The glyph at the centre, the branches of the Sun's symbolism around it: gods (gold), archetypes (blue), traditions (green) and narratives (red). Tap a branch and its explanation opens on the right.
RaEgyptian
Born of Nut every morning, he crosses the sky in the day boat, fights Apep in the Duat in the night boat and is born again. Khepri at dawn, Ra at noon, Atum at dusk. Pharaoh is 'son of Ra'; kingship is taken from the sun. Ra in the Egyptian family tree →
HeliosGreek
Son of Hyperion and Theia; every day he drives his four-horse chariot from east to west and returns at night in a golden cup along Oceanus. The all-seeing witness: he reports Aphrodite's adultery and the abduction of Persephone. His son Phaethon drives the chariot and scorches the earth. Helios in the Greek family tree →
ApolloGreek
Son of Zeus and Leto; prophecy, music, archery, medicine, measure. At Delphi he kills Python and takes the oracle. In the Hellenistic age he is identified with the Sun (Phoebus, the bright one). In astrology the Sun's face of consciousness, clarity and order. Apollo in the Greek family tree →
Utu / ShamashMesopotamian
Son of the Moon god Nanna, twin of Inanna; god of justice and divination. Hammurabi receives his laws from him, Gilgamesh goes to Humbaba under his protection. In the morning he saws through the eastern mountains and rises. Utu in the Mesopotamian family tree →
AmaterasuJapanese
Sun goddess born from Izanagi's left eye; when she shuts herself in a cave, offended by her brother Susanoo, the world goes dark, and she is drawn out by Ame-no-Uzume's dance and a mirror. Ancestress of the imperial line; lady of Ise. The feminine form of the sun. Amaterasu in the Japanese family tree →
SuryaHindu
The Vedic sun god crossing the sky in a chariot drawn by seven horses; in Vedic astrology the graha of the soul (atman), the father and the king. Sunday (Ravivara) is his day; ruby, red and gold.
Sol InvictusRoman
'The Unconquered Sun'; the god Aurelian made a state cult in 274. His birthday is 25 December, just after the winter solstice: the return of the light. Intertwined with the cult of Mithras; the calendar neighbour of the Christian Christmas.
The kingCrown, throne, centre
The Sun is the centre of the system; in the chart too it is king, father, ruler and authority. Pharaoh is the son of Ra, the French king the 'Sun King' (Louis XIV), the Japanese emperor the descendant of Amaterasu. When the king rules well the land is fertile, when he is sick it lies barren (the Fisher King).
The hero's returnThe night journey
Every night the Sun dies in the west, passes through the underworld and is born in the east. Jonah in the belly of the fish, Osiris in the coffin, Jesus in the tomb: the 'night sea journey' (Jung) is the hero descending into darkness and returning with light. The Sun is consciousness plunging into the unconscious to be renewed.
Consciousness and identitySelf, will, purpose
The Sun gives sight; the all-seeing witness, the discerning mind. In astrology the centre of the 'I', the purpose of life, the creative will. It is also what casts the shadow: the stronger the light, the sharper the shadow.
The lionThe royal beast
The Sun's sign is Leo, its animal the lion: the maned, proud male at the head of the pride. In Egypt Sekhmet is the raging lion eye of Ra; Heracles' first labour is the Nemean Lion, whose skin becomes his armour. In the tarot's Strength card a woman closes the lion's jaws.
GoldThe goal of alchemy
The Sun's metal is gold: incorruptible, indivisible, the colour of light. In alchemy the gold of Sol is the goal of the work (opus); the turning of lead (Saturn) into gold is the ripening of the soul. In the body the heart and the eyes, the vital force, belong to the Sun.
The Sun (Tarot XIX)Child, horse, sunflowers
In the tarot the Sun card shows a naked child on a white horse before a wall with sunflowers: openness, joy, success, the conscious state of innocence. In the Golden Dawn it corresponds directly to the Sun; in Kabbalah to Tiphereth (Beauty), the centre of the tree.
Mithras and the bullRoman mystery cult
Mithras, of Persian origin, becomes the god of the Roman legions; born from the rock, he kills the bull (tauroctony) and dines with Sol. The seven grades of initiation correspond to the seven planets; the highest grade is Pater. The mystery religion of the Sun.
PhaethonOvid
Helios' mortal son asks to drive his father's chariot for a day; the horses will not obey, the earth burns, Zeus strikes him with the thunderbolt. The Sun's power is carried by measure, not inheritance: identity is not taken from the father but earned. Phaethon in the family tree →
The Sun in the caveAmaterasu's withdrawal
When the Sun withdraws the world goes dark: Amaterasu into the cave, Demeter into mourning, the winter sun to the south. The gods call it back with dance, laughter and a mirror. The winter solstice festivals (Saturnalia, Yule, Christmas) are this calling back.