Aries - From: 'Astrological Insights into the Spiritual Life' by Dane Rudhyar, 1979
Updated: Jun 29, 2021
Twelve Zodiacal Qualities of Spiritual Living
1. COURAGE (ARIES)
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As I see it, this is as necessary a foundation for spiritual living as Aries and all it represents on this earth is basic in any wholesome (or ‘holistic’) grasp of what the zodiac represents wherever there is life and growth. The spiritual life is practically never an easy life, at least not in our present day society. It fundamentally implies an emergence from usually quite binding and possessive psychic and social matrices: family, culture, religion, tradition, way of life. Such an emergence and spiritual life built upon its foundation requires struggle, and very often involves tense conflicts. Confrontations may be strenuous. They call for courage, unrelenting courage; and behind courage stands WILL. Indeed, will stands behind all that pertains to the spiritual life, just as the Sun stands behind all zodiacal signs which constitute twelve fundamental aspects of the one solar energy. The will to be born anew of the spirit, by the power of spirit and for the spiritual purpose of one’s existence is what energizes all truly spiritual efforts.
The spiritual life is not a life emotionally devoted to some special form of spiritual revelation; that kind of life should rather be called ‘religious’. The spiritual life is life lived from the spirit, by the spirit, and for the spirit. It implies a basic surrender of the ego-will to the ‘solar’ Will. The individual person becomes, and irrevocably accepts to become, an ‘agent’ of the spirit. Such an acceptance must be conscious, even if it surges from a depth of being which transcends everyday consciousness. At the very least, the consciousness must put its stamp upon the decision; and this demands courage – a lucid kind of courage if the basic decision is to become truly and effectively implemented by a multitude of small, everyday choices. Likewise, through all signs of the zodiac, especially the first six, the energy mobilized in Aries remains the fundamental factor. Where it is lacking, the activities characterizing every zodiacal sign can only be superficial. The whole person is like a bell from which but a hollow sound can be produced.