“Be resolutely who you are. Be humbly who you aspire to be.”
— Fortune Cookie
Aries (March 20-April 19) — The other day I was sitting at a coffee bar discussing astrology with the barista. She was wearing earrings about the size of Mason jar lids, which I noticed had some letters imprinted on them but I didn’t have a clear view.
“What do your earrings say?”
“ARIES,” she announced, turning her head so I could see the bling straining her earlobes. “I’m extroverted and have a lot of masculine energy and motivation. But I’m also uncertain of myself and insecure at times.”
And such seems to be the destiny or the good fortune of those born under the first sign of the zodiac. There are no absolutes in astrology, and the self-confidence and drive to action of Aries may be fueled by a deeper lack of certainty. You could found a whole branch of philosophy based on that idea. Alan Watts covered it in a book called The Wisdom of Insecurity. In truth, it’s one of your superpowers.
And, with all the planetary action in Aries spanning between 2023 and 2028, you’re being transformed, and so are your ideas about yourself. Nothing is certain; nothing is entirely uncertain. You may be having mixed feelings. This calls for some caution, which includes knowing when to act and when to assert yourself.
So at this time, we need a deeper concept of what your sign is about, and also what it (and you) are becoming.
The Concept and the Experiment of Self
Aries as an astrological idea contains the concept of ‘self’. That is the self who takes action to shape and transform his or her world. Yet Aries is also a time traveler. You may feel like who you are inside is suited to some other era, or another place in history. You are likely to think of the visitor as the real you, or the person you seem to present as. This can come with a bit of imposter syndrome. It’s true enough — the ego is always an imposter.
If in the past Aries represented “I Am” as a statement, today it represents “Who Am I?” as a question. In our strange moment when it comes to self-knowledge and little can be known for sure, it’s good to keep your question mark handy.
So the definition of Aries is at times better suited as a question rather than a statement: Who am I becoming?
An Originator
Wherever it may land in time and space, Aries is an originator. The old books would say Aries is famous for starting things but not for finishing them. Therefore, it’s helpful for you to collaborate with others who are into the advancement and completion of projects, and cultivate this quality in yourself.
You are blessed with the ability to try what seems impossible or what hasn’t been attempted any time recently, or locally. You live with a sense of pushing into the unknown. Yet you are the real unknown into which you are extending your awareness. This has been especially true for the past eight years of Chiron in Aries.
In many ways, you are trying to push past the idea or the concept of self into the real thing, which can only be learned by experimenting. One reality we live with now in the dominant technology environment is the lack of context. This has an effect on people, which is to feel that their own existence lacks context and therefore meaning.
One example of this loss of context can be found in one- to three-minute videos as a prevailing form of entertainment. They seem innocent enough and many are clever, well-written and well-acted (not all of them! but some of them for sure). This fosters a fragmentary view of ‘self’ that seems to float in a sea of chaos.
The story arc that is modeled for us is over and done in the time span of a TV commercial or two. Your life is more complex, more intertwined, more meaningful and — less scripted. A lot less scripted. In order to heal that, it’s vitally important that you take a holistic view of who you are, and study the surroundings of your life as much as you consider who you, personally, may be.
In other words, within context: how your relationships, your purposes, and what you feel gives you a sense of meaning, and why.
The Concept of Self Based on the Dominant Technology
All of our prior concepts of self (and therefore, most definitions of Aries) were formed in other eras with other technologies. Astrology as we know it is a compilation of about 400 years of ideation with an extra 2,000 years of backstory available in case you need some extra. A lot has changed in those 2,400 years and almost as much has changed in the past 24 years.
Most of what passes for astrology today is stuck in the 1970s, except for the obsession with Medieval astrology. We may be glad that these astrologers bathe more frequently than those who wrote the books they read.
In reality, Aries tends to represent the idea of ‘self’ based on the dominant philosophy of an era; which in turn is influenced by the dominant technology of any era. So two things have happened. One is, you were born into a certain time when certain things were believed to be true about a person; and the other is that you have lived through many environmental changes that have compelled you to change and adapt. And adapt often means to forget, and that forgetting can involve something core and fundamental to who you are.
So we might ask: what does it mean for you to say “I Am” today, as opposed to any other time in your life? Try to map this out. We are all being overwhelmed with both ideas and environments that inherently change our relationship to existence. It’s just that nobody tells you it’s happening.
How do you feel differently about yourself than you did 10 years ago, 20 years ago, 30 years ago? If you’re on the younger side, this may be a different question, and the spans of years will be much shorter, though you can still ask. You may have noticed real movement in your ideas about yourself based on the available technology or the prevalent forms of social media at the time.
Classical Ideas About Aries
Your sign is the key that starts the engine of the universe, and that means you have extra motivation, even in the face of intimidating situations. Aries is a cardinal sign, meaning that it marks the beginning of a season, in particular springtime. This is when the Earth stirs to life and millions of tons of biomass rise up from the ground and into the atmosphere. Bunny rabbits and birds are born and flowers bloom.
