MOTTO: Discover life! Discover Self!
With Aries rising, you present a declarative, bold “I am here” type of identity to others when you are feeling supported. When feeling unsupported, you present a more impatient, “Me first” identity. Mars, the planet representing action and desire, is the planet that rules Aries. Aries is a cardinal, fire, yang sign. With this as your rising sign, you are inclined to take action enthusiastically and impetuously whenever inspiration strikes, regardless of the consequences. You feel confident that you can handle any negative consequences that may happen as a result of your actions.
With the fire element influencing your behavior style, you are spontaneous, direct, competent, and courageous. Your behavior with others you meet is warm, intense, and lively. You “approach life with zest and enthusiasm“. (www.astrolibrary.org/elements)
The cardinal quality of your Aries rising sign expresses your need to take action in a swift and assertive manner. You prefer being in the proverbial driver’s seat when taking action because it is from this vantage point that you can direct and change the course of events as you see fit.
The energetic influence of yang energy on your instinctive approach to life accentuates your active and assertive nature. You meet life head first, ready to act boldly, decisively, and in many cases, impulsively.
Figuratively speaking, the energetic cloak you put on to interact with and meet the demands of the world around you is forthright and uncomplicated and it exudes either power or playfulness, depending on your mood.
With this combo of energies making up your Authentic Self’s personality expression, the image you present to others is someone who is impulsive and ready to act; who is willing “to boldly go where no one has gone before”. With an eager “just do it” attitude, you are an inspiration to others, creating an expectation in them to look to you to decide what to do next. (Quote reference is from Astrology for the Light side of the Brain, p. 65)
With this sign on your ascendant, the need for freedom to initiate changes or have new experiences is instinctive to the authentic expression of your Aries identity. You are instinctively inspired with fresh ideas that you want to begin implementing right away. It is important for you to have the freedom and the independence to move forward with these ideas. (Introduction to Evolutionary Astrology)
Starting new projects or pursuing new experiences is how you find out more about yourself. If you were to have a motto, it would be, “Discover your life!” The key phrase for the Aries sign is “I am” and with this sign on your ascendant, you need to be independent. (A Spiritual Approach to Astrology, p. 30 and 31). If you can freely explore your universe without interference from others, you feel empowered and joyful as you express your authentic self to the world around you. Not only you, but others are also able to experience that positive side of you that is inspirational, courageous, enthusiastic, original, and independent. A supportive environment for you is one that energetically allows you freedom of movement and that encourages independent action.
An unsupportive environment for you is when you are not allowed to act, either by circumstances or other people. For you, restrictions have the effect of putting you in the backseat, unable to steer the course of events in your life. This creates a deep sense of frustration within you, triggering your Aries shadow self to emerge. Impatient with the restrictions, you may become angry and even throw a temper tantrum. Or, you may hold that frustration and anger in to such a degree that it makes you physically sick. Either way, restrictions on your personal freedom will interfere with the positive expression of your Aries rising energy.
It is important, therefore, to create a physical environment that supports your urge to take action freely and spontaneously. To ensure that your immediate environment is supportive, boost the energies in your surroundings that correspond to the energies of your energetic signature: yang, fire, and cardinal. Also, you will need to clear out clutter that is physically blocking the flow of energy in your environment. Physical clutter restricts movement and is symbolic of restrictions in your life that prevent you from taking action when, where, how you want to.
Feng Shui tips for boosting yang and fire energy:
The area of the bagua map that represents fire and yang energy is the Fame and Reputation area and is located in the rear middle (Western) or South (Classical) side of your home.
The Fame and Reputation section of your home “is associated with your character and image.” (feng shui your life, p.145) Activating this area will help to “illuminate you and your unique characteristics and accomplishments” and it will “spark” the potential you have for inspired ideas. (feng shui your life, p.145) It will make it “easier for you to express yourself and get noticed” in a positive way (Practical Feng Shui Solutions, p.143) which in turn helps to boost your self-confidence. The yang and fire energies here complement the enthusiastic and inspirational nature of your Aries rising sign. In other words, enhancing this area will encourage your positive “I am” qualities.
Enhancements to this area include adding the colors red, orange, and yellow; items that are pointy and triangular; and artwork and pictures containing these colors and shapes. Candles at night and plenty of natural sunlight during the day are effective enhancements as well. A fireplace would energize this area. To further augment supportive energy here, hang pictures and place objects that are inspirational to you. Fixes to this location include clearing away clutter, removing movable water elements and symbols of water (water puts out fire). Finally, remove any picture or symbol that represents a questionable or negative character as this detracts from having a good reputation.
Feng Shui tips for boosting cardinal energy:
To boost cardinal energy in your environment, make sure there is plenty of space for movement and activity. Cramped and restricted space energetically cramps and restricts your urge to take action. Periodically make the time for clearing and organizing the clutter that naturally builds up in your space from the many projects you have begun but not completed. Just taking the action of clearing and tidying up will lift your spirits. By getting rid of the old, you are symbolically paving the way for the new ideas and inspirations that come naturally to you.
Now, to Aries shadow self:
The negative traits of the Aries sign are: impatience and aggressiveness, such as “ramming” your ideas forward without taking the time to enlist ideas/help from others; impulsiveness and selfishness, such as assuming the time to act is now and your idea is the only viable option. (A Spiritual Approach to Astrology, p. 30). You are likely to express these traits when you encounter delays, impediments or restrictions imposed upon you by outside forces. Another example of a non-supportive environment for your “actively inspired” nature is one in which you are forced to stick with the established routine and/or are not allowed give input to processes.
