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   The Aeolian mode is also known as the 'minor key' but you should avoid the minor keys term, You should learn the modes after you learn the 'scale' because the modes are derived from the 'scale'. IF you hear someone say "Key of A minor" then they really mean "The aeolian mode in the Key of C", The more technical and specific description of this mode is the "VI. minor mode"...

   In the Key of C you use the tones 'C D E F G A B C' and the Aeolian mode for this key is simply "A to A" so you have 'A B C D E F G A', The best way to learn the simplicity of a mode is to study little 'one octave' modes which on the guitar end up being two or three strings...

"A Aeolian"...

The exact same mode on just the A string...

The exact same mode as the ones shown above but starting on the bottom string...

   The three Aeolian modes shown above use the exact same tones and are tonically the same, You will usually find at least three octaves of any chord, scale or mode so here is the same mode shown above but starting one octave higher...

NOTE: This looks like three different modes but they are tonically the exact same

   You should not try to learn the 'Aeolian mode' as a scale or series of half-steps and whole-steps, You should learn the modes as starting points within a scale and then practice playing up to the octave of the starting point, This means you should know the entire "Key of C" aka "C major scale" up to the 12th fret before you seriously study the modes...

   When you play the 'A Aeolian' mode is a matter of opinion but it may sound best when played against the 'VI. minor' which in C would be "A minor", The other 'minor modes' in the Key of C are the "D Dorian" and the "E Phrygian" modes which you should also study...