Sun

The Sun is exalted in Aries, and the tradition reads the vital self at its most forthright here - identity forged through action, a will that begins things and asks to lead. Astrologers describe a nature that meets the world head-on, courageous and impatient, most itself when it is first.

The Sun is in its detriment in Aquarius, and the tradition reads a self defined against the crowd rather than by acclaim - identity tied to principle, independence and the good of the many. Astrologers describe an original, somewhat detached character that finds itself less in personal display than in an idea held in common.

The Sun is in its fall in Libra, and the tradition reads a self that comes to know itself through the other - identity met in relationship, weighed against another, reluctant to stand wholly alone. Astrologers describe a gracious, fair-minded nature whose strength lies in harmony and whose task is a centre that does not depend on someone else.

With the Sun in the tenth house, the Midheaven, the vital self is directed toward the world's regard, and astrologers read an identity bound up with career, reputation and public standing. The tradition notes strong ambition and a life in which the person seeks to be known for what they achieve.

The Sun in the eleventh house sets the self among groups, friends and shared aims, and astrologers read an identity realized through the collective and the pursuit of hopes larger than the personal. The tradition notes a life given direction by causes, alliances and a sense of the future.

With the Sun in the twelfth house the vital self works out of sight, and astrologers read an identity that is private, inward or given over to something larger than itself. The tradition notes a life lived partly behind the scenes, rich in inner experience, whose strength is found in solitude, compassion or the service of the unseen.

With the Sun in the second house the vital self is invested in resources and worth, and astrologers read a person whose identity is bound up with what they earn, own and value. The tradition notes a drive to build security and a sense of self measured, for good or ill, by material substance.

The Sun in the third house centres the self in the mind and in communication, and astrologers read an identity expressed through thought, speech, learning and the immediate world of siblings and neighbours. The tradition notes a life animated by curiosity and exchange.

With the Sun in the fourth house, the base of the chart, the vital self is rooted in home and family, and astrologers read an identity that draws its strength from private life, origins and belonging. The tradition notes a person whose sense of self deepens with age and turns increasingly toward the foundations.

With the Sun in the sixth house the vital self is invested in work and service, and astrologers read an identity expressed through daily labour, skill and the care of health. The tradition notes a person who finds themselves in being useful and whose sense of purpose is tied to the task well done.

The Sun in the seventh house places the self on the angle of the other, and astrologers read an identity realized through partnership - a life in which relationship is central and the person comes into focus alongside another. The tradition notes both a gift for cooperation and the task of not losing oneself in the couple.

With the Sun in the eighth house the vital self is drawn into the depths - shared resources, intimacy, crisis and transformation - and astrologers read an identity forged through what is intense and hidden. The tradition notes a life marked by regeneration and by the willingness to face what others avoid.

The Sun in the ninth house turns the self toward meaning and the wider world, and astrologers read an identity expressed through belief, learning, travel and the search for a larger truth. The tradition notes a life enlarged by philosophy and by the horizon beyond the familiar.

The Sun in Cancer draws the vital self inward toward feeling and belonging, its light reflected through the Moon's own sign. Astrologers read a character rooted in the private and the familial, protective of its own, and reaching its strength through care rather than assertion.

The Sun in Capricorn sets the vital self on the long climb, and astrologers read a character defined by purpose, discipline and the patient building of something lasting. The tradition notes a reserved, responsible nature that measures itself by what it achieves and earns its authority slowly.

With the Sun in Gemini the core identity is bound up with the mind, and the tradition reads a self that lives through curiosity, exchange and the play of ideas. Astrologers describe a quick, plural nature that renews itself in variety and is defined as much by what it asks as by what it is.

With the Sun in Pisces the boundary of the self grows porous, and astrologers read an identity drawn toward feeling, imagination and the whole rather than the separate ego. The tradition notes a compassionate, impressionable nature, easily merged with its surroundings, that finds its strength in sympathy and in what it can dissolve into.

With the Sun in Sagittarius the vital self reaches toward meaning and the horizon, and the tradition reads a frank, expansive character that needs room to range. Astrologers describe an identity built on conviction and movement, most itself when pursuing a larger truth or a farther country.

In Scorpio the solar will burns in fixed water, and astrologers read a character of depth and concentrated force - a self that guards its core, is drawn to what lies beneath, and renews itself through crisis. The tradition notes intensity, a long memory and a will that does not easily surrender.

In Taurus the solar will settles into the fixed earth, and astrologers read a character built on constancy - a self that gathers strength slowly, holds its ground, and takes its bearings from the tangible and the enduring. The tradition notes patience and a deep resistance to being hurried.

With the Sun in Virgo the self takes its measure from usefulness, and astrologers read an identity refined through work, analysis and attention to the particular. The tradition notes a modest, discriminating character that would rather improve a thing than display it, and that finds itself in being of service.

The Sun in the fifth house sits in the domain of creativity and play, near to its own natural rulership, and astrologers read a self that shines through self-expression, romance and children. The tradition notes a strong creative drive and a life that seeks joy, recognition and the chance to leave a personal mark.

In Leo the Sun rules its own sign, and the tradition reads the solar nature undiluted - a self that shines outward, warm, proud and generous, needing to be seen and giving freely in return. Astrologers describe a strong, wholehearted identity for which creative expression and dignity lie near the centre of life.

Amaterasu is the sun kami from whom the imperial line claimed descent, and the cave myth in which she withdraws and the world darkens is explicitly solar. Japanese also calls Sunday Nichiyobi, from the Chinese seven luminary week.

Roman practice named the sun Sol, and Apollo acquired the solar role through his identification with Helios in the late Republic and Empire. Sol Invictus, not Apollo, is the imperial sun god the astrological texts assume.

Greek writers distinguished Helios, the sun as visible body driving his chariot, from Apollo, who absorbed the solar role only later. Hellenistic astrological texts treat the planet as Helios rather than as Apollo.

Lugh is a god of many skills whose festival Lughnasadh opens the harvest, and modern practice reads him as solar. Roman era observers pointed the same god, as Gaulish Lugus, at Mercury instead, so this assignment reverses the attested one.

Ra is the sun itself in Egyptian thought, crossing the sky by day and the underworld by night, so the correspondence needs no interpretation. This is the one Egyptian planetary identification here requiring no cross cultural mapping.

Sol drives the sun's chariot in the Eddas, pursued by the wolf Skoll, and is the sun as body rather than as abstraction. Sunday preserves her in the Germanic weekday names, which were calqued from the Roman planetary week.

Surya is the first of the nine grahas of Indian astrology and holds the rank the sun holds in the Hellenistic scheme. The weekday name Ravivara matches Latin dies Solis exactly, a trace of transmission in the early centuries CE.

Tonatiuh is the sun of the present fifth age in Mexica cosmology, and the face at the centre of the stone commonly called the Aztec calendar is usually identified as his. Solar maintenance was the stated purpose of much Mexica sacrifice.

Shamash, the Mesopotamian sun god and judge of heaven, is the oldest layer of this correspondence. Cuneiform astronomical texts name the sun for him directly, and the later Greek and Roman solar attributions descend from that scheme.

Xihe is the mother or charioteer of the ten suns in early Chinese myth, while Chinese astronomy simply called the sun Ri and named it for no deity. The pairing draws on mythology rather than on the astronomical tradition.