Spring is unstoppable. Something in you just rises to the occasion and you make your presence known. Your friends count on you for this, though you often need their support and do a lot better as an initiator when you have a posse around you.
There’s something truly childlike about Aries at its best, and its natives can accomplish great things because they don’t often stop to think about how whatever they’re attempting is supposedly impossible. You are constantly discovering new depths of your inner nature, surprised time and again that your interior world is such a primary part of your personality.
Aries is associated with the planet Mars, which is a power source in astrology and in the psyche. Depending on how you express it, Mars will be curious, assertive, aggressive, passionate, horny, desire-driven, combative or angry — they are all along the same spectrum.
Learn Your Mars Placement!
Learn about the placement of your Mars sign and you will learn more about your personality. To do that, get a list of your Mars aspects and consider what they are. Any basic astrology student can do this for you.
Mars also represents raw, unrefined energy, which can be expressed many ways. Your job is to do the refining, and to learn some social and political skills so that you can get along with people even as you push them to do what you believe needs to be done. That said, you want relationship situations that are balanced and authentic, even though it can be hard to find people who aren’t intimidated by you.
You have desire, you have determination, you benefit the most from discipline and learning to be happy with gradual progress, and this includes getting to know potential friends and lovers. Remember, you don’t always have to be first and best, and intimate situations are the place to turn off your competitive nature. You can simply be you. Aries is the cardinal fire sign, it’s represented by the Ram, which is a very cool kind of full-strength sheep.
Speaking of full-strength, that’s what your astrology is these days. Of all the signs, Aries is the one right now that’s getting energized, electrified and spontaneously transformed. To do this well, you have to stay grounded and take care of yourself. We’re counting on you to lead the way into the future. That’s the true nature of Aries — and it’s blazing out right now.
Aries is Under Major Transits
The current transits (real-time planetary movements) through Aries of Saturn, Chiron, Neptune and Eris are changing you and also changing the concept of Aries. Has anyone noticed this? How long, slow transits modify the presentation of a sign and leave a mark on those with the sign prominent.
There is so much happening at the time of this writing in 2026 that it will take some time for the dust to settle and see where you are oriented and how you feel. The Chiron-Eris conjunction of 2025-2026 represents one of the most significant before-and-after moments of your life, though you will not know the full scope of this for a couple of years. If you want to read about the Chiron-Eris conjunction, there is plenty on my Substack page or do a search of this website.
Plus, Saturn and Neptune are at the beginning of their transit through your sign — and that means potential. Saturn grants substance and Neptune grants imagination. So the idea and the question of who you are is very much in flux.
Neptune Notes
These transits are not happening in a vacuum; the changes are the result of events in the world around you, including the technology environment we all live in. Any one of the planets I mentioned would be transformative (there has been plenty of that since Chiron’s arrival in 2018, about which I have written volumes; ask us if you cannot find them), but let’s consider Neptune. It just entered Aries and will be with you until 2039.
On a good day, Neptune pushes the question of what is real and what is not. However, then there are times the question is not asked, and at the moment that’s risky. With Neptune as the long-term presence in your life, you must question what you think of as reality. It’s important that you have some means of knowing when you’re in denial and when you’re encountering reality.
Under the influence of Neptune, it’s best to keep your drug and alcohol consumption down to a dull roar, and not to imbibe out of the house. And it will be tempting to deceive others at times; you must hold yourself to impeccable honesty.
Neptune cautions two other things. One is, watch your boundaries, by which I mean things like locks on your doors and windows and who you allow into your home. Just pay attention and fix any broken thing that might put some space between you and the world — whether it’s your doorbell, door latch, garden gate latch, bedroom lock, etc.
Second, keep an eye on your plumbing. By that I mean make sure your drains are clear and that you don’t start the washing machine and then go out for the afternoon. Fix dripping faucets.
Saturn in Aries
Saturn has been buzzing around the early degrees of your sign since the summer of 2025. It has now settled in, having completed a conjunction to Neptune on Feb. 20, 2026 — that was a turning point in your life, and you are still figuring out what this event and its new cycle were about.
Saturn in Aries is important by any measure — the outermost classical planet beginning a new cycle. I said a moment ago that your childlike daring and willingness to try are one of your greatest attributes.
Well, that is somewhat contradicted by the basic maturity process indicated by Saturn in your sign. The key to growing up is not abandoning your youth or your passion or your desires. The key to growing up is being a good and responsible parent to your inner child and making sure that he or she gets to express himself.
Use Saturn to get some shape and form into your life; to clear out what you don’t need; and to help focus your sense of purpose. And you can do this all the while driven by the curiosity and eager-to-live qualities that characterize who you truly are.