The Sun – Tarot Meaning Deep Dive

Welcome to part 20 of my 22 part Tarot Meanings Deep Dive series – each week we explore ONE major arcana card and uncover it’s secrets, symbols and messages.

Today we’re diving into The Sun – the most positive, radiant, joyful card in the Tarot deck. After all the drama of The Moon, it’s a welcome relief!

Grab a notebook, pen and a cup of something hot and settle in…

Keywords: Joy, positivity, happiness, optimism, outgoing, extroverted, energetic, playful, innocent, radiant, expansion, inner child.

Symbols:
The Sun = radiance, yang energy, daytime, warmth
Reg flag = victory
Naked child with open arms, riding a white horse = being open to life, innocence
Sunflowers = earthly representation of the Sun
Stone wall = old limitations that you’ve managed to break free from

Dark Side: feeling pressure to be always ON and UP, forcing yourself to be “positive” and optimistic all the time, getting burnt out as a result of too much extroversion.

Light Side: playful and optimistic, all will be well, everything is working out!

1) Joy & Optimism

The Sun is all about saying YES to life! Greet life with your arms open and look on the bright side. It’s about finally reaching a place in your life where you feel your burdens evaporate and feel a sense of joy and excitement about life. Despite all that’s happened in your past you know that everything is going to be okay.

Journalling Questions:

♥ Think of a time when you felt this optimistic and positive…

♥ What stops you from being this way?

♥ What helps you get into Sun mode?

2) Radiant, Expansive Energy!

The Sun is about directing your energy outward and shining your light on the world! It’s an extroverted card that runs counter to more introverted cards like The Moon, The High Priestess and The Hermit. The Sun is a powerful symbol of the radiant, expansive, yang-like energy in the world and it encourages us to open up, take action and share a part of ourselves with the world.

After we pass through the shadowy mystery of The Moon and into the full light of The Sun, epiphanies and aha! moments begin to happen, allowing us to break free of the things that kept us small and limited (represented by the stone wall). We did it! We’re free! Now it’s time to wave our victory flag!

Journalling Questions:

♥ What makes you feel expansive? Outgoing? Energized?

♥ What does “shining your light onto the world” mean to you? How do you do this?

3) Playful & Innocent

The Sun invites us to be playful and to not take life so seriously. Get in touch with your inner child – be willing to look at life with fresh eyes, laugh, play and celebrate! This playfulness, joy and innocence is available to everyone, regardless of what they’ve been through.

It’s interesting that The Sun comes after all the really tough cards like The Devil, The Tower and Death. While The Fool’s optimism may come from youth and inexperience, The Sun’s optimism is fully earned and may even be a result of having weathered the storms of life.

Journalling Questions:

♥ What does it mean to be playful? How can you cultivate more playfulness in your life?

♥ What is your relationship with your “inner child” like?

♥ Exercise – go outside for a walk and look at everything as if you’re seeing it for the first time. Resist the urge to name things or categorize things – keep an open mind and engage with the world as though it is all new to you. See what happens!

The Wisdom of The Sun

The Sun tells us that NOW is the time to let our inner light shine outwards. Now is the time to tap into our extroverted side share ourselves with the world. Regardless of the darkness we may have experienced in the past, the bright, joyful innocence of The Sun is always within us, waiting for the right time to be freed and burst forward.

♥ Join me next week as we dive into Judgment (seriously one of the most exciting cards in the Tarot!)

You can find all my previous Tarot Meanings Deep Dives right here!