The Sun Tarot Card: The card depicts a naked child riding a white horse. The child is wearing a crown of sunflowers with a red feather and is holding a pole with a red flag attached. Four sunflowers are seen in the background atop a gray wall. The Sun is seen against a blue-gray background. It has 11 straight rays and 10 wave-like rays projecting out from it.
The Story of The Sun Tarot Card: The card, overall, represents the reclaiming of innocence (depicted by the crown of flowers) and the thrilling activation of life force energy (depicted by the horse and red flag). This creative energy is freed when we let go of our unconscious conditioning and judgments and begin to allow our inner child the freedom it deserves.
The gray wall in the card, however, indicates that there is still a degree of separation between the child and the source of light. The child has clearly been freed as we see the joy and celebration depicted, but the freedom is also immature and still has a self-oriented focus. The Sun card speaks to a degree of liberation from the inner critic and fear that had trapped us before, but in a sense, it is almost too free. If you look closely, the child isn’t holding on to the horse. She/he isn’t really harnessing the power of purity and life that she rides on. In fact, the horse is much bigger than the child and without taming it and internalizing it, the child is in danger of falling off. So even though there is an experience of childlike freedom and passion in this card, there is still a great deal of maturity and wisdom yet to develop.
The Sun card tells the story of a place that we all must face on our journey of spiritual growth. A place where we finally feel free to do what we really want, where we find the strength to rebel against the internalized oppressive tyrant and go wild following our every (possibly immature) whim and desire. A place where we fly our red flag of passion high above us and allow the white horse to take us where it wants to. It is a necessary stage and yet it is also one that we will eventually move on from as we begin to understand the need to restrain and harness our power.
When we follow our passions without being fully in touch with higher guidance and wisdom, it means we are still stuck in karmic, cyclic existence. We act selfishly and eventually, we see the impact of that on our surroundings as well as on our relationship with our own higher self. Once we wear out the horse and the wind in our passion flag dies down, we will turn our heads back towards the sun and do the work necessary to scale the wall and reach the four sunflowers representing the four elements of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water that we must master to attain liberation. We will reach for the sun with its 10 straight rays and 11 wavy rays, which together with the sun itself, represent the 22 tarot cards and the ultimate attainment. What is that attainment? It is hinted at by the sun itself. The circle around the sun is the number zero, which is the number of The Fool card. It reminds us that in spite of our newfound sense of freedom, that becoming The Fool is what we still need to strive for.
We might try and find fulfillment in the happiness that exists in moments of joy, passion, and pleasure. But those moments, along with everything in the wheel of life, will always come around to sorrow and grief as they fade and change. This is the nature of everything earthbound. Yet it is in those moments of loss and grief that a doorway unlocks and we can make a choice to turn towards our spiritual evolution and surrender to it. Or we can turn back into the illusion and try and find home in the ever-changing labyrinth of cyclic, dualistic, life and our attachments (spoiler: it never works).
Association with Sol: The Sun card is associated with Sol, our own solar system’s sun. The sun represents the pure self - our chief inner personality and ‘who we are’. There is a place in each one of us that can connect to nothingness and emptiness. There is a place in each of us where we can connect to unity and the feeling of being One. But there is also a third place, which we sometimes set aside as unimportant or even tell ourselves we need to ‘transcend’ it. This is the place of the self. The unique identity we chose to come into the world with. Our unique preferences, desires, and curiosities. The part of us that nobody outside of us can tell us about. The part, that if we are taught to be curious and think for ourselves, will naturally come out. And if it was repressed, it will burst out on a white horse with a red flag like a volcano that we will eventually need to tame.
When to use The Sun Tarot Card: When you are ready to reclaim the innocence of your inner child, it is time to meditate on The Sun and embrace its gift of liberating the passionate energy of your inner child. When you are at a stage where you want to embrace more play, and are ready to explore your passionate, and yet innocent, sensuality, The Sun card can help. It will remind you of the freedom you have always possessed, even if it has been buried beneath layers of cultural, fear-based conditioning.
In addition, if you are in a place of disappointment with your physical reality. If you have reached the understanding that even by liberating the passions within you, that you won’t ever find true wholeness unless you turn to something deeper, that is also a time to reach for The Sun. To let go of your passions and childlike desires and surrender yourself to true growth, learning, and massive evolution. Scared to face it as you may be.
Altar Cloth / Tapestry details:
~ 100% microfiber Polyester
~ Hemmed edges for extra durability to ensure years of use
~ Advanced tapestry and altar cloth printing techniques guarantee crisp image detail
~ Multiple sizes (26x36 in, 50x60 in, 68x80 in, 88x104 in)
