The Sun: A New Look at a Cliché Planet

The Dilemma with the Sun

The Sun is one of those planets that is really obvious to understand it’s meaning, because it is a concept that we all inherently know when we see it, but actually trying to describe it seems a little bit more challenging, at least that is to describe it with words in a way that doesn’t sound abstract or concrete. With planets like Mercury, it’s a little easier to understand what it represent, because we actually have a concept, idea, or thing to attach it to. The idea of the Sun being the self in a chart raises a lot of questions, like: what is a self, how does one know what one’s self is, what KIND of self are they— and this can just further spiral down into a rabbit hole of philosophical and psychological questions regarding the nature of self.

The Idea of the Sun

One of the biggest things for me, in Astrological delineation, is the idea of the physical characteristics, or observations, we have of the Sun say a lot about how the Sun behaves in the chart. Less abstraction is brought to the signification of the Sun when you give it a concrete idea that can be attached to it; with the Sun, this can be super hard to do because the idea of the Sun is abstract an intangible in nature, but also indescribable in nature. According to Valens, some major significations for the Sun are: “kingship, rule, intellect, intelligence, motion, public reputation, authority… the father, master, (rule over) one’s country” (Valens, Anthology, 1, 1), but Valens, in this same paragraph, also describes the sun as : “fiery and intelligent light, the instrument of perception of the soul”. The connection to the soul is apparent with Valens, but let’s check out what some other authors really have to say about the Sun. Firmicus takes a more gendered approach to the Sun, ‘The house of the Sun is Leo… how fitting… the Sun is the ruler of a masculine (diurnal) sign the Moon rules a feminine (nocturnal) one, so that each claims a sign which is suited to its own sex.” (Firmicus, Mathesis, 2, 32) The idea of the Sun and Moon only ruling one sign means that there is only one fixed mode of expression for both planets. The Sun can only express outwards, and the Moon can only express inwards. William Lilly describe the Sun as “the Solar Man usually speaks with gravity, but not many words, and those with great confidence and command of his own affection… speaks deliberately, and not withstanding his great heart (Lilly, Christian Astrology, 11, 70). William Lilly, as a Horary Astrologer, tends to place more emphasis on the fact that the Sun is significant, in personality, of being pure, confident, and gravitational— in a sense: charismatic. These are just some ideas of what other authors say about the Sun, but additionally, other authors such as Ptolemy, Dorotheus, and Firmicus seem to describe the Sun as being very vital for time, nobility, and, essentially, God.

The Sun’s Astronomy

The Sun, and all planets, becomes less abstract and more concrete when we can connect it to an idea or action that we constantly partake in, or carry out. It’s very easy to form concrete examples for Mercury, because we know what speaking and communication is, or Venus, the law of attraction, cohesion, relationships, and harmony. There are some major things about the Sun that contribute to its core meaning. I think the most obvious one is that it is an emitter of light. It illuminates all that is in darkness when it is above the horizon, and without it, everything sinks into darkness and into void; the Sun transforms all that is darkness into light. Light is what allows us to see and to make sense of things around us, because our eyes can actually detect and perceive this radiation; radiation is an expression of energy, whether it be through waves or particles, through space or a medium. Laying that foundation for light being radiation of energy is important, because it sets the framework that light is just energy that is perceivable to the human eye. With the Sun being the main bearer of light for life on Earth, we, as mortal, conscious, beings, are subjected to experiencing its light, involuntarily. We can’t “tell the sun not to shine, ‘cause you (we) said so” (Madonna, Future ft. Quavo), because it is something we are forced to experience— theres an authority associated with the sun, but it’s not necessarily bad to be subjected to the Sun’s authority and energy, because it is something that is vital to us and keeps us alive; it provides energy, as the light radiation travels from space, through time, and onto Earth, and into everything. The difference between real and artificial light (the actual Sun and a lightbulb for example) is that sunlight is provides warmth, which activates something sensory inside of us. There is heat that is being emitted from the Sun, and we can feel it’s warmth and radiance. In a sense, through light and ultraviolet light, we are experiencing the Sun’s energy. Taking this further, we experience the authority of the Sun on a day to day basis, because it is a marker of time for us. If we think about the idea of time with the Sun: our calendar is based around it, the days and nights are based around it, and what defines what a day is and what a night is. Time is central to the Sun’s signification, and because the Sun is connected to energy, radiation, and light, would this mean that time equals light, or that they are one in the same? Time is an experience or perception of reality, which is what the Sun ultimately does: help us understand or make sense of our reality through light and luminance. The Sun also does not stop shinning: it is always constant in its luminance, but due to the Earth’s diurnal rotation, we don’t always see the Sun shinning, but it is always doing it’s thing; there is a consistency associated with the Sun and it’s expression of light and energy, & whether or not you can see it.

