The Sun
The Sun, the giver of life, represents our conscious mind in Astrology. It represents our will to live and our creative life force.
Just as the planets revolve around the Sun in our solar system, we derive our life purpose from the Sun in our natal charts. The Sun is our ego. It is also our “adult”– the part of us that censors our “inner child,” that reasons things out, and makes final decisions. The Sun is our basic identity, representing self-realization.
When you are asked, “Who are you?,” and you’ve passed your basic statistics and occupation, your answers will likely embody a description of your Sun. The Sun also represents our overall vitality. The Sun directs us and can be considered “the boss” of our chart.
The Sun (
) is so important in the chart, that the happiest people on this earth are those who identify (without over-identifying) with the Sun’s expression. Though one might think that the traits of their Sun would come easily to them, the truth is, the Sun shows what we are learning to be. It is very important to remember that the Sun represents reason as opposed to instinct.
With respect to the other luminary (the Moon), the Sun reflects the present or the “here and now,” while the Moon infuses the past into our lives through the feelings.
Grant Lewi referred to the Sun as indicative of “the psychological bias which will dominate your actions.” He went on to say, “You may think, dream, imagine, hope to be a thousand things, according to your Moon and your other planets: but the Sun is what you are, and to be your best self in terms of your Sun is to cause your energies to work along the path in which they will have maximum help from planetary vibrations.” (1)
When we are “acting out” our Sun, we are purposeful, directed, proud, and creative. On the negative side, we can be haughty, overly willful, self-centered, and judgmental.
In the chart, the position of the Sun by zodiac sign represents the native’s life purpose and the style in which they leave their mark in the world.
By house, the Sun’s position shows where our personalities shine. The areas of life associated with that house reveal the types of experiences that contribute to our sense of individuality and that shape our sense of pride. These areas of life are ones in which we seek to express and focus our Sun sign qualities.
Note: When interpreting your chart, you will be particularly interested in both the Sun’s sign and the Sun’s house. For example, someone may have the Sun in Aries in the 2nd house, and if so, they would read both the interpretation for the Sun in Aries and the interpretation of the Sun in the second house. Another person may have the Sun in Aries in the 8th house and would read interpretations of the Sun in Aries and the Sun in the eighth house. While these two individuals share a Sun sign, they express their Aries Sun in different ways.
Take a closer look at the Sun’s glyph or symbol. It shows the circle of Spirit, indicating potentiality, brought to focus in the central point or dot. We may also see it as a symbol of wholeness or our inner center.
The Sun in Astrology
- Rules the sign of Leo
- Exalted in Aries, in its detriment in Aquarius, and in its fall in Libra.
- Has a cycle of ≅ 1 year, spending approximately a month in each zodiac sign.
- Is never retrograde
- Represents: Our identity, our ego, and what we strive to be
- Shows how (Sun sign) and where (Sun house) we shine.
- Other Associations: The self, the present or “here and now,” our inner Adult, the “boss” or director in our charts, our main concerns, creative life force, our will to live, leadership, the father, the male figure, the hero, the protagonist.
- Body/Health associations: The heart, spinal cord, solar plexus.
- When the Sun misbehaves, we can be egocentric, haughty, too proud. We may lack energy and the drive to reach our goals or carry out our plans.
- When the Sun behaves, we are sunny, warm, happy, joyful, creative, energetic, self-reliant, dignified, and confident–ready to take the lead.
Aspects of the Sun in the Natal Chart:
Sun-Moon aspects | Sun-Mercury aspects | Sun-Venus aspects | Sun-Mars aspects | Sun-Jupiter aspects | Sun-Saturn aspects | Sun-Uranus aspects | Sun-Neptune aspects | Sun-Pluto aspects | | Sun-Chiron aspects | Sun-Ascendant
Back to Planets & Luminaries in Astrology
See also: You Light Up My Life – The Sun in Synastry (House Overlays)
(1) Astrology for the Millions (Llewellyn’s Classics of Astrology Library) by Grant Lewi
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