Aries is the first of the zodiac signs and marks the beginning of the new year in the astrological calendar.
Aries is a cardinal sign and marks the beginning of spring. The Sun transits through Aries approximately from March 21 to April 19 each year. With the Spring Equinox on March 21 each year. Each star sign provides unique essence and medicine we can work with. In Astroshamanism, we have learned Aries’s tools, energies, and mantras and how to invite energy into our space. This way, we have created a close connection with each zodiac sign’s energy and call upon their support and energy whenever needed. Only trained practitioners can fully access the power of each star sign; however, for those interested to learn more, this series of articles will help you explore more about them.
There are many ways we can work with the medicine of Aries; before we can do that, let’s dive deeper into its meaning.
“The glyph consists of two half-circles placed next to each other and joining in the middle, prolonging a central vertical line. The image can suggest a ram’s horns, a bud’s flowering, a fountain gushing forth water, and the outline of eyebrows and a nose. This sign begins with the spring, or Vernal, Equinox, the day when the Sun moves from the southern to the northern hemisphere, and day and night have the same duration. It is the moment that marks the lengthening of the time of light. The seasonal period of Aries is the explosion of spring: the time when the force of nature, after being hidden for months, comes forth with assertiveness and courage.
According to some ancient astrologers, the separation process developed when all the planets were joined in conjunction in Aries. This renders it a cyclical booming moment for the ego’s plan of fragmentation, as well as a significant chance to release its insane intention and set off a course of action based on the Plan of Salvation and the retrieval of the original unity.
The beginning of the astrological cycle
The first sign of the Zodiac represents the sudden emergence of a clear and individual conscience out of collective confusion and indefinite darkness. Its energy has a specific pioneering aim within the cycle of the Sacred Circle. At a particular stage, once it has achieved its purpose, it is meant to be given away and dissolved. The ego aims to block and freeze this energy to give form to a separate and illusive identity that can only survive in an environment that is also separate. This, according to astroshamanism, is the world that most humans consider real.
Aries and the Ego
Aries constitutes the purest expression of the ego: the most powerful and the easiest to identify and heal. The recognition of this kind of ego is generally more direct and devoid of the complications and subtleties which increase as the separation develops into other signs. At the stage of Aries, the work consists of giving away the energy which transits through my system and consciously directing it in accordance with my Intent. It is an act of donation and sacrifice which has nothing to do with mortification or pain. It sometimes requires disregarding the ego’s desires and giving out energy so the world may reach its highest goal. At other times, it means embracing the ego’s desires and overtly manifesting them so that I may reach my “selfish” goal with the highest goal.
Release blocked energy
In this process, the frozen and blocked energy is bound to melt and move to its source. Aries, like the Lamb of God, is a being that resurrects from death and, therefore, cannot fear it. And this is indeed the feature of Easter (which always falls under this sign, i.e. precisely on the first Sunday following the first full moon of the spring season): the Resurrection of the Son of God. “The time of Easter is a time of joy and not of mourning. Look on your risen Friend, and celebrate his holiness along with me. For Easter is the time of your salvation, along with mine” .1
Aries is the Great Initiator.
Aries feels the responsibility of being the initiator of the annual cycle. It has no time to waste. It moves with clarity, putting aside unnecessary complications and facing with courage all kinds of obstacles, even at the cost of offering its life. “Action and not words” is its motto. Aries is a cosmic representation of the animal power that erupts in the first stage of manifestation. It is a creative and destructive fire, blind and rebellious, chaotic and prolific, that expands in all directions.
The cycle of Aries incorporates Easter, the Jewish festival of Passover, or Pesach, and all other related vernal equinox celebrations of pre-Christian traditions. The name Easter seems to come from “Eostre,” the Anglo-Saxon name of a Teutonic goddess of spring and fertility, whose festival was celebrated around the equinox. Traditions associated with those pre-Christian times survive in the Easter painted eggs and the Easter rabbit, whose function was to chase away the spirit of winter.
Aries Medicine
“We turn to Aries and work with its energy if we lack assertiveness, are disempowered or are generally low on energy. Aries belongs to the element of fire with its enthusiastic and spontaneous expression. It quickly gets excited about new ventures, however often without thinking them through. Working with Aries energy can boost energy, initiation, taking action, overcoming obstacles, or asserting your will. It allows you to access the primal energy you need to pave your path forward.
Furthermore, Aries medicine is about being clear about what WE want and not someone else. Many sensitive people lack this energy of self-assertiveness and far too often put themselves last. Use this powerful medicine to break your limitations and boundaries when you feel defeated, tired, or worn out. Call upon Aries when you need some kick up your arse or need to access some deep-seated energy resources.
