Skip to content

1st decan of Aries: dates and rulers

The first third of Aries is raw drive: fast, direct, sometimes abrupt.

  • initial drive
  • double Mars
  • frankness
♈︎♂︎☉︎♀︎♉︎☿︎☽︎♄︎♊︎♃︎♂︎☉︎♋︎♀︎☿︎☽︎♌︎♄︎♃︎♂︎♍︎☉︎♀︎☿︎♎︎☽︎♄︎♃︎♏︎♂︎☉︎♀︎♐︎☿︎☽︎♄︎♑︎♃︎♂︎☉︎♒︎♀︎☿︎☽︎♓︎♄︎♃︎♂︎36decans
1st decan of Aries: Mars (faces), Aries (triplicity)
The essentials

The 1st decan of Aries at a glance

For you

Pure beginning means acting first, before weighing the consequences.

A strength

Starting what everyone else postpones, without waiting for the ideal moment.

Something to watch

Getting irritated by other people’s slowness and dropping a project as soon as it calls for patience.

The sign
♈︎ Aries
Decan planet
♂︎ Mars
Associated sign
♈︎ Aries (Mars)
Read more
Calculate my decan

By Thomas Guilhot · updated

The 1st decan of Aries: the meaning

This decan matches the first days of the astronomical spring, when the Sun has just crossed the vernal point.

Both systems place the same planet here: Mars, first in the series of faces and ruler of Aries in the triplicities. The resulting portrait would therefore be that of the sign without any blend, what the manuals sometimes call the “pure” Aries, without the nuance that a second ruler or another fire sign brings elsewhere.

In practice, this third is credited with a preference for immediate action. A person of this decan would float the idea of moving on Monday and have rented the van by Wednesday. They like measurable challenges, such as a race, a building project, or a tough negotiation, and they wake up when a situation stalls. Their frankness is disarming: what they think shows on their face before they even open their mouth, and they prefer a disagreement voiced openly to a politeness that hides something.

The downside would lie in duration. The enthusiasm of the start fades fast if the project gets bogged down in paperwork or waiting. Anger, quick and brief, can hurt more than intended. Handing the follow-up phase to others, and letting a night pass before answering a remark, would make this drive more durable. Keep in mind that the decan is only a touch: the Moon and the rising sign count for far more.

Sign
AriesFire, cardinal; ruler: Mars
Degrees
0° to 10°Longitude 0° to 10°
Faces (Chaldean)
MarsPlanet 3 of the Chaldean order
Triplicity
Aries (Mars)The sign itself

The 1st decan of Aries: tradition

What tradition says

Mars is here in its own domicile, and its strength would be complete.

How is it calculated?

The faces give Mars; the triplicities give Aries itself and its ruler, Mars.

Frequently asked questions about the 1st decan of Aries

What are the dates of the 1st decan of Aries?

This decan begins at the spring equinox, when the Sun enters Aries, and lasts about ten days, until the Sun reaches 10 degrees. Because the equinox shifts by a few hours from one year to the next, the boundaries move with it. The dates calculated for this year and the next two appear above; for a past birth, the calculator finds the Sun’s position.

Which planet rules the 1st decan of Aries?

Mars, in both systems. According to the Chaldean faces, the series of seven planets starts with Mars at the beginning of Aries. According to the triplicities, the first slice of a sign goes to that sign, and so to its ruler, Mars. This agreement is rare: only a handful of decans in the zodiac receive the same planet from both schools, and this is the only one that opens the cycle.

Is the 1st decan of Aries more impulsive than the others?

That is what tradition says: with Mars ruling alone, the traits of Aries (initiative, courage, impatience) would be at their sharpest here. It is a symbolic nuance, not a verdict. A Cancer rising sign or a Moon in Taurus, for example, would soften this impulsiveness a great deal in daily life, at work as well as with family.

Neighboring decans

The three decans of Aries

The decans of Mars (faces)