22/6 The Sun #19

TEMPLE artefact #003

Here comes…

The Sun #19 - Final Version

19. THE SUN

KEY WORDS – SUCCESS – MARRIAGE – TRIUMPH – LOVE - COMPLETION

The Sun is Trump 19 of the Major Arcana.

Unlike the Moon, which mirrors light, the Sun is the source of light and life. The Sun represents the Dawn that always follows the Dark Night of the Moon – the promise of a radiant future.

This is regarded as one of the ‘simplest’ cards and it should have the open joyous feel of the ultimate summer’s day.

The solar centre of the Self. The Jungian individuated human. The perfected system. This card radiates golden good vibes!

The Sun is pure joy, completion, presence. Although not the highest state of consciousness the sun sits at the calm center of forces, planets – all held in perfect poise by gravity – all the elements are here represented from the Fire of sun and Air of sky to the Earth and Water symbolized by the two figures.

Here the Sun is fully conscious and self-aware as a supremely integrated and benevolent source of life, joy and motivation!

This is an image of fulfillment, as what was two becomes one new thing – the moment of perfect synthesis and completion where the alchemical wonder couple join hands.

Traditional cards show the sun shining down upon a walled city on a green hill. There is a naked child with a red banner on a white horse, or sometimes two figures, in the form of male and female children dancing in the golden light – we’ll get to these in a minute…

Against the rich and beautiful blue sky of the loveliest summer day imaginable (with intricate SOLAR MAGNETIC FIELD traceries subtly radiating from the sun) our Sun’s outer layer is an astronomically correct image of the solar disc with flares and sunspots, cells and vortices. The colour is YELLOW.

Superimposed on this solar disc is a gorgeous molten gold transcendent ROSE with 12 petals.

Each petal bears a SIGN OF THE ZODIAC – engraved in fire on the petals’ surface or whatever you choose to do and here, there’s an opportunity to create your own version of the astrological symbols from Aquarius to Capricorn arranged like a clockface –

In the 12 o’clock position on the rose is CAPRICORN, 1 o’clock is SAGITTARIUS, 2 o’clock is SCORPIO, 3 is LIBRA, 4 is VIRGO, 5 is LEO, 6 CANCER, 7 GEMINI, 8 TAURUS, 9 ARIES, 10 PISCES and 11 is AQUARIUS.

I see the rose looking like gold leaf, metallic, like the mask of Tutankhamun.

Here is the Formula of the Rosy Cross as it is understood in the Western traditions of ceremonial magic – the Cross symbolizes the world of matter