Скачать книгу

ardent, thoroughly original, and filled with joie de vivre You’re an activist on your own behalf, a risk-taker with a pioneering spirit and a deep need to prove yourself. So when a fresh idea or a groundbreaking mission captures your imagination, you rush in. Later on, if your interest falters or your hopes don’t pan out, you move on, undaunted. Life is too short to waste on anything that fails to interest you.

      The sorry side

      Like a child, you can be self-centered, inconsiderate, and intent on doing things your way. When you really want something, you can be combative, brash, and even ruthless in your efforts to get it. You’re willing to do a lot of rule breaking, a trait that doesn’t always work to your benefit. Rather than bending to someone else’s requirements, you prefer to simply obey your instincts. You have initiative, but at times you exhibit a woeful lack of foresight, and you often lack diligence. Although your enthusiasms are many, you’re restless, and your initial interest may fizzle. Your impatience is legendary. For that reason, you find greater satisfaction with short-term ventures than with lengthy ones.

      Relationships

      Anyone who knows you, from friends and family to the most casual of acquaintances, knows where you stand. Outspoken and direct, you don’t hesitate to express yourself, and you have little patience for those who can’t take the heat or require a lot of coddling. Self-sufficient and independent, you prefer your friends to be as on-the-move as you are, and you can’t bear whining. As for love, you’re an exciting person to be around. Although you suffer from jealousy and can be competitive, you enjoy the chase — not that you let it drag on for too long. You’re not a game player. You know what you like, and when you find it, you go for it. And did I mention that you’re sexually ravenous?

      At the same time, you’re an idealist who’s fully prepared to hold out for the real thing. You demand equality, and if you don’t get it, you make your displeasure clear. With Mars, the warrior planet, as your ruler, you seldom shy away from confrontation. And even though you don’t mean to be contentious, at times you can’t help yourself. You’re not one to suppress your feelings or to spend endless hours delving into the intricacies of your own — or anyone else’s — psyche. You’d rather face the issues head-on. Your combustible, intimidating exterior may mask feelings of inferiority, but most people won’t realize that. All they know is that you’re a force to be reckoned with.

      For information on your relationships with other signs of the zodiac, flip to Chapter 15.

      Work

      With your executive decision-making ability and general verve, you’re a self-starter and an effective leader who likes to initiate change. Ambitious and competitive, you rise to a challenge. But you’re a sprinter, not a long-distance runner. You love the unmistakable thrill that comes at the beginning of an undertaking, when creative momentum is high and the possibilities are wide open. You’re happy to experiment and innovate. But once things have settled into a routine and the endeavor becomes weighted down with procedures, precedents, and supervisors, your excitement wanes. You find it dispiriting to spend time focusing on details or doing standard maintenance tasks. Quitting too soon is one of your worst and most frequent mistakes.

      Pie-in-the-sky careers include being a film director like Francis Ford Coppola, Quentin Tarantino, or Akira Kurosawa, all Aries; a talk show host like David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, or Rosie O’Donnell; an entrepreneur like Larry Page, cofounder of Google; and anything that feels dangerous or has a high excitement quotient, such as being a stuntman or working in an emergency room. Surgery is said to be an Aries profession, as is anything that involves fire (such as cooking) or the military. I know Aries who are devoted activists, artists, attorneys, educators, musicians, writers, and entrepreneurs. Whatever your calling, it’s not something you choose for money or prestige. You’re drawn to it because it offers you a way to make an impact on the world and to express your incomparable, adventurous self.

      

If you work for an Aries, be aware that your boss will most likely be impatient with anyone who can’t keep up or requires excessive supervision. Your best move is to work independently and quickly — and don’t take those angry explosions personally.

      Health and wellness

      As the first sign of the zodiac, Aries has immense vitality and a strong constitution. You heal quickly and can get by on little sleep. When something new excites you, you dive in. But tedium undoes you, and “slow progress” feels like a contradiction in terms to you. Having a goal is motivating, but if your new diet or supplement or gym class or therapy doesn’t show results fairly quickly, you’re unlikely to stick with it. You’d rather give something else a try.

      In traditional western astrology, Aries is associated with the head, making you prone to headaches, earaches, eyestrain, and related woes. You are also ruled by Mars, the planet of war. His aggressive tendencies can spark angry, adrenalin-fueled outbursts and occasional accidents. That’s why the number one health tip for Aries is simple: calm down. Close your eyes, take a deep breath, stretch. A few minutes of meditation before you grab your lance and gallop into the fray can be restorative. The number two health tip: when engaged in an activity that might require headgear such as jousting or skateboarding or bicycling, don’t be obstinate. Wear the helmet. Also useful: head massages, facial acupressure, cranial-sacral massage, a sleep mask for those occasions when you don’t get to bed until sun-up.

A Sun sign description of health is, by necessity, a generality. When seasoned medical astrologers do individual health readings, they assess your chart in detail. Nevertheless, an astrological reading does not replace a check-up. If you’re concerned about your health, see a physician.

      The mythology of Aries

      The Egyptians of 3500 years ago saw this constellation as a ram, just as we do, but the myth most associated with Aries comes from Greece. It starts with Queen Ino, who resented her stepchildren, Phrixus and Helle, and devised a plan to get rid of them. She began by causing the harvest to fail. Fearing famine, her husband, King Athamas, sent for advice from the Delphic oracle, but Ino persuaded the messenger to ignore whatever the oracle said and instead instruct Athamas to sacrifice his son, Phrixus. Like the Biblical patriarch Abraham, Athamas agreed. He was just about to cut his son’s throat when a winged ram, sent by Hermes (aka Mercury), appeared out of nowhere. The children scrambled on top of the creature and off they flew. Helle lost her grip and tumbled into the narrow strait, once known as the Hellespont, that separates Europe from Asia Minor. But Phrixus held on. After they landed, he sacrificed the ram to Zeus and nailed its golden fleece to an oak tree in a sacred grove. But that’s another story.

      The constellation Aries

      As a sign of the zodiac, Aries is fiery and exciting. As a constellation,

Скачать книгу