The Sun Overview

In my previous post I tried to argue that the planets are real agents that shape our experience by storing and delivering to us the results of our actions. They rhythmically activate new intentions in our minds, which are echoes of our past actions. One aspect of this relationship I didn’t highlight is just how this quality of ‘activation’ can be common to them. All of the cognitive faculties associated with the planets are reflections of one single source of consciousness. And from our perspective here on Earth, the planets in the sky are made visible because they are reflecting the light of the Sun.

Light and vision are analogous to and intertwined with consciousness and its manifestations. Our local patch of spacetime revolves around the Sun which vivifies, sustains, protects, and illuminates everything in its orbit. This is why it’s called the “Solar System.” The Sun is a fixed and constant provider of heat and light. These qualities are the entry point into how to interpret the Sun astrologically. That which is truly constant to you, and sustains your life is pure and limitless consciousness.

The 19^th-century theologian Emanuel Swedenborg illustrated beautifully the role of the Sun: “Out of the sun that takes form from the Divine love and the Divine wisdom, heat and light go forth.”

I hesitate to use the word ‘God’ as it lends itself to too many different interpretations. But for Swedenborg, the wisdom of God is the light, and the love of God is the heat that flows from the Sun. Just this fact that you have a little bit of heat flowing through your veins is evidence enough that you are in the embrace of the absolute. Every morning, the Earth turns to face the Sun, so you have no reason to forget. Even on cold winter nights, the Sun is still there, although it’s harder to detect. Its energy flows through you and keeps you alive. Once again, really feel how you embody these forces of nature.

Thus, astrologically speaking, one of the first things we assess by way of the Sun is your raw vitality. Whatever house the Sun rules from the ascendant in your birth chart is some life area where you feel the most alive. This is not just to be understood in physical terms. The Sun is also that power of consciousness which illuminates objects both in the world and in your mind. And in the Indian religion, the astrological Sun shows how you connect to “The Atman” or “Universal Self.”

We should not treat these things as separate. The Sun is both the indicator of pure consciousness and a massive ball of fire in the sky. Anything that is being influenced by the Sun in the birth chart is being burned up, purged, and purified. On a spiritual level this has to do with the impure habits we develop through our ego. When we are too absorbed in our small selves, we lose sight of our real power. It could be because we feel at odds with the world, that we treat our power like a scarce commodity to be hoarded. This is why a person with a weak Sun can often act like a tyrant. Other people may lose their power and identity in the wills of others.

So whatever house/sign the Sun is in will show not only where you tend to apply your life force, but also where you may expend your power in the form of confidence issues. If you’ve tried to learn astrology before and have been confused as to why you don’t identify with your Sun sign, this is the most likely reason why. Let me reiterate—the sign the Sun is in is not your identity. It’s where you tend to lose authentic power to the ego. But ultimately, only the Sun can purify your vision of the world and allow you to shine, and this will elevate whatever it influences in the chart.

Becoming who you really are is not pleasant or easy. That’s why the Sun is considered a malefic planet. We’re so attached to what our egos want, it hurts us when they all get burned away. But these things in the world are all delusions and lies. Once you are free from the hold they have on you, may you work wholeheartedly towards your true purpose. That’s why the highest expression of the Sun is experienced as dignity, responsibility, consistency, and integrity. And once you are in sync with your inner Sun, you become not like those who hold power, but like those who empower. As the Sun evolves in your life, so does your capacity to be self-sacrificing in a way that doesn’t actually diminish you. Such is the paradox of the Sun which every day loses so much mass in the form of heat and light. Whether you acknowledge it or not, the Sun is always consistent in its generosity. And so is the real soul power that shines through you.