Aries and Scorpio

Had the pirates kept together it is certain that they would have won; but the onset came when they were all unstrung, and they ran hither and thither, striking wildly, each thinking himself the last survivor of the crew. Man to man they were the stronger; but they fought on the defensive only. .…

In their secret hearts, Aries men and women rather like to fancy themselves as colorful, fierce pirates. After all, pirates are brave, romantic and dashing. But like the pirate crew in Neverland, Aries often dissipates the Mars energy in the premature exposure of emotional reaction, fighting on the defensive. A Ram never attacks unless struck first. Remember that Aries is the symbolic Infant of the zodiac, and infants don’t yell unless they’re ignored, or someone jabs them with a sharp safety pin. After all, it’s the only defense they have against pain or neglect. When more serious danger threatens, their guardian, Mars, comes to the rescue.

Scorpios, however, are masters of the offensive—an offensive laced with clever, cool strategy, exquisite patience and an uncanny sense of the weakness of others. You won’t find Scorpios coming unstrung, running hither and thither, or striking wildly. When they strike, it’s straight on target, with deadly precision. Anytime you’re stung by the tail of the Scorpion, you know you’ve been stung. That’s why people seldom mess around with Pluto power the second time. Once is usually more than enough.

Still, it’s almost impossible to feel sorry for Scorpions (although offering sympathy to a Scorpio is rather like lending a dollar to the Agnelli family, of Italy—or the Middle East oil czars). It must seem tiresome to watch people recoil when they discover you were born in November.

An Aries friend of mine has a trusted administrative assistant he had always thought was the dearest, as well as the most efficient woman in the world. Then one day he inadvertently found out that Molly was a Scorpio. He nearly went into a state of shock. It was as though he had been harboring a serpent in his office. His loyal Molly—a Scorpio? The normal Mars courage plummeted to rock bottom as the Ram reacted to this frightening astrological blow. When he grew calmer, he remembered Molly’s hard work over the years, her valor beyond the call of duty, her efficient cool in emergencies—and yes, her sometimes rough tongue.

At that very moment, Molly, who was getting out the mail, held up a letter and said, Considering you dictated this, it doesn’t sound too bad. Translated into Scorpio language, that meant: Your creative expression is improving.

My Aries friend felt a warm glow, as if he had received praise from on high. He had. So he ventured to remark, Listen, about your being born in November.…

Scorp glanced up from the computer, threw him a hypnotic stare through the gathering steam in the air (from Fire and Water) and said, Yes? What about it? The Ram then murmured, Oh, nothing, Molly. Nothing at all. I was just wondering what to get you for your birthday.…

Now, if you know anything about astrology, you know that’s not a typical reaction from an Aries employer. Or any other kind of Aries person. Rams don’t back down for anyone.

Strangely, a Ram won’t normally push ahead immediately with a Scorpio, as he or she will with those born under all other Sun Signs. There’s something about those compelling Pluto eyes, reflecting a quiet poise and hidden strength, that flashes a message to the Ram: Beware. This still water runs very deep. And it could drown you. You’re only a paper Ram, and a Ram is a member of the sheep family. You’re out of your element with me. You’re in the big ocean now, way over your head, full of sharks, seaweed, odd nocturnal creatures, hidden reefs and mystery.

That’s where all Scorpios originally came from—the sea. If they’re also found on the desert these days, the burning sands are no less a strange territory to Rams.

Aries instinctively absorbs the message, which is danger. Ah, DANGER! It’s the one word that will excite the Ram to action, so the initial caution is soon replaced by the Mars forward charge, rising to meet the challenge thrown down. It’s almost always a mistake. When it comes to an actual showdown, a Ram is tougher, louder and more emphatic than a Scorpion. But when things get to that point, the typical Scorpion will simply disappear, wrapped in aloof silence, leaving Aries to ponder the same old mystery. Did he (or she) leave in recognition of defeat—or because I went too far? In other words, even if you appear to win with a Scorpio, you’ll never be sure. You’ll always have to guess.

