Aries

March 21 - April 21

Aries: The beginning of the Zodiac. Aries, fresh, new, traditionally personally assertive. Aries considers themselves the "can and will do" sign of the Zodiac, raring to take on projects, daring more cautious people to follow their lead. Nancy Pelosi's decision to start Congress with the swearing in of the legislators is a prime example of this. Tradition had led people to start with the State of the Union. But an Aries Speaker is hardly going to want to wait around useless for a month for a mere formality.

Cancerian George Bush is going to have a hard time dealing with Aries Nancy. Cancer has insecurities, while Aries tends to push past those things with a more aw-shucks approach. Aries doesn't mince words, take no for an answer, or believes in stepping down unless forced by circumstances beyond his control like Al Gore.

Capricorns tend to have problems with brash Aries who sometimes can ignore the elaborate deference game, who doesn't knuckle under to the notion of tradition, who would rather try their hand than wait their turn. Aries's ideal of life is not to be a gray anonymity in a business suit waiting for the corner office, but a leader with or without portfolio.

Libra is fascinated by the assertiveness, but puts her head in her hands when some of the assertiveness annoys people, and keeps saying "slow down" while in the car. We Libras spend our lives trying to smooth things, but Aries has a keener sense of when that effort is essentially useless.

The Aries I remember was a guy who didn't mind trying anything to expand his mind-and it was he who introduced me to formal astrology. He wasn't so much brash, as simply a person who as I remember took life as it came.

Virgo adjustment is a little difficult.