by

Gargatholil

Sign-to-Sign Dynamics: A Depth Astrology Approach is now published!
 

To purchase this book, Go to Smashwords – Sign-to-Sign Dynamics: A Depth Astrology Approach – a book by Gargatholil  

To purchase Depth Astrology: An Astrological Handbook (vol. 1 - Introduction; vol. 2 - Planets in Signs; vol. 3- Planets in Houses; vol. 4 - Planets in Aspect) go to Smashwords.

Both books are also available in print editions from Amazon (be sure to order part 2 of volume 4 of Depth Astrology) 

The Sun: A Depth Astrology Approach

This is the first in a series exploring the essential meanings of the astrological planets from the viewpoint of depth astrology.  Why talk about the meanings of the planets?  Isn’t this basic astrology 101?  While, beginning with such luminaries as Dane Rudhyar and Alan Leo, there has been a growing awareness—growing for decades—of the deeper, transformative meanings associated with the planets, many in the astrological community still think of the planets primarily in terms of their attributes.  Venus is associated with love and beauty, Mars with aggression and taking action.  While these attributes are valid, they are quite derivative compared to the essential archetype that each planet represents.  As Richard Tarnas has said, each of the astrological symbols is broadly multi-valent.  In order to better understand the cornucopia of meaning contained within each symbol, it is useful to start at the core.

At a certain level—the level at which Alan Leo contended that astrology is left behind—it all dissolves into Oneness (or, perhaps, even before we reach that level, we enter a sphere in which words and concepts that make sense in our reality no longer operate).  At the edge of this domain, the archetypes appear (including the astrological archetypes).  The archetypes themselves may be said to be ineffable but they each carry a distinct impression or essence, which is then manifested in the world of differentiation and multiplicity.  Ultimately, however, each of these archetypes is pointing to that Transcendent Realm which lies beyond them and, so, they may be conceived as different paths toward Oneness.  While the archetype itself remains beyond description, at some point we can begin to attach words to it.

A word that we can use to describe the essential meaning of the Sun is Beingness.  We need to distinguish this concept of Beingness from the Aries-associated state of the initial awakening of self-consciousness.  The Sun’s Beingness is Everness.  It simply IS. 

A central idea in depth astrology is that each planetary archetype manifests in the human psyche as a specific function.  Taken together, the astrological planets (and here are included certain points) become a map, as it were, of the psyche.  We can see in the planets and their relationships the human psyche functioning as a complex but unified organism.  From this perspective, it is the imprinting within the individual psyche of all of the archetypes associated with the astrological symbol set that provides the “causal” or synchronistic mechanism that gives astrology its validity.

The Sun’s role in the human psyche is that of the Self.  The Self is the purest and simplest expression of Beingness at the human level.  In its essential form, the Self has no attributes.  It will take on attributes, symbolized by the Sun’s sign, its house placement, its aspects and its degree.  In its essence, however, it is pure Being. 

Yet, the Sun exists in relation to the entire horoscope.  In other words, the Self is contextualized within the individual psyche.  The most primal experience of the Self, before it even recognizes its individual attributes, is of its quiddity—its own essential nature, that which makes it distinct and different from other beings.  The first experience of this quiddity is pure self-awareness.  Here, we become primally aware that we are not Other (which is different than an awareness of pure Being in which there is no Other).  This level of awareness may last only for an instant before the next level of quiddity is reached—identity.  In practical terms of living on this Earth, it is our identity that the Sun symbolizes.

As we become attached to the external objects and phenomena of this world, our sense of identity quickly slips from its primal awareness of I AM and we begin to view our identity as a set of attributes.  The Self becomes the self.  The more solidly we attach ourselves to our attributes and claim these as our identity, the stronger becomes our association with the ego as self.  Ultimately, our concept of identity is spread all throughout the chart, as we take our identity from our career, our family, our relationships, the way we act and react, etc.  However, our strongest identity is naturally centered in the Sun, taking its qualities from the sign placement, its place in the world from its house placement and its energetic flows and struggles from its aspects.  If we find that our identity is focused elsewhere (e.g., we identify ourself primarily through our career), this is a sign of imbalance and lack of being centered in our own selfhood.