It doesn’t take many experiences for the average Ram to learn that the best method for dealing with a Scorpio is cooperation—at a safe and respectful emotional distance. The intimacies of romance are something else. Here, we’re dealing with the general vibrations of this 6-8 Sun Sign Pattern between Aries and Scorpio in a business, friendship or family relationship.

Examples of the Aries-Scorpio interaction are always valid, whatever the sex or the age of the Ram and the Eagle involved, and so, the following may be aptly and helpfully applied to any Mars-Pluto association in which the reader may be involved, by simply changing the names and the specific situation. The basics remain.

One summer, a few years previous to this time of writing, I noticed my ten-year-old Scorpio son was becoming markedly plump (well, all right, fat) and also lazy, from consuming the typical childhood diet of ice cream, cake, candy, soda pop and the nutritional poison from fast food chains—using his allowance to buy the forbidden fruit. (Actual fruit, you can’t get some kids to eat. It must be forbidden.)

Michael, I commanded rather loudly and angrily, with Mars firmness and directness, you will stop eating that junk, and you will stop now. Immediately. No more sweets will be brought into your room, and hidden on your closet shelf. Nor will you secretly fudge any more Eskimo Pies and chocolate Wing Dings with your allowance. Do you understand that? Do you hear me?

His answer was total silence. Within two weeks, he gained ten additional pounds. I then cut off his allowance, every penny of it, to punish him. Now, let’s see him find a way to get even with me! I thought. He did.

The following week, I received several phone calls from his various teachers, reporting incorrigible behavior from Mike in school, and an absolute refusal to do his homework assignments. Then, fortunately, I finally remembered that I’m an astrologer. The ban on sweets and bad food was lifted. His allowance was not only restored but increased.

Michael, I said to him, gently this time, and softly, I trust you to know better than anyone else what’s bad for your body, mind and soul—and what’s good for it. You are ruled by Pluto, the wisest, as well as the most powerful planet in the entire solar system. I’m sorry I shouted at you before. It’s just that [here, I became somewhat calculating, I must admit], well, it’s just that it hurts me to hear all those kids at school calling you ‘Whale.’ That’s not the right kind of nickname for an Eagle. I know it’s affectionate, but … … I trailed off, unable any longer to fill in the growing silence between us. This time, along with his silent stare, he answered me with a faint, mysterious smile. Inwardly, I shuddered.

I don’t expect my readers to believe what happened next, because if I hadn’t seen it with my own Aries eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it myself. This determined Scorpion-Eagle, whose inner strength and integrity had at last been recognized, actually began to make his own green salads after school, without the slightest hint from me—refused all desserts, munched apples and chewed on tangerines between meals, and stuck to a diet that would starve a Yogi. Miraculously, his secret closet cache of candy bars disappeared. All this without a single additional word from me, and with a steely will power that was honestly frightening.

His reward was a series of weekly karate lessons, where his instructors marveled at his robust health, not to mention his Scorpio death grip he taught them. He had no desire for a black belt, however. He just wanted the training as a warning to the school bullies, instinctively knowing the power of suggestion.

Karate is excellent training for young Scorps, by the way. It instills in them courtesy, respect for authority, and most important of all, it stresses defense, rather than attack.

Within two months, no one was calling the Eagle Whale anymore. His new nickname, dictated by Scorpio himself, has become MOE—and his friends would not dare call him anything else. Certainly, this humbled Ram would not dare. MOE stands for Master of Eternity. That figures, with Pluto. MOE then organized a group of his closest friends into an organization called the PEARLS (the meaning is secret, and I have no hope of ever learning it), who are dedicated to defending younger children and the elderly from all manner of Manhattan muggers.

That’s what can happen when an impulsive, bossy Ram handles an Eagle of any age, or any sex, with the proper respect. An invaluable lesson for the Aries person, when dealing with a Scorp, in this 6-8 influenced association.

