Aries in the tarot

Aries opens the zodiac at the spring equinox, and it has the character of a start — headlong, brave, impatient, more interested in the first step than the last. It is cardinal fire: fire that initiates. In the cards it is The Emperor, who builds order by force of will, and the early Wands, where the plan is made and the ships sent out.

The Emperor

Aries belongs to The Emperor, card IV of the major arcana — authority, boundaries. It is the card to choose for someone born under Aries, if you want a card to stand for them in a reading.

Its ruling planet, Mars, is The Tower: force, drive, conflict.

The three decans

The ten-day slices of Aries are three Wands, the suit of fire. If your birthday falls in one, that card is yours.

• Two of Wands — 21–30 March, the first decan: Mars in Aries. choices about the road ahead.
• Three of Wands — 31 March – 9 April, the second decan: the Sun in Aries. expansion, foresight, waiting on results.
• Four of Wands — 10–19 April, the third decan: Venus in Aries. celebration, homecoming, a milestone shared.

The court

Two court cards share Aries. The Queen of Wands — water of fire — rules its first twenty degrees, coming in from Pisces (11 March – 9 April). The King of Disks — air of earth — takes its last ten and carries on into Taurus (10 April – 10 May).