1100 words | 4 minute read
Welcome to my book review series! Here I only review books that I would heartily recommend. This means this series happens intermittently as I work through my enormous and ever growing to-be-read pile. I hope you enjoy my recommendations, and I am always open for ideas on what to read next!
“The Sun in your birth chart shows where life and spirit come into the world to form you. It is the keeper of your spark of spirit and the wellspring of your power. Your Sun is in Aries, so that is the flavor, the color, the type of energy that is at your core.”
I am an Aries witch. I have an Aries Sun, Venus, and Mercury, so I’m more than a little fiery—although having a Mars in Pisces makes that much more complicated! Still, when I saw this book series, I knew I immediately had to read. Astrology is an area in which I am lacking in knowledge, beyond knowing a bit about what’s in my own chart, but I know it reaches deeply into each and every facet of life, witchcraft and spiritual practice included. So a book entitled Aries Witch? I just had to have it.
I am delighted to say that this pull towards this book was for a good reason, and not just because it is a visual work of art inside. Throughout, the authors explain the effect of an Aries Sun on how you might practice witchcraft, what will come more naturally to you, and how you can develop by harnessing the fiery, cardinal power of Aries and its ruling planet, Mars. This, however, was made more complex through the addition of our Moon and Rising signs. Ivo Dominguez Jr., who wrote these sections, makes the astrology accessible for a novice like myself, and explains clearly yet concisely how our other placements affect and interact with our Sun sign.
I particularly enjoyed the accessible language throughout. Even complex concepts were explained carefully and in an easy-to-understand way. The use of analogies throughout helped with this, and I found the illustration of a magical shield through the metaphor of a cell with semi-permeable boundaries a great way to explain this concept.
Throughout, the book takes on the tone of a wise friend, guiding you into a better understanding of not just yourself as a witch but also yourself as a person. I enjoyed the chapters on how to ground oneself and how to recharge yourself through burnout (a common affliction for Aries folk who run in head-first without consideration on if we do have the energy for a project). There was also an exploration of getting triggered as an Aries, but personally I would’ve preferred some kind of concrete example of what to do in these instances instead of a vague hand-waving towards transmutation of that energy. However, I particularly found the idea of water grounding, written about by Catalina Castells, novel and so interesting that I will be bringing this into my own practice, to help quench some of the flames when they burn too hot.
These more targeted self-help sections do not eclipse the more mystical and magical, however. In the opening chapter, some indications of how we can view the Aries glyph is given, and there is encouragement to meditate on this symbol and find what it represents for you specifically. Doing this exercise was very meaningful for me, and I came out with some UPG (which I’ll keep private) that I have carried forward into my practice of harnessing this energy. Towards the end of the book as well, there is an explanation of how Aries is a spirit in itself, a complex egregore with power of its own, and a sample ritual to connect with this energy and see what you can learn from it. This is something I will be doing for myself soon, and it piqued my interest to think about the signs as their own beings with power and agency.
I also appreciated the inclusion of a spell on how to follow through on what you start to be incredibly useful for me as an Aries witch who is very likely to be AuDHD and has many special interests which result in many half-completed projects! Every spell and ritual throughout the book is also quite accessible for those on a low-income, with only a few ingredients and tools required to take part, and many ways to substitute these to personalise the spell.
Also helpful was the correspondences throughout the book. I was surprised to see many plant allies that I already work with a lot to be included! This felt like a quiet reassurance that I am on the right path, and I can take up those herbs I do not currently work with into my practice to attune it to my own energy even more (along with the other recommendations, such as crystals).
Finally, I enjoyed the look into a more mystical psychology of Aries folk, similar to shadow work (remember my critiques of this, however!) but with key changes. As Dominguez Jr. writes:
“In some spiritual systems, the importance of letting go of the ego in favour of its dissolution or merger wnth a higher consciousness is seen as a paramount goal. For Aries, their life work is about proving and improving themselves, and the same applies to their egos. Polish the jewel of your ego and executive function; don’t cast it away.”
I found this to be an interesting take in a world of talk around shadow work, the ‘higher self’, and the de-centring of our egos. While I do see the importance of the last topic in particular, considering how the ego can lead to so much hatred in our world and mistreatment of others, I do find the idea of perfecting the ego so that one can move through the world authentically (and hopefully causing less harm as we do) an interesting point. The writing by Mantineia at the end regarding embodying the Warrior archetype actively so that its more negative traits do not appear through our shadow very interesting too, as a person who tends to shy away from conflict (which is a thing I need to get better at handling, I know!).
All in all, I would highly recommend this book to my fellow Aries witches, although I wouldn’t call it a beginner how-to book at all. It is more a book for those with an already established practice, to supplement it and grow further, especially if we’re feeling ‘stuck’ thanks to a lack of intermediate (and beyond) books. While I haven’t read the other books in this zodiac series, if there anything like this one, I can see them being interesting reads for people of other Sun signs!
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