With a Pluto person, Aries shouldn’t expect to find the fairness of Libra, the compassion of Pisces or the warm generosity of Leo. He (or she) may even find a basic selfishness exceeding that of Capricorn, if not that of the Ram himself (or herself).

But Scorpio is intensely loyal, and never compromises principle. This makes a big hit with the Ram, who, is also fiercely loyal, and who has an equal contempt for the compromising of ideals or integrity. Scorpio never gives in, never admits defeat. Aries is likewise dedicated fiercely to winning. Only sissies give up, and give in. Everybody knows that. These two certainly know it.

Yet, there’s another Scorpio quality, intangible, indefinable, that Aries finds impossible to fathom. Is it will power? Or is it, simply—will? It is the latter, and it’s responsible for the strong, emotionally charged aura surrounding even the quietest, apparently harmless, Scorpions.

Now, this doesn’t mean that every Scorp has to come on like Dracula. Many of these men and women have undeniably sweet and pleasant personalities. They’re interesting, intelligent and courteous. But shy, insecure and defenseless, they are not—and Aries should not allow himself or herself to be fooled by their gentle voices, their unobtrusive demeanor and lack of surface aggression. In this association, it’s always wise to remember that the elements of Fire and Water are combining, and each has the latent ability to destroy the other, which is explained in more detail in the section called The Elements at the back of this book, and in various other chapters dealing with the Fire and Air Sign compatibilities.

I know a Scorpio man who married a Scorpio woman, after a long (and naturally secret) engagement. When Herb and Donna’s first baby arrived in April, my initial impulse was to offer to adopt the child. A tiny Ram, under the restrictive dominance of two Scorps? Little Joshua must be rescued, I told myself, before his Mars ego is completely crushed. But the truth is, that Aries Joshua has benefited tremendously from the quiet discipline, and intuitive wisdom of his double Pluto-ruled parents. An evolved and enlightened pair of Eagles are an excellent example of moral courage and personal integrity for a Mars youngster, who needs and wants guidance in the right direction. Scorps are perfect teachers of will power and stability to an explosive Ram, who tends to explode in a burst of enthusiasm, then lose interest before the sparks have settled.

There is always, of course, the danger that Pluto power exercised over Mars will be too severe. A Ram of any age may be dampened by Scorpio’s Water element caution into becoming the sheep-type Arian, unnaturally introverted and self-effacing, which is definitely not desirable, because it’s a denial of the Mars birthright. In the happier Aries-Scorpio associations, however, the Ram will respond beautifully to the strength of the Eagle friend, neighbor, relative, business associate, lover or mate, and try to imitate the Pluto poise, which is a decided positive result of this blend. Just so, the Scorpio half of the team tries to develop more elasticity of viewpoint, in relation to the Ram’s more open nature, and far more free and friendly approach to life. The emotional coldness Scorpio can project at times is capable of breaking the warm Aries heart, as well as his (or her) spirit, and self-confidence.

There will be occasional moments when the Scorpio’s penetrating gaze of angry disapproval, or thwarted will, can be downright spooky to an Aries, causing the Ram to inwardly quake, never mind his or her Mars rulership. I know a Scorpio father who, when he was frustrated beyond further discussion by the contrariness of his three sons (one of them an Aries), would simply grow stone-silent for a few seconds, then speak, in a sepulchral voice, the ominous Pluto words: ‘I’ll remember this. It’s rather a healthy idea for all Rams involved with Scorpions to remember that. Meaning, the Eagle will never forget an injury. Never. Nor will the Scorp man, woman or child ever forget an act of love or kindness. It’s much safer and happier to give them the memory of the latter, and avoid the former, whenever possible.

Some Scorpions become slaves to their own wills. So much so that the Eagle will persist in a purpose, even when it’s become obvious that the continuation of a certain course will surely lead to self-destruction. Aries well understands that kind of intense, later-regretted compulsion.

