One of the highest meanings of Aries energy is that Aries is rigpa – naked, raw, awakened Awareness. This associates well with Uranus hierarchically ruling, and with the crown center -highest of the head centers- implied by  Uranus whose “head chakra” faces the Sun as well as  Aries ruling the physical head. Rigpa can also be symbolized by Mercury, which esoterically rules Aries, in that Mercury is the antahkarana, the linkage of alignment from physical manifestation to the unwordable and profound. These inferences give meaning to the Bailey given keynote for Aries, “I come forth, and from the plane of mind I rule.”

On an initial pondering this keynote is describing the Soul -the incarnating consciousness- coming from the plane of Manas (Mind) and ruling an incarnation. The Soul incarnate is the life force (Aries). It is also the director of its intentions (Aries). Higher “self” exerts its will and purpose through physical plane events and circumstances as well as through passions, desires, and sense of personal self. All these are Aries again. One comes forth as a person (represented by the 1st house), but it is the Soul that is actually ruling the incarnation by its predetermining seeds of karma and purpose.

The personality that we commonly identify with comes forth, but it is a aggregation of karmic seeds and positive intention. These have attracted beauty, friends, circumstances, parentage, and such which then display as the current incarnation. The higher self is still the ruler, though, in that the seeds chosen and the intention set was done by the higher nature.

From our earliest months, we are mind-beings: constantly learning, expressing, and bringing more of our self forward like a plant does in Spring. Personality thinks it rules, thinks is has some control over events, circumstances, and life but the options we have are, themselves, karmic displays. We merely work with the options given us.

Human beings are not always mindful. Passions, enthusiasm, and self will combine in  Aries fashion, and we are taken up by the desire of the moment. In that moment, the fires of desire-mind rule us, and this dynamic repeats countless times a day. mind-Mind-MIND is quite a range but we tend to function within the desire-mind range.

The zodiacal wheel begins with Aries. This signals that no matter what sign one is born under, human beings are Aries essentially. The Sanskrit word for this is manasaputra, or manasadeva. We are born from the mind that has previously been (karma and passion-mind) and we are – in essence – enlightened mind: rigpa.

Rigpa is naked Awareness, so pure as to be beyond any concept or requiring any definition. Yet while identified in Mind, we try to describe Awareness, seek to understand ourselves through concept, and think that we have to stretch to reach rigpa. But no. Rather, to allow the raging light of enlightenment to rule is the only needed activity. We, then, realize that we are, and everything is, the sparking of awareness – perfect, bright, dark, empty, full, and non. This is the profound turn of the spiral of Aries – this Awareness-MIND.

Buddhamind is another word for rigpa, but only because we feel that words are needed. What if profound Aries: Uranus, Shamballa Aries, rigpa Aries- is reminding us of the in-the-moment freedom that IS right now: the rigpa that MIND actually IS?

Join us for free online meditation for the Aries full moon on Friday, March 30 at 8 pm ET. Here’s the link.

* original posting was March 2013.