On this page: Aries Personality Overview * All Things Associated with Aries * Famous Aries
Aries Traits: adventurous, altruistic, argumentative, assertive, brave, combative, competitive, confident, decisive, determined, energetic, enthusiastic, entrepreneurial, forgiving, forthright, friendly, idealistic, impatient, impulsive, independent, optimistic, passionate, pioneering, pushy, rude, selfish, temperamental, trusting, youthful
Aries Personality Overview
Aries Tend to Be Youthful, Idealistic, and Optimistic
Aries are often fun, lively, playful, and youthful. Many look younger than their chronological ages and most retain some childlike qualities throughout adulthood, both physically and psychologically.
Aries can be surprisingly sensitive and eager to please. Though they can be pushy and domineering or controlling at times, they are also idealistic, trusting, and in great need of reassurance. They can be quite naïve, and others may take advantage of this.
Aries do nothing by half-measures. Anything they choose to do, they do fully and completely. They are stubborn and will usually refuse to accept defeat, even long after a situation has become untenable. However, they rarely stay down for long because their natural optimism enables them to bounce back quickly from misfortune and strife. They have a knack for coming out on top in most situations.
The Aries Nature Is Pioneering and Entrepreneurial
Aries are willing to go to new places, try new things, and start new projects. They often have trouble with authority and do better as their own bosses, but they have a talent for self-promotion, which ensures that many succeed in their own businesses.
Aries are not particularly well-suited to detail work, preferring to start things and have others fill in the details. Although they are good at coming up with creative ideas on the spot, they may have trouble sustaining the effort required to follow through with their plans (the exceptions to this rule are Aries with Taurus, Virgo, Scorpio, or Capricorn ascendants).
Aries have very low boredom thresholds and can lose interest in things quite easily. Careers must provide lots of change, social interaction, and excitement or they will want to move on to something else.
Aries Are Typically Energetic, Courageous, and Impulsive
Aries have a tendency to leap before looking and take risks that shock more cautious types. This is a physically courageous sign, so it is not surprising that many Aries gravitate to risky professions such as the military, the police force, stunt work, sports, rescue work, or race car driving. Aries are also emotionally courageous to the point of recklessness, changing their entire lives on a whim to follow some dream or romantic inclination.
Aries are accident-prone, not because they’re clumsy but because they move quickly and impulsively. They like to drive fast and many have an interest in extreme or high-impact sports. A typical Aries craves the adrenaline rush of novelty and may take unnecessary risks in order to achieve it.
This sign is associated with engines, and many people with the sun, moon, or ascendant in Aries are good with anything that has a motor. This tendency, combined with a desire for excitement, may draw them into professions or pastimes that involve driving or flying, though they may also apply their penchant for risk-taking to other career fields.
Most Aries have loads of energy, which they need to burn off continuously through physical activities, creative projects, or socializing. They are competitive by nature and usually have an aptitude for athletics, either team sports or solitary fitness activities.
The majority of Aries enjoy watching sports or other physical pursuits such as dancing, skating, skiing, or anything else that involves movement and coordination. Many are particularly interested in martial arts.
Aries Are Naturally Friendly and Forthright
Aries is a very sociable sign (the exception to this rule is an Aries with a rising sign more prone to shyness). Typical Aries like to be around others most of the time and they tend to seek out novel and exciting social situations. They prefer people who challenge them intellectually and compete with them in some way, and they quickly grow bored and irritated with cautious, timid types.
Aries tend to be honest and forthright, almost to a fault at times. They are not subtle, and they have terrible tempers that are easily set off, though they are also quick to forgive.
Aries Are Often Impatient and Impulsive
Aries think fast, move fast, and talk fast (many are chatterboxes). They are not patient, particularly with slow-moving, slow-speaking people. In fact, Aries is the least patient sign of the zodiac.
Aries are prone to saying and doing things rashly, which creates strife in their interpersonal relationships. A lack of tact is often the cause of problems. However, when bored, Aries may pick fights simply to entertain themselves and fulfill their subconscious need for conflict.
