Aries 2025: Ram-Raid Part 3
The Decans
The Tarot cards associated with Aries are The Emperor, the Queen of Wands and the 2, 3 and 4 of Wands.
The major arcana card associated with Aries is The Emperor, setting the overall tone for this zodiac sun sign. The Emperor seeks to claim territory and to create and impose order in that territory. At his best, he rules wisely and with care and justice. He is the best of fathers and defenders. He is a warrior. Or he is an able administrator. At his worst, he is a bully; an overbearing or inefficient bureaucrat, or a tyrant and a warmonger.
Neptune in Aries is a transit that can signify war at sea. Neptune goes into Aries in just a few days time, on March 30, and today a ceasefire has been announced in the Black Sea, brokered by the US, to which Ukraine and Russia have separately agreed. It offers major benefits to Russia, lifting of sanctions, and contains major caveats on the part of Kyiv should Russian military vessels move out of the eastern region of the Black Sea.
Fragile indeed. Perhaps it is the bud of something. But Russia seems to gain much, so much more, since Ukraine had already gained the upper hand in the Black Sea. Looking in the cards about Ukraine back in 2023 I did not detect in the cards, any clear sign of an end to the war of Russia against Ukraine happening before May 2025, and a ceasefire, as we are so tragically witnessing in Gaza, is not the end of a war. I will look at this in the cards, and perhaps report back as to the detected comments for this ceasefire.
Card Meanings: a man of authority, virility, parent, employer, a military man, maturity, order, experience, hard won leadership, discipline, authority, government, organizations, rules, bureaucracy, doing things by the book, ego, I am in charge, what I say goes, Drawn reversed: bully, tyrant, warmonger. Note the ram skulls decorating his throne.
Every suit in the Tarot has its own court with a king and queen, a knight and a page. The Court card associated with Aries is the Queen of Wands though this card may equally represent a man born under Aries. Aries is ruled by the element of fire in the Tarot, Wands is the suit of fire. Aries is ruled by the Sun, the Ruler of the Day. This Queen holds a sunflower in token of her royal sceptre.
Card Meanings: A helpful woman, a mother figure, a lucky person (signified by the black cat, also notice the royal lions) She is proud, with good instincts and may possess occult abilities. Warmth, directness, spontaneity and independence, nurturing, generosity, enthusiasm, impatience, ambition and competitiveness are her archetypal qualities. A manager. A politician. A Teacher. A traveller. She may be a worker in the Emergency Services. Or she may be the Queen of Clubs. Be there or be square.
The minor arcana cards associated with Aries are the Ace of Wands, and then the Two, Three and Four of Wands.
The Ace stands for ignition. Instigation. A launch. An arrival. Incoming news. Or it might give us a clue that a future development may happen around the time of the spring equinox, or else in high summer, Leo time.
But, such is the range and reach of the Tarot, from the micro to the cosmic, from the divine to the mundane, it might mean an actual fire, or even just a “cigarette”.
This has happened to me in face to face readings. One time I picked up on the word “cigarette,” triggered by the appearance of the Ace of Wands, rather than any of the other words I might have “heard,” and the client told me she had recently given up smoking, and was finding it a struggle. Another time it meant a marshmallow.
Yes. A marshmallow. How about that for a monumentally world-changing act of divination? A very Sibyl of Delphi, psychically detecting a bag of marshmallows via a tarot card, the Page of Cups, no less. You can read about that- and the cigarette- here.
The Ace of Wands could mean a new car engine, or a new boiler. Tarot does not disdain to talk plumbing or toilets, or indeed anything whatsoever. Tarot will go wherever we go, talk whatever we could possibly ever talk about, pass us the cosmic loo roll, and flush that loo, no problem at all.
The Two, Three and Four of Wands are the cards that talk about the decans (or decanates) of Aries. If you don’t feel like you are a ‘typical’ Aries, well, we are all unique, but perhaps you are also a second or third decan Aries sun sign native, rather than a ‘most typical’ first decan Aries.
