the sun (astrologically speaking)

Image by AstroGraphix_Visuals from Pixabay

end of story

Since we’re just days away from the winter solstice and the start of Capricorn season, it seems like the prime time to kick off my astrology series: The Sun Signs. (To clarify, your "Sun sign" is simply what most of us know as our general sign.) I’ll be starting with the earthy and grounded sign of Capricorn and then moving chronologically through the zodiac from there. Before I can tackle the signs, however, I need to first address what the Sun even is—astrologically speaking—which is the point of today's post. My explanation will take me through an interesting detour or two, and I'll even be creating a couple of fun analogies to illustrate my points. Why the multiple analogies, you ask? Because I love them. And it’s my blog.

(And I love them.)

I’m going to take my first detour right off the bat because my hope is that it will shed some light on a pretty common argument against astrology that falls soundly within Sun territory. Personally, I consider the following criticism to be a fairly valid one—at least on the surface. Because if, like me, you also grew up on a diet of Sunday-paper-horoscopes, then you figure the Sun sign is all there is to astrology. I’m a Pisces; you’re a Taurus. End of story.

That radical simplicity would probably be fine except for the fact that those paper predictions were consistently wrong. Which meant that—as reasonable human beings—we could only assume one thing when faced with the reality that, yet again, magic wasn't real. And in our collective disappointment many of us came to an erroneous conclusion, thereby decisively negating wisdom accrued through millennia and snuffing out more of life's mystery. And that conclusion is?

I’m a (insert any sign here), but I act absolutely nothing like that. As I suspected, astrology is all just a bunch of witchy bullshit.

Image by ARC from Pixabay

hard-core magic lover

I'm laughing a little bit as I type that because learning astrology would have been a whole lot easier if only things were that simple. And if they were so simple, then maybe that argument might have a leg to stand on. But the reality is that every one of us is far, far more nuanced and detailed than only our Sun sign. We are each a complicated concoction of symbols that doesn’t only consist of where the Sun was located at the moment of our birth, but of eleven more signs and nine other “planets” as well. And to further complicate things, these planets all influence each other—sometimes strongly—in a myriad of ways.

Do you have any idea how very much information that is? Mountains upon mountains of it. And so, so much more than just one Sun sign. To help put things in perspective, if I were to sit down and give you a verbal chart reading, it would take me about 2.5 hours to get through the information. And my written chart readings? Well, they run a "brief" 40-50 pages in length and that's without me even addressing how the planets are influencing each other within your chart. This copious amount of info makes sense, though, right? How could all of a person's complexities be contained in just one sign? One paper blurb? The answer is: they can't. One neat and tidy sweeping statement couldn't possibly address all the awesome that is you.

What that all boils down to is that you’ll never be “just” an Aries, just a Taurus, or just a Virgo; your personality is far more beautiful and intriguing than that. Personally, I’m a Pisces Sun that’s strongly flavored with undertones of Capricorn, Gemini, and Scorpio. You know what that makes me? Hella unique (just like you). And so much more than “just a Pisces.” Yes, the Sun is important—enormously so—but it definitely doesn’t stand alone and by acting like it does, astrology becomes relegated to the "silly" category. Something that only the superstitious, the hippies, the deviants, the blasphemous, and the freaks would buy into. As something of a freak myself, I could take offense to that. Instead it just makes me sad that so many intelligent and reasonable folks are missing out on so much freaking magic. Because not only is magic real, it's often hidden in plain sight. Sometimes we just need some help in leaning how to use it ♥

Image by Hans from Pixabay

analogy #1: rainbows

To further clarify why we may not be clearly presenting as our Sun signs, let's imagine for a minute that the signs are colors. And you're a rainbow of sorts. While your personal rainbow includes every one of those twelve colors (zodiac signs), they're only visible to varying degrees—some even to the point of outer invisibility. Maybe you've got gallons and gallons of Leo gold coloring your rainbow, but there's also a pint of Aries red and a dash of Scorpio black. If you add a pint of red paint to a gallon of gold paint? You end up with a unique color combination. Even that dash of black will make a subtle difference. No longer do you present as just a shiny golden Leo, but as something else altogether different. You've got all the creativity of a Leo (gold), but with a little bit of sass (red) and a penetrating stare that reaches directly into my soul (black).

So unless every single one of your planets is in the same sign (which they almost certainly are not), you'll never be an exact replica of Aries red. Or Capricorn gray. Or Virgo brown. To which my response is: Thank God. Because that would make for a super boring rainbow. We can get pretty close to that solid color sometimes, but there will always be some degree of artistic blending. And that artistic blending changes everything.

we're not wrong

I feel like all that I've written above does a pretty good job of explaining why a 30-word horoscope might be not be accurate. But I could argue my point even further by taking things a little bit deeper into the land of astrology and addressing the nature of your Ascendant (or rising sign), which ranks right up there with the Sun and the Moon in importance. Because unless your Ascendant is in the exact same sign as your Sun, then you shouldn’t be presenting solely as your Sun sign. The role of the Ascendant is to filter and tinge every other part of you, as expressed outwardly, and that sign may be the complete opposite of your Sun sign. My daughter is an Aries, but presents very much like her Cancer Ascendant. I’m a Pisces, but look very much like my Aquarian Ascendant (aka: a weirdo). This doesn’t mean that we’re living our Suns wrongly, but it does mean that we don't always look or act just like them either.

