The Sun At A Glance
Keywords: Happiness, joy, good times, celebrating life, gratitude, depression, sadness, difficult times, the conscious, the yes card, the no card (when reversed)
Season: Summer
Zodiac/Planet: Sun
The Sun Tarot Card Description
The Sun is usually numbered as 19. Usually The Sun describes a beautiful scene. A cherubic baby giggling and riding a white horse whilst waving a red banner. Behind them sits a wall with giant sunflowers growing over the top of it. A huge sun sits high in the sky filling the whole card with warm light.
The white horse and banner are incredibly similar to another card within tarot: the Death card. In that card death itself also rides a white horse and carries a banner. In The Sun card it also symbolizes innocence of intent and the need to usher in the new. Where we grieve loss in the Death card, here we celebrate life in all its vivid glory.
The sunflowers growing over the wall symbolize perseverance, the wall being an obstacle which the flowers have eventually grown past. The fact that it sits behind the cherub and horse symbolizes that the reader too, has overcome their darkest days and only brightness lays ahead for them.
The Sun Upright Meaning
The Sun card symbolizes a time of absolute joy and positivity for the reader. It is filled with positive symbols of summer, warmth and all things celebratory. This card is barbecues with friends, vacations and days off spent with loved ones.
The Sun card upright says our happiest days haven’t even happened yet and we are so lucky because we have them all to look forward to. We have overcome a great suffering and we are now able to live freely again. It is also the yes card within tarot. Whatever question has been asked this card in its upright position is an unequivocal yes from the universe or from the powers that the reader believes in.
“Everyone chases after happiness, not noticing that happiness is right at their heels.” - Bertolt Brecht
The Sun Reversed Meaning
The Sun card, even when reversed, is still about joy but unfortunately its opposite side: joyless misery. When reversed this card warns us of depression, sadness and mourning. It still ultimately has a positive message though, it tells us there is nothing in life that we can’t overcome and that this period of time will pass and we will smile again.
It says in the meantime we should sooth our emotions as best we can and treat ourselves with kindness and patience. This card reversed is the no card in tarot. If it comes to us reversed the universe or powers we believe in are answering our question with a very clear ‘absolutely not.’
“If it’s both terrifying and amazing, then you should definitely pursue it.” - Erada
The Sun: Yes or No
Either upright or reversed it’s a very sunny and positive answer from The Sun. This means that if a no is the positive outcome we are hoping for (will I lose my job?) then that is the intended meaning of The Sun. But if a yes is the positive outcome (will I get that pay rise?) then that is the intended meaning. Anytime we see this card, it’s a cause for celebration.
Let’s Break Down The Sun In Our Lives
What The Sun means for different parts of our daily lives.
The Sun In Love
If the reader has asked a question about love either romantic or platonic and The Sun card appears then it can suggest happiness could be found through a new relationship or a rekindling of an old relationship. This card says we should make sure to celebrate our loved ones whilst they are with us because life is finite and beautiful.
Reversed The Sun in love can mean a relationship is the cause of our current sadness. It can be difficult to admit this but once we do we can take the steps needed to repair the relationship or move on if there is no saving it. In time we will heal.
The Sun With Money
If The Sun card appears when a question about money has been asked it is suggesting this venture will be very successful for us and we should definitely pursue it. Of course we still need to take measures to make sure we limit risk but this financial venture has a very strong chance of success.
Reversed The Sun with money means this venture will likely be very difficult for us and we shouldn’t attempt it at this time. Though we might feel good about it we should tread carefully and make sure to cover all our bases.
This will take time and likely means the opportunity will expire but we shouldn’t fear missing out because there will be other more stable opportunities in the future which we are better prepared for.
The Sun At Work
When asking a question about a situation at work or about our careers The Sun card can mean being appreciated and valued at our place of work. A promotion or better job roles negotiated. Sometimes this is a financial reward via a bonus or pay increase but sometimes this can mean genuine praise and our hard work being acknowledged by those we work for.
Reversed The Sun at work suggests our job could be the leading cause of our negative emotions. It may be time to leave but at the very least it’s time to discuss contract changes if our mental health is beginning to suffer.
The Sun With Others
If we are asking about our external world, either our immediate world of people we know or the world at large and we get The Sun card as an answer it means that our mood is drastically improving due to either making new friends or reconnecting with old ones. We are being asked to savor these times and make beautiful memories.
Reversed The Sun with others can signify feeling lost, alone and isolated. We often don’t give people the chance to support us, trying to be independent and not wanting to burden others. It’s important to reach out to our loved ones, especially when we feel this way. Even if we feel alone there is always someone there who can help us and ease our pain.
The Sun With Self
The Sun card relates to our internal world by asking us to simply celebrate and be grateful for the good times when we find them upon us. Life has its ups and downs and we can’t make it perfect at all times. So instead of chasing perfection we should take time to stop and notice when things are really good and soak those moments in like a sponge. Truly commit them to memory and treasure them forever.
Reversed The Sun card with self can symbolize the reader currently feeling depressed or disconnected to their own feelings or psyche. This can happen at various times within our lives and it’s important to be kind to ourselves and ease our suffering whilst we wait for our circumstances change. We must have faith because life always changes, it’s impossible for things to stay the same.
The Sun As Feelings
The Sun is the most positive card within tarot (except maybe for the Ten of Cups coming in at a close second.) So as expected it feels like the most positive feelings we are able to experience in our lives. It is sheer joy and happiness.
Real life examples of this are watching our child play, or a family member graduate university, or perhaps watching a beloved friend marry their soul mate or even experiencing all these moments for ourselves. It is the cumulative effect of all of our most beautiful and emotionally vivid memories.
