child (in contrast to the fully self-conscious ego-
tism of those under a sign like Leo). They are
quick to anger, but just as quick to forgive. As
natives of the first sign of the zodiac, they are
often pioneers, but they are infamous for the dif-
ficulties they have finishing what they begin—
they enjoy the excitement of being the first into
new territory but prefer to let others map it out.
Like all fire sign natives, they are fond of physi-
cal and social activity.
The sign that the Sun was in at birth is
usually the single most important influence on a
native’s personality. Thus, when people say they
are a certain sign, they are almost always refer-
ring to their sun sign. There is a wealth of infor-
mation available on the characteristics of the
zodiacal signs—so much that one book would
not be able to contain it all. Sun-sign astrology,
which is the kind of astrology found in newspa-
per columns and popular magazines, has the
advantage of simplicity. But this simplicity is
purchased at the price of ignoring other astro-
logical influences, such as one’s Moon sign, ris-
ing sign, etc. These other influences can sub-
stantially modify a person’s basic sun sign traits.
As a consequence, it is the rare individual who
is completely typical of her or his sign. The
reader should bear this caveat in mind when
perusing the following series of sun sign inter-
pretations.
One traditional way in which astrologers condense information is by summa-
rizing sign and planet traits in lists of words and short phrases called key words or key
phrases. The following Aries key words are drawn from Manly P. Hall’s Astrological
Keywords:
Emotional key words:“Courageous, enthusiastic, imaginative, energetic,
excitable, proud, impulsive, audacious, not domestic, hasty, brusque,
sharp, passionate, quick-tempered, intemperate.”
Mental key words:“Executive, enterprising, pioneering, confident,
ingenious, scientific, explorative, independent, expedient, precise, pro-
gressive or intolerant in religion [one extreme or the other], aggressive,
competitive.”
At present, there are various astrology report programs that contain interpreta-
tions of each of the 12 sun signs. A selection of these for Sun in Aries has been
excerpted below:
THEASTROLOGYBOOK [45]
AriesA seventeenth-century manuscript page showing Aries
the ram. Reproduced by permission of Fortean Picture
Library.