And with that, the defense rests. If I haven't generated even a flicker of curiosity about your particular Sun sign or caused you naysayers to question things just a little bit, then this series probably isn't for you. It's all good, though, really; our paths are just different and that's cool. I love you and your beautiful rainbow anyway ♥

a tad tricky

But with all of this talk about how we're not only our Sun sign, it makes my upcoming series seem a little bit suss, right? Because I'll be talking about the Sun signs as if they exist in a vacuum, and I hope by now you've realized that's not how astrology works. But in terms of hierarchy, the Sun definitely sits at the top; consequently, if you have a solid idea of what it is your Sun sign is here to develop, then you’ve got some pretty valuable guidance at your disposal that can help you move forward more decisively through life.

I'll get to those jam-packed individual posts soon enough but for now, let's narrow our focus. Without blinding ourselves, let's look directly at the luminous Sun, irrelevant to the sign it's in. What does it represent? What are its roles? And most importantly, how can we live it right? (Hint: read my upcoming posts ;)

Image by Tomasz Marciniak from Pixabay

the "e" word

Remembering that each “planet”—this includes the Sun and the Moon—within the birthchart references a specific area of the psyche, the Sun symbolizes the core of it all: your personality. The Sun’s overriding purpose is to help you define and develop who you are (and who you’re not) in the ongoing, lifelong process of self-discovery. Basically? It’s your ego.

I hesitate to throw the “E” word out there so casually because it's gotten a pretty bad rap within the spiritual community. In today's post, however, I'm deliberately choosing not to look at it from that spiritual perspective because when I view things through the eyes of astrology, I see it all very differently. Through that lens, I see the usefulness of the ego, even as I can simultaneously see its possible dangers. I totally understand, though, if you're resisting my ego-positive words because seeing it in a helpful light runs counter to everything I was taught, too.

But if we want to live our Suns—our personalities—well, then I figure a bitter duel-til-the-death with our resident ego won't be super productive. We can fight our ego, we can succumb to it, we can ignore it, or we can work with it. The way I see it, the ego can present as a saint just as easily as it can present as a demon or, more likely, as your average Joe; in other words, it is what you make it. Personally, I've chosen to collaborate with mine and now consider it the interesting costume I've chosen to wear for this journey. Some days, I'd even call us friends. Sure, Melinda has some issues and she can really drive me crazy sometimes, but I generally like her. And the parts I don't like? I work really hard to fix. Because by wearing my Melinda costume and playing my part well, the ego serves me. Instead of me serving it.

Traveling back to that rainbow metaphor again, there are gallons and gallons of your Sun's color pervading your personal rainbow. You'll be accented with an assortment of other planet/sign colors as well, but the Sun is your foundation color. And as your foundation, it's incredibly important. It’s so important, in fact, that getting your Sun sign right is the secret to ensuring your sanity. And in a complicated, unbalanced, and often insane world, ensuring my sanity is something I like to keep a tight grip on.

Living true to your personal Sun is the way to ensure your sanity.

Image by Jose Sanchez Hernandez from Pixabay

a shortcut

Considering how vitally important the Sun is, it would obviously behoove us all to live ours well. And the good news is that if you've invested any time at all in serious introspection (or maybe therapy), then you probably already have a good idea of how to go about that. A little bit of quality one-on-one time with yourself often leads to insights and discoveries about what it is you need in your life to feel like you've got your shit together. Conversely, you've also uncovered what it is that you don't need.

But for those who aren't as keen on the self-reflection process, there's another way. A shortcut, you could say. And that way—that knowledge—is revealed through your personal Sun sign (and the rest of the birthchart). If you know your birth date? Then it's just one quick hop to knowing your Sun sign. This information helps us because as the Sun moves through each of the twelve zodiac signs, it’s blessed with an evolutionary goal specific to that sign. If you have a Taurus Sun, for example, you'll be motivated by a set of values, goals, and interests that will best help you to grow and develop the peace that this sign needs for its sanity. On the other hand, if you've got a Scorpio Sun, those values will be polar opposite in nature, designed to help you develop the honesty and raw emotional depth that this sign needs, also for the sake of its sanity.

These underlying motivations can vary wildly from sign to sign. Some need creative self-expression. Others need to develop courage. Still others need to cultivate self-confidence or embark on a journey of intense spiritual work. The sign illuminates what those values, interests, and drives are, but just knowing this information isn't enough to get your Sun right. Because while it's true that you were born with these seeds of motivation already planted within you, they can’t germinate and grow without watering from you. You'll need to actively claim these gifts and proactively use them in order to benefit. The fact that you can succeed at the goals of your Sun sign is a guarantee; your birthchart promises you that much. In other words, you weren’t blessed with a birthchart you have no chance of acing. But while you can succeed, there’s also no guarantee that you will. The effort is entirely in your hands.

