What dates does the Sun spend in Aries?

Roughly March 21 to April 19. These are tropical-zodiac dates, measured from the equinox rather than from the constellation of the same name, and the exact ingress moves by up to a day or so between years because the tropical year is not a whole number of days. If a birth falls within a day of either boundary, the sign has to be computed for that specific date and time - a fixed date table will get some of those cases wrong.

Which planet rules Aries?

Mars, in both the classical and the modern scheme. Aries is one of the signs whose rulership was never reassigned after the outer planets were found, so traditional and modern sources agree here.

What does it mean that Aries is a cardinal fire sign?

Aries belongs to the fire triplicity, which classical sources describe as hot and dry, which it shares with Leo and Sagittarius. Cardinal signs open a season: the Sun enters one at each equinox or solstice. The pairing of one element with one modality is unique to each sign - twelve signs, four elements, three modalities - so fire plus cardinal identifies Aries and no other sign. Polarity is active, alternating around the zodiac so that every sign sits between its two opposites in polarity.

Which planets are strong or weak in Aries?

Sun is exalted in Aries, Saturn is in fall here, Venus is in detriment here. Exaltation and fall are a fixed table inherited from Hellenistic astrology, not a judgment computed from the chart: they say a planet is easier or harder to work with in that sign regardless of anything else in the figure. Detriment is simply the sign opposite the one a planet rules. A planet with no listed dignity in Aries is called peregrine, which means unaspected by dignity rather than weak.

What are the three decans of Aries?

0 to 10 degrees is subruled by Aries (Mars); 10 to 20 degrees is subruled by Leo (Sun); 20 to 30 degrees is subruled by Sagittarius (Jupiter). This is the triplicity system, where a sign's three decans go to the three signs of its own element in zodiacal order, starting with itself. A competing Chaldean system assigns decan rulers by planetary order instead and produces different rulers for the same degrees, so a decan reading is only meaningful once you know which of the two systems it came from.

Aries

03-21 - 04-19 · fire · cardinal · active

Dignities

Ruler: ♂ Mars
Exaltation: ☉ Sun
Fall: ♄ Saturn
Detriment: ♀ Venus
Symbol: Ram

Hellenistic tradition

Aries is the domicile of Mars and exaltation of the Sun in Hellenistic tradition. Associated with initiation, the spring equinox in the tropical zodiac, and the cardinal beginning of the year.

Modern Western reading

Modern Western astrology associates Aries with initiative, assertion, and individual identity. As the first sign, it is traditionally read as the principle of self-starting action.

Same element

Decans

Planets in Aries

Compatibility with all signs

All Aries compatibility detail →

Questions

What dates does the Sun spend in Aries?: Roughly March 21 to April 19. These are tropical-zodiac dates, measured from the equinox rather than from the constellation of the same name, and the exact ingress moves by up to a day or so between years because the tropical year is not a whole number of days. If a birth falls within a day of either boundary, the sign has to be computed for that specific date and time - a fixed date table will get some of those cases wrong.
Which planet rules Aries?: Mars, in both the classical and the modern scheme. Aries is one of the signs whose rulership was never reassigned after the outer planets were found, so traditional and modern sources agree here.
What does it mean that Aries is a cardinal fire sign?: Aries belongs to the fire triplicity, which classical sources describe as hot and dry, which it shares with Leo and Sagittarius. Cardinal signs open a season: the Sun enters one at each equinox or solstice. The pairing of one element with one modality is unique to each sign - twelve signs, four elements, three modalities - so fire plus cardinal identifies Aries and no other sign. Polarity is active, alternating around the zodiac so that every sign sits between its two opposites in polarity.
Which planets are strong or weak in Aries?: Sun is exalted in Aries, Saturn is in fall here, Venus is in detriment here. Exaltation and fall are a fixed table inherited from Hellenistic astrology, not a judgment computed from the chart: they say a planet is easier or harder to work with in that sign regardless of anything else in the figure. Detriment is simply the sign opposite the one a planet rules. A planet with no listed dignity in Aries is called peregrine, which means unaspected by dignity rather than weak.
What are the three decans of Aries?: 0 to 10 degrees is subruled by Aries (Mars); 10 to 20 degrees is subruled by Leo (Sun); 20 to 30 degrees is subruled by Sagittarius (Jupiter). This is the triplicity system, where a sign's three decans go to the three signs of its own element in zodiacal order, starting with itself. A competing Chaldean system assigns decan rulers by planetary order instead and produces different rulers for the same degrees, so a decan reading is only meaningful once you know which of the two systems it came from.

Reference, not advice

This is cultural and astronomical reference, not personal prediction or advice.

Tropical zodiac dates are astronomical conventions. Traditional interpretations are paraphrased from primary classical and modern sources. See sources and methodology.

Sources

Last reviewed 2026-05-28.