But Aries is a Positive Fire Sign—the reckless, Mars-driven crusader, stirred emotionally by dedication to a cause, and the excitement of a dangerous mission. Scorpio is a Negative Water Sign—the seasoned veteran, possessing a deep sense of realities and the strength to endure hardships, with no illusions about the glamour of marching bands, uniforms and decorations for bravery. Their strategies are very different. Aries defends fiercely, in the front lines. Scorpio attacks suddenly, unexpectedly, from the rear. At war, these two Sun Signs are natural enemies. Peace is better—and it begins with Love.

Aries Woman and Scorpio Man

The kiss that had been for no one else Peter took quite easily. Funny. But she seemed satisfied.

A Scorpio man penetrates life to the core. He has an almost superhuman capacity to face the facts about himself and others. So it can be a little frightening when he lets you backstage to see what’s really going on behind his mask of unshakable self-confidence. What does a woman do when she’s been trusted with a secret like that? If she’s an Aries, she usually falls in love with an Unbelievable intensity.

He may permit her to share parts of him never before revealed to anyone else. That’s because he admires the absence of feminine guile in her nature. He responds to her fresh innocence and faith in him, and he’s touched by her loyalty. Somehow, this man senses that the Aries woman, unlike her sisters of the other Sun Signs, won’t use her knowledge of his inner being against him. Revenge is never an Aries weapon. Although retaliation is something he understands and uses himself, in a strange way that only makes him appreciate the Ram’s lack of it even more. Consequently, there can be a depth to the love between Aries and Scorpio that’s seldom equaled for sheer passionate devotion and spiritual closeness.

Since neither of them is ever satisfied until they’ve drained the cup of romance of its last drop of pleasure, emotionally they’re well matched and mated. Mentally, they’re about as far apart as two people can get and still remain members of the same human race.

His Pluto mind is shrewd, critical, cautious and skeptical. Her Mars mental processes are careless, direct, impulsive and uncomplicated. This distance between their mental outlooks can take one of two paths. It can add intrigue and glamour to their relationship, based on the law that opposites attract—or it can break the law, and widen into such a chasm, that they find it impossible to communicate, even on those levels where they’re alike and sympathetic. Which way it goes depends almost entirely on the Sun-Moon aspects between their horoscopes.

Before the affair reaches the point of a forever scene, however, this man will have asked a few searching questions, and no one asks searching questions more thoroughly than a Scorpio, even when he asks them only with his eyes. Will she take the cold, hard truth from him, which he’ll hand her frequently, with meekness and respect? No. She won’t. (Meekness? He has to be kidding.) Will she fall apart at his slightest Scorpion sting? No. She’ll never fall apart. Her reaction to hurt may range anywhere from a childish tantrum to violent rage. Will she moan and sniffle because he spends a few hours privately talking with a pretty woman about astral projection and ancient witch rites? If he does what? No. She won’t moan and sniffle. She will do other things. Her things. I’m willing to forget he even asked that last question, if he is. And he’d better be.

Thought for a Scorpio male reading this chapter: If she acts like that now, just think what marriage to her will be like. I see. You’ve already thought. That figures. It’s hard to tell a Scorpio anything he doesn’t already know. But here’s something he may think no one knows. Despite the answers he came up with in his compatibility quiz, the Scorpio man believes he can teach this woman to keep her cool. Besides, her vital spirit and fiery independence fascinate him.

The trouble could start when he discovers he’ll never train this woman to completely control her emotions to match his own cool poise. Then the vital spirit and fiery independence he thought were such flashing virtues may lose their attraction. As long as things go smoothly, he’ll accept her aggressive ways. He may even enjoy them. But if she insists on forcing him to conform to an emotional pattern against his own nature, he’ll turn like a Scorpion whose tail has been stepped on—and strike. Scorpions are known for their certain retaliation against being trod upon, even when it’s accidental. But who would ever step on a Scorpion’s tail deliberately anyway? A Ram would.

