Exploring Your Sun Sign –  Part 1

By Margaret Gray MSW D. Psych. Astrology

“We are born at a given moment in a given place and, like vintage years of wine, we have the qualities of the year and of the season in which we are born.”
C.G. Jung

The sign your Sun was in at the moment of your birth does not determine who you are. It merely offers you useful information on how to most easily access what you chose to learn in this particular incarnation, as well as the tools and resources at your disposal. It is in reconnecting with what our core journey is fundamentally about that we find true meaning and purpose in life.

Although the Sun in each sign has a set of characteristics intrinsic to its nature, we each have a wide scope of possibilities and choices as to how to express these characteristics. Understanding and integrating our Sun sign in a conscious manner is a life long process for most of us, requiring us to embark on the Hero’s Journey, thereby, heeding the call to adventure.

There are two main approaches to understanding the characteristics of the Sun as it moves through the 12 signs of the Zodiac wheel:

• as a circular developmental process from Aries, the first sign of the Zodiac, representing birth and the courage to launch into the unknown, to the last sign of Pisces, representing the wisdom accumulated from the previous 11 signs.

• as a pair of signs in opposition to each other, mirroring and seeking integration and balance. This is the approach I am going to use for the purpose of this article.

Sun in Aries – The Ram. March 21st – April 19th
Rules the Head
Planetary Ruler = Mars (Roman god of War)

Aries is the first sign of the Zodiac and is in the element of Fire, which Jung equated with the Intuitive function. Like many of the mythological heroes, the Sun in Aries needs a valid quest. Archetypically, the Aries call to adventure is a search to find the inner animus and father, which requires courage, discipline and inner strength. Its natural competitive characteristics are an attempt to prove its inner potency which feels crucial to its survival. If the Sun in Aries is unconscious, blocked or disowned, it can manifest as overly aggressive, fearful and unwilling to take responsibility for its choices and actions in life preferring to blame others. In finding and owning its own authority within, the Sun in Aries takes on its true role as a natural leader and initiator, combining  acute intellectual abilities with more primal instinctual drives.

If your Sun is in Aries, you are likely to benefit from the freedom of open spaces in nature, setting and overcoming ‘age appropriate’ physical emotional or mental challenges and being innovative and spontaneous in one or more areas of your life.

Opposite:

Sun in Libra – The Weighing Scales of Justice. Sept 23rd – Oct 22nd
Rules the Kidneys
Planetary Ruler = Venus (Greek goddess Aphrodite)

Libra is the opposite sign to Aries, representing duality in contrast to Aries’ individuality. It belongs to the element of Air, which in Jungian psychology is the Thinking function. Duality is, by nature, separative, enabling discrimination and definition. Archetypically, Libra is concerned with the human incarnate challenge of balancing our intellectual ideals and concepts of perfect fairness and justice with the human instinctual necessity to make choices for our survival. In contrast to the Aries ability to take action, Libra Sun often hesitates, struggling with the fairness of the consequences of its choices. In its intrinsic duality, Libra Sun seeks relationship with others to discover who it is. However, the exchange it requires is mostly an ordered, intellectual one, finding emotional exchanges somewhat challenging in their chaos. If the Sun in Libra is unconscious, blocked or disowned it can manifest as avoidance in making any decision and/or taking action for fear of not being liked. When shining brightly, the Sun in Libra is a natural mediator and diplomat, with a refined sense of beauty and balance.

If your Sun is in Libra, you are likely to benefit from art, elegance and peaceful ease in your surroundings, intellectually pleasing friendships and space to think things through.

Integration of the strengths from both signs
The more primal impetuous energy of Aries can benefit from the mental detachment and refinement of Libra. In turn, Libra’s reluctance to move forward and assert its own needs can learn from Aries’ ability to courageously stand up for what it believes in, regardless of the opinions of others.

Sun in Taurus – The Bull. April 20th – May 20th
Rules the Neck and Throat
Planetary Ruler = Venus

Taurus is the second sign of the Zodiac and the first of the Earth signs, the Sensation function as described by Jung. Here, we are in the concrete realm of incarnation where spirit and mind are combined with a human body with physical requirements, pleasures and desires. Archetypically, Taurus is concerned with our enjoyment as humans of the desires and pleasures of being in bodily form, yet also remembering that our ultimate purpose and identity is connected and at the service of something greater. The Sun in Taurus is deeply connected to the earth realm through a recognition and respect for the beauty and rhythms of nature. At heart, the Sun in Taurus seeks and creates security, structure and stability. It enjoys peace, tranquillity and sensuality with a strong dislike for sudden unexpected changes. If the Sun in Taurus is unconscious, blocked or disowned, it can measure its worth and security merely through its external possessions rather than through its inner strength and values. When in touch with its own inner value, the Sun in Taurus can easily create natural beauty, harmony, peace and stability in its surroundings.

If your Sun is in Taurus, you are likely to benefit from a beautiful natural environment with a variety of creative means of expression, as well as a degree of structure in your life.

Opposite:

Sun in Scorpio – The Scorpion, Eagle, Phoenix and Snake. Oct 23rd – Nov 21st
Rules the Genitals and Bladder
Planetary Rulers = Pluto (Roman god Hades – ruler of the underworld) and Mars

Here, we descend from the visible, tangible, upper earthly world of Taurus to the invisible depth of the Scorpian underworld. We are in the Watery territory of the Jungian Feeling function. Psychologically, we are in the realms of the individual and collective unconscious. Archetypically, Scorpio is about trusting that in letting go of what is safe and familiar, we will re-discover the hidden treasures of our authentic Soul self. Yet, it is only by fully incarnating in our physical bodies on this planet, through the earthy sign of Taurus, that we can safely descend into the underworld and discover the secrets of our soul and beyond, through Scorpio.

When unconscious, blocked or disowned, the Sun in Scorpio can seek to have power over others rather than for others, for fear of humiliation and annihilation. At its highest, the Sun in Scorpio is fearless, diving to the deepest emotional depths in itself and with others, using its mediumistic skills like a scalpel to eradicate whatever is outworn and blocking new seeds from germinating.

If your Sun is in Scorpio, you are likely to benefit from expressing your emotions through the creative arts as well as spending time near water.

Integration of the strengths from both signs
The integration of Taurus and Scorpio together can act as a morally courageous, physically grounded, emotionally deep and spiritually insightful transformative tool in this world and beyond.

Margaret Gray – Legal Copyright July 2010

Margaret Gray offers Psychological Astrology consultations to individuals and couples in Ireland, Hawaii and California. She also teaches individuals and groups. Please contact Margaret via her website www.astrologypsychological.com or margaret@astrologypsychological.com