Aries - Latin for "the Ram" (Krios
in Greek), not to be confused with
the Greek war-god Ares. Aries the
ram is connected with several
different possible rams in
mythology.
However, the most common association
in ancient sources is that this is
the friendly ram with a golden
fleece that carried Phirxus and
Helle across the Straight of
Hellespont. During the trip, the ram
unfortunately managed to drop Helle
(who was later rescued by Poseidon)
but the ram made it safely through
with Phirxus. At the end of the
journey - the ram voluntarily shed
its golden fleece, gave it to
Phirxus as a remembrance, and then
went away to the stars. Other
versions say that Zeus placed the
ram in the heavens after it had been
sacrificed to him and then skinned.
This is the ram whose golden fleece
inspired the legendary quest by the
original Jason and the Argonauts of
Greek mythology.
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Determine
never to be idle. No person will
have occasion to complain of the
want of time who never loses any. It
is wonderful how much can be done if
we are always doing." Thomas
Jefferson - Sun in Aries - advising
his daughter Martha, 1787.
Aries energy - motivated by
inspiration and aspiration!
Spontaneity! Ready for encounter!
Fire on the mountain! The Fire
energy of Aries can be warm, vital,
vivacious, cheerful and loyal to
whatever happens to hold its
interest. Fire energy craves freedom
and opportunity.... yep, a steady
stream of opportunity for new
experiences.
Fire energy can be assertive,
competitive, ambitious and full of
confidence for the future. Fire
energy learns best when actively
engaging and grabbing hold of life.
Fire loves adventure and hates
routine! To be potent and active is
a key self-concept for Aries. Of all
the fire signs, Aries is the most
outgoing (and impulsive).
Ruled by the planet Mars (the Roman
god of War), Aries energy is the
most restless fire sign. Aries needs
to constantly be up and doing. In
the most ancient of times the
Babylonians knew what we now call
the planet of Mars to be their war
deity named Nergal. A later
identification of the Greek with
Babylonian names was supposedly
started by the quite mystical
Pythagoreans, and during this period
of time the Greeks often called this
fiery planet the "star of Hercules."
(They thought all the planets were
wandering stars.) Cool, eh? Bet you
didn't know that the Zodiac sign of
Aries was associated with the ever
popular Hercules. Even from the most
ancient of times, Hercules has
always been an incredibly popular
hero. He was undoubtedly the number
one favourite hero of the ancient
Greeks. Yep! There's just something
special about good old Herc.
Hercules
One small caution... if you're
primarily acquainted with Hercules
via "The Adventures of Hercules"
starring Sun Sign Libra Kevin Sorbo
(September 24, 1958), then it's
important to keep in mind that Sorbo
greatly softened up and refined the
powerful raw imagery of Hercules for
millions of happy and satisfied
television viewers. As such, you're
missing out on much of the
impulsive, gritty, fiery, charge
ahead, take no prisoners, warrior
energy of Hercules. In mythology
Hercules is perhaps best known for
having completed what are called the
12 Labours of Hercules. It's likely
that Hercules originally only
completed 9 or 10 labours, and then
a couple of extra labours were added
on a wee bit later to bring the
number up to 12. When reading all 12
of the Labours, it's fascinating to
make note of the many connections
between Hercules' 12 Labours and the
Zodiac Signs of Aries and Scorpio,
both of which were traditionally
ruled by the warrior planet Mars.
The 12 Labours of Hercules include
plenty of good hard fighting action
and adventure with Hercules
constantly being confronted with and
alternatively challenging the powers
of the underworld and death.
Capturing the Man-eating Mares
Among those astrologers who like to
associate the 12 Labours with the 12
Signs of the Zodiac, Hercules'
Labour of Capturing the Man-eating
Mares is the Labour most often
associated with the Zodiac Sign of
Aries. In this Labour Diomedes, a
son of Mars, ruled the Thracian
tribe of Bistonia. There in the
marshes of Bistonia Diomedes raised
man-eating mares of war. So fierce
were these man-eating mares that all
men were said to tremble at the
sound of their hooves. The mares
ravaged the land, wreaking damage
and killing all who crossed their
path. Certain of the accounts say
that there were four of these mares,
and Diomedes fed them with the flesh
of unsuspecting visitors to his
kingdom. Capturing these fierce and
murderous mares was to be Hercules'
Labour.