When a Scorpion is confronted with a situation he finds unbearable, he doesn’t waste time trying to push it out of the way, like Taurus—devising schemes to evade it, like Libra—or accepting it as fated, like Pisces. Nothing will do but the total annihilation of the obstacle to his peace of mind. For example, if it’s a religious dogma against his own principles which someone is trying to shove down his throat, merely to attack the offending church itself is a trifling action, beneath his Pluto Power. He’ll set out to destroy the roots and branches of all religion, and become a militant atheist. If a hardened criminal breaks into his home and steals from him, merely to help the law apprehend the man is far too mild. Dishonesty has threatened him personally; therefore dishonesty must be wiped out of existence—even if it means the electric chair for the worst offenders—and a long jail term for six-year-olds who snitch Hershey bars. When it’s a romantic injury he’s suffered which has brought him emotional pain, simply to demolish the woman and their love affair is not enough. He’ll turn the incredible force of his will into a scorching, bitter condemnation of all intimate relationships, and the institution of marriage itself. With Scorpio, nothing is done in halfway measures (including devotion, loyalty, and integrity, of course). Pluto men build all the way up to heaven—or destroy all the way down to hell. That’s why they’re so interesting.

Admittedly, interesting may not be exactly the right word, but any Mars-ruled female will get the general idea. It’s the old appeal of masculinity, virility and strength. Still, it would be wise for the Aries woman who is about to form an attachment with a Scorpio man to consider carefully his Pluto nature before she exposes her bright fire to that flood of rushing water. If she has anything to say about it, I mean. She may not. The magnetism of Scorpio practically guarantees this man success in whatever he’s after, including her. Remaining detached in the face of a Scorpio romantic assault requires an objectivity most Rams don’t possess, especially in view of the fact that this is a 6-8 Sun Sign Pattern. Aries is the sixth astrological house of Service to Scorpio. Scorpio is the eighth house of Sex to Aries. And that’s about the way it wraps up. She serves him in many ways, with surprising docility, and he provides sexual fulfillment for her. Naturally, the inter-change is not always quite so plain and simple. But basically, their relationship will unfold a curious inclination on her part to submit to this man and allow him to be her Svengali, while he satisfies her deepest desire for physical proof of the kind of complete and eternal love she needs. Their sexual attraction can continue into old age, with none of its original passion dimmed. After death, it can burn just as intensely on the spiritual plane.

This is a couple most likely to walk out on the porno films with explicit sexual scenes. Don’t believe everything you’ve read about Scorpio. Such a public display of intimacies will usually offend the Eagle’s ingrained sense of the privacy of human relations to the same degree that it offends her idealism. The only area where sex can cause problems between them is her tendency to exaggerate his strong appeal for women into accusations of unfaithfulness—or if his typical Scorpio suspicion should cause him to interpret her free and friendly manner with all men as flirting. He should realize that she’s too honest and full of ideals about love to commit adultery without extreme provocation, and even then, she’ll confess it almost before it happens.

Conversely, she must understand that, for all of his passionate inner involvement with sex, the Pluto concept of love is based on purity and integrity. When his needs (which are considerable) are satisfied at home, he’ll remain absolutely immune to the wiles of other women, even if one should openly try to seduce him on the street (which is always a possibility with Scorpios). That makes the question of his sexual loyalty entirely her responsibility, and she’ll have to assume it or suffer the consequences.

If she can manage to tolerate his quiet air of superiority, exasperating silences and deep wells of secrecy—his somewhat stingy attitude (compared with hers) about spending money, and his iron-clad convictions of right and wrong, even when they differ from her own, she can find an enduring happiness with this man. But that’s a lot of tolerance for an Aries woman to master, and Rams are not noted for patience. It may help if she realizes that those firm convictions of right and wrong he so relentlessly and intensely clings to, were formed, on a subconscious level, from the karmic seeds of the weighing and balancing of the sign behind him, Libra—and are now forged into a solid form. It’s all part of his karmic, spiritual growing process. He really can’t help it.

