I was born under the astrological sign of Aries, the ram. Two days later and it would have been Taurus, the bull. Mother, bless her heart, told me she really wanted her baby to be born on a Sunday. I don’t know why. I don’t think she thought about astrology. Well, ever the doting son, I arrived just after noon on a Sunday, as scheduled. I suspect I actually wanted to come days earlier. Maybe that explains why I tend to be impatient.

According to mythology, in Hellenistic astrology the sign of the ram was associated with the golden winged ram that rescued Phrixos and his sister Helle from the altar, where they were to be offered as a sacrifice to Zeus. The golden ram carried them to the land of Colchis, but on the way, Helle fell into the sea and drowned. When Phrixos arrived at Colchis he sacrificed the ram to Zeus and presented the Golden Fleece to his father-in-law, the King of Colchis. The fleece was then hung upon a sacred oak and guarded by a dragon, until rescued by Jason and the Argonauts. The myth recounts that Zeus was so moved by the ram’s fate that he gave it the greatest honor possible, that of being moved to the heavens.

Although the zodiac element of Aries is fire, I am not passionate about many things, but I’ve been known to blow up on occasion. Still, I don’t see myself as a fiery person.

Another Aries quality is cardinal. All I can say is that deep scarlet is my favorite color. Maybe reading about the zodiac sign has unduly influenced me, but I doubt it.

The ruler of the Aries sign is Mars, the Roman god of war. Mars represented military power as a way to secure peace; Mars had a love affair with Venus. I hesitate to comment on how that might affect me, however, considering that Venus is seen as a detriment in the Aries sign, I wonder. I’ve been wedded four times, although my last marriage, nearly 23 years ago to Barbara Kay, took. Perhaps, like John Gray’s book, Men are from Mars, Women Are from Venus: The Classic Guide to Understanding the Opposite Sex, suggests, my first three marriages were doomed — it was a Venus-Mars matter. No further comment.

Under Aries, the exaltation is the sun. All I can say is that I like being in a sunny clime. That’s why I’ve decided to settle in Mexico. Thankfully, Barbara loves the area we’re headed to, too.

Anyway, most of my life I paid little attention to the astrological sign I was born under. Yet, as I grew older and thought about events in my life, and my behavior generally through the years, I thought about Aries and the ram sign. I considered what I’d experienced in life, and compared those experiences with what people who specialize in horoscopes wrote, like the late Sydney Omarr.  I often found I could fit what astrologists stated to some small event that had happened to me on any given day. It was easy to read in what I wanted to see.

The bottom line is, while I’m unsure about a connection between the alignment of planets and my individual actions, I do feel we humans generate energy that can cause things to happen. I say “things,” because I can’t put a label to it. I’ll leave that to the specialists.

I recall seeing a large billboard on Cahuenga Boulevard, where the winding pass from the San Fernando Valley entered Hollywood, when I was a youngster. It displayed a couple with clasped hands, and the phrase, Prayer Changes Things. I wonder about the energy thing and the power of group prayer. I have read that when people concentrate in unison on one specific thing, positive results sometimes follow.

Anyway, I am fascinated by astrology and phenomena that can’t easily be explained; but, honestly, I rarely read books on the subject.

One other thing. For years, number 48 was my favorite. I was born in the fourth month, when there were 48 states, and World War II ended when I was eight. But the number has never been lucky for me. I have never won a thing by betting on it. I still like the number, though. A good reminder that winning isn’t everything!