Harnessing the Power of Aries

Welcome to the month of Aries, known in Hebrew as “Rosh HaChodeshim” or “head of all of the months.” Before I go into some tips that can help us navigate this month’s energy, I’d like to share a little about the nature of people born under this sign.

Courageous and intellectual, kind and generous, Arians tend to be known for their youthful approach to life. So fiery is the energy of people born under the sign of Aries that in conventional astrology, the Arian is known as “the child of the universe.” This makes sense because like children Arians are people that are usually the first to step up to a challenge. They don’t go around anything. If there happens to be a wall, an Arian will probably have the audacity to go straight through it—or at least try.

Arians are also individuals who love their freedom. Even though their lives are dependent on love and appreciation, they can have a hard time staying in relationships because they don’t want to be controlled by anybody. They may be madly in love, but in a very short time, they can find a dozen reasons why the relationship doesn’t work for them.

Another aspect of Arians is that they are ruled by Mars, and Mars, as we know, is the planet of war. Mars is the red planet, and, by the way, is one of the only planets that we can see with the naked eye. Mars is also a point of energy. Because the energy of Mars is present in the cosmos at this time, all of us, whether we were born in this month or not, can expect to be affected by its fiery influence.

Here are a few tips about how we can deal with anger when the heat rises:

As I mentioned in my book Simple Light, "There are two types of anger. One type is parent anger; the other, critical anger. Parent anger arises from a sense of nurturing: We tell someone that they shouldn’t have done something because we don’t want them to experience the consequences of their actions. Critical anger, on the other hand, does not come from a place of nurturing, but rather, from a place of judgment.

Just as there are two types of anger, there are also two ways that we react when others are angry with us. One of them is withdrawal; the problem with this reaction is that when we withdraw, we disrupt the circuit of energy. Our other response to anger is spontaneous retaliation; here we answer immediately, which means we are sure to quarrel with the other person.

Spiritually, there is only one way to respond to anger, and that is to learn how to be proactive—to take the situation to another level. It means that when the other person is angry, we don’t take on their anger. We pause for a second and say, ‘I might be right or I might be wrong. Let’s see how we can talk this thing through.’ In this way, we are walking away, both physically and emotionally, from the other person’s reactivity.

When we think reactively with our Ego, arguments occur. It’s not always easy not to react, but when we are proactive, then there can be no argument because our Ego is not involved.”

As you practice being proactive this month, please share your stories of transformation and growth.

Chodesh tov (wishing you a good month).