Chart Anchor #1: The Sun

June 1, 2019

Think, for a moment, of the physical sun - the gravitational center of the solar system, an expansive and expanding source of almost unfathomable energy.  

Is that how your sun functions in your chart, too?  Yes and no.

Yes: the sun represents your power source - your physical vitality, your creative instincts, your capacity for joy.  

When you “do your sun”--in other words, when you live out the best version of what it represents in your chart--you feel energized, optimistic, and productive.  

When you don’t live your sun, mental and physical health problems tend to ensue.

In other words, Scorpios gotta Scorpio, and Leos gotta Leo.  It does no good for the Scorpio to force themself to Leo. 

(That is, unless Leo is also strong in their chart, in which case they probably will probably Leo quite naturally, in addition to Scorpio-ing.)  

The Scorpio may really want to Leo.  Let’s say this person lives in the U.S., subject to a mainstream American culture that places a lot of emphasis on independence, self-expression, and a go-get-em nature -- all Leo qualities -- more than it prioritizes Scorpio's preoccupation with deep intimacy, emotional honesty, and probing hidden or even taboo subjects.  

The Scorpio might very well be able to fake the Leonine traits… for awhile.  But it’s unlikely they'll remain happy or healthy if they do.

You are not your sun sign.

I happen to have Sun in Gemini, which could be called “the sign of curiosity.”  It’s a really mental, social air sign.  

That mental agility and passion for learning about a wide variety of subjects was really valued by my schoolteachers... 

Squirrel!  

Wait, what were we talking about?  

Oh, right.  Gemini, and its innate curiosity… which is not too concerned about focusing on any one thing in depth.  

This doesn’t mean that *I* don’t care about depth or focus.  My chart isn’t 100% Gemini (and neither is anyone else’s).  I have tons of other things in my chart--and personality--that help me mitigate the excesses of my sun sign.  

So do you.  So does everyone.

I have a friend with sun, moon, AC and four planets in Sagittarius.  This is not someone who struggles to recognize himself in one-dimensional descriptions of “his sign!”  

But he still has other planets and important points (such as the midheaven) in other signs.  All of that adds complexity even to this wildly Sag-focused chart.  

And--let’s not forget--he also has free will and a history of past choices that have affected the course of his life.  

He’s hella Sagittarian, for sure, but he acts out the sign’s gifts and flaws only as much as he chooses to.  We are all making and refining ourselves every day, through our actions.  Obviously.  

Your chart is the map, not the territory.  Let's never lose sight of that.

Your chart is so much more than your sun sign.

If you attend an astrological networking event, you might see folks adding a little extra flair to their name tags:

Those little symbols under the name translate as “Sun: Gemini, Moon: Virgo, Ascendant: Taurus.”  (And yes, that's me – nice to meet you!)  

It’s a great ice breaker in a party full of astrologically-minded strangers: 

“Oh! My daughter has a Virgo moon, too.  We butted heads a bit when she was young, because she was very literal about how things needed to be done, but now she's a very successful pediatrician....” 

...blah blah and now we're talking about family life or whatever.  You get the picture. 

What you aren't likely to ever hear professional astrologers ask each other: “What's your sign?”

Are there exactly twelve kinds of people in the world?

The concept of “your sign” is a convention of the astrology-as-entertainment industry.  It makes their writing more accessible to general audiences.  

When they say “your sign is Sagittarius,” what they really mean is, “the sun was in Sagittarius when you were born.”  

Reducing your whole birth chart to one of twelve options--based on which sign the sun is in--is super convenient for entertainment writing.  

The sun is in approximately the same position on a given month/day every year.  That means you don't need to actually do all the math to cast your chart in order to understand their column.  All you need to do is scan for the paragraph that matches your birthday.  

I do occasionally meet people who have been told their whole lives that they are one sign, but their chart shows that their sun is actually in one of the neighboring signs. This only happens to people whose birthday is on the day the sun changes signs--in other words, the day the sun crosses the sign cusp.  We’ll talk more about sign cusps in a future article.

