Your Personal Horoscope 2012: Month-by-month forecasts for every sign

Characteristics to avoid – haste, impetuousness, over-aggression, rashness

Signs of greatest overall compatibility – Leo, Sagittarius

Signs of greatest overall incompatibility – Cancer, Libra, Capricorn

Sign most helpful to career – Capricorn

Sign most helpful for emotional support – Cancer

Sign most helpful financially – Taurus

Sign best for marriage and/or partnerships – Libra

Sign most helpful for creative projects – Leo

Best Sign to have fun with – Leo

Signs most helpful in spiritual matters – Sagittarius, Pisces

Best day of the week – Tuesday

Understanding an Aries

Aries is the activist par excellence of the zodiac. The Aries need for action is almost an addiction, and those who do not really understand the Aries personality would probably use this hard word to describe it. In reality ‘action’ is the essence of the Aries psychology – the more direct, blunt and to-the-point the action, the better. When you think about it, this is the ideal psychological makeup for the warrior, the pioneer, the athlete or the manager.

Aries likes to get things done, and in their passion and zeal often lose sight of the consequences for themselves and others. Yes, they often try to be diplomatic and tactful, but it is hard for them. When they do so they feel that they are being dishonest and phony. It is hard for them even to understand the mindset of the diplomat, the consensus builder, the front office executive. These people are involved in endless meetings, discussions, talks and negotiations – all of which seem a great waste of time when there is so much work to be done, so many real achievements to be gained. An Aries can understand, once it is explained, that talks and negotiations – the social graces – lead ultimately to better, more effective actions. The interesting thing is that an Aries is rarely malicious or spiteful – even when waging war. Aries people fight without hate for their opponents. To them it is all good-natured fun, a grand adventure, a game.

When confronted with a problem many people will say, ‘Well, let’s think about it, let’s analyse the situation.’ But not an Aries. An Aries will think, ‘Something must be done. Let’s get on with it.’ Of course neither response is the total answer. Sometimes action is called for, sometimes cool thought. But an Aries tends to err on the side of action.

Action and thought are radically different principles. Physical activity is the use of brute force. Thinking and deliberating require one not to use force – to be still. It is not good for the athlete to be deliberating the next move; this will only slow down his or her reaction time. The athlete must act instinctively and instantly. This is how Aries people tend to behave in life. They are quick, instinctive decision-makers and their decisions tend to be translated into action almost immediately. When their intuition is sharp and well tuned, their actions are powerful and successful. When their intuition is off, their actions can be disastrous.

Do not think this will scare an Aries. Just as a good warrior knows that in the course of combat he or she might acquire a few wounds, so too does an Aries realize – somewhere deep down – that in the course of being true to yourself you might get embroiled in a disaster or two. It is all part of the game. An Aries feels strong enough to weather any storm.

There are many Aries people who are intellectual. They make powerful and creative thinkers. But even in this realm they tend to be pioneers – outspoken and blunt. These types of Aries tend to elevate (or sublimate) their desire for physical combat in favour of intellectual, mental combat. And they are indeed powerful.

In general, Aries people have a faith in themselves that others could learn from. This basic, rock-solid faith carries them through the most tumultuous situations of life. Their courage and self-confidence make them natural leaders. Their leadership is more by way of example than by actually controlling others.

Finance

Aries people often excel as builders or estate agents. Money in and of itself is not as important as are other things – action, adventure, sport, etc. They are motivated by the need to support and be well-thought-of by their partners. Money as a way of attaining pleasure is another important motivation. Aries function best in their own businesses or as managers of their own departments within a large business or corporation. The fewer orders they have to take from higher up, the better. They also function better out in the field rather than behind a desk.

Aries people are hard workers with a lot of endurance; they can earn large sums of money due to the strength of their sheer physical energy.

Venus is their money planet, which means that Aries need to develop more of the social graces in order to realize their full earning potential. Just getting the job done – which is what an Aries excels at – is not enough to create financial success. The co-operation of others needs to be attained. Customers, clients and co-workers need to be made to feel comfortable; many people need to be treated properly in order for success to happen. When Aries people develop these abilities – or hire someone to do this for them – their financial potential is unlimited.

Career and Public Image

One would think that a pioneering type would want to break with the social and political conventions of society. But this is not so with the Aries-born. They are pioneers within conventional limits, in the sense that they like to start their own businesses within an established industry.

Capricorn is on the 10th house (career) cusp of Aries’ Solar horoscope. Saturn is the planet that rules their life’s work and professional aspirations. This tells us some interesting things about the Aries character. First off, it shows that, in order for Aries people to reach their full career potential, they need to develop some qualities that are a bit alien to their basic nature: they need to become better administrators and organizers; they need to be able to handle details better and to take a long-range view of their projects and their careers in general. No one can beat an Aries when it comes to achieving short-range objectives, but a career is long term, built over time. You cannot take a ‘quickie’ approach to it.

