Modern
Aries is a cardinal fire sign ruled by Mars, the archetype of the initiator, the pioneer, raw will and the courage to begin. Wherever Aries falls in a chart, that area of life takes on this character: the fire temperament (its way of meeting the world) in its cardinal mode (how it moves and changes). The gift is the sign's strength at its best; the work is balancing it against its opposite. At your best you live the sign's nature consciously rather than on autopilot.
Traditional (Hellenistic)
Aries is the cardinal fire sign, hot and dry by the old qualities and reckoned a diurnal sign. Its domicile ruler is Mars, so Mars is the lord of any planet that falls here and of the matters Aries governs; the Sun takes its exaltation here. A planet in Aries must work through the sign's nature and answer to its ruler's condition. As a place in the chart it carries the initiator, the pioneer, raw will and the courage to begin.
Lean in — Express Aries's nature consciously and at its best.
Watch for — Run Aries on autopilot or only its shadow.
- fire
- cardinal
- sign
Sources
- Ptolemy, Tetrabiblos, I.17Gives the element, modality, ruler, exaltation, and qualities of the sign.
- Brennan, Hellenistic Astrology (2017)Frames the sign's rulership, sect, and traditional nature.
- Arroyo, Astrology, Psychology, and the Four Elements (1975)Reads the sign through its element and temperament.