If he can overlook her surges of jealousy, her financial extravagance, frequent demands for attention and her somewhat immature emotional approach to all problems, he’ll find all the woman he’s ever sought in an Aries female. But Scorpios are not, by nature, the overlooking kind. Assuming her Moon or Ascendent is in a Water or Earth Sign (with the exception of Taurus) or his Moon or Ascendent is in a Fire or Air Sign (with the exception of Libra) they can take a chance on discovering together the place where the Eagle flies … … the magical flowers that grow on the summit of the Ram’s rocky ledges.

Even without such planetary assistance, these two can simply use their Free Will, and decide to have a harmonious relationship. When Pluto and Mars combine forces, there’s literally nothing that can’t be willed to manifest, and happiness is no exception. When this man and woman make a wish on their own stars, the firmament trembles, comets streak by, and trillions of twinkling, tiny starlings chorus an obedient yes!

Aries Man and Scorpio Woman

But if I had been a weak man, he said. Good heavens, if I had been a weak man!

Might I make a helpful astrological suggestion for the Ram who is on the verge of becoming involved with a Scorpio female? Get a copy of Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler, and read it between the lines. Hedda was clearly a Scorpio woman, and the descriptions of her sometimes incomprehensible behavior will prepare him for all possibilities, even though the lady Eagle he loves may be a somewhat more average Scorp, with more subdued Pluto Power. It’s only sensible to be prepared for the worst, even if you expect—and actually receive—the best. Forewarned is forearmed, and it never hurts to be forearmed with a Scorpio.

As for the unfortunate Hedda herself, she’s admittedly an extreme example, yet an interesting study for Eagle watchers. Her cool, quiet, mysterious feminine mystique is punctuated by sudden, violent frenzies, which are puzzling, to say the least, coming from such a normally gentle, self-contained woman. Her nice, easy-going Taurus or Pisces husband is at a complete loss when it comes to comprehending her emotional needs. Then along comes a clever, worldly chap, undoubtedly an Aries, who thinks he has mastered this woman, plumbed her depths and dominated her with his masculine superiority. When she finally kills herself, all the confused man can manage to murmur is that people just don’t do that sort of thing.

Scorpios do. They can do all sorts of either strange and frightening or weird and wonderful things—and they never warn you ahead of time what they’re up to.

Granted, as I’ve already noted, Hedda is an exaggerated image of the Scorpio woman. The average Pluto-ruled female probably won’t climb to such heights of ecstasy, or plunge into such wells of despair as the unfortunate Hedda. But even if she only lets the air out of his tires when he won’t let her drive his car, or casually cuts his telephone cord when he calls another woman, a Ram who’s aware of the Scorpion tendency toward secret revolt, followed by sudden retaliation, will find life with this woman considerably less traumatic.

It’s her secret revolt, more than her sudden retaliation, that could cause the tension between these two lovers. An Aries can be driven wild by an act that, although easy enough to forgive in itself, is the result of a premeditation unknown to him. Since she’s inclined to be secretive when she’s not in action, her inexplicable surges of angry revenge can infuriate him. Rams do not like unpleasant surprises, and they simply can’t stand not to know secrets. Normal outbursts of temper he can handle, with the experience born from his own stormy impulses. But she didn’t give him the slightest hint that she was going to burn up his new Adidas jogging booties, and starch his favorite jeans. At breakfast, on Monday morning, her voice was cool and calm, her eyes burned into his, expressing their usual intense devotion, and her goodbye kiss was as passionate as ever. How was he to suspect he’d return home that night to a pair of charred sneakers and stiff Levi’s? And all because he told her on Sunday he didn’t feel like taking her to the movies, because he wanted to hike in the woods, with some old buddies from college he hadn’t seen in years.

How DARE she sock him and shock him with a surprise maneuver like that, retroactively? He’ll show her a thing or two! But by the time he’s ready to show her a thing or two, she’s not watching his fiery scene, because she’s already reverted to her silent aloofness. She’s turned off. Detached and disinterested. Also uninterested.

