Aries: Mythology, Astrology & Astronomy
In this post, we will explore the Greek mythology behind Aries energy and the energies to expect astrologically if you have planets within Aries!
The Mythology of “Aries - The Golden Ram”
There was once a King named Athamas and he fell in love with and married an Oceanid Nymph (mermaid), Nephele. Together, they had twins: a son named Phrixus and a daughter, Helle.
After their love had fizzled out, King Athamas eventually divorced Nephele and fell in love with a mortal woman named Ino. Due to the new marriage, Ino became the step-mother of Phrixus and Helle.
Unfortunately, Ino was more-so an evil step mother and treated the children terribly due to jealousy. A constant reminder that her man, King Athamas, had a whole family prior to her. She was so jealous and evil in fact that she devised a plan to get rid of the children completely.
The King’s new wife, Ino purposely destroyed the towns crops which then lead to men being sent to the Oracle to see what to do about the situation. Ino knew this would happen and when the men returned from the Oracle, she bribed them into lying and saying that the Oracle demanded that Phrixus and Helle be sacrificed in order to appease the Gods for their crops to grow. King Athamas believed this lie and was going to go through with the sacrifice.
Before the children were sacrificed, the real mother of the twins, Nephele, sent a golden ram to save them by putting the twins on it’s back and flying them away to safety.
Yay! Happy Ending! Not quite though… even though the Golden Ram came to save the day, during the long journey, Helle lost grip of the ram and fell to her death.
Phrixus, upon being saved by the golden ram, then sacrificed the Ram to the gods (Zeus). Like bro, after all that? Anyway…
The Golden Ram was created by Poseidon (Zeus’ brother) and the Ram’s golden fleece became one of the most prized possessions on earth due to it’s magical properties. The fleece eventually ended up in the possession of King Aeetes - who placed it within the Ares (god of war) sacred grove. Keeping in mind that Ares was the son of Zeus.
Aries mythology is actually pretty simple but most people have confused “Aries” the Golden Ram for “Ares”, the god of War.
The confusion comes from Ares/God of War’s association with Mars, and Mars being the ruler of the zodiac sign/constellation of Aries.
Aries in Astrology:
Symbolism & Characteristics
Aries Symbol = the head of the golden ram
Element = Fire
Aries Characteristics:
Courage
Savior Complex
Bravery
Self Sacrifice or Sacrificed by others
Hero
Withstanding long journeys
Valuable - may not be aware of worth until after death or close to death
Risk seekers
Used by others for power
May face jealousy from others
Headstrong
Ram Symbolism = Power to overcome, penetrate and achieve, reflecting strength.
Conflated with Ares (God of War) - but really the Aries symbolism is the Ram more so than the god of war
Aries in Astronomy:
The Zodiac Sign/Constellation of Aries comes after Pisces and before Taurus along the sun’s ecliptic path that determines the zodiac (red line in the image below).
The Sun enters Aries on April 20th and leaves Aries on May 13th, spending 23 days in Aries and taking up 21° of the Sun’s 360° path.
Major Stars in the Aries Constellation:
Aligned with 0° Aries:
Gamma Arietis with a Magnitude/Brightness of 3.84
(keep in mind that the LOWER the brightness number, the BRIGHTER the star. Idk yell at astronomers about it, not me)
Aligned with 1° Aries:
Sheratan with a Magnitude of 2.70
Aligned with 5° Aries
Hamal with Magnitude 2.17
Aligned with 15° Aries:
41 Arietis Magnitude 3.58
Aligned with 17° Aries:
Epsilon Arietis Magnitude 4.63
Aries Alignments in Astronomic Astrology: Beyond the Zodiac
When looking at Aries from a broader perspective and including neighboring constellations, if you have planets in Aries, you may also have alignments to fixed stars within these neighboring constellations:
Phoenix
Cetus
Eridanus
Cassiopeia
Pisces
Andromeda
Triangulum
Perseus
Fornax
To see where you have alignments to these neighboring constellations, get a copy of your Astronomic Astrology Natal Chart here!
Ready to deep dive into Astronomic Astrology and learn about Astrology that connects with Astronomy while the other forms of Astrology do not?
About the Author:
Astrologer - Lillia Polivoda
Owner of Astronomic Astrology & Astrology Vibez