When you find yourself in one of these unsupportive environments, you lose that part of your Authentic Self that identifies with being joyful and in control of your life. When this happens, you do what you can to take control of the situation by manifesting your assertive “I am” approach or, when that doesn’t work, by manifesting your more aggressive “Me first” approach.
As you begin to act more from a “Me first” approach, your responses to and interactions with others get an edginess to them that is unproductive both to your ongoing relationships and to the joyful, playful expression of your Self. Your attitude and behavior take on a more “I fight life” overtone. Instead of being direct, you are blunt. Instead of being courageous, you are aggressive. Instead of being enthusiastic, you are bossy and argumentative. Instead of being impromptu and playful, you become impulsive and reckless. Instead of being self-reliant and independent, you are autocratic and the actions you take are taken without consideration of how they are negatively affecting others.
These “Me first” responses have a way of backfiring on you, creating situations that are intolerable for you and for those involved with you. This is because even though you may see yourself as justified in your actions, others may see you as self-centered and selfish. Instead of seeing you as someone who is capable and in control, they see you as someone who cannot be happy unless you are the one who is in charge. They, in turn, become unhappy or uncomfortable in your presence. Then, no one is having fun, including you.
The “Me first” approach does not support you. It creates a repressive atmosphere, not only for others, but also for yourself. It denies you the freedom to discover life in the way that comes naturally to you, which is, the “I am” approach. It is important, therefore, to familiarize yourself with the triggers in your environment that create a “Me first” response in you so that you can ameliorate the negative effect they have on you.
For an Aries rising individual, these triggers are:
- Feeling your efforts are under-appreciated
- Not being allowed to voice your opinion
- Having to take the back seat when you feel you should be in the driver’s seat
- Limitations and restrictions on your freedom to act spontaneously
- Repetition and routines
Feng Shui Tips to ameliorate negative triggers in your environment:
An unsupportive environment for you is one in which the energy of the environment is stuck and repressive. To mitigate the negative energy that this kind of atmosphere has on your inspirational and joyful “I am” identity, first clear out unproductive clutter in your immediate environment. Since you love to start new projects, you may have several out at a time ready to be worked on when the mood strikes you. This is productive clutter and should be allowed to stay out to encourage inspiration. Unproductive clutter, on the other hand, is clutter that has no relevance to your current interests or has become too disorganized from the perspective of available space. When your environment becomes so messy that there is no space for you to move around in, then it is time to organize your projects into separate and distinct areas of your home. When you go through this process, you will be sorting out what no longer is necessary or relevant as well as what is still vital for the completion of your projects. You will be freeing up space which in turn will free you up, mentally speaking, to move forward with your ideas.
When you are feeling that your instinctive urge to move freely and independently is being blocked or interfered with by others, it is time to for you to activate the Helpers/Travel sector. This sector is associated with yang energy, which complements your Aries yang energy. It is located in the front right area (Western) or northwest side (Classical) of your home.
It is the area for motion, which aligns with your desire to move in new directions. Activating this area will bring in the energy for attracting helpful friends and mentors to help you fulfill your dreams. The element for this center is metal. The colors to enhance the energy of this area are white, gray, or black.
Enhance this area of your home with metal objects. Metal represents not only motion, but also discriminating energy. This is helpful when you have many avenues to choose from or when you need to be able to discriminate between people who will help you to grow and develop and those that obstruct you. Plants, especially white flowering ones, will facilitate beneficial energy here.
Heaven is the I Ching trigram for this center. (Feng Shui Demystified, p.77 & 78) Therefore, any pictures or objects that inspire you and/or that represent your spiritual helpers are appropriate here as they will help to energize the expression of your authentic “I am” self.
Feng Shui Enhancements to make to encourage the joyful, playful expression of your instinctive nature:
The area of the bagua map that is used to promote joyfulness, playfulness and having fun is the Creativity/Children sector. It is located in the middle right area (Western) or west side (Classical) of your home.
Activating this area will energize your creativity, imagination, talents, and your inner child. The element for this sector is metal. The colors to enhance the energy of this area are white, pastels, charcoal and metallics.
Enhancements to make in this area are to augment it with metal objects, artwork, musical instruments and equipment, games, lights and anything else that brings you joy and encourages your playfulness, creativity and inner child.
Implementing these Feng Shui adjustments will help you to go about retrieving that sense of “I am” that is joyful and in control. It will help to reduce the negative energy that results in the rash “Me first and damn everything else!” behavior that you are inclined to do when you feel unsupported and unappreciated.
Whether expressing yourself as “I am” or “me first”, yours will not be a boring or dull home. You are naturally and constantly expressing your will on your environment. You go about your daily life with a sense of excitement and a willingness to initiate impulsive adventures. When your energy is high, you have a penchant for creating a fun atmosphere and others see you as someone who is fun to be around. You are an inspiration to them, and they are happy to follow your lead.
You are learning about yourself through the reactions of and responses from others to your behavior as you go about your daily life. Their feedback to you regarding your actions will be either positive or negative. In this way, you continue to grow, and your authentic self continues to discover something new about itself. You will more than likely experience positive feedback when you are operating from a confident “I am” approach.
Feng Shui for your Rising Sign 