The Decans of Aries
The Zodiac is the belt of sky we can see from earth, tracking the path of the sun across the sky over the course of the year. We call this annual pathway of the sun ‘the ecliptic,’ as mentioned previously when we were talking about the spring/vernal equinox in Aries 2025 Part 1. I have posted the link at the bottom of this post in case you didn’t spot that one.
In the second century, Ptolemy, Greek mathematician, astronomer and astrologer, chose twelve of the many constellations straddling the ecliptic, and named the sun signs after these chosen twelve: Aries, Taurus, Gemini Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and lastly, Pisces. Ptolemy chose only twelve for reasons of elegance of arithmetic in dividing the 360 degrees of the wheel of the zodiac.
Each of these zodiac signs represents a 30 degree section of the zodiac belt and then each sign is then further sub-divided into three blocks of ten degrees =ten days in length though with slight variations. This gives us the ‘decans,’ from the Latin meaning ‘ten,’ (also called decanates.) Nicknamed the ‘thirty-six faces of astrology,’ the decans bring added depth and nuance to the stories of the zodiac sun signs.
First Decan Aries (0-10 degrees)
21 March-30 March
Two of Wands
Card Meanings: vision, ambition, trade, exports, entrepreneurship, agreements, partnerships, government, meetings, the world is my oyster. Reversed: fear of the unknown, overweening ambition, lack of planning, delays and disappointments
The ruling planet is Mars and the co-ruler is also Mars, giving this first Aries decan a forceful double dose of fiery, headlong Mars, bringing out the positive and dominant side of this Aries subject. They are up for new challenges. This is after all, the first decan of a whole new zodiac year. Aries seeks power and often has great charisma too. But one of the nicknames of this card is ‘The Melancholy of Alexander,’ referring to the restlessness of Alexander the Great, who won great lands but was never satisfied.
The personality is independent, forceful, temperamental, often generous, while potentially domineering, dictatorial or even aggressive. This super active first decan- not coincidentally- tends to be athletic and sporty. They are also known for a gift with words and public speaking abilities. These natives of Aries think fast and act fast-sometimes too fast. They can be hasty and irritable with others who act more slowly. This person learns quickly and seemingly effortlessly, and will often perform well in a leadership role, but they need to learn to moderate their impatience. Not everyone is cut out for leadership but they bring other qualities to the situation, and respect is a two-way street.
Famous first decan Aries natives: Harry Houdini, Robert Frost, Elton John, Aretha Franklin, Mariah Carey, Lady Gaga
Second Decan Aries (10-20 degrees)
1 April-10 April
Three of Wands
Card Meanings: progress, expansion, overseas opportunities, new horizons, a launch, your ship comes in, planning, critical timing, preparation, teamwork: Reversed: lack of foresight, timidity, thinking too small, unexpected delays
The co-rulers of this decan are Mars and the Sun, the ‘Ruler of the Day.’ The sun is the centre of the solar system, the bringer of life itself, and here it stands for dignity, honour and ambition. This Aries personality not only welcomes change but actively seeks it out, relishing a challenge. This gifted Aries native desires a creative challenge and maybe a global challenge too, why not, while they are at it.
They are generally known for their directness and honesty. They will tell you something to your face, and they won’t hold back, though they really do not like to be told what to do themselves. But while they may not react well at first, this Aries will go away and think about it, such is their honesty, even with themselves.
This Mars-Sun combination is considered a particularly lucky planetary combination. Everyone gets their own mix of luck, good and bad. That’s just life. But still, The Sun governs pride and personal ambition, and this lucky influence can offset the more challenging aspects of the Mars effect. These Aries natives have a knack of landing on their feet.
Famous second decan Aries natives: Otto von Bismarck, Hans Christian Anderson, Bette Davis, Al Gore, Russell Crowe, Jackie Chan, Celine Dion, Quentin Tarantino
Third Aries Decan (20-30 degrees)
10 April-20 April
Four of Wands
Card meanings: celebration, achievement, professional qualification, property improvements, building, setting up home, homecoming, publishing, creating an artwork. Reversed: bad luck, frustrations, roadblocks
This Aries native is generally somewhat more relaxed than the other two decans; co-ruled by Mars and Jupiter, the God of Fortune. Jupiter brings good fortune and opportunity in alliance with the energy, drive and ambition of Aries Mars.
