Understanding Aries and Libra

Aries - Libra

In previous articles, we introduced what Zodiac Signs are; we meditated upon the Principle of Polarity operating in reality and the paradigm of Polarization conditioning our consciousness; and we talked about how astrology correlates with this. We invite you to visit these articles in order to understand what will be discussed next.

In this new article, we are going to explore the images, metaphors, and concepts that the Aries-Libra Polar Axis represent, in order to observe how all of this can be experienced in our lives.

ARIES - LIBRA POLAR AXIS

In the Zodiac wheel, Aries and Libra are located directly across from each other: together, they form an axis.

This means that, although they may appear to be opposites based on their placement, the design in fact reveals that they are actually the extreme points of one same substance; they form a polarity.

In correspondence with this, we will observe how, at first glance, the content of these symbols may seem contradictory, but upon delving into their meaning, it becomes evident that one contains and includes the other.

What do Aries and Libra symbolize?

Let’s begin by evoking some of the images and qualities that each sign represents, in order to later reflect on the inseparable link that exists between these apparent contradictions.

IMPORTANT

Remember, we are not talking about “people who are an Aries or a Libra”, but about Aries and Libra as what they truly are: symbols representing certain aspects of our existence.

Aries

Element: Fire

Modality: Cardinal

Ruler: Mars

What does Aries symbolize?

Force of initiation

Movement, Impulse

Penetrating force, Action

Individual, Self-assertion (Self)

Desire

Fight / confrontation

Libra

Element: Air

Modality: Cardinal

Ruler: Venus

What does Libra symbolize?

Perspective

Contemplation

Receptivity

The ‘Other’ (You), Connection

Seduction / Attraction

Harmony, Agreement

ARIES - LIBRA IN POLARIZATION

At first glance, anyone would say that Aries and Libra are quite opposite qualities. If I am one, I cannot be the other: in autonomy, there is no room for an ‘Other’; if there is impulse, there is no contemplation; if I am active, I am not receptive; if there is struggle, there is no harmony; and so on.

However, this is a polarized perception. It’s normal; our initial response to duality or paradox often is polarization.

But a polarized perception produces a distortion:

Aries without Libra – Polarized Aries – translates into violence, injury, tearing, invasion.
Libra without Aries – Polarized Libra – results in passivity, submission, dependence.

ARIES - LIBRA IN POLARITY

Astrology reminds us that Aries and Libra are a polarity, mutually inclusive. Let’s see how:

The Aries-Libra polarity reveals that fighting hides the search for harmony, and the search for harmony implies a struggle. Doesn’t the desire to fight against what I ‘reject’, actually derive from the belief that I will find peace by eliminating it?

And by declaring myself a "harmony keeper," am I not in fact declaring war on anything that threatens it?

Rejecting the fight as part of harmony, and agreement as part of conflict, believing them to be mutually exclusive, only expands the shadow they cast.

Action seems to oppose contemplation and vice versa. However, initiating action without being aware of it, and without contemplating where and what I am moving towards, results in something erratic, violent, aggressive, harmful; it may even mean blocking the action altogether.

One may have the impulse to move in a certain direction, but without acknowledging the wall that sits in front of them, the action will likely be thwarted, or worse, one may end up breaking through the wall, harming them both. For an action to be realized, contemplation, awareness, is necessary.

Yoga

In the practice of yoga, we first observe ourselves, accept where we are, and then move. We could use the metaphors of the Aries-Libra Axis to explain what a healthy yoga practice is. That is, a practice that respects both my body and the moment I am in, as well as my motivations and desires for challenges.

Action is enabled by contemplation.

Furthermore, a purely contemplative state that rejects an active one, results in passivity. Contemplation is more about receptiveness. Receptivity is acknowledging the ‘Other,’ opening myself to it, accepting it. This implies an active role. Believing otherwise results in submission.

“Action and contemplation/receptivity are parts of each other; one constitutes the other.”

Does absolute independence or dependence really exist?

Our culture often promotes the belief that pure individuality is possible: my desire, my decisions, my life, etc.; and, in the same way, that mutual involvement implies the absence of one’s own. But does absolute independence or dependence really exist?

From a polarized perspective, I may think that desire is something individual, arising from within myself, that I desire what I choose. In truth, my desire has been motivated by something that is not me. This means that ‘that’ which I desire, far from playing a passive role, is an active part of a dynamic. Attraction (the action of drawing towards oneself) activates desire. And to be able to desire, one must be receptive to being attracted.

The same applies to my decisions and everything else in my life that I believe to be autonomous. The Aries-Libra polarity reminds us that, in reality, nothing is purely individual, and that does not mean ceasing to be an individual.

“In nature, nothing exists alone”; everything is in connection. Everything that is not me is part of what I am. This is perhaps one of the most difficult paradoxes to perceive and acknowledge, but undoubtedly one of the most enriching.

CONCLUSION

This article aims to be an invitation to rethink our perception. It in no way seeks to morally judge, nor does it set any guidelines to follow or objectives to be achieved.

What’s interesting is being able to perceive that often our suffering arises from a polarized perception of reality. For example, if I find myself feeling submissive, passive, invaded, overwhelmed, in tension from trying to avoid confrontation, or on the contrary, if I find myself engulfed in too much conflict, clashes, aggressiveness, injuries, anger, perhaps a polarized perception of the Aries-Libra axis is operating within me. Recognizing this allows us to bring the poles closer together and decrease the tension inherent in polarization.

20hs Anatomy

80hs Vinyasa

80hs Yin