Sun

The sun () is considered a very important part of astrology. It, as well as the Moon, are the most important of the astrological planets, and the two of them are often referred to as the luminaries. In Roman mythology the sun was represented by Apollo, the god of light and Helios the god of the sun. The Sun is the star at the centre of our solar system, around which the Earth and other planets revolve, and which provides us with heat and light.

The god Helios on his chariot

Astrologically ^[1] the sun is usually thought to represent the conscious ego, the self and its expression, personal power, pride and authority; leadership qualities; and the principles of creativity, spontaneity, health and vitality; the life force. The sun also involves creative enterprises that are a projection of the person, from art and business to having children and parenthood (especially fatherhood). It also rules the fun side of life from sport and recreation to holidays and social events. In short, any occasion that 'allows us to shine'. The first-century poet Marcus Manilius in his epic, 8000-verse poem, Astronomica, described the Sun, or Sol, as benign and favorable. In medicine the sun is associated with the heart, circulatory system and the thymus. The sun is the ruler of the 5th house. The Sun is the planetary ruler of the zodiac sign Leo.

The Sun is associated with Sunday. Dante Alighieri associated the Sun with the liberal art of geometry.

Sun signs

The portion of the sky (or arc) that the sun travels in every year, rising and setting in a slightly different place each day, is in reality a reflection of the Earth's own orbit around the Sun. This apparent path of the Sun through the sky is called the ecliptic . The arc of the ecliptic is larger the further north or south from the equator the latitude is, giving a more extreme difference in day and night and in the seasons during the year. The sun travels through the twelve signs of the zodiac on its annual journey, spending about a month in each. The Sun's position on a person's birthday therefore determines what is usually called his or her star sign , birth sign or zodiac sign, although it is in fact more accurate to call it a person's Sun sign. The concept of sun signs is most commonly used in the West where the majority of people are familiar with their sun sign.

The zodiac sign and house occupied by the sun will indicate how a person focuses their energies and activities, and how they integrate the different parts of their personality into a coherent whole. ^[2] It shows the mode of expression the person uses to feel most alive and vital, and how they seek admiration, notice and respect from those around them.

Sun sign dates

She has listed below each of the signs with a brief description of their characteristics, and their approximate corresponding dates when the sun enters and leaves each sign using the tropical zodiac. The precise date varies slightly from year to year, owing to the leap year adjustment. A person born on the last day of a sign is on what is called the cusp and typically will rely on the sign nearest to them (i.e. an Aries born on April 20 at 8 P.M. would be considered a Taurus, as their birth lies closer to the start date of Taurus, April 21.

• Aries (March 21 - April 19): Assertive, impulsive, humanitarian.
• Taurus (April 20 - May 20): Resourceful, thorough, sometimes indulgent.
• Gemini (May 21 - June 20): Imaginative, sensitive, sometimes impractical.
• Cancer (June 21 - July 22): Tenacious, sensitive, sometimes clinging.
• Leo (July 23 - August 22): Generous, proud, sometimes arrogant.
• Virgo (August 23 - September 22): Practical, efficient, sometimes over-critical.
• Libra (September 23 - October 22): Co-operative, fair, sometimes indecisive.
• Scorpio (October 23 - November 21): Passionate, sensitive, sometimes obsessive.
• Sagittarius (November 22 - December 21): Intelligent, straightforward, sometimes careless.
• Capricorn (December 22 - January 19): Intelligent, ambitious, cant trust anyone easily, introverts, straightforward.
• Aquarius (January 20 - February 18): Logical, intellectual, sometimes immature.
• Pisces (February 19 - March 20): Kind, unconventional, sometimes detached.

Chinese astrology

In Chinese astrology, the sun and the moon, or yang and yin, are said to represent the masculine and the feminine, respectively. One way to think about the interaction of the sun and moon signs in one particular person's horoscope is Jung's theory of the anima/animus, which is very similar to the Chinese idea that every human being should strive to balance the yang and the yin, or the masculine and the feminine, in her/his own personality and life.

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