The Sun by Edvard Munch
“At daybreak, when thou arisest on the horizon,
When thou shinest as the Aton by day,
Thou drivest away the darkness and givest thy rays.
The Two Lands are in festivity every day,
Awake and standing upon their feet,
For thou hast raised them up.
Washing their bodies, taking their clothing,
Their arms are raised in praise at thy appearance.
All the world, they do their work.”
–Akhenaten and the Hymn to the Sun
“Be praised, my Lord, through all Your creatures,
especially through my lord Brother Sun,
who brings the day; and You give light through him.
And he is beautiful and radiant in all his splendor!
Of You, Most High, he bears the likeness.”
-Saint Francis, Canticle of the Creatures
“To Him who made the great lights,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting:
The sun to rule by day,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.”
-Psalm 136:7-8
The Sun is the center of any solar system, and many stars in the sky are Suns in their own right.
Physical Reality of the Sun
The Sun is a massive sphere of nuclear power, radiating light, heat, and infrared radiation into the universe. The Sun provides life to this planet by feeding the plant kingdom through photosynthesis, which in turn nourishes the animal and human kingdoms. Sunlight is crucial for all development of life and normal functioning. Prolonged lack of sunlight can cause severe physical and mental illness.
Psychological Reality of the Sun
The Sun is the way that humanity organizes life. To be “oriented” literally means to be facing the East, where the Sun rises, where the day begins. To be oriented means we have direction in life, we know our way, and we are going always toward the light, toward life.
The fact that on an astronomical scale the Earth revolves around the Sun is useful. But the psychological truth is that the Sun appears to revolve around the Earth, and this concept is important for our shared reality. The Sun rises in the East, a new day begins, a fresh start for life. The Sun sets in the West, the day is done, time to reflect and rest in the darkness.
The rhythm of the day and night is a fundamental part of psychological reality, as is the extended rhythm throughout the year of the seasons, and the gradual lengthening and shortening of days. Sun worship exists in all cultures and religions for this reason.
The tropical zodiac of Western astrology is based on the interplay of light from the rhythm of the Sun and Earth.
Esoteric Reality of the Sun
Esoterically the Sun is the cosmic Christ, the sacrificial principle of the universe known as the solar logos. Christ, the Son/Sun dies in the West and is reborn in the East, giving life, light, and love in abundance from His own radiant heart. The physical Sun is a part of the cosmos of spiritual suns.
“Unquestionably, the first cosmos [Protocosmos] is formed by multiple, transcendental, divine, spiritual suns.
Much has been spoken about the Sacred Absolute Sun and obviously every solar system is governed by one of those spiritual suns. That means that our set of worlds possesses its own Sacred Absolute Sun, as do all the other solar systems of the unalterable infinite.”
-Samael Aun Weor
Astrology of the Sun
The astrological symbol of the Sun is the circle of pure spirit with a central point. The circle represents God, totality, unity. The point represents the center, the pivot point or point of rotation. The most important thing is what our lives revolve around. The Sun can represent our highest aspirations or our most selfish inclinations.
The Sun moves through the entire zodiac each year, spending about one month in each zodiacal sign. Therefore one’s “Sun sign” is the particular zodiac sign the Sun was in at the time of birth.
While there are other important significations in an astrology chart, particularly the rising and Moon sign, the Sun sign represents something very core to a person’s life. The general arch of life, the themes that come up over and over, often the strongest personality traits that persist throughout the life are indicated by the Sun sign.
The Sun is one of the two luminaries, along with the Moon. While each planet rules two zodiac signs, the luminaries only rule one sign each. The Sun rules the sign of Leo, the lion. The Sun is at home in the domain of Leo, the large, proud cats who thrive in some of the sunniest places on Earth. The Sun is the center, the fire radiates outward and brings joy, warmth, and light to all that surround it. Leo is the king and the Sun always indicates the sovereign.
The Sun is exalted in the sign of Aries, where it becomes the solar hero- Hercules, Gilgamesh, Odysseus, Hunahpu and Xbalanque, Jesus Christ, and many others. The being who conquers death to bring the solar light to humanity.
The Sun in Medicine and Healing
The human body is a microcosm of the solar system, with each organ corresponding to a planet.
The Sun is the heart, the center of functioning, which not only pumps blood to every limb, organ and cell in the body, but has its own miraculous system of electricity and intelligence. The heart is the seat of intuition, of emotional intelligence, and of spiritual essence.
An emotional wound to the heart can be so profound it causes physical illness. However for every wound there is a remedy and wonderful practices exist to heal the heart from spiritual and emotional wounds.
Each planet also corresponds with various plants, such as trees, herbs, flowers etc.
The Sun is associated with plants that are bright, that thrive in sunlight, that are yellow, orange, or gold in color. Extractions made from solar plants are like concentrated sunshine and can help increase vitality, motivation and energy. Esoterically solar plants are related with the elementals of the air and are related with the power of intuition.
“The solar plants are aromatic and of an acidulous flavor. The elementals of these plants possess great magical, curative powers. These elementals are called sylphs and they are the elementals of the air. The sylphs say: ‘Where real worth is hidden, there the sun’s rays shine.’ They impress upon the student the importance of gaining what is called the consciousness of knowledge, that is to say, intuition.”
-Samael Aun Weor, Occult Medicine and Practical Magic