78 Weeks of Tarot: The Sun

[Trogon]

For information on what these threads refer to, see this thread;

 

78 Weeks of Tarot - Informational Thread

 

The above linked thread gives suggested dates for the cards as well as links to the individual topics.

 

Some of us may be working through the study in a different order and using different decks. If you have general questions or comments regarding the 78 Weeks of Tarot study group, please post in the topic in the above link.

 

Have fun.

[Whisper]

The Journey into Egypt Tarot Sun below.

[Bookworm]

Deck: Fairytale Tarot

 

Card name: The Sun

 

First impressions:

 

There are two main figures. The larger is perhaps a sun god. He's standing in the sky, dressed in a red robe over a blue tunic. The robe has a large sun sewn over his chest that actually radiates light. He's also wearing matching boots and hat. He smiles down at a child, who is also standing in the sky, who is dressed in colorful, perhaps African, clothing. Below them is a town or city built by a river. Behind the town is a desert with hills. On the other side of the river, at the front of the card is a man on a camel, and at least one other camel. Next to the child is a wooden structure with a thatched roof. There is a pale blue sky.

 

I get the feeling that the child has died and is being welcomed into heaven.

 

From the book:

 

Keywords and phrases: Happiness and confidence; success, a sunny life; things turn out better than expected, enlightenment about the true situation

 

The Sun is usually a straightforwardly happy card. It's also about clarity, and the crux of this tale is the Sun's realization about the true state of affairs with Letiko. Unusually for a fairy story, he realizes that even though he has the right to keep the girl, doing so will only make her (and perhaps him) unhappy.

 

The Sun card is about the ability to see things as they really are. It's also about assurance and a sense of healthy mental freedom.

 

The original story:

 

The Sunchild, African folk tale, from The Grey Fairy Book, by Andrew Lang

 

http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/lfb/gy/gyfb26.htm

 

Traditional meanings:

 

Life, energy, vitality, joy, enlightenment, warmth, manifestation, happiness, riches, marriage, good times, success, clear thinking, optimism, blessings, good fortune, a good holiday, nice weather, partial success, sadness, hoping for an improvement, feeling under the weather, reduced vitality, delayed success/happiness, being overly sentimental, things are not as rosy as they seem, false impressions.

 

My impressions of the card/story combination:

 

Thankfully, I was wrong. The card does not show the death of a child.

 

The card looks nothing like a regular Tarot Sun, but it does preserve the image of two people, though certainly not twins. It's a warm and happy story and a warm and happy and sunny! image, so it all works together.

 

The story fits the idea of success and happiness because even though the mother has to endure losing her child for a while, and the child has to do the same with her mother, the sadness doesn't last long, and their dreams of being reunited are fairly quickly realized.

 

Even the hare that loses its tail ends of better off than he was before. The only loser in the story is the Sun, but he is all powerful in any case, so we don't have to feel too sorry for him.

 

My take (what I make of it/what I might see in a reading where I drew it)

 

I think I would see a happy resolution to a problem or situation or understanding or clarity. Nothing is hidden.

 

The Sun here seems like a well-meaning but somewhat clueless authority figure. There is no subtlety to be found in this card. The message could involve the need to make oneself or one's desires clear to someone who could make them happen. In a reading, in other words, it might be the querent who needs to make another see that there is more to himself than is obviously visible in the bright light of the sun.

[Whisper]

This is The Sun from The Journey into Egypt:

 

 

A baby nestled in a lotus flower that is rooted in some kind of luminescent, but indistinguishable mire which is supposed to be water. The petals are purple, the baby is illuminated and curled up in the fetal position.

 

According to "LWB" of this deck, the Sun is "the birth of light at the darkest moment. It is the signal of new beginnings and the hopeful return of comfortable warmth". The message is one of hope and "changing momentum". "Horus the saviour is born with capacity to defeat Set. The birth of Horus is a repetition of the "First Day" when Ra was born in lotus. Part of the Hermopolis myth "which describes the first day as a lotus flower emerging from the primordial waters of Nun. Sitting in the middle of the flower is a divine child".

 

Traditionally, the Sun card signals a portal, an opening in a person's life. It brings all manner of very positive things, yet it cleanses, purifies, enhances, also brings improvement and illuminates.  Goals seems clearer. There are greater opportunities. Luck is present. There is vitality and fear can be better overcome. Emerging into the light.

 

My impressions of this card is that it certainly heralds the emergence of new and positive opportunities and situations. Also, that whatever negativity or darkness was present can be overcome and left behind. Innocence also comes to mind when I look carefully at this card's imagery. Innocence and purity. Both are extremely positive states. One because corruption hasn't intruded yet, and the other because purity does not allow for corruption, being its very antithesis. I see also truth and light.

[Hemera]

Description:

Three women/witches are dancing on a field filled with sunflowers. The sun is shining brightly. The witches’ three black cats are joining in the fun. They all look very happy and carefree.

 

What action is going on:

Maiden, Mother and Crone dance in a circle on a sunlit meadow.

 

Images and Symbolism:

Sunflower (Helianthus) is a symbol of loyalty, longevity, power, strength, happiness and joy.

It also symbolises undying love. In the Greek myth a water nymph turns into a sunflower after grieving over the loss of her love (Apollo). The nymph (in the form of a sunflower) is always facing the sun, looking for Apollo's chariot to return so she might be joined again with her love.

 

Colours:

Green and yellow

 

This card encourages:

-striving for a culmination

-peak in a confident way

-direct experience of the Divine

 

Warns against:

-burn out

-recklessness

-Pollyanna-style

-looking down on younger and/or inexperienced individuals

 

Traditional meanings (J. Bunning):

-vitality; experiencing joy, celebrating

-assurance; feeling free and expansive

-becoming enlightened; understanding

-experiencing greatness; shining forth brilliantly

 

From the Book:

-The books says this card is always good and that its answer is always yes. But in the picture itself there is a hint of the sun’s destructiveness as well (it is a bit too big and bright), which I think is good. Probably nothing in the mundane world is all good. There is a seed of the opposite as well.

 

Sallie Nichols: (in Jung and Tarot. An Archetypal Journey. Weiser 1984)

-The Sun is the source of all life in the planet, but it can also be dangerous to human beings

- the Sun can be both feminine or masculine, depending on the culture

- number 19 of the Sun card reduces to one and is one of the “seed cards” in tarot

 

Notes:

-for me (and in my culture) the Sun is feminine and I usually want my tarot deck to have a feminine Sun card. I said earlier that the Moon card sold this deck to me but I should have added “almost”. Because I think I pushed the “Buy now” button only after I had seen this card!

-this card is patron of children, love, new beginnings, growth, happy times, generosity

-Card of Aphrodite, Goddess of Love

 

Quote:

“Accept what is, let go of what was and have faith in what will be.”