4. Home - Aries makes your family life unpeaceful.
5. Pastime - Aries makes you very active in your spare time, with challenging things.
6. Work - Aries makes you energetic at work, but maybe sloppy, too.
7. Partners - Aries makes your relations intense, and your partners come and go.
8. Unknown - Aries makes fate strike you with sud­den surprises.
9. Travel - Aries makes you restless, needing to move frequently.
10. Career - Aries makes you quick to ascend the ladder, and to fall from it.
11. Ideals - Aries makes you convinced of your own ideals, and eager to spread them.
12. Shortcomings - Aries makes it hard for you to act when needed, and to make quick decisions.

     Of course, all of the above is very general, mainly to give you an idea of how the sign works in the horoscope. You need to study your complete horoscope chart carefully, to make a deeper and more nuanced inter­pretation.

© Stefan Stenudd