The Sun, the giver of life, represents our conscious mind in Astrology. It represents our will to live and our creative life force.
With respect to the other luminary (the Moon), the Sun reflects the present or the “here and now”, while the Moon infuses the past into our lives through the feelings.
The luminary Sun takes an important place in astrological studies. It is given the first consideration when a chart is interpreted. The position of Sun in one's natal chart describes ones' nature and his attitude for the entire lifespan. The Sun represents your individuality and your conscious self. The Sun represents the person in whole. The position where the Sun lies in the zodiac sky when you were born in this world best describes your true personality to the outside world.
Just as the planets revolve around the Sun in our solar system, we derive our life purpose from the Sun in our natal charts. The Sun is our ego. It is also our “adult”– the part of us that censors our “inner child”, that reasons things out, and makes final decisions. The Sun is our basic identity, and represents self-realization. When you are asked, “Who are you?”, and you’ve passed your basic statistics and occupation, your answers will be a description of your Sun. The Sun also represents our overall vitality. The Sun directs us, and can be considered “the boss” of our chart.
The Sun is so important in the chart, that the happiest people on this earth are those who identify (without over-identifying) with the Sun’s expression. Though one might think that the traits of their Sun would come easy to them, the truth is, the Sun shows what we are learning to be. It is very important to remember that the Sun represents reason as opposed to instinct.
Grant Lewi referred to the Sun as indicative of “the psychological bias which will dominate your actions”. He went on to say, “You may think, dream, imagine, hope to be a thousand things, according to your Moon and your other planets: but the Sun is what you are, and to be your best self in terms of your Sun is to cause your energies to work along the path in which they will have maximum help from planetary vibrations.” (1)
When we are “acting out” our Sun, we are purposeful, directed, proud, and creative. On the negative side, we can be haughty, overly willful, self-centered, and judgmental.
In the chart, the position of the Sun by zodiac sign represents the native’s life purpose and the style in which they leave their mark in the world. By house, the Sun’s position shows where our personalities shine. The areas of life associated with that house reveal the types of experiences which contribute to our sense of individuality and which shape our sense of pride. These areas of life are ones in which we seek to express and focus our Sun sign qualities.
Take a closer look at the Sun’s glyph, or symbol. It shows the circle of Spirit, indicating potentiality, brought to focus in the central point or dot.