There is sincerity and honesty, a warm-hearted nobility in this last Aries placement. Like the second decan Aries, these Aries natives often have some particular and well-developed creative or artistic talent. They are witty, personable, and with a sense of humour, and gracious to others, although they do still have quite a short fuse. These are passionately devoted family people with a keen sense of justice, much concerned with right and wrong. They can become a tad righteous, some might say self- righteous on occasion, and others may find them arrogant, as with other decanates of Aries. They are proud, and they may well have every good reason. They just need to remember that others have their own dignity too.
Famous Third Decan Aries natives: Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, Charlie Chaplin, Tom Clancy, Francis Ford Coppola, Victoria Beckham, Gary Kasparov
The Cusps of Aries
Pisces-Aries
We are born in one zodiac sign or another. The dates are clear. But if we are in doubt, our birth time will confirm our sign- if we know it, and not everyone does. We are Pisces or Aries or Taurus. We are not born on a cusp in real time. Still, the cusps supply extra nuance if we were born right at the end of one zodiac sign, or right at the beginning of another.
If your birthday is March 21, through to and including March 21, you are an Aries sun sign with possible Pisces tendencies, and your ruling planets are Mars and Neptune. These natives are known for combining unusual intelligence, understanding and originality with a studious and cautious approach, and though they are amiable they deeply resent being forced or interfered with in the way they do things. These natives may well have a special talent for mechanical or electrical sciences and they like to lead and direct others. These natives tend to be independent critical thinkers, happiest outside the mainstream. They have an adventurous streak, are loyal to their small circle of friends and often end up with a career very different to where they started out. They can do very well indeed if they can learn to curb a certain tendency to impatience and irritability
Aries-Taurus
If your birthday is April 17 through to and including April 20, you are an Aries sun sign native with possible Taurean tendencies, and your ruling planets are Mars and Venus. This sun sign cusp native is fiery, romantic, ambitious and determined, hardworking and talented. but with an impatient streak. They detest muddle, and can get rattled when things can’t be done properly, one thing at a time. The Aries-Taurus native is competitive, wants to succeed and most likely will, but not at any cost, not if it means trampling roughshod over the rights of others. These natives are exacting and demanding in their own standards, and in their expectations of others. They may come across as arrogant to some, but are well-respected for their honesty, integrity, their sense of honour and fair play.
Happy Birthday, mighty Aries Ram-Lambs 2025
This is one intense year for Aries with Neptune in Aries, Saturn in Aries and the North Node transiting at various points over your border with Pisces this year, marrying the mystical and the mundane. For some Aries natives then, we could see them turning professional with their card reading, for others, this combination suggests ceremonial events this year, weddings, graduation, sports, church ceremonies, and so on. For others, an artistic or creative product or event (e.g, art, books, courses, film, music, jewellery, ornamental objects, garden, business idea, gets turned into a physical or financial reality.
Saturn in Pisces January-May 2025 and then September 2025 to Feb 2026 suggest there will be times when you will be feeling boxed in and bogged down, and could benefit from a serious decluttering of your diary, your house. You will need more sleep than usual, and will likely be dealing more than usual this coming year with social and family demands involving others who may be in a state of distress. Between April and September look like your most significant months of change or progress, hosting Saturn for the first time since 1996-1998. A lucky window for relocation, real estate or starting a family.
And Aries has Jupiter in Gemini until June 2025, excellent for studying, teaching, writing and networking. Then Jupiter moves into Cancer in June, and the focus shifts more towards home and family matters for Aries, with improvements in your living environment.
Many Happy Returns.
Thank you for reading.
Back soon.
Here is that link to Aries 2025 Part 1
Thank you Katie-Ellen, your writing is so informative, you take me on a journey each time. 🙏😊