What does the Sun represent in the chart?

You’re probably asking yourself this question after this whole digression into the physical characteristics of analyzing what the Sun does, and I have come to the conclusion is that while the Sun is a singular entity, it is informed by something of equal importance: The Moon. If we look at the Thema Mundi, we see that each planet is allocated to two signs, ex. Mercury to Gemini and Virgo, Saturn to Capricorn and Aquarius, etc, and this suggest that there is a binary in the planets expression: diurnal and nocturnal, and they are split up based on the sign that the planet rules. However with the Sun and Moon are a little different because they only rule one zodiac sign each. The Moon rules Cancer, and the Sun rules Leo. The fact that these planets only rule one signs suggest that they are ‘broken' up from some greater whole, the same way the other planets are split up to form a bigger whole, but the Sun and Moon are split for a certain reason; it suggest that there is something that is distinctively part of a greater piece since they only rule one sign, and that they are both have their own unique category as light emitters. For the Sun, there is only one method of expression for the Sun. Fire and Air elements are ‘diurnal’ or better known as outward expressing, and Water and Earth elements are ‘nocturnal’ or inward expressing. The Moon can only express it’s energy inwards, and the Sun only outwards. Which means that the Sun in Moon need each other to exist, or rather inform each other, because they are fundamentally part of some greater, planet, idea, or concept, since they are in a binary/polarity with each other, in terms of how light expresses itself. While the Sun is going to transform all the darkness into light, the Moon’s luminance, as a luminary, will only shed light on the darkness, without transforming it into light, simply making what is in the dark more visible.

The Thema Mundi, courtesy of Chris Brennan

Diagram of the domicile scheme of the planets

I hate to say that the Sun cannot exist without the Moon, because the opposing argument would be ‘the Sun isn’t dependent on the Moon, because if you remove the Moon, what will that do for the Sun?’ and to that I say: you are correct. If the Moon disappears, it wouldn’t have any impact on the Sun. However, from the vantage point of Earth: the Moon and Sun are both extremely vital. The Moon controls the tides of the ocean and the water, in a rhythmic sort of way/motion, and in this way, because the Moon regulates the orbit of Earth, it is the reason why we have longer days, without the Moon, the Earth’s days would last around 6 to 12 hours in length, and way more than 356 days would complete a year .The Moon is also important because it is the very reason we have seasons and moderate weather. Without the Moon’s gravitational pull on Earth, and it’s orbit around Earth, the Earth wouldn’t be tilted and wouldn’t control the tides of the ocean. Additionally, the Moon needs the Sun to cast its own light, and without it: it is void of luminance, and the nights would be a lot darker. If we look at it conversely, the Sun does not need the Moon to exist, but both need each other to exist so life on Earth can exist. The Sun provides warmth and luminance, and is the very reason why life exist. Without the Sun, life would not be possible. Any water molecules that are on the Earth would be frozen solid if the Sun ever disappeared. I bring all these points up to say that the world, Earth, would not exist as a habitable environment without the Sun and the Moon. Both the Sun and the Moon are necessary to create the right conditions for human life.

