Linda Goodman's Sun Signs (7 page)

When he gets a little older, you may get the breath squeezed out of you with one of his loving bear hugs. Aries children are usually affectionately demonstrative, except for the few Mars youngsters whose early emotional experiences freeze their normally warm hearts. These are the sad, quieter little sheep. But their horns are just as dangerous.

Better not ask relatives to babysit without warning them. If poor Aunt Maude bravely takes him while you have a brief vacation, things could become a little strained. She'll catch your Aries tot with his busy hand in the sugar bowl, and probably make the mistake of stamping her foot in displeasure. That will both surprise and outrage the little ram into stamping his own small foot, and bursting out with his first complete sentence, “Aunt ‘Mod'—don't you
tell
me sumpin'.” So quaint. Bet she won't “tell him something” again soon. (You might have to come home a little early. He broke his big toe when he stamped his foot.)

As he grows older and stronger, after having fought measles, mumps and chicken pox, and won hands down (a battle with germs is no contest with the quickly recuperating Mars nature), your Aries child will begin to show a pattern of temper. You'll notice that he or she can be most unreasonable when thwarted, but the anger won't last long. After a periodic explosion, the Aries boy or girl will beam a large, bright and winning smile your way.

He'll share his toys with amazing generosity with you, his playmates, the mailman, the neighbor's bulldog and the alley cat. However, his generosity will end if one of them hurts his feelings or gets in the way of something he wants to do or somewhere he wants to go. Then look out for fireworks.

Aries boys and girls may fall into the early habit of neglecting homework, and using your more obedient little Capricorn, Cancer, Virgo or Pisces child as an example will hardly impress him. (I'm assuming you don't have more than one Aries offspring. The planets don't do that to parents very often.) Instead of shaming the Mars youngster into studying, challenge him. He'll lap up a challenge like that favorite stray alley cat of his laps up cream. Just tell him (or her) that he's probably just slow, or not as bright as the other students, inferior in some way, but you don't mind. You love him anyway. My! How the dust will fly off those schoolbooks, as he sets out to prove what a ridiculous theory
that
is. Someone who can top him? That will be the day—or night.

After you've watched the magic of such strategy at home, tip off his teacher. She'll get down on her knees and thank you. If she has more than one Aries student in her class, she may send you a five-pound box of candy. Actually, Mars youngsters can learn anything in nothing flat, never forget it, and breeze through their studies, if they apply themselves. Not all parents know how to accomplish this. They may spend years wondering why Mike and Maggie test with such a high I.Q., and still manage to stay in the third grade for four years. They needn't worry too much, however, because little Mike and Maggie will make up for lost time with the speed of a bullet, once they get out in the world and find out people are smarter than they are. A couple of humiliations to the Mars ego, and they'll cram so fiercely, they'll skip a few grades.

Your April youngster will have a vivid imagination; he'll be as dreamy and sentimental as a storybook, but he'll know very well how to get his bread toasted at the same time. If there is such a contradictory thing as a hard, practical idealistic dreamer, it's your Aries child. He's as naive as he is tough; as gentle as he is pushy. All these conflicting traits are woven into his fiery little nature. You'll marvel at it and wonder about it. So will your friends later on, not to mention his boss, his future enemies and the unsuspecting soul he marries.

Aries children will take the lead with playmates, start new games and invent new ideas for the gang. They'll insist on having their own way or butt their heads against authority, so you'd better decide to set down some firm rules in the beginning. The Aries child who isn't trained to obey in his youth will be taught some crushing lessons in maturity. Remember that his heart is as soft as butter, and it hides deep-seated fears of being disliked and unloved, despite his brave front. Rejection of his bright dreams or dampening of his exciting enthusiasm, will send him running home to you in tragic tears. Hold him very close when this happens. His heart will be broken. For all his rash domineering ways, the Aries idealism is sensitive and it bruises with the slightest bump. He'll be getting plenty of those bumps on his naive, hope-filled optimism during his lifetime, and he needs more protection against them than you might think.

He believes in fairy godmothers with magic wands, and giants who can topple over whole cities with one sweep of a powerful hand. Unfortunately, Aries children naively identify with these two omnipotent types. When they discover that there are giant killers out there in the brutal world—and blunt realists, who can make those magic wands pathetically impotent, they'll take some hard tumbles. But they'll get back up, brush themselves off, and push forward again indefinitely.
They'll
teach that dull, unimaginative old world a thing or two! There may be a few scars before it's over, but don't count your Mars child out of the fight, no matter how many times he's knocked down. Wait for him to holler “Uncle.” You may have a long wait.

Hide birthday presents in a safe place. He'll be impatient, and unwilling to wait for surprises. Don't destroy his faith in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny too soon. To first believe fiercely, and then learn not to believe, toughens his emotions. It's a necessary lesson. His allowance will burn a hole right through his pocket, but he'll cheerfully give you his last dime for the milkman. Your Aries daughter may pay the neighborhood bullies a nickel a day to stop stepping on ants. An Aries child handled harshly in the impressionable years can show a defensive cruel streak, but guided gently and wisely, he'll insist on his rights with less force, and show a gigantic generosity and sympathy for his fellow man. Don't give him orders, always ask him to do things with a cheerful smile, and he'll knock himself out to please you. Never destroy his confidence. It's as important to him as the air he breathes. He may run away from home; the Mars independence shows early, but he'll come back wiser. Teach him that it's unkind to dominate meeker youngsters. He truly does not want to be unkind.

Being around cold, negative people can wound him deeply, but nothing will ever break his spirit. (Remember the diamond.) He'll probably be wild about books and be an excellent reader, yet he may not be anxious to settle down to four years of college. Aries is too interested in getting into the action of chopping down all those challenging beanstalks. But don't give up too quickly. He can use the additional discipline of higher education to help his mind catch up with his flaming emotions and sudden, puzzling bursts of sharp intuition. The more he balks at the idea of a rigid scholastic schedule and prefers the freedom of trying out a few jobs, the more you can be sure he needs the schedule.

