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Aries - Pioneering Fire Spirits

by Robert Wilkinson

April accents the fire sign Aries, where we leap into a new year with all the strength and speed that this highly active sign symbolizes. Being the first sign of the zodiacal new year, we can now focus on taking up new projects, new relationships, and new initiatives, and act upon our most urgent imperatives. This is the time to take advantage of our ability to turn to the new quickly with radical self-sufficiency, having harvested the fruits of the labor of the past 12 months. We now can learn to act with power and determination in highly effective ways. The Sun in Aries shines the light of wisdom on the principle of “economy of energy” in the various departments of our life and affairs.

It’s the beginning of Spring, which began at the Vernal Equinox on March 20, 2005 at 4:34 am PST. The light force is growing and the days are getting longer for the next 3 months. Over the next few weeks greet the new as you sort things out, taking one last look back as you find new ways to relate to others while expressing your new self and ideas.

Aries is symbolically associated with the god of war, being quick to anger and equally quick to turn from battle and enjoy life in the moment. Mythologically, this sign of the Ram is in the axis of the Lover, or Relator. This sign (along with its polar opposite, Libra) shows us the dance of relationship between self and others, the “I-Thou” lessons we learn as we interact with others along our life path. Where Aries falls in our chart, it shows the part of us willing to do something new and different, and act on it, even if impulsively.

Aries, when freed of the traps of impulsive behavior, egocentric judgments, being too quick to anger and too quick to bail when they lose interest in something, show their world a dynamic self-reliance and pioneering vision that leads the way for others without concern over whether others follow or not. Aries is highly self-sufficient, quick to bring their total focus to situations, and loathes dishonesty and betrayal. Aries' initiative comes forth naturally, and instinctively embraces whatever is new and fresh. In fact, in our charts Aries shows us the way to be first in the areas of life it influences. When Aries’ tremendous energy learns to slow down, consider other options, and not be so quick to take offense, this sign offers others a refreshing honesty and directness. Aries energies show all how to be themselves, taking the lead in the affairs of life without excessive equivocation or extraneous judgments interfering with their ability to act.

Think Thomas Jefferson, perhaps the greatest American president. This pioneer crafted the American Constitution, created the University of Virginia, and bought the Louisiana territory in a daring and quick move that more than doubled the land area of this country, letting Congress argue about it after the fact.

Other pioneers in their field, or the first to lead us into a new vision of human possibilities, are Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman on the Supreme Court, and Cesar Chavez, who organized farm workers and became the living icon of their struggles for humane working conditions. Other innovators include Akira Kurosawa, the pioneering film director whose techniques and movies still serve as models for emulators many decades later, epic filmmaker David Lean, dance pioneer Arthur Murray, and Hugh Hefner, the founder of Playboy and promoter of the “Playboy lifestyle.” Other outstanding Aries personalities include Walter Winchell, Howard Cosell, Mr. Rogers, Casanova, J.P. Morgan, "Pop" Warner, Cy Young, Marcel Marceau, and Nikita Khrushchev. Each of these was either unique in their efforts, or the first to do what they are remembered for, self-sufficient and standing firm whether others approved or not.

Other famous Aries include President John Tyler, First Lady Betty Ford, and Ethel Kennedy, as well as NATO, conceived as an efficient and cooperative war machine, a fitting task for an Aries. In the field of literature we have such distinguished names as Descartes, Henry James, Emile Zola, William Wordsworth, Robert Frost, A.E. (G.W. Russell), Henrik Ibsen, Tennessee Williams, Samuel Beckett, Washington Irving, Thorton Wilder, Maya Angelou, and Gloria Steinem. In the art world we have Raphael, Van Gogh, and Goya.

The film world features some of the greats of all time, featuring innovators like Charlie Chaplin, Francis Ford Coppola, and Walter Huston. Aries leading men include Spencer Tracy, Gregory Peck, Marlon Brando, Steve McQueen, James Garner, Omar Sharif, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Warren Beatty, Billy Dee Williams, David Janssen, James Caan, William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy. Other outstanding media figures include Max Von Sydow, Joel Grey, David Letterman, Buddy Ebsen, and Eric Idle. Famous Aries actresses include Joan Crawford, Doris Day, Barbara Hale, Debbie Reynolds, and Elizabeth Montgomery. It is said that Aries looks 10 to 15 years younger than they are, and these women certainly showed us that quality!

Among musicians we have daring pioneers such as J.S. Bach, the first composer allowed to write in a minor key by the church, F. Josef Hayden, Beethoven’s teacher and the first composer to master the Classical style, and Leo Stokowski, the conductor who starred in “Fantasia,” the first animated feature.

A Sun in Aries shines out from some of the most famous blues pioneers, including Bessie Smith, Billie Holliday, Pearl Bailey, Sarah Vaughan, Muddy Waters, and Mance Lipscomb. Other Aries musical innovators include Herb Alpert, Henry Mancini, Carl Perkins, Hoyt Axton, Elton John, Dusty Springfield, Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, Emmy Lou Harris, Teddy Pendergrass, and Loretta Lynn.

Among philosophers and spiritual figures, we list such luminaries as Thomas Hobbes, who challenged Descartes (two Aries at philosophical war!), noted mythologist Joseph Campbell, and Richard Alpert (Baba Ram Dass), a 60’s pioneer in metaphysical explorations who brought the ageless wisdom to America in compassionate and powerful forms. This sign has produced several notable astrologers, including Dane Rudhyar, Sepharial, and in case you hadn’t figured yet, yours truly, the April Fool himself.