The Sun

Feehan Hammock

I liked the idea that the earlier Gringonneur cards depicted a maiden spinning the thread of life. Therefore, I chose to place a female figure onto my card as it fit into my own interpretation of what the Sun card has meant to me on an experiential level. I like the Motherpeace Tarot as well, because the interpretations feel very comfortable on an intuitive level. My Sun card is a collection of symbols and images that come from that intuitive and personal level.

The Sun: The unconquered sun whose victory over darkness is the sign of man's eventual triumph. Daylight is the time of vigorous activity and clear perception (into the light), awakened understanding of, and appreciation for, life. The sun is the soul's appearance in all its radiance. The quester's journey is ongoing, as the sun rises each morning bursting onto the horizon of consciousness and bringing light so that we may "see" and actively transform.

Stepping from the dark into the light: It is the sun that enables us to see, and so in spiritual terms to recognize higher goals. The card is frequently connected with alchemy. According to Fabre, "alchemy is not mere an art or science to teach metallic transformation so much as a true and solid science that teaches how to know the center of all things, which in divine language is called SPIRIT OF LIFE." Alchemists believed that the action of the sun caused gold to mature in the ground. The sun was therefore the source of the supreme treasure.

The maiden, inner peace and harmony: She has woven her garment, her life, from all her experience, knowledge, seeking, and understanding. She reaches for a higher level of being and is reborn to a new self each time she awakens to the dawn.

The symbol for Mercury, self-knowledge and transformation: Mercury is believed to be the transforming element in the alchemical process, released from materia prima, transformed, and brought to perfection. Also, Mercury is remembered as the messenger and is connected with learning through discovery.

The vertical and horizontal symbols, inner harmony: The horizontal represents the earth. The vertical represents oneness, the power descending upon us, or upward stroke, the yearning we have towards higher things. Combined is the reciprocation between the higher and the world.

The triangle symbol, wisdom: We reach for the wisdom from a higher consciousness.

The snake, symbol of spring: The snake represents transformation, as in shedding one skin for another, as in rebirth. Spring is also a symbol of rebirth.

The star-like symbol: Strength is radiated from a central point, as from our deepest self or belief in a higher power as our center. This strength then generates motion all around us, the activity needed for transforming.

The circle with the diamond in the center: The diamond is our innermost center. The circle is the sun, nurturer of all life.

The butterfly: The emergence, the awakened understanding; out of the dark into the light, rebirth, transforming.

The number XIX: In numerology, 19 becomes 1, which seems to fit this card well - one as in oneness, the center, strength, a true channel. One stands with feet firmly on the ground and head in the clouds, listening to the voice of the inner teacher. The lesson to be learned is to listen to one's own inner guidance and believe enough to act upon it.