Aries are forceful or even aggressive when pursuing what they want, and willing to charge head first into conflict. They prefer to deal with problems immediately, and will rarely avoid confrontation. This leads them to poke at and provoke more avoidant types to trigger some sort of catharsis.
Aries Can Be Selfish in Some Situations and Altruistic in Others
The Aries paradox is a strange combination of selfishness and generosity. They can be self-absorbed and self-centered at times, but this is also one of the most altruistic signs of the zodiac.
Aries are quick to help those in need, even at great personal cost and risk. This tendency, combined with a propensity to take risks, may draw them into the rescuing professions such as firefighter, paramedic, peacekeeper, or coast guard.
Aries may also gravitate to politics, working to change the system from within to make things better for other people. Most Aries have an interest in politics, though this may take the form of argument rather than action.
The Atypical Aries
The sun sign isn’t the only element that influences personality. Aspects and planetary placements, particularly the moon sign and rising sign (ascendant), are also important. For example, an Aries with Virgo rising will likely be more cautious and practical, and with Libra rising, the Aries will be more of a peacemaker and less of a fighter. Having the moon in Cancer will make cozy domesticity more important to an Aries and bring out this sign’s creative side, while an Aries with Capricorn rising will be less impulsive and passionate but more thoughtful and diplomatic.
There are many websites that offer free astrology chart calculation to determine other planetary placements and aspects. Learning these other planetary placements is recommended, as it provides a more comprehensive personality profile.
All Things Associated with Aries
Ruling Planet: Mars
Symbol: the ram
Element: fire
Quality: cardinal
Metal: iron
Gemstones: garnet, aquamarine (March), diamond (April)
Associated Parts of the Body: face, head, eyes
Number: 9
Places Associated with Aries: Germany, England, Poland, Marseilles, Florence, Naples, Verona
Animals: ram, sheep, hawk, sea anemone
Trees: oak, hazelnut, rowan, maple, alder, all thorn-bearing trees
Plants and Herbs: thistle, bryony, flax, tobacco, mustard, ginger, basil, coriander
Foods: blackberries, chilies, onions, garlic, hazelnuts, maple syrup
Color: red
Other Associations: armies, weapons, fire, tools, cars, stunts, knives, motorcycles, engines, airplanes, war, competition, athletics, self-employment, entrepreneurial spirit, pioneers, exploration, martial arts, energy, nationalism, self-promotion, confidence, courage, aggression, optimism
Famous Aries
- Abigail Breslin
- Abraham Maslow
- Al Gore
- Al Unser Jr.
- Alec Baldwin
- Alec Guinness
- Alex Pettyfer
- Alexander the Great
- Amanda Bynes
- Anderson Silva
- Andrew Lam
- Andrew Lloyd Webber
- Angus Young
- Ann Miller
- Anthony Horowitz
- Anthony Michael Hall
- Anthony Perkins
- Aretha Franklin
- Asa Butterfield
- Ashley Judd
- Ayrton Senna da Silva
- Bela Bartok
- Bette Davis
- Betty Ford
- Beverly Cleary
- Billie Holliday
- Butch Cassidy
- Carmen Electra
- Celine Dion
- Cesar Chavez
- Chael Sonnen
