Aries Traits & Personalities

(March 21 – April 19)

DUALITY: Masculine
TRIPLICITY: (ELEMENT) Fire
QUADRUPLICITY (QUALITY): Cardinal
Aries is active, energetic, excitable and impulsive, optimistic, open to change and new experiences,
RULING PLANET: Mars – Ancient god of war, aggression, and conflict. In astrology, Mars’s influence denotes courage, passion, and competition. It can foster tension and accidents, and rules over fire and danger.
SYMBOL: The Ram – Assertive, sexual, able to climb to great heights.
GLYPH (WRITTEN SYMBOL): ♈ The pictograph represents the horns and long nose of the Ram. It also pictures the eyebrows and nose of the human face (the head is the part of anatomy that Aries rules). In symbolic terms, the glyph is two half moons joined by a straight line, which indicates idealism tied to authority and leadership.
DOMINANT KEYWORD: I AM.
POLARITY: Libra
Aries is a “me-first” sign. People with Aries tendencies strongly project their own personalities and can be very self-oriented. Libra, which is Aries’s opposite sign, is the sign of partnership. Natives of Libra feel incomplete without a partner or lover, and strive for happiness as a pair.
PART OF THE BODY RULED BY ARIES: The head: Aries people are prone to headaches, and subject to minor injuries around the head and face.
LUCKY DAY: Tuesday
LUCKY NUMBERS: 1 and 9
MAGICAL BIRTHSTONE: Diamond – Attracts love, financial success, and brings luck in new ventures. The diamond is particularly lucky for Aries people when worn on the left side of the body.
SPECIAL COLOR: Red – The color of fire and excitement.
CITIES: Florence, Naples, Verona, Marseilles
COUNTRIES: England, Germany, Poland
FLOWERS: Geranium, Honeysuckle, Sweet Pea
TREES: All thorn-bearing trees
METAL: Iron
ANIMALS RULED BY ARIES: Sheep and, especially, rams
DANGER: Aries people are susceptible to harm from fire and sharp instruments. They are also prone to accidents involving high speed, and tend to get into violent and dangerous situations.

All About Aries

Aries is the first sign of the zodiac, the sign that symbolizes new beginnings. It connotes quick changes and sudden forks in the road. Your life is marked by arriving at a certain place and then being turned in a new direction. Certainly, one can say your life is adventurous!

There is a dynamic restlessness to the Aries character. With the Sun in this sign, you are an activist and doer. If you have a new plan or idea—if an enterprise strikes your fancy—you can’t wait to plunge right in. The amusing little prayer, “Grant me patience NOW!” is typical of the Aries attitude.

When others first meet you their instant impression is of someone exciting, vibrant, talkative. Others will be lucky if they can get a word in edgewise. If someone brings up a topic, you will be delighted to tell in great detail exactly what you think about it.

As an Aries person you gravitate toward the center of action. You are audacious and intent on getting your own way. Since your nature is to express power, you treat opposition as an annoyance to be brushed out of the way. You are a natural leader who exudes self-confidence. From an early age you feel you are headed for success.

Happily, you are also generous about helping others in a crisis. You are an openhearted friend who shares ideas and advice, and likes to pick up the check. You have a quality of largesse. You are not interested in the small or petty. “Go for the best” is your motto.

There is nothing faint or half-hearted about an Aries. Whereas others may be more cautious, you actually enjoy living on the edge. A touch of recklessness makes you feel alive. The chase is always more thrilling than getting the goal. (As one Aries recently remarked rather insightfully, “Wanting is always better than getting.”) You are willing to take a gamble, follow a dream, set your mind on a goal, and pursue it with irresistible enthusiasm. Your supreme quality of optimism attracts others. Underneath there may lurk insecurity, but no one will ever know about it.

This is not to say you don’t get depressed or moody. But the winter of despair doesn’t last a week with Aries. You have an uncrackable optimism. It is true, however, that Aries people are notorious for taking offense at fancied slights and injuries. Hot tempers and childish tantrums abound, and your threshold of boredom is extremely low. If success is not immediate, you tend to lose interest and go in search of other excitement. As a result, patient, plodding types often get to the head of the class before you do.

Aries have a well-deserved reputation for not finishing what they have begun. You are very short of patience, and your lack of stick-to-itiveness is your weak spot. Also, you spend your energy in too many different ways, like the Ring Lardner hero who mounted a horse and rode off in all directions at once.

Independence is a keyword. You can turn sulky and peevish if you have to take orders. You would much rather be the world’s largest lizard than the world’s smallest dragon. You want to run the whole show. If you can’t, you pull up stakes and look for a situation in which you can show off your style and brilliance. Should you come up against a superior force, you will bend but never break. Your aggressive and combative spirit cannot be broken by anyone—except yourself.

One of the pitfalls of being an Aries is that you’re essentially self-involved. Unless you make an effort to look outward at others and their feelings, you can easily become a spoiled brat.

Though generally sincere and honest, you will tell a white lie if it seems advantageous. You are not a very adept liar, however; others see right through you. Sometimes you lack tact and diplomacy, but no malice is intended. Sagittarians also lack this quality of tact because they don’t know how to be oblique or roundabout. With you, tactlessness is an impulsive act—a careless expression of your innate force. Too often you speak without thinking and say whatever pops into your mouth, and usually regret your impulsiveness later.

Aries is lucky with money, but has trouble holding on to it. You tend to run up big bills, live extravagantly, soar over budget. However, you usually find a way to pay off what you owe. You have too much pride to remain in anyone’s debt.

In friendship you give magnanimously if someone is in need, but you want to get credit for your good deeds. In the garden of Aries, there are few shrinking violets.

You are creative, openhearted, high-spirited, pioneering, also vain, feisty, and impatient. Those who deal with you on an intimate basis will have one chief problem: How are they going to keep up the pace?

The Inner Aries

You like to be in charge—you want to control your own projects and plans and not be under anyone else’s thumb. You have an intense drive to succeed and put a lot of pressure on yourself. Inside, you’re filled with nervous energy and worry about how you’re going to handle everything. You hate to be bored; you’re always looking for something different—new people and places that promise excitement and adventure. You have very little patience; you need to practice sticking things out. You’re also impatient with people who can’t resolve a problem. You believe in taking action. What you do have are great generosity and enthusiasm. And although you suffer from occasional self-doubt, you know that if you really want to do something, you can!

How Others See You

Your upbeat, magnetic personality pulls people toward you—you bring excitement into their lives. They envy your aggressiveness in meeting a challenge. Whatever the problem, you give the impression that you have an answer ready. You’re also admired for your honesty; you don’t gloss over difficulties. What people don’t like is your tendency toward bossiness and your deserved reputation for being sharp-tongued. They’re afraid to cross you in an argument because they know you can cut them to the quick.