The cycle of the zodiac begins with fire, the gift which Prometheus stole from the gods to give to man so that he might have hope and a possibility of growth and development.  And if we are to make any sense of those peculiar fire signs - Aries, Leo and Sagittarius - and their often incomprehensible but always dramatic behaviour in life and in relationships, we must, as with all the zodiacal symbolism, think for a moment about fire itself.  With all the myriad forms that fire can take we can make two general comments about it.  Firstly, it brings light into darkness.  Secondly, it cannot be contained in one shape, one size, one form.  It is volatile, unpredictable.  So, too, with those people who belong to the astrological element of fire. 

You may see some common descriptions of any fire sign in any good astrological textbook, or more reputable newspaper columns:  warm, outgoing, self-centred, dramatic, lucky.  The fire signs seem to have it all over the others in terms of sheer chutzpah.  No one can quite top an Aries for daring; no one can beat a Leo for personality and impact; no one can come miles within a Sagittarian for a roving, adventurer's eye.  But what really makes fire people tick?  All those lovely descriptions are not much use if you happen to be in a relationship with a fiery temperament and are subjected to the more exaggerated idiosyncrasies of fiery behaviour.  What does life really look like through fiery eyes, and what do they really need from a lover, a partner, a friend? 

One key thought which might help: to the fire signs, life is an endless sea of possibilities.  As long as there are opportunities to explore, open doors through which to pass, new twists and turns in a future that is still in formation and in which anything might happen, then the fiery type will be reasonably content - if contentment is a word one can apply to this restless, volatile psyche.  But as soon as you take away the possibilities, close the doors, plan the future too rigidly, and remove that little bit of chaos that makes the world go round, then the fiery type panics.  You have taken the very thing which nourishes them - their ability to shape creative things out of random possibilities.  And as soon as you've done that you've lost them.  Some people need security more than anything in the world.  Not so the fire signs.  While they like a little, too much of it is like burying them in clay.  They suffocate. 

Never mind talking to them about reality and responsibility.  They see it perfectly clearly, thank you very much.  It's just that this isn't their reality.  The 'real' world to a fire signs is secretly that fantasy world which was suppose to end when the last fairy tale book was