The psychological (or spiritual) task symbolized by the Sun is to return to centeredness in our own selfhood and, ultimately, to realize our identity with the Self.  This is embodied in a central question of the human experience: Who am I?  This is a question that almost everyone asks at some point in their life, often during adolescence (but it may be asked at any time and multiple times).  We often settle at the level of attributes, defining ourself by our place in the world.  Those who are not satisfied with this answer will inevitably dig deeper.

The Sun’s placement can be seen as a blueprint for this journey.  If our Sun is in Taurus, then it is through a realization of the transcendent qualities of Taurus that we can reclaim our True Self.  We may find our path by clarifying our values, identifying our real basic need, realizing our place in the organic whole of the Cosmos, and cultivating a steady devotion toward our spiritual goal.  If our Sun is in the seventh house, our task may be to seek our relationship to the Divine Beloved within.  If our Sun is square Mars, our challenge may be to pursue that desire whose achievement will not let us down, or to follow the path of Right Action without compromise.  We (or our clients) may not be there yet but at whatever level our Sun identity is manifesting, it can be taken as a stepping stone toward the ultimate goal of reclaiming our True Identity.

Another facet of the Sun archetype of Beingness is closely linked to our search for identity.  This is Consciousness.  Another name for consciousness is awareness.  Consciousness is concomitant with Beingness in that one does not exist without the other. 

The dawn of Consciousness is described in Genesis by the phrase, “Let there be Light!”  That light is a characteristic of consciousness can be seen when we consider its opposite.  Unconsciousness, or Not-Being, can be characterized as being complete and utter darkness.  Thus, with the Sun’s association with consciousness we have the genesis of the Sun’s association with light.  It is not just the fact that the physical Sun is the source of our light that is the reason for this association.  In fact, this physical connection can be viewed as a Platonic reflection of the Sun’s archetypal association with Light. 

Metaphysically, Consciousness is at its highest and purest at the instant of its coming into Being.  As the created world is manifest and our consciousness spreads out into the Creation, it becomes more and more attenuated.  The Light begins to fade until at some point we enter the darkness of Illusion, or Maya.  It is through this Maya that the self becomes attached to its attributes and takes them as our identity.  Thus, the Sun-journey to our True Self is also a journey to greater Consciousness and one does not occur without the other. 

We can also see that as we actualize our Sun archetype, we draw closer to the Light within us and, consequently, we are more and more filled with Light.  As this occurs, the positive qualities associated with our Sun placement become more and more pronounced.  In effect, we begin to shine and we radiate the positive qualities inherent in our Sun placement.

The Self is also the source of all Power, for the Self is the Divine within and one of the attributes of divinity is omnipotence.  Power has many dimensions or aspects but, with the Sun, Power is that which is connected to Beingness.  It is the essence of power and empowerment—the power to be.  Thus, the Sun symbolically empowers what it touches. 

However, what is too close to the Sun becomes combusted.  One way to look at this is that in the presence of the Sun’s (the Divine’s) magnificence, one realizes their existential insignificance and becomes humble.  From an ego-perspective, this is “malefic” and “weak,” for the ego does not like to feel small.  From the perspective of the journey to the Self, this is a necessary step, for the self cannot approach the Self while it holds onto the ego-baggage of its own illusory self-importance.  Thus, a combusted planet may be viewed not as a detriment but as presenting an opportunity to learn humility.

Still another attribute of Beingness is creativity.  The connection between Beingness and the Creative Force is seen in the Qur’anic verse: “When Allah wills a thing to exist, He says to it “Be” (kun) and it is.”  This makes it clear that Beingness comes about through an act of creation.   Perhaps a more accurate term to use is manifestation, for the creation is not a thing separate from the creator.  As the primal Being manifests (or is created from) the Un-Manifest, so as Being manifests Itself at levels of greater diversity, creatures (created things) come into existence, or realize their Beingness.  From Being springs Being; from Life springs Life.  The Creative Force, originating in the seminal act of Being being brought into being, flows through the manifest world.  Each creature, each self is also a locus of that Creative Force, since we are all Beingness or Self existing at our level of manifestation. 

