Tarot Pull: The Sun
And we’re back to the Major Arcana again with its 19th card— The Sun.
I don’t know about you, but where I’m at, pulling The Sun fell at just the right time. After what seemed like the winter that lasted forever, it’s finally bright sundress weather here in West Virginia. However, no matter what time of year, The Sun will bring much needed illumination, warmth, and a hopeful outlook into your day.
Common keywords for The Sun include:
Upright – Positivity, fun, warmth, success, vitality
Reversed – Inner child, feeling down, overly optimistic
For a detailed write-up on the card itself, see Biddy Tarot’s article.
For this article, I decided to go with some decks I don’t regularly use. Why? Because I have a bajillion decks waiting to be showcased, but also I think it’s useful to demonstrate how cards can be used for different purposes and projects. Each of the decks discussed here show a unique representation of The Sun and beautifully reflect how tarot decks often have their own ‘personality’ or ‘vibe.’ Choosing a deck that meshes with your project will make all the difference as you utilize the cards for inspiration.
We’ll start out with the two cards that I think most closely represent a traditional (i.e. Rider-Waite-Smith) version of The Sun even though they depart fairly widely from each other.
I’ve included it in multiple write-ups, but I really do love Madam Clara’s 5-cent Tarot. It doesn’t leave much room for alternative interpretation as the keywords for both upright and reverse orientations are literally written on the card. Even though I love intuitive tarot, this deck can be especially handy for beginners OR if you need a good kick in the pants. You can wiggle your way out of what this deck hands you.
With this version of The Sun, we see all the hallmarks of summer and heat— sunshine; sunflowers; a reptile and new growth everywhere. It’s a joyful card, and rightfully so! As you can see, the 5-cent Tarot lists “happiness; authenticity; and optimism” as the meaning in its upright position. For me, the happiness and optimism piece seems obvious, but I also love the authenticity piece. It shows that the sun is lighting up all our dark corners, leaving our truest selves exposed to the world. That’s a beautiful thing, right?
Sure…unless you’ve got some dirt in those corners you don’t exactly want lit up. That’s where The Sun, despite its ridiculously cheery disposition, can challenge us (or our work). What needs to be exposed to the daylight? What needs to come out in the open?
If you need help figuring out what those precise things are or what should be done to bring those things into the light, try pulling a specifier card. I did this recently when I pulled The Sun during plot development. I ended up with a reminder that even in suffering and dark moments, there is joy too. Therein was my own challenge…bring out the happiness in the midst of pain.
We’ll do more with tarot spreads for plot development in the near future, but if you’re curious what this kind of thing looks like, see my prior article on a character development spread.
The next version of The Sun also leaves little room for interpretation, but in a syrupy sweet kind of way. Meet the Animal Tarot Card deck. I’ll be honest— I never would have picked up this particular deck for myself. It’s a bit too ‘hooray!’ for my taste, but it made its way into my collection by happenstance. So, why not play with it a bit?
In this deck’s version of The Sun, we see a sweet robin bathing in the sunlight amidst sunflowers and butterflies. It’s something you’d see on a get-well card, but that has its place too. There’s no reverse interpretation for the card. Instead, there’s a proclamation that you’re blessed and your endeavors will succeed.
If you’re the type of person who likes things cut and dry, but also don’t particularly like being slapped in the face when you do a tarot reading, this might be the deck for you! For inspiration purposes, it could be the perfect deck for someone creating lighter art. As a writer, I can see where something like this may add a helpful boost to those writing children’s stories.
I confess that part of the reason I included The Sun from the Animal Tarot Card deck is to create a significant contrast with the next version of The Sun. If the prior version is the perfect match for children’s books, The Sun from the Tarot Del Toro deck might be the pick for those adult horror/SFF writers out there. The Tarot Del Toro deck generally isn’t for light-hearted readings or inspiration (if you’d like to see more examples of this deck’s artwork, see my write-up on The Hierophant card).
Based on several of Guillermo Del Toro’s works, perhaps the only traditional aspect of this card is the image of the sun painted on the ginormous knight’s armor. He’s holding a sword, wielding a club and looks to be terrifying the pair cowering beneath him. The dude’s not playing around, okay? The creators of the deck did a fantastic job with the write-up on this one, emphasizing both the positive powerhouse aspect of the card as well as the danger that comes with this kind of burning energy.
(They also successfully wove together how The Sun relates to the rest of the Major Arcana in both its upright and reverse positions, but if you’d like to check that out, you’ll have to get your hands on a copy of the guidebook.)
For our last peek at The Sun in its various permutations, I wanted to include one that diverts from all traditional imagery but conveys the most moving aspect of The Sun, in my humble opinion. When I first saw this card, I had to double check the Rackham Tarot deck’s guidebook (which is a bit lacking, to be honest).
There is no depiction of the sun whatsoever here…no sunflowers; no bluebirds; no brilliant greens. Yet, the image of dandelion seeds being blown into the air for a child’s wonderment conveys a sense of joy and hope that I struggle to adequately express. It’s one of those images that hits me in the feels more effectively than even the written word. Those emotions are subjective, of course— unique to each viewer and point in time. Nevertheless, I think the Rackham deck does a wonderful job demonstrating the meaning of The Sun card without relying on the Rider-Waite-Smith imagery for assistance.