If we pay attention to the sect of the Sun and Moon, the Sun likes to be above the horizon, and the Moon likes to be below the horizon. The Sun likes to be above the horizon because it can be seen and command over the darkness, transforming it into light, while the Moon likes to be out in the night and appears when no one is looking. The Moon represents things that aren’t obvious but are still present, while the Sun is things that are super obvious but you don’t pay attention to it because it’s so obvious and you know it’s there; you don’t have to look up at the Sun to know it is daylight outside. Even if we look at the Hermetic Lots, specifically the lot of Fortune and the Lot of Spirit: they’re associated with the Moon and the Sun. The Lot of Fortune, in Zodiacal Releasing, is an extension of Lunar principals of the body and health, and with this in mind: the Moon would rule the body. Where as the Sun is associated with the Lot of Spirit, which is an extension of the Solar ideas of will, control, and direction. Additionally, the Sun and Moon rule different hemispheres of the chart, the topics in each hemisphere deal with Solar and Lunar topics. The upper half of the chart (Houses 7 through 12) deal with ideas of Spirit, for example, we see the 11th and 12th house coin the names: the place of “Good Spirit” and the place of “Bad Spirit”, whereas conversely, the 5th and 6th house, in the lower hemisphere of the chart (Houses 1 through 6) are labeled the house of “Good Fortune” and “Bad Fortune”, relating back to this idea with the hermetic lots of Fortune and Spirit.

Planetary Joys. In this diagram, following the concept of sect, we see all the diurnal planets are placed above the Horizon, whereas the nocturnal planets are all placed below the Horizon. The Sun is above the Horizon, leading the day sect, whereas the Moon is below the Horizon, leading the night sect.

Image courtesy of Chris Brennan.

The Sun in the Chart of the Native

With all of these significations in mind, I believe that the point of the Sun and what it represents can only be answered within context of the moon, its other half. It is taking both Body and Spirit and combining it together to get: Life. The Sun is the spirit, personality, and expression of spirit into the physical incarnation, the body, ruled by the Moon. Both of these things are necessary for something to come to life. The Sun and Moon together represent a materialization of the Spirit. When we look at the Sun in the chart of a native, we are essentially looking at the individuals Spirit and how it is expressed. It is the individuals will, their drive, and their energy. It is something so apparent but because it is so obvious, just like the Sun, we don’t often pay attention to it. Someone’s spirit is very hard to pinpoint and understand because the idea of Spirit is altered by the physical incarnation. Sometimes the Spirit might have a hard time expressing itself, if the Sun is aspected to Saturn, for example, or sometimes it might express itself without restraint, when aspected to Jupiter. While the Sun is the energy we give off, and we subject others to, the same way the Sun emits its light and energy onto all of Earth, and we are subjected to its radiance, warmth, and light. It is, in a sense, our aura. Additionally, the same way that the Sun emits light and allows us to actually see, since light is the only wavelength of electromagnetic radiation that the human eye can detect, the Sun is also the ability for us to perceive the world around us. Depending on what planets are aspected to the Sun, and the Sun’s condition, how we view our human experience will vary. The obvious signification for the Sun is our ability to be seen— how bright does our light shine, and is it bright enough for others to look? Leo Suns often have no trouble having their light shinning bright (not considering any other planetary conditions) because the Sun is in Domicile, and can fully do Solar things: shine. However, for someone who has the Sun in Aquarius, the Sun is in Detriment here because the Sun cannot shine as bright as it want’s too, and for as long as it want’s to, since the period from Libra to Pisces is where the days are shorter than the nights. The warmth of the Sun is not felt as much, and thus the Spirit cannot radiate as brightly as it wants to, from the limitations and walls that Saturn built.