- Charlie Chaplin
- Charlie Hunnam
- Christopher Hitchens
- Christopher Walken
- Claire Danes
- Colin Powell
- Conan O’Brien
- Daisy Ridley
- Danica Patrick
- David Blaine
- David Letterman
- David Suzuki
- David Tennant
- Debbie Reynolds
- Dennis Quaid
- Diana Ross
- Dick King-Smith
- Doris Day
- Dudley Moore
- Ed O’Neill
- Eddie Murphy
- Elle Fanning
- Elle Macpherson
- Elton John
- Emma Thompson
- Emma Watson
- Eric Clapton
- Eric Idle
- Erica Jong
- Eudora Welty
- Ewan McGregor
- Fatty Arbuckle
- Fauja Singh
- Francis Ford Coppola
- Garry Kasparov
- Gary Oldman
- Gavriela Sabatini
- Gloria Steinem
- Gloria Swanson
- Gordie Howe
- Gregory Peck
- Grumpy Cat
- Guccio Gucci
- Guy Fawkes
- Haley Joel Osment
- Hans Christian Anderson
- Harry Houdini
- Hayden Christensen
- Hayley Mills
- Heath Ledger
- Henry James
- Herbie Hancock
- Hugh Hefner
- Jack Ruby
- Jackie Chan
- James Franco
- James Garner
- James Patterson
- Jamie Lynn Spears
- Jane Goodall
- Jenna Jameson
- Jennifer Garner
- Jennifer Grey
- Jessica Chastain
- Jessica Lange
- Jim Parsons
- Joan Crawford
- Johann Sebastian Bach
- Johann Sebastian Bach
- John Madden
- Joseph Haydn
- Julia Stiles
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
- Kasey Kahne
- Kate Gosselin
- Kate Hudson
- Kate Micucci
- Katee Sackhoff
- Keira Knightley
- Kenny Chesney
- Kevin Federline
- Kofi Annan
- Kourtney Kardashian
- Kristen Stewart
- Lady Gaga
- Larry Page
- Leonard Nimoy
- Leonardo da Vinci
- Loretta Lynn
- Lucy Lawless
- Luther Vandross
- Mandy Moore
- Margaret Peterson Haddix
- Maria Sharapova
- Mariah Carey
- Marlon Brando
- Martin Lawrence
- Marvin Gaye
- Matthew Broderick
- Maya Angelou
- Merle Haggard
- Michael Fassbender
- Michel Roux
- Muddy Waters
- Nancy Pelosi
- Nate Diaz
- Nathan Fillion
- Nigel Farage
- Nikita Khrushchev
- Norah Jones
- Omar Sharif
- Otto von Bismarck
- Paloma Picasso
- Pauley Perrette
- Perez Hilton
- Peter Ustinov
- Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph Aloisius Ratzinge)
- Quentin Tarantino
- Quentin Tarantino
- Ravi Shankar
- Reba McEntire
- Reese Witherspoon
- Rene Descartes
- Richard Dawkins
- Robert Downey Jr.
- Robert Frost
- Robin Wright
- Rod Steiger
- Roddy Piper
- Romain Grosjean
- Ron Perlman
- Rooney Mara
- Rosie O’Donnell
- Russell Crowe
- Samuel Beckett
- Saoirse Ronan
- Sarah Jessica Parker
- Sarah Michelle Gellar
- Sean Bean
- Seth Rogen
- Shannen Doherty
- Skai Jackson
- Spencer Tracy
- Stacy Ferguson (Fergie)
- Stephen Sondheim
- Steve McQueen
- Steven Seagal
- Steven Tyler
- Tennessee Williams
- Thomas Jefferson
- Tim Curry
- Tiny Tim
- Tom Clancy
- Tommy Hilfiger
- Tryon Woodley
- Victoria Beckham
- Vince Vaughn
- Vincent Van Gogh
- Vitor Belfort
- Warren Beatty
- Washington Irving
- Wayne Newton
- Wilhelm Reich
- William Shatner
- Zach Braff
Learn More
Read about other sun signs: Taurus * Gemini * Cancer * Leo * Virgo * Libra * Scorpio * Sagittarius * Capricorn * Aquarius * Pisces
Read about moon signs: Aries Moon * Taurus Moon * Gemini Moon * Cancer Moon * Leo Moon * Virgo Moon * Libra Moon * Scorpio Moon * Sagittarius Moon * Capricorn Moon * Aquarius Moon * Pisces Moon
Learn more about astrology: Astrology FAQ
Aries image courtesy of Graphics Mouse, www.freedigitalphotos.net.