Scenes of this sort can rattle a Ram to the roots of his horns. What she’s done outrages him, simply because it sneaked up on him in such an … well, in such an outrageous way. Add to that her talent for cooly turning off, before he can even fight back to defend himself, and you can see why he may gradually become an aggressive, frantic shadow boxer, hitting out blindly, and never getting the satisfaction of landing a victorious punch (symbolically) on his lady Eagle’s (also symbolic) jaw. To so surprise him, after he’s already blithely forgotten the incident that infuriated her, then retreat, and refuse to even notice him or listen to his angry sputterings, is not a pattern of behavior calculated to win all the confrontations in the final tallies—for her. She might lose the last hand of her bridge game by losing him.

Actually, if the Ram will just let her win, or allow her to believe she’s won, he’ll save a lot of wear and tear on his ego, through bypassing fruitless emotional conflicts with this woman, which are destined by the stars to lead absolutely nowhere. It’s really the only way to get along with a lady Scorpion—simply permit her to satisfy herself that she has repaid the hurt or slight she’s suffered from you, then say no more about it. One of his finer rewards for such emotional control and maturity, will be her gradual and certain, deeper respect for him. Since the fighting pattern just described is the absolute only one Scorpio recognizes, it’s the only one powerful enough to keep their relationship on an equal basis. As Grandpa used to say, You can’t fight City Hall (truer even today than in Gramp’s day, in both its literal and symbolic sense). She holds the trump card—self-control. The proper way to handle and keep a woman like that is, obviously, not to lose your own control.

He can always remind himself, during his more discouraged moments, that this woman is as loyal to the man she loves as she is determined not to allow him to step on her Scorpion tail. When a lady with a Scorpio Sun Sign, Moon Sign or Ascendent falls in love, her friends, her family, her career, reputation, her suffering—all count for nothing. She won’t hesitate for a second to openly show her scorn for anyone who threatens to stand in the way of their happiness together, to cast a shadow on their love or to harm her man in any way. A devotion of this level of intensity should make it easier to overlook the manner in which she occasionally manipulates their personal squabbles against him. Rams need to be loved all the way—or not at all. And that’s precisely how Scorpio loves. All the way—or not at all.

An Aries man who has only recently become emotionally involved with this woman may think the foregoing is an unjust summary of the character, traits and personality of his dearly beloved. That’s because he was picturing the retaliatory attacks, followed by instant withdrawal, which were just described, as a kind of black-widow-spider operation. So, how could a female with such a whispery, throaty voice and gentle, feminine ways, be a closet black widow spider? She is not, of course. That’s the point. Her Pluto revenge tactics needn’t resemble something out of a vampire movie. She’s not the Bride of Frankenstein. She’s simply a sweet, rather shy lady, who has her quiet moments, and who is sensitive.

After they’re married, he’ll learn. He’ll receive a fast astrological lesson, when he tells her—I wish you’d go shopping and buy something a little more fashionable for our dinner tonight with my boss and his wife. What you’re wearing now is rather dated and unbecoming. (Aries rules the first astrological house of personal appearance, and Rams are really quite vain about their own looks, and the looks of their loved ones. Almost as much so as Leo.) The Scorpio woman won’t scream at him in rage, because her glamour has been criticized. She’ll just smile sweetly and say, Of course, darling. She’ll still be a perfect angel of womanhood when their guests arrive for dinner.

His Scorpio mate’s voice will be velvety warm and sensual when she whispers to him in the bedroom, Sweetheart, you explain to them, won’t you? I have a dreadful headache, and I’m just not up to meeting anyone tonight.

You what! he shouts. How can I explain this to them? They’re out there in the front room waiting to meet you, and you’re still in your nightgown, and you haven’t even started dinner? This could ruin my whole future! Do you realize what you’ve done to me?