One of the things I like most about evolutionary astrology is that it leaves the concept of "fate" out of the equation and hands you the reins. Whether or not you “win” or “fail” is ultimately up to you. The Aries Sun can cultivate courage, but will he? The Capricorn Sun can develop self-discipline, but will she? The Gemini Sun can develop a radically open mind, but will they? You have the tools and the motivation, but the question now is: This is your life—so what will you do with it?

Image by Dimitris Vetsikas from Pixabay

analogy #2: the team

We've established that the Sun is the star of the show, but what does that mean about the rest of your birthchart? Does the Sun outshine them all? Just like in space all of the other planets do orbit the Sun, but they also all have substantial value and worth of their own (where would I be without my Mercury—my voice?). Their ultimate job, however, is to serve the Sun and its evolutionary purpose and goal. Putting aside the rainbow analogy for just a minute (only so I can move on to the next one), you can think of the collection of planets within the chart—all of the different parts of your psyche—as something of a team, with the Sun as captain.

Sometimes there are difficulties and squabbles between teammates. Loud players that fight for control and quiet ones that are quick to concede defeat. You might find a tightly-knit clique or two. Some like the limelight, others prefer to hang out in a quiet corner. Even though they know that working together is in their best interest, it's sometimes difficult for them as a whole to find common ground. But in order to play the game, we need all of the players. We need our Mercury voice. And our Saturn self-respect. We need our Moon heart and our Venus with its capacity to love. But we also need a strong, healthy captain to hold everyone together, and that's where the Sun comes in; its gravity can anchor the many parts of us. Its authority can direct the planets to work as a more cohesive team. A team whose important individual goals all serve the larger goal—the goal of the Sun.

a strong sun

As with all things in astrology, you can live out the high expression of the energies, or you can live out the low ones. Unfortunately, it often seems in life as if the "bad" choices come so much easier. That could be due, in large part, to the role that karma plays in your life. Unlike what I learned in my spiritual studies, karma in evolutionary astrology is simply defined as: deadening habit. Lifetime after lifetime of doing the same thing—making the same wrong personal choices—means that it comes far too naturally in this one. So the real challenge is: can you break the cycle? Can you stop picking the wrong partners? Can you stop being irresponsible? Can you stop taking on responsibilities that aren't yours to take? There could be a different "can you?" for every person alive, which is why the birthchart is so fabulously helpful. It can highlight your shortcomings but, more importantly, point you in the direction that will lead you out of them.

So what do things look like if you're living your Sun sign well? While there are certain specific notes I could make about each individual sign, there are also obvious key markers that will be visible no matter what sign you were born under. If your team captain (the Sun) is healthy and firmly in charge, you feel capable and vibrant because you're living in alignment with those inner motivations and needs, resulting in a feeling of energy and vitality. Life is good and you’re glad to be alive because you feel pretty damn satisfied with yourself and your choices. A strong Sun allows you to set boundaries when you need to, something many of us struggle with, myself included. There's also an unshakable inner confidence as you move through life, comfortable in your own skin. No matter if you’re a harmonious Libra or an enthusiastic Sagittarius, you burn bright and you burn strong, just as the sun in the skies overhead.

a weak sun

But what about when you're not living your Sun so well? Without an effective leader, the team kind of falls apart and things present much differently. This can go one of two ways, but in either case the ego becomes a dangerous thing. Instead of using it as a tool, it becomes more of a weapon—and often a self-destructive one. We hurt ourselves and we hurt others.

One the one hand, the ego can become greatly over-exaggerated. We become insensitive and wildly selfish. We put on an air of self-importance, sometimes merely to mask the insecurity we feel inside. Not quite sure who we are without a strong Sun to hold us together, we don an egotistical façade. We've all met people with bloated Suns; they feel (or least act) like the world revolves around them, and they can be downright miserable to spend time with.

On the other hand, while still greatly exaggerated, not living our Sun sign well can also trend in the opposite direction. Instead of false bravado and a bloated sense of self, we feel shrunken and abandoned. Lost. Like life is pointless—lacking purpose and meaning. The bright light of our Sun is severely diminished; its radiant confidence smothered.

Image by Alain Audet from Pixabay

all hail the sun

And that, my friends, is the glorious Sun. Representing your personality in the birthchart, it's a symbol heavily laden with critical clues on how to live your best life. Each month, as we enter a new zodiac season, I'll take you through the current Sun sign and point out its evolutionary goal as well as what things look like if you're nailing it and what things looks like if you're not. No worries if you feel like you're not making a passing grade, though, because I'll also offer a multitude of tips on how to turn things around. And who wouldn't want to be the most vibrant rainbow in the neighborhood?

And on that note, I'm off to work on my Capricorn post. Did I mention it's one of my absolute favorites? Because it is (says the heavily-biased one with a Capricorn Moon). And don't forget about our series of zodiac soaps—they'll be freshly restocked in the new year! Have a great one, my friends ♥

Much love,

Melinda