It’s also important to take into consideration the idea of Mind, Body, Spirit. Monica P. Hall, @conduitofhealing on Twitter, pointed out, in a discussion we were having, that the order needs to be flipped to Spirit, Mind, Body, because the Spirit always comes first, but then it is filtered through our physical incarnation as a medium for Spirit to move through, and through our conscious expression of it. The Sun is represented by the Spirit and the Moon is represented by the body, then what is the mind? Most people would say Mercury, however, I would argue it is the rising sign. The rising sign is our conscious manifestation of Spirit, and in a sense is personality. We are conscious of the Rising sign and the 1st house the most because it is the part of our chart that actually represents us as an individual, from our personality, to our behavior, to our physical makeup, etc. One interesting thing to point out is that Mercury, in the planetary joys scheme, rejoices in the 1st house, why is that? I assume part of the rational is, since the 1st house is the house most closely associated with the native, and Mercury represents our ability to express consciousness, in the form of language, Mercury rejoices in the 1st because it now has the ability to express it’s consciousness in an elevated form, through communication. Labeling the Rising Sign as the ‘mind’ in this idiom is not farfetched at all, and actually helps to provide context of what the Rising sign actually represents: our ability to express consciousness in a conscious, controlled, manner, which is the mind— and the definition for ‘mind’ is: “the element of a person that enables them to be aware of the world and their experiences, to think, and to feel; the faculty of consciousness and thought”. The Spirit (Sun) is authentic, and then it is filtered through the mind (rising sign) and cognition of the world around them, as personality, and then is carried into motion through the body, a vessel in which the Spirit can move through. Some people may have a harder time being able to align their spirit, mind, and body, because the relationship between these 3 points in the chart may be in difficult aspects to each other, averted, or maltreated in some way.

I would also mention the Astronomical effects of the Sun, specifically in aspect to other planets as being important, because consideration such as Under the Sun’s beams, Combustion, and Cazimi are all important to look at when describing the Sun. Specifically, for planets conjunct the Sun, they lose visibility in the sky, since they cannot be seen, or their light has been outshined by the ferocity of the Sun, thus weakening them in comparison. When a planet is ‘Under the Sun’s Beams’ it is within 15º of Sun, it is weakened and deemed as invisible, thus representing that whatever that planet represents in your chart, based on the house that it rules, its house placements, etc. will all be deemed as ‘invisible’ or harder to notice, due to the Sun’s influence. This effect of the Sun’s ferocity overtaking another planet becomes more and more intense as planets move closer to the Sun, eventually moving towards Combustion, when a planet is within 8º of the Sun. Planets here become outshined, overpowered, and become submissive to the thing (in this case the Sun, but it would also be important to look at what the Sun rules in the chart) that is dominating it. However, when a planet is within 17’ of the Sun (17 arc minutes), it is considered to be Cazimi, in the Heart of the Sun, which was seen as something beneficial and strengthening for the planet in question. Planets that are Cazimi gain immense strength, and I consider it as the equivalent of being able to connect with God. God is often thought to be the light, source of higher power, all knowing wisdom, love, and it’s no coincidence that the name of the 9th house, the house in which the Sun rejoices in, is called the House of ‘God’. There is an enlightening experience that comes from a planet being Cazimi, and it is because of this enlightenment that the Cazimi-ed planet then becomes empowered and fortified to bring success to whatever it represents in the chart. There is some argument about what constitutes a planet being Cazimi, some authors use a really tight orb of 17’ and then others use a more generous orb of 1º.

The Sun is a very interesting planet in the chart, and I often feel it is overlooked, partially because Sun sign Astrology gives it a bad name, but it is also so obvious to everyone that we tend to overlook it because there is the presumption that there is more complexity in Astrology beyond the Sun. However, a core part of the chart is the Sun + Moon, and Rising, as they represent the strengths or challenges the spirit might have in expressing itself, and essentially what the Spirit is filtered through before it actually reaches other people, or the physical world. Without the Sun, we would be devoid of life, and just as the Sun is the big ball of fire in our Solar System, the Sun is our charts is that big ball of fire inside of us.