The Sun is the twentieth card in the Tarot Deck. It is given the number 19 because the very first card (The Fool) is given the number 0.
The Sun represents Optimism, Happiness, Joy, Positive Thoughts, Manifestation and Abundance
Let’s look at the picture below of The Sun. The picture is from the Rider Waite Tarot deck which was first published in 1909. It is a great deck for beginners because every card has a picture describing its meaning. Today the majority of Tarot decks are based on the Rider Waite deck. It is also a ‘deep’ deck because the creators of it put multi layered meanings inside it.
We see a young naked boy happily sitting on a white/grey horse. Behind his is a wall and above we can see sunflowers blossoming. The boy wears a crown and a red feather and holds a banner with his left hand. Above him the Sun shines.
SYMBOLS
Boy on a Horse
A boy sits on a horse that has no saddle or reins indicating direction by will and positive thinking alone. The boy also represents the ‘son of the sun’ – the divine sun-child which features in so many religions and mythologies. The son represents the ability to be reborn, fresh and new. he is naked, implying innocence and ascent.
Body Posture of Boy
The boys body language shows that he is full of energy and life force. Imagine having that much energy! The boy does not need a saddle because he is in perfect balance and harmony.
Facial Expression of Boy
The boy is overjoyed and ecstatic. He is obviously very very happy! We all strive for that level of feeling.
Crown on Boys Head
The crown is comprised of flowers indicating life.
Feather on Boys Head
The feather represents truth and justice which prevail in the end.
Red Banner
The red banner signifies life-force, celebration and victory over the darkness.
Horse
The horse is a symbol of nobility. In ancient times the horse was also a symbol of the sun because the horse was seen to pull the sun in a chariot through the sky. The horse represents movement, progress and direction. The horse also represents strength, stamina and the life-force. This horse however, is the same horse on the Death card so we are reminded that Death is the other side of Life (Sun).
Sun
The sun is our source of life. Without the sun there would be no life on earth. The sun has been worshiped since humans evolved consciously and started to question night and day and the cycles of the sun through the year. Most cultures saw the sun as male while they saw the moon as female although there were exceptions.
Stone Wall
The stone wall shows that your boundaries are well defined. You know who you are, what you want and where you are going. Also we could postulate that the unconscious turmoils of the past few Tarot cards (Moon, Tower, Death, Devil) have been overcome.
Sunflowers
Sunflowers are a traditional flower associated with the Sun. Their bloom follows the sun as it crosses the sky and it seems almost as if the sunflower worships the sun. The Sunflower is also the traditional flower for fame and fortune.
Gods / Goddesses
The Sun is ruled by all the Gods and Goddesses that rule over the Sun. In the picture above we see Apollo, the Greek sun god. His oracle was at Delphi which was originally a sanctuary to the goddess. Many male dominated religions took over goddess worshiping places. The Sun (patriarchy and rational thought) took control of the Moon (women and intuition). Many religions today are patriarchy and male/God/power dominated.
Female: Amaterasu, Athena, Mawu, Wala, Shams, Shapash, Aine, Etain, Xihe, Bastet, Sekhmet, Freyr, Sulis
Male: Helios, Apollo, Sol, Horus, Amum, Aten, Atum, Ra, Agni, Mitra, Ravi, Surya, Shamash, Xiuhtecuhtli, Alavnus
Number
The number of The Star is 19.
1 + 9 = 10 – The Wheel of Fortune.
The Wheel of Fortune reminds us about the wheel of life and destiny. The Sun tells us we can create our destiny but the Wheel of Fortune behind it, suggests that not everything is within our ability to control and manifest.
Astrology
The astrological sign of the Sun is of course the Sun!
The Sun rules Leo and is exalted in Aries. Leo rules the heart and spine.
The Sun also rules the heart and all its functions.
In Alchemy, the Sun and the gold which represented it, was the ultimate goal.
Kabbalah
The creators of the Rider Waite Tarot deck were members of the Golden Dawn, a group that had many teachings based on the mystical Kabbalah of the Jewish nation. When I say Kabbalah forget about monotheism, Judaism, God, and religion for a moment. Kabbalists are mystics in a sense. They believe God is neither male nor female and in fact has many aspects. Their systems are all about learning why we are here, the mystery of the universe and what the big plan is.
