Core Meanings of Zodiacal Signs:

ARIES, THE TRAILBLAZER

Copyright © Dan Eddy. All Rights Reserved

In the last class session at Avalon School of Astrology, founder of the school and Cosmic Cybernetics specialist, David Cochrane, delved into the deepest meanings of each of the Zodiacal signs, and whether or not the litany of adjectives we use to describe each of the signs, usually by Sun Sign, really fits all people with that sign featured predominately in their natal chart. His personal agenda is to find a core meaning to the signs, which truly fits all people and not just the largest subset. The next step would be to define the few characteristics that have real statistical validity, or at least resonate to all people under the influence of any sign. After providing astrological consultations to over 3,000 people over a seven year period in the 1970s, he concluded that a large percentage of people do not conform to the astrological stereotypes. So are our adjectives describing the signs themselves, or are these descriptors just symptoms of most people who share any one sign?

Aries, being the first sign of our Zodiac, is often described as being all about beginnings and the shock of the new. Many books describe Aires as being courageous, active, energetic, impulsive, optimistic and open to new experiences. The Myth of Jason and the Argonauts seeking the Golden Fleece is often sited as a typical Arien myth. Aries is often seen as the archetype for a warrior, like its namesake Aries, the Greek god of war. Astrologers who want to describe the physicality of the sign often say athletic or thin and wiry. Aries tends to be thought of as having an ability to convey self-confidence, yet are always in a hurry and can be childishly impatient. Even if all of this describes the majority of Aries, does it describe all?

David Cochrane says no. He goes deeper into the motivations at the core of all Aries, and for him it is like the Fleetwood Mac song, “Go Your Own Way.” To quote David,

Therefore Aries is the sign that is most apt to be a “lone wolf,” to be anti-social and to be personally radical, due to their tendency to isolation. They don’t like working for others and need to be their own boss if at all possible.

There are two main ways we interpret our relationship to the signs, either in an “as above so below” manner, where we are almost compelled to be like the signs, as if dictated by the heavens. Or the alternate view, as David promotes, where the signs represent our deeper motivations, as a process unfolding in this life. He states, “Astrology is a verb, not adjectives.” Our charts represent our core psychological motivations and drives, rather than a pure definitional description of how we must be.

People with strong Aries can be defined as individuals with Sun in Aries, since the Sun is exalted in Aries, and individuals with Mars in Aries, where Mars has rulership. Classical dignities reveal in what signs planets are more effective in their actions, since those actions resonate to the archetypal meanings of the signs. The Sun is our illuminated purpose, while Mars is our need to achieve, so Aries represented through these planets is very much in the current moment, defining itself in the present. A person with Moon in Aries or Aries Rising will also show strong Aries traits but perhaps in a more emotional context for the former and as a life orientation for the latter. The Moon is our past, our memory and our deep emotions, while our Ascendant is our prime social motivation, or our direction in this life. Anyone with Aries Rising will need to follow their own way and need to feel unfettered in a manner that might be even more noticeable than those with a Sun in Aries.

As a final insight, David mentioned that an example of Arien religious tendencies would be American Transcendentalism, as represented by Thoreau and Emerson. These two men that were very comfortable being themselves, all alone in the wilderness, resonate to that pioneering energy that we can all agree is particularly Arien.