To help out in this Labour, Hercules
set sail for Bistonia with a band of
comrades. Depending upon the account
Hercules and his comrades
relentlessly tracked down and
followed the mares as they ranged
across the vast meadows and marshes
of Bistonia. Finally, Hercules
cornered the wild mares in a field
where there was no place left for
them to escape. Hercules caught and
tethered the horses, and then let
out a great whoop of joy at his
success.
At this point, it was discovered
that Diomedes had sent a troop of
soldiers to recapture the mares.
Hercules made the rash decision that
his efforts would be much better
spent in fighting off the troops of
Diomedes. So Hercules called upon
the youngest of his comrades,
Abderos. Hercules gave over to
young, inexperienced Abderos the
duty of completing the task by
driving the horses back alone.
However, unaided by the strength and
experience of Hercules, Abderos
quickly became fearful of completing
the task. Abderos discovered that he
could not hold the mares, harness
them, or drive them back. The
horses, smelling fear, turned on
young Abderos. Killing Abderos, the
horses and mares then escaped into
the even wilder lands of Diomedes'
kingdom. In the meantime, Hercules
fought off the Bistone troops and
killed Diomedes. Grief-stricken and
discouraged at the death of young
Abderos, Hercules returned to his
task. Leaving behind his dead
friend, Hercules again followed the
mares from place to place. He once
again captured the mares, this time
driving them back by himself.
Problem was that his good friend
Abderos now lay dead. In honour of
Abderos, Hercules founded the city
of Abdera.
The Pioneer
Aries is the pioneering energy of
the Zodiac. As such, Aries is quick
to take action, initiative, and get
things rolling. However, Aries
really doesn’t prefer to be the one
responsible for "the long haul"
and/or seeing things through. (It’s
generally better to leave that sort
of thing to a nice dependable earth
sign like Capricorn or Virgo. Just
take care that they don't end up
dead like poor old Abderos.) In the
circle of the Zodiac, Aries is the
archetypal first sign. Being the
first rush of energy (archetypally
speaking), the active, in-your-face,
hot-blooded, pioneering energy of
Aries learns that if you push hard
enough and talk loud enough - then
the world will often come running to
your door. On an archetypal,
universal level, Aries is usually
seeking just about anything other
than the peace, serenity, and/or
harmony commonly found in the 2nd
Zodiac sign of Taurus...
Individuals living out the fuller
potentials contained within Aries
may be energetic, buoyant,
enthusiastic and warm. With the Sun
in Aries, this fiery, energetic
attitude may have been the way you
perceived the image of your father
(or another significant male figure)
when you were young and still in the
early stages of childhood. One more
thing Sun in Aries (before you rush
off) - I'm pretty sure the saying,
"Look before you leap!" was
referring specifically to the Sun in
Aries. Just remember that you can
become so busy forging ahead and
making new paths, that you fail to
notice that person sneaking up to
stab you in the back or the good
friend you left far behind. Your
birth Sun is the hero of your mythic
journey through this lifetime. So
Let Your Light Shine!
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Regardless of whether you're a male
or female, the very first love of
your life was your mother (or if mom
was absent, then another mother
figure in your environment). The
Moon symbolizes the unconscious,
instincts, and what you need to feel
nurtured in your life. The Moon is
the "place" where we go for comfort
when scared.... and we tend to
unconsciously nurture ourselves in
much the same way our mothers
nurtured and cared for us when we
were very young children.
With the Moon in Aries, you have an
emotional need for action and
independence. You are the emotional
"pioneer" and "motivator" of the
Zodiac - and you may get easily
bored when things seem to get a wee
bit too dull. When under stress you
will seek a challenge and time to be
on your own. As a very young child,
you may have experienced your mother
as being fiery, independent, and
(possibly) a wee bit impatient and
angry. Therefore, as an adult, you
may feel emotionally safer when
there's a lot of activity, movement,
and action going on around you.