Inside the Rider Waite deck is a multitude of Kabbalistic meanings. I will briefly explain a few of the Kabbalistic meanings within The Emperor card. Believe me when I say you could learn for the rest of your life about Tarot and Kabbalah and still only scratch the surface. I’m keeping it superficial but easy to understand. I am also using on purpose the word Kabbalah rather than Cabala.
The Sun is represented by the letter resh – ר.
Resh represents intelligence and authority. Resh reminds us of our own internal power and authority whose energy sits in the solar plexus, a chakra traditionally seen as yellow.
The Sun on The Tree of Life sits on the path between Netzach and Malkuth.
The name of this card is Collective Intelligence. All the parts of your intelligence is now combined, assimilated and unified to be brought forward into the light.
KEYWORDS / KEY PHRASES
Light, Love, Celebration, Happiness, Positive Thinking, Good Fortune, Greatness, Glory, Enlightenment, Vitality, Enthusiasm, Illumination, Radiance, Joy of being alive, Creativity, Energy, Confidence, Healthy Self Worth
MESSAGE FROM THE SUN
The Sun comes into your life today to tell you to ‘be happy’. There is always something to be grateful for. The sun right now is illuminating your path in front of you. Indulge in the warmth and caring of the Sun and enjoy the rewards life has given you.
Ask yourself these questions:
Am I grateful for what I have in my life?
How do I seek happiness?
What brings me pleasure everyday?
What relationships bring me joy?
What hobbies bring me peace?
How can I create more energy to do the things I want to do?
How can I stand out from the crowd in my business?
How can I share my love for life with others?
How can I celebrate right now?
Allow yourself to focus on all the love, joy and happiness in the world. Focus on what is right and not on what is wrong. The Sun card is a gift telling us everything is great. Everything is how it should be. Everything is flowing and or will soon become easy. This is a great card to help you manifest anything your want or stand in the glory of receiving it.
THE SUN REVERSED
When I see a reversed card I simply see the energy blocked or inhibited in some way.
How would The Sun be inhibited?
Perhaps the sun is you is not shining enough?
Perhaps there are clouds covering the sun and your potential?
Perhaps the sun is too strong and you burn out?
We can see how ancient civilizations had sacrifices to the sun, which led the sun to have a gory shadow.
Perhaps the ego is not healthy and too inflated? I see this over and over again, especially in the New Age scene where people believe they are Gods Gift to the world and EVERYBODY should know about it. I have seen workshop leaders get too full of themselves because everybody adores them (Sun worship) and they will tolerate no questions of their authority.
If you get The Sun reversed for yourself or someone else some questions to ask might be…
Am I feeling burned out?
Am I too enthusiastic?
Am I putting too many hours into my passion?
What am I not celebrating?
What am I unwilling to face right now?
Am I giving help and advice when I was not asked to?
Am I developing a big ego?
Have I lost my hope in life?
Have I lost my inner child?
If you get The Sun reversed you are being reminded that your Sun is either shining too bright or it has burned out. Either way you look at it, your energy is not balanced. We invite problems into our life when we are not grounded and balanced. Find out ways that you can come back to a state of equilibrium. Perhaps you need to say no to doing too much? Perhaps you have to take a hard look at yourself and question and you not being like a glaring car headlight to other people. Perhaps you need to rest for a while and regain your inner spark?
TO SUM IT ALL UP…
The Sun truly is our gift. It helped the Earth come into being. It gives us energy, it grows our food, it warms our face.
The Sun invites you to strive for positive thinking.
Our thoughts create our reality.
There is no better expert than Louise Hay on the power of Positive Thinking.
I read her book, You can Heal your Life when I was 19 years of age and it transformed my life. I was also lucky a couple of years ago to hear her speak at a writers workshop. She truly is an amazing woman.
Listen to Louise share her insights about positive thinking in the short 12 minute video below.
PHOTO CREDITS
Sun Tarot Card: By Pamela Coleman Smith – a 1909 card scanned by Holly Voley (http://home.comcast.net/~vilex/) for the public domain, and retrieved from http://www.sacred-texts.com/tarot (see note on that page regarding source of images)., PD-US, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17299765
All other photos are from www.pixabay.com and are creative commons and free for commercial use.