When not to work with Aries medicine
While Aries holds powerful, instant energy release, at the same time, it lacks direction and patience. So only work with Aries’s energies if you solve problems requiring time, a sense of detail, or long-term projects. Stay away from Aries if you need more diplomatic energy or if you negotiate with others, as this energy can quickly put you into a selfish light rather than make you want to cooperate.” – Mehal Mahipal
Aries and the body
Aries rules the head, and this area is more sensitive when the moon moves through these zodiac signs. Moreover, you can treat the following conditions on those days more efficiently and also being said that they are Aries associated issues: head injuries, high fevers, cuts, burns, surgical complications, headaches, colds, insomnia, malfunctioning of muscular and genito-urinary systems, conjunctivitis, eczema, sinusitis, inflammations, infections.
Plants and Essential oils associated with Aries
They are often thorny, with red flowers or fruits, and conic roots. Mars is related to the defence system of plants (thorns, bark, etc.). Agbus castus, alder, anemone, dandelion, garlic, mustard, onion, pepper, poppy, radish, rhubarb, fern, broom, thistle, nettle, holly, hemp, aloe, arnica, artemisia, basil, broom, bryonia, cactus, capers, coffee, coriander, ginger, leek, nettle, olive tree, pine tree, radish, tobacco, tea, violet, all thorny trees and shrubs.
Aries in the Roman culture
In the Mysteries of Attis and Cybele, the week following the equinox coincided with the celebration of the passion and Resurrection of Attis. This prominent Roman holiday ended with ecstatic drumming and dancing processions (Hilaria) directed by the Corybantes, Cybele’s castrated priests. Cybele was the Phrygian Mother of the Gods or Roman Magna Mater, also associated with the Great Huntress, the protectress of the Amazons. Frame drums, tambourines, and cymbals were sacred to her.
The myth told of Cybele’s love for Attis. According to the earliest myth, a boar killed Attis, yet later versions refer to wild castration. Attis was supposed to marry the daughter of the king of Pessinus. The wedding guests are driven mad by jealous rage of Cybele, and Attis, out of remorse, castrates himself. He is then turned into a pine tree. Cybele mourned for him until he was reborn, and both were happy again. Around 204 BC, the black meteorite stone embodying the goddess was transported from Asia Minor to Rome and solemnly installed on the Palatine.
This miraculously fulfilled the prophecy that, if Cybele were brought to Rome, the war with the foreign invader Hannibal would be won. With the predominance of Christianity, Cybele’s great temple in Rome was destroyed, and, on its exact previous location, the basilica of the Vatican was built.
Aries in the Christian tradition
In the Christian tradition, the Holy Week, or Great Week, beginning with Palm Sunday and leading to Easter, is a time of solemn rites and major celebrations. The Eucharist or Lord’s Supper is commemorated on Maundy Thursday, whereas Good Friday recalls the crucifixion of Christ and Holy Saturday refers to the burial of Christ. Midnight services pave the way for the Easter Sunday celebration of the Resurrection. In various Sicilian towns at Easter, there are mock battles between angels and devils called diavolateor Abballu di li diavuli. Factions of citizens dressed as devils try to prevent the meeting between the Madonna and Christ. Other citizens, interpreting the angels, fight the devils, who, in the end, are defeated by the angels. In the Spanish village of Calanda, for example, on Good Friday, after la rompida de la hora (breaking of the hour) at 12, hundreds of drums start to play for 26 exhausting hours. The passion of the villagers is such that their bleeding hands leave ample red spots on the drum skins. Another important Christian festival of this period is Lady Day or Feast of the Annunciation on March 25. This feast celebrates the Annunciation, when the angel Gabriel announced to the Virgin Mary that she would give birth to a child conceived by the Holy Spirit. Some centuries ago, this day was legally the beginning of the year in many European countries and is still close to the starting or ending time of the tax year of several countries (April 6 in the United Kingdom). A custom observed in many countries of the world falls on April 1 (All Fools’ Day) and involves playing jokes on people. In Italy, it is called pesce d’aprile (April fish) and in Scotland a gowk or cuckoo.
Around the last week in the sign of Aries (12-19 April), the Romans celebrated the Cerealia festival commemorating Proserpina’s return to her mother Ceres.
Aries in Native American tradition
In many traditions of the Native American, the period of Aries corresponds to the Budding of the Trees Moon whose animal totem is Red Hawk. It is the time that teaches us how to use and channel the energy, to be brave and explore unknown territories, to wake up with the enthusiasm of life and action. This powerful condition quickly runs out when impulsiveness prevails and perseverance falls short.”
1 A Course in Miracles, Text, p. 426.
by Franco Santoro ( Institute for Astroshamanism)
