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The First Sign The Ramwho rushes headlong towards his goal, brooking no opposition. |
Ruled by Mars.
Cardinal fire. Positive, masculine.
“I AM and I INITIATE”
Aries correlates with the1st house, because it is the first sign.
Mars rules Aries and is accidentally dignified in the first house.
Body part: head.
Concept: one is an individual, different from other people; consciousness
of the self, ego. One grows through the consciousness of the self. The process
of building a personality. Energies are self-centred, self directed.
Qualities: Self-starters, strength, audacity, charging forth against obstructions,
pioneers, initiative, fresh ideas, courageous, active, impulsive, direct,
decisive. “I’ll do it my way.”
Liabilities: headstrong, hasty, egotism, domineering, doesn’t complete
projects, arrogance. Faults of too much self-focus.
Need to learn: coordination/cooperation, completion, conservation of energy.
Handling Aries: don’t try to direct them.
| initiative impulsive |
adventurous
enterprising |
Knights in Shining Armour generally
exemplify Aries, with their adventures and ever-new quests to strike out upon.
Robin Hood, the beloved outlaw who comes to blows with existing authority
over his own notions of medieval justice, is a typical Arian figure. Plenty
of fighting, courage, contrary will and general Martian activity are featured
in this old English myth.
Robin represents the Aries self-willed initiative when he provides the poor
with a new chance at life [via stolen riches]. He is the self-appointed champion
who enjoys his dangerous adventures – this is a fire sign full of excitement
and vision, and courageous faith in oneself. He is like a knight as he fights
against the authority of the Sheriff of Nottingham and continually rescues
Maid Marian, and he stays loyal to the good King Richard Lionheart and holds
out against bad King John the usurper.
The themes of self-expression, individualism, the bringer of the new order
and the larrikin behaviour are all typical of Aries’ approach to life,
as are the fiery qualities of boldness and headstrong will.
Jason and the Argonauts. This complex Greek myth starts with the tale of a
magical ram from Iolkos, who carried Phrixus and Helle on his broad back away
from their wicked stepmother towards Colchis. Helle unfortunately fell off
of the ram halfway across the sea, and the land near her demise was named
Hellespont after her. Phrixus however arrived safely and came under the protection
of the magician-king Aeetes, who was son of the solar god Helios. Phrixus
made a sacrifice of the ram and hung its fleece in a sacred grove where a
great dragon guarded it. After some time this fleece turned to gold.
Much later, our hero Jason and his crew of the ship Argo sought this fleece,
which was sacred to Zeus, as was the ram from whose form it was taken.
Jason was the son of the usurped ruler of Iolkos, Aeson, who pretended the
boy was dead in order to protect him from his adopted uncle Pelias who had
illicitly taken the rulership. Aeson secretly sent Jason to Mt. Pelion and
entrusted him to Centaur Chiron and his wife Chariclo for upbringing.
When Jason was 20, he returned to the kingdom which was still wrongfully ruled
by Pelias. He was wildly dressed and had only one sandal on. The wily old
king had heard via an oracle that a one-shoed person would depose him. Since
he knew that the throne truly belonged to Jason, Pelias pretended to surrender,
and said that once Jason captured the golden fleece from Colchis, the kingdom
was his – fully expecting Jason to die in the effort.
Off Jason went with his crew, and after many adventures he claimed the sacred
fleece. In order to win it, he enlisted the help of Medea, the sorceress-princess
of Colchis. After Jason captured the trophy, he pledged his love to Medea
and they married. Eventually he left Medea to return to Iolkos where he took
another wife – jilting the powerful sorceress. Medea exacted terrible
revenge upon the unfaithful Jason and destroyed all his family.
Aries is much-present in this story in the symbol of the sacred ram, and in
the efforts of Jason to strike out on his own and win his own glory through
sheer force of will and disregard for danger. As is typical of fire-element
myths, Jason must deal with a Terrible Father archetype, struggling until
he achieves Self-hood by his own efforts. His eventual defeat at the hands
of the jealous Medea is due to his heartless desertion of her – representing
his sin in overlooking and undervaluing the power of the feminine. Therefore
we might say that Aries people have a tendency to overlook the anima or the
force of the feminine intuition and mystique – to their peril.
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