He'll have to learn responsibility, but you'll teach him this and other things faster through direct logic and honest affection. Both appeal to him. Parents and teachers should never forget that Aries children glow under praise and doggedly proceed to top their own efforts, but they sputter like firecrackers under attack and lose all incentive to try. Tell him what you like about him, and he'll do less that you don't like. Aries youngsters live up to exactly what's expected of them, including those who hide their burning drive under a calmer personality. This child must always be kept busy, or he'll wander into trouble. Idleness spells danger. He needs stacks of sleep to renew all that scattered, misplaced energy.

He'll love stories about brave, shining heroes, who conquered new worlds. But he also believes in leprechauns and wishing wells, and he'll continue to believe in them long after you've bronzed those little Aries baby shoes and welcomed the first grandchild. If you lead your Mars child gently, with constant love, he'll grow up with the wonderful power to dream the impossible dream—and make it come true.

The Aries boss won't be popular with lazy employees. If you're looking for a temporary soft spot to fill in the time while you seek a permanent career, or a place to pick up a little spending money during a lull in your life, you'd be well advised not to work for an Aries. This woman simply can't abide half-hearted work or a lack of enthusiasm in those around her. She'll expect you to be as devoted to the company as she is, and just as intently concerned with its future potential. She'll probably hire you fast, promote you fast—and point out your mistakes just as quickly.

If she suspects you are coasting, you're liable to get a blunt and direct-to-the-point tongue-lashing, with no feelings spared, but you'll also get a second chance, perhaps even a third or fourth one, if you admit you're wrong and promise to do better. You might as well be prepared to work overtime for the Aries boss frequently. She'll expect it. On the other hand, if she's a typical Aries, she probably won't frown at the clock or glance at his wristwatch when you arrive late in the morning or take an extra half hour or hour for lunch. She's not a clock watcher herself. Because of his highly individual personality, she'll understand that you can't turn on creativity like a light switch at nine in the morning and turn it off again at five in the afternoon. She's a boss who will often ask you to work an extra Saturday, but she's also likely to accept the excuse of your grandmother's funeral when you want to attend that baseball game, though you'd get the time off just as easily by telling the truth. She can see why, on sudden impulse, you'd like to root for your team on a spring day.

Though she'll usually be generous with vacations, salaries, raises and all such matters, she'll fully expect you to drop everything—personal plans, emotional ties, travel commitments or what-have-you—if something of great importance pops up at the office. I hate to say it, but I do know of one Aries boss who had a business crisis requiring the round-the-clock services of a valued employee. The fact that the business emergency occurred on a day this employee was due to get married was incidental.

The Aries boss couldn't understand why the wedding couldn't be postponed, including the honeymoon, for an urgent meeting concerning a million dollar deal which could put the company on the big board. She would be willing to delay his own marriage for such a crisis, so why wouldn't you? What's the matter, aren't you loyal? This is admittedly an extreme case, but you've been warned.

It's a rare Aries boss who isn't more lavish than the ordinary employer at Christmas-time. Depending on how strong an Aries she is, you can count on getting a larger bonus check than your friends in other offices—or even a hand-picked, expensive gift, which could be something you've been wanting for a long time. A Mars boss is not likely to be stingy (unless there's a conflicting Moon sign or ascendant).

She's not as susceptible to flattery as other astrological signs, but it won't hurt you to pay her a sincere compliment now and then. If you let her know in a straightforward way that you appreciate her as an employer, you admire her efficiency and you think she's just about the smartest boss in town, your job security is guaranteed. However, do or say this only if you really believe it and mean it. She will have contempt for an employee who gurgles her praises just to make points, while she's secretly doubtful of the ram's ability to head the company. The Aries is not ordinarily a good judge of character, but she's so sensitive to other people's opinions of her that she can pretty well tell if she's disliked by those around her day after day. To be liked is her secret need. You might never guess it from her self-confident air and her brave front, but underneath all that swagger she's desperately in need of the approval of her fellow man. That includes her significant other, her dog—even the stranger on the elevator. Despite that surface independence, nothing makes her happier than to be looked up to and recognized as the capable person she knows she is. On the other hand, nothing can make her as depressed, cranky and sometimes downright petty as suspecting that those who work for her don't approve of her methods or don't realize her value and potential.

If you hear a rumor that the company is about to go bankrupt, don't look around for another job too quickly. You may not need a new job, after all. If anybody can pull the company out of trouble, save it at the last minute from financial disaster under the most dire circumstances, and make the entire operation seem rather like Moses parting the Red Sea, it's your Aries boss. She's independent, daring and venturesome. Her drive (unlike the more emotional drive of the Scorpio) is vital, from the spirit, and almost always idealistic. (She may lose out to the equally determined Scorpio pitted against her, however, and be unable to match the steady ruthlessness of Pluto—though she'll recover from the loss and win somewhere else.)

Aries initiates. If there's a suggestion box around the office and you drop in enough workable, creative ideas, you're almost sure to advance to a high position quickly. Aries appreciates employees who care enough about the company to make suggestions and who are original in their thinking—as long as it's perfectly clear they have no intentions of trying to outshine her.

Willpower is one of the strong features of the Aries personality. She fights off all minor ailments and she won't give in to serious illness either. Sometimes an Arien can delay or entirely prevent disease by sheer positive thinking. If she does have a cold or virus infection (probably accompanied by a high fever), she'll get dressed to come in to the office for some urgent business and by the time she arrives, the fever may be gone, to the mystification of his doctor and the suspicion of his employees that she was really at home goofing off.