Thus, the Sun, as symbol of Self and self, symbolizes that Creative Force and the locus of creativity within the psyche.   From this central Creative archetype spring a host of related associations as the archetype manifests at various levels in the material world.  Astrologically, this becomes clear as we contemplate the qualities associated with Sun-ruled Leo and the fifth house. 

We begin at the point where the universal Creative archetype enters the human psyche manifesting as the creative urge or the creative power of the individual.  While human creativity may be focused into the arts, drama, music and other forms of traditional creative outlet, it is more generally revealed as self-expression.  The Solar energy then crystalizes into the modes of self-expression and those attributes by which we show our special identity for others to see.  We, thus, become identified with those objects through which our creative energy shines. 

Creativity also manifests as play and imagination, which is creativity manifesting without the constraints that the super-ego imposes.  We commonly associate these Solar activities with children and, when they are activated in adults we frequently say that we are getting in touch with our inner child.  We can see this as a yearning to return to “a more innocent time” by which is really meant that stage when our identity was less encumbered by all of the associations to which we have become attached. 

The Solar energy is also associated with children through one of the most basic expressions of creativity—procreation.  More specifically, it is the masculine component of procreation that is associated with the Sun and, through this association the Sun is seen to symbolize the father figure.  Cosmologically, it is the manifesting or projecting aspect of the Creative Power that we have associated with the masculine.  Thus, the Sun is linked to the patriarchal version of our idea of the Godhead—the Father figure who has created the Universe and who “rules” over His domain as a father takes care of his children.

From this manifestation of the Solar archetype, we have the Sun’s (and Sun-ruled Leo’s) connection to authority and to the type of power that springs from and that supports the idea of authority.  We can also derive from this the Sun representing strength and rulership in general.  We can also see the Sun’s association with these qualities as a reason that it is considered to be a benefic, conferring those energies and qualities associated with kingliness on whatever it touches. 

Still another aspect of the Sun’s association with creativity is its identification with the Life Force, for the act of creation and life are intimately bound together.  In fact, we can easily conceive of the Life Force as indistinguishable from the Creative Power.  This identification is reinforced by the astronomical role of the Sun as being necessary for life to exist on Earth and, indeed, one of the appellations  of the Sun-as-deity is Life-giver.  A strong Life Force is often seen to manifest as vigor and vitality, qualities that are also associated with the Sun.

As the Sun’s creative archetype manifests in the human psyche, it produces a dichotomy when it becomes attached to our ego-identity.  As we alluded to above, the ego appropriates the fruits of creativity to augment its identity in the world.  In a sense, this is natural.  When we speak about the qualities of the Sun sign or its house placement, we are talking about the accoutrements of the identity that the ego has taken on in order to function in the world.  It is only when we develop an excessive sense of ownership of these qualities (or pride, another Sun/Leo quality), that this arrangement becomes dysfunctional.

A dichotomy exists because, in Reality, it is the Creative Power, not the ego, that is responsible for bearing all of the fruits of creativity.  However, if we psychologically assign to the Divine all of the responsibility for acting creatively in the world, then there is the danger that we become disengaged from the Creation (but, of course, the ego will not let us do that so readily).  To resolve the dichotomy, we must hold our attention at both levels simultaneously, joyfully playing our role as we recognize that it is all Maya. 

This is the essence of true co-creation.  As the 13^th century Sufi, Ibn al-`Arabi, stated, the self is the locus of the Divine.   It is through the apparatus of human perception that the world is created and enjoyed by the Divine, and the self.  It is not that we get to direct the play in any way.  We can only aspire to become the perfect vehicle for Divine expression. 

This, then, is the highest actualization of the Solar archetype within the human psyche.  It is not a journey that will be completed by everyone but it is a journey upon which everyone, in one indecipherable way or another, is engaged.  It involves the ultimate transformation of the identity from the self to the Self.  We can explore the incredibly rich symbology of the Sun’s zodiacal and house placement and the pathways and challenges symbolized by its planetary aspects to gain some clues about the journey in this life, wherever it may take us.

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