Foreground: Maplewood Cemetery, Charlottesville, Virginia. MARS is the ruler of ARIES, the first sign of the Zodiac; a cardinal, active, initiating sign. MARS is the Roman god of WAR...there is no contemplation only action; RAW energy prevails. March was named for MARS and not coincidentally within twenty-four hours of the WAR beginning in Iraq on March 20, 2003, the sun began it's transit through ARIES. Natal chart courtesy CHARTPLANET.com. Graphics © STUDIOVALENTINE.com.