Let’s imagine you were born on March 31^st, and “you are an Aries”. Someone tells you that Aries people are reckless, easily bored, competitive, and quick to anger. And maybe you think “hey, that’s not me at all!” and you conclude that astrology just doesn’t work.
You’re not alone there, I also don’t recognize myself in the traditional descriptions of my sign (Cancer: emotive, in touch with their feelings, and loyal).

How come we don’t recognize ourselves in the personality traits associated with our signs?

Reason 1: we have a lot of other energies.

When you say “I’m an Aries”, you are actually referring to the fact that the Sun was in the part of the sky known as Aries at the moment of your birth. The Sun spends roughly 30 days per sign, and goes around all the signs in one year, so if you were born between March 21^st and April 19^th, your Sun sign is Aries. But the Sun is not the only source of information in your birth chart! At the moment of your birth, all the other planets were also in a sign, and it could be a different one from your Sun. For example, you could have Mercury, Venus, Mars, and the Moon in Taurus: then chances are you would feel more like a Taurus than an Aries!
(If you are curious, there are several websites where you can check your birth chart for free online, for example at: astro-charts.com)

Reason 2: keywords are limited.

Astrological signs are beautiful and complex energies, each one could be the object of a big book. For convenience, they’ve been shortened to keywords, but these are quite limited. It’s true that someone with Aries energy could be competitive, and want to win at all costs, even if they have to trample others underfoot. But only a small number of people will express Aries energy in that way. Some may be brave in the face of danger, others may be reckless. And some may be brave at work, and reckless when partying with their friends. Astrology is a complex art, and keywords, though sometimes useful, can be too simplistic.

Reason 3: keywords are static.

Astrological symbols point to energy, and energy is always in movement. Saying you “are” an Aries is actually an oversimplification. It would make more sense to say that you are “learning to be” an Aries. Signs point to a mission, and possible strategies to fulfill this mission. Staying with the example of Aries, we could say that people with Aries energy are challenged to develop courage. How do they do that? By confronting their fears! It could be any type of fears: height, snakes, public speaking, crowds, small spaces, or fear of failure, the list is endless… And so we’re pointing here to a process. At first we are afraid, and as we conquer our fears, we become more self-assured.

Stay tuned for more mind-expanding articles