Welcome to the start of a new Zodiacal cycle!
From our lovely home here on Earth, we’ll soon witness the Sun transiting through the part of the sky known as Aries. Ushering in Spring Equinox and the Astrological New Year, this year's Aries season runs from March 19 to April 21.
I don’t know about you, but Pisces season felt extra swirly and oceanic this year. With all the push and pull from Neptune and Saturn, both day and night dreams felt more vivid, and the desire to contain and make them into realities stronger. Now, as we prepare for the ram’s horns to burst new life from the infinite potential of the seed, I am grateful to see the light of day and feel a distinct sense of direction.
Below, I’ve included a mediation (listen or read) for this packed Aries season. Enjoy!
- Alison
Aries season always begins with the March Equinox, welcoming spring in the Northern Hemisphere and fall in the Southern. It’s a moment of equal day and night as the Sun moves northward across the celestial equator. The Aries glyph, most often equated with a ram’s horn, also symbolizes a dicot sprout breaking free from its seed casing, reaching toward the early spring sunshine. Ecologically, the seed sends its roots deep into the earth before green leaves appear aboveground. This balance of life emerging above and below is akin to equal light and dark at the equinox as we begin a new cycle.
Aries in the Body and The Life Cycle
To understand Aries in the body, it’s important to see the connection to Pisces, the previous sign. In medical astrology, Pisces rules the feet, and Aries rules the head. The feet, amazing compositions of tiny bones, hold up the entire body toward the sky. In the ancient art of reflexology, each part of the foot is associated with each part of the body. In this way, it mirrors the sign of Pisces, which is said to encompass all other signs in the zodiac within its watery wholeness.
The feet connect us to the energies of the earth's depths, which travel upward through our bodies to our heads and then emanate outward to the world around us in a toroidal shape, like a powerful geyser erupting from vast reserves below. Thus, Aries, too, encompasses all of the other signs, bringing the energies of the infinite past into a new future, a fresh beginning.
The toroidal shape of the human biofield brings energy up through the feet to the body's energy centers and out through the head.
“…and now comes the most important part of the story: spring approaches, new life quickens, a new turn, a new try is possible. The most important thing is to hold on, hold out, for your creative life, for your solitude, for your time to be and do, for your very life; hold on, for the promise from the wild nature is this: after winter, spring always comes.” -Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Women Who Run With the Wolves
In the life cycle, Aries represents infancy, when we transition from the safe sea of the womb into an individual incarnation out in the larger world. Aries is curious, playful, open to wonder, and driven by an insurmountable hunger to survive and thrive. As the natural ruler of the first house, the Aries archetype is also focused on itself, much in the way that an infant is focused on himself or herself. So new to this world outside the womb, they initially have almost no recognition of the boundary between self and other! But with each passing day, they discover their independent nature, a process of individuation that can instill a go-getter attitude… along with occasional brashness and anger.
Ruled by Mars, Aries is the most energetic of all the zodiacal archetypes, with an abundance of enthusiasm, drive, and passion. In addition to ruling the head, Aries rules the muscles, blood, and adrenals. For those of you with luminaries or planets in Aries, and for all of us during this enterprising season, it’s essential to give yourself space and time to expend excess energy while remembering to rest and replenish your active body.
Too much caffeine, spicy food, or other stimulants might not be the best choice for this cardinal fire sign, as there is already so much heat emanating from within! As the earth heats up after a long winter here in the north, remember to drink lots of water and electrolytes. Herbs that calm inflammation and the nerves, such as passionflower, milky oats, peppermint, and lemon balm, can help balance systems in Aries overdrive.
Aries Season 2024: March 19-April 20
Aries’ ruler, Mars, will reside in Pisces from March 22 to April 30 this year, reflecting a more subdued or dreamy Aries season than we might expect. Mercury is in Aries from March 10 to May 15, giving our communication an extra dose of directness and fire for much longer than usual due to Mercury’s retrograde in Aries between April 1st and 25th.
Finally, with the Moon's North Node in Aries and the South Node in Libra throughout this year, this Aries season includes both a solar and a lunar eclipse. Chiron, the wounded healer, is also hanging out in Aries, making the eclipse season even more growth-oriented than usual.
With all this going on in the Martian sign of the ram, we’ll have no shortage of wildcards to process and integrate in the coming month! Look to the house in your chart that contains Aries for more information on how this energetic season will personally affect you.
Dates to Note:
March 10: Mercury entered Aries (staying until May 25). Communications, commerce, and travel become more direct, pointed, and efficient (until Mercury turns retrograde on April 1, that is…)
March 19: The Sun enters Aries at the Spring Equinox in the northern hemisphere. Night and day are equal in length, and the astrological year begins anew!
March 25: The Sun in Aries is opposite the Moon in Libra for the Full Worm Moon and Lunar Eclipse. The focus is on the release of codependent relationship patterns and a shift to healthy independence/interdependence with others
April 1: Mercury goes retrograde in Aries (until April 25). Expect revisions, resets, and renegotiations, with an inherent desire to move faster than possible. Be grateful for the ability to re-do what needs re-doing before Mercury turns direct again on April 25.
April 4-5: Venus enters Aries. Let the love bombing, flirtation, and courtship displays of Spring begin!
April 8: The Sun meets the Moon for the Aries New Moon and Solar Eclipse. Conjunct wounded healer Chiron; it’s a hungry north-node-new-moon-eclipse-Chiron-cazimi… Whew! Focus on planting seeds to heal our inner wounds and reach greater self-acceptance and self-love.
April 10: Aries’ ruler, Mars, conjuncts Saturn in Pisces. The sky’s two traditional malefics meet in the depths of the sea, bringing structure, stamina, and determination. Be sure to find a healthy outlet for excess energy on this day!
April 20: As Aries season ends, Jupiter is conjunct Uranus in Taurus. The planet of expansion and growth meets the planet of unpredictability and electricity in the Venusian sign of the bull, catalyzing unexpected magnifications.
Guided Meditation for Aries Season: Energy, Passion & Enthusiasm
Have a wonderful Spring Equinox and Season of the Ram, everyone! If you’re called to go deeper, please link to my guided meditation for Aries season.
Alison Dale is an artist, ecological astrologer, and somatic guide based in the traditional lands of the Tewa people, known today as Santa Fe, NM. She is also the host of the new podcast Cycles of Time (@cyclesoftimepodcast). Learn more about her work and current offerings at alisonmariedale.com or on Instagram at @astro.somatics.