Some Aries people find it difficult to stick with a project until the end. Since they get bored quickly and are in constant pursuit of new adventures, they prefer to pass an old project or task on to somebody else in order to start something new. Those Aries who learn how to put off the search for something new until the old is completed will achieve great success in their careers and professional lives.

In general, Aries people like society to judge them on their own merits, on their real and actual achievements. A reputation acquired by ‘hype’ feels false to them.

Love and Relationships

In marriage and partnerships Aries like those who are more passive, gentle, tactful and diplomatic – people who have the social grace and skills they sometimes lack. Our partners always represent a hidden part of ourselves – a self that we cannot express personally.

An Aries tends to go after what he or she likes aggressively. The tendency is to jump into relationships and marriages. This is especially true if Venus is in Aries as well as the Sun. If an Aries likes you, he or she will have a hard time taking no for an answer; many attempts will be made to sweep you off your feet.

Though Aries can be exasperating in relationships – especially if they are not understood by their partners – they are never consciously or wilfully cruel or malicious. It is just that they are so independent and sure of themselves that they find it almost impossible to see somebody else’s viewpoint or position. This is why an Aries needs as a partner someone with lots of social graces.

On the plus side, an Aries is honest, someone you can lean on, someone with whom you will always know where you stand. What he or she lacks in diplomacy is made up for in integrity.

Home and Domestic Life

An Aries is of course the ruler at home – the Boss. The male will tend to delegate domestic matters to the female. The female Aries will want to rule the roost. Both tend to be handy round the house. Both like large families and both believe in the sanctity and importance of the family. An Aries is a good family person, although he or she does not especially like being at home a lot, preferring instead to be roaming about.

Considering that they are by nature so combative and wilful, Aries people can be surprisingly soft, gentle and even vulnerable with their children and partners. The sign of Cancer, ruled by the Moon, is on the cusp of their solar 4th house (home and family). When the Moon is well aspected – under favourable influences – in the birth chart, an Aries will be tender towards the family and want a family life that is nurturing and supportive. Aries likes to come home after a hard day on the battlefield of life to the understanding arms of their partner and the unconditional love and support of their family. An Aries feels that there is enough ‘war’ out in the world – and he or she enjoys participating in that. But when Aries comes home, comfort and nurturing are what’s needed.

Horoscope for 2012

Major Trends

For those of you born early in the sign of Aries (March 21–31), 2011 was no piece of cake. There were challenges galore, yet you overcame. You worked harder, perhaps longer hours, but you saw the fruits of your labour. In spite of all the challenges, you prospered. Prosperity is still strong in the year ahead as well. Things were not easy but they were good. (The really worthwhile things in life rarely come easily.) When Saturn leaves Libra on October 5, things start to get easier. Health and energy will improve. The love situation will also improve.

Those of you born later in the sign also had prosperity and the good life last year. But you are feeling the challenges more this year – and in future years.

The main theme of 2012 (actually it began in the spring/summer of 2010) is change. Uranus entered your sign in 2011 and will be there for many years to come. Many of you divorced in the past two years or broke up serious relationships and now you are exploring your personal freedom.

Many of you have been praying for change for some time now, and it is happening. Those of you born early in the sign are having it now. Those of you born later in the sign will have it in coming years. These changes are dramatic ones – not like changing your hairstyle or job. Uranus is saying to you, ‘Yes I will bring you the change that you are praying for, but in order to do so, you must allow me to shake things up a bit.’

Love, as we mentioned, has been challenging for the past two years, but should get easier later on in the year, after October (more on this later).

Your spiritual planet, Neptune, makes a major move this year. He moves from the sign of Aquarius, where he has been for 14 or 15 years, into his own sign of Pisces. This is showing shifts in your own spiritual life and a deepening of it.

Though the romantic life is challenging, friendships seem good. You have very devoted friends these days – friends who put your interests ahead of their own.

Jupiter will move into your 3rd house on June 11 and spend the rest of 2012 there. Thus this is a year for expanding the mind – for learning or teaching and for pursuing your intellectual interests. Many of you will get new cars and communication equipment as well.

Your most important interests in the year ahead are the body, the image and personal pleasure; finance; communication and intellectual interests; love, romance and social activities; sex, personal transformation and personal reinvention; and your career.

Your paths of greatest fulfillment this year are finance (until June 11); communication and intellectual interests (after June 11); foreign travel, higher education, religion, philosophy and theology (until August 31); sex, personal transformation and personal reinvention (after August 31).

Health

(Please note that this is an astrological perspective on health and not a medical one. In days of yore there was no difference: these perspectives were identical. But today there could be quite a difference. For a medical perspective, please consult your doctor or health practitioner.)