During those inevitable "crisis
moments," you tend to be an
initiator and leader in your
surroundings. In a crisis, doing
anything is much preferable to
sitting around and doing nothing.
Like they say: "When the times get
tough, the tough get going." Under
stress, you may also have a wee bit
of a temper with an extremely short
fuse. However, these moments of
intense anger are usually rather
short-lived for you. Chances are
you've moved on and "gotten over"
whatever (or whoever) originally
caused the original slight - while
the "guilty" party is still busy
trying to figure out what in the
heck happened.
To help relieve stress on a day to
day basis, consider taking up an
vigorous physical hobby and/or
individual sport where you can get
rid of your pent up anger and/or
energy. Pound a hammer, hit a
punching bag, or run a mile. Looking
for a stress relieving vacation?
You'll generally do a much better
job of reducing your level of stress
by planning a vacation where you can
stay active and moving.
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Behold your knight in shining armour
within whom there is no guile! With
your Aries lover, what you see is
what you get, baby! Bold Aries is
ready to fight for his or her lover.
Aries shows true devotion by working
tirelessly for their lover,
believing in their lover, and
inspiring their lover. In life,
Aries needs a crusade to fight for.
Fortunately, Aries is usually more
than willing to take along his or
her lover as an "almost" full
partner in the battle against the
evil forces of the world. I said
"almost" equal partner, because
Aries does want to take the lead.
Your Aries lover is likely going to
be very competitive in all areas of
his/her life. Try not to make the
mistake of comforting your Aries, by
giving him/her the sage advice:
"It's only a game, baby."
Aries is best seen in the
mythological account of Jason and
the Argonauts. In the beginning of
Jason's search for the Golden Fleece
- he is young, naïve, brash, ready
for action, and willing to face
impossible odds. Throughout their
quest for the Golden Fleece, Jason
and his men muscle their way through
all the various dangers and
obstacles. Often Jason
unintentionally, without thinking,
hurts the women who aid him in his
quest. It's important to keep in
mind that Aries men and/or Aries
women don't do well with hidden
subtleties and undercurrents. If you
want your Aries lover to do
something special for you, then
don't drop gentle hints and expect
him or her to "pick up on it." Spell
out exactly what you're needing
and/or wanting in plain, simple
language. Your Aries lover will
appreciate, respect, and love you
for it - and you'll likely end up
getting exactly what you're asking
for. (Actually, this advice works
pretty darn well when dealing with
any and all men, regardless of their
Zodiac sign.)
Shadow: Love 'em and leave 'em.
Since a big part of Aries loves the
adventure and challenge of the chase
- once Aries has actually caught
you, Aries isn't always sure what in
the heck to do with you. Come clean,
Aries! All that day to day
relationship stuff sure does getting
boring, doesn't it? When it comes to
the day to day, mundane hard work of
maintaining a relationship - this is
when Aries can dig in, truly shine,
and prove themselves to be a shining
warrior. Your Aries lover is also
likely to have a wee bit of a quick
temper.
Special Note to the Ladies: If you
know the placement of your Moon
and/or Ascendant - then check out
the descriptions for those signs.
You may discover that you have
chosen to identify with the energies
of those Zodiac signs. As astrologer
Liz Greene has said in her book,
Astrology For Lovers, "it's not easy
being green." No wait, it was Kermit
the frog who said that. Liz Greene
said that it's not easy being a
female Aries in a world that killed
Joan of Arc. You see... society
hasn't historically had a stellar
record of "socially sanctioning" the
warrior like behaviour of Aries when
it comes to women.
As a result of this lack of societal
positive reinforcement, many women
with the Sun in Aries experience
great difficulty when it comes to
consciously "owning" their Aries Sun
and energy. Unfortunately, if you
have unconsciously chosen to disown
your Aries Sun - then your Aries Sun
falls into what's called "shadow."
(some of which is described just
above) When your Sun falls into
shadow, all the people around you
will experience the "less fortunate"
aspects of your Aries Sun. Yes...
Everyone, will clearly see the Aries
in you. Everyone, that is, but you.
I highly recommend that you further
explore the energy contained in
Aries. Whether you like it or not,
it will ultimately remain important
for your growth, self-esteem, and
sense of well-being.
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