Sun-sign astrology vs. in-depth astrology

The main problem with sun-sign-focused astrology is that it puts waaaayyyy more focus on the sun than is justified.  

Sure, the sun’s sign is one descriptor of who we are at our core, before the influence of social conditioning and the survival strategies we develop over time.   

The sun is important.  But it's only one piece of a big, complex puzzle.

The sun’s sign is also often not the one people can most easily recognize in themselves or their loved ones.  Do you feel like “your sign” only kind of describes you?  Or perhaps it completely misses the point of how you move through the world, and feel about yourself? 

Do you consistently find yourself in positive relationships with folks whose signs are supposedly “incompatible” with yours?

If so, you’re not alone.  It doesn’t mean your sun sign is wrong or that astrology is stupid.  It just means that you’re missing the rest of the picture of how the sun fits into your birth chart: which house the sun falls in, and how its sign relates to the other big players in your chart, and about a trillion other things.  

Also…  if the sun sign described our whole selves, then there would be exactly twelve types of people in the world.  We all know that there are as many kinds of people in the world as there are people in the world. 

The most gorgeous thing about astrology as a tool for self-awareness is that it doesn’t force you into one of a discrete number of labels.  You have your very own birthchart, almost as unique as a thumbprint, and just as complex.

Sign, house, and aspects

There’s way more to the sun in your chart than just its sign.  The sun is placed in a particular house (segment of the chart).  It’s also most likely connected to other planets and points, via aspects (astrologically meaningful angles).  

Your sun’s house and aspects are just as important as the sign it’s in:  

The house shows the key life area where your sun’s gifts develop and shine.

The aspects with other planets represent your sun’s relationships with other parts of you--parts that either play well with your life-force-battery, or have different agendas that create more friction.

These topics are huge and will get their own articles.  I just wanted to give you a heads up that there’s a lot more nuance coming as we further explore your sun and the rest of your chart.  Woo hoo!

Getting to know your sun

Bust out your journal and let’s explore a bit:

1. What do you know (or what have you heard) about your sun sign?

2. What aspects of that do you see in yourself?

3. Are there any aspects of your sun sign which you don’t relate to? If so:

--Are you the complete opposite of this description of your sign?

--Does the characteristic describe what you were like or how you felt when you were younger, but you’ve since evolved out of it?  

--Is the trait true for you, but only now and then… like if circumstances have you feeling unusually emotional, perhaps?  

--Is it a part of you that only comes out around people you feel super safe with?  

4. Does the sign’s constellation symbol itself (Aries’ ram, Virgo’s virgin, etc.) resonate with you?  Does it confuse you?

5. List a few of your qualities that aren’t described by this sun sign.  As you go deeper into your chart, it will be interesting to see whether these qualities are reflected back to you by other symbols in your chart.

6. What do you know (if anything yet) about the house that your sun is in?  How might this color your understanding of the meaning of the sun in your chart?

7. Look for the ☉ symbol in your chart - that’s your sun.  Are there any other planetary symbols crowded next to it?  If so, that’s a conjunction, which is a super important aspect.  It means the parts of your personality represented by the other planet(s) are really wrapped up in the core of who you are.  Make note of this!

Care to share?

You certainly don’t have to share all or any of your answers with the group… but it’d be great to hear whatever you do feel up to sharing!  The whole group benefits as a learning community when folks are brave enough to open up a bit. :)

I’m happy to give feedback or not, as you request.  

Coming right up...

The sun might be the most famous “planet”* in astrology, but it’s not necessarily the most important.   In the rest of this series, I'll introduce you to two other heavy hitters in your chart: your moon, and your AC (aka ascendant/rising sign).

(*In astrology, it's conventional to refer to the planets, sun, moon, and asteroids as "planets" when you need to talk about them as a group.  It's sort of like calling a gender-mixed group "guys.")