If I had to take an educated guess, I would wager that whoever came up with that lion/lamb proverb was never schooled in astrology.

The zodiac sort of thinks we’ve got it backwards. March comes in like a mild, dreamy Pisces, and it ends aflame in an Aries battlecry. You wouldn’t know it if you were merely observing the weather’s more forgiving moods, but there’s nothing gentle or tame about initiating a new cycle. Most of us weren’t born passively. That shit requires force (they don’t call it labor for nothing), and that’s largely what Aries is all about.

Aries is characterized as a ram for this reason: for its headstrong, impetuous drive to jump into action, cost or consequences bedamned. It’s the sort of impulsiveness that would normally get us into trouble if it weren’t totally called for in this moment, but rams are pretty cocksure with those massive horns protecting their faces, and that’s part of the reason they feel so comfortable taking risks. Sometimes, waffling too close to the edge is more dangerous than jumping around with reckless abandon. Confidence is a form of insurance in its own right, and dwelling on the danger is what ultimately causes us to slip.

Aries is definitely not one to mull over its choices, but it also has a way of bouncing back from the bad ones. It’s the same reason why you hear it referred to as the warrior sign, but also as the eternal baby. It’s bold and brave, just like innocence. When we’re not jaded, we’re not as easily daunted — and when we don’t know any better, there’s never a reason NOT to just do the thing (or say exactly what you’re thinking, because manners don’t set in until one begins the slow extermination of their finest natural impulses).

A ram, a warrior, a baby, and a pioneer, Aries is the one who gets the show started, and it’s never more in its element than when it’s blazing new trails or setting new trends. It’s the moment of conception; the initial spark; the push that sets the wheel in motion. It’s not always in the business of finishing what it starts, but you can sure as hell bet that it’s never short on ideas.

As the harbinger of the vernal equinox, Aries enters the picture when we reach an equilibrium between night and day. Unlike its opposite sign, Libra, however, Aries isn’t particularly concerned with “balance” or “equality” insofar as meeting others halfway. During Aries season, “balance” is about trusting your own internal sense of equilibrium to help you land with assurance regardless of where you leap. Maybe there’s a bit of “me first” that comes with this territory, but if you really think about it, anything and everything we do always begins with us.

This is as much about asserting the self as it is about using the self as a vehicle for change. Even the greater good is made up of individuals who were (and continue to be) willing to step up to the plate. It’s the season of #yougotthis, because seeds can’t wait forever to be planted.

This post was originally published on 3/20/2017 on thedailyhunch.com.