His rage has not the faintest effect. She has already closed her eyes and placed the ice bag on her head, still smiling sweetly, leaving him to cope with his hungry guests alone. You see? Not like the vampire movies at all! Just a nice lady, with a headache, who’s terribly sorry she’s causing him such embarrassment. (Next time, he won’t insult her wardrobe.)

The Aries man is competent and courageous when he’s involved in a situation he can understand, but he lacks the ability to successfully oppose the type of reasoning that goes over his head. It will bewilder him when she refuses to fight him with weapons of his own choice, but it will also have the long-term effect of subduing him, which can result in a growing emotional maturity. Although loving and living with a Scorpion may be a little bumpy, it will mellow the Ram’s fiery personality and open his eyes to his Martian faults of selfishness, rashness and impulsive speech, like no other experience he’s ever had before. If he really loves her, there’s much she can teach him—and he, likewise, her.

I once met a fascinating Scorpio woman, who had just separated from her Aries husband. (He was a surgeon, a typical Mars occupation, although a not very evolved or enlightened one.) Neither of them knew enough astrology to understand, and therefore to tolerate, each other’s natures. But I got the impression they might still be in love, so I tried to enlighten her about the differences between their signs. Her marriage taught her at least one astrological lesson she’ll never forget. (Scorpios always profit from experience). Men cringe when they meet a Scorpio, she told me. They think we’re all deadly and dangerous. So now, when they ask me my Sun Sign, I just flutter my eyelashes and tell them I’m a Pisces. It works like magic!

There’s no telling how many November women are running around out there pretending to be Fish—but you’ve been warned. It’s a shame astrological ignorance makes such a disguise necessary. Scorpio women, if properly understood, are beautiful people, with an unsurpassed tenderness and an enormous capacity for love.

The sexual attraction between an Aries man and a Scorpio woman is instant and magnetic, and can be permanently fulfilling. Their physical relationship will never be indifferent or casual. Sex, combined with love, is a basic formula in the Scorpio search for personal salvation, the same kind of glory the Ram seeks to satisfy his misty ideal. He must conquer sexually, and she’ll allow him to do so, but she won’t be passive, she’ll meet him more than halfway in erotic expression. Her intense response to his lovemaking blended with her willingness to submit to him physically, represents the ultimate in ecstatic union to this man, who seeks a real woman, never a quiescent partner, yet neither a dominant mate who will try to overpower him. In his secret heart, he is the original, virile, yet pure and innocent Adam—in her secret heart, she is the original, tempting and mysterious Eve. Unless one of them has a serious Mars or Venus affliction in the natal chart (which, with these two, can lead to various forms of sadism or masochism), there will be no doubt at bedtime who is man and who is woman.

A Scorpio female can’t forgive being badly loved, in or out of the bedroom, and she may occasionally, if he’s unthinkingly wounded her, use a denial of sexual Oneness against him as a revenge weapon, which is a large mistake on her part, since it may very well turn him into an insecure, and therefore selfish, lover. He should establish his mastery from the beginning in the area of physical passion.

Scorpio is compelled to violate the unknown, in order to know, then knowing, keeps the secret. Aries plunges in recklessly, to discover truth and happiness, then shares it enthusiastically and openly. This is an essential difference between them, which can be bridged only by mutual trust and forgiveness each time it appears. When he displays his emotions carelessly, he may create pain in her heart she’ll find hard to forget, and although her outward response to his Mars fireworks may simply be a soft-spoken—Aren’t you over-reacting, darling?—there’s no determining what may be occurring within her, behind her cool mask. There’s only one answer to a question like that.

No, I’m not over-reacting. I am just being me. I was born under a different star than you, and I have to express my feelings. Don’t you want me to be true to myself? Yes, she does. She may never reveal it, or admit it … … but she does.

Aries Sagittarius
Fire—Cardinal—Positive Fire—Mutable—Positive
Ruled by Mars Ruled by Jupiter
Symbol: The Ram Symbols: Archer & Centaur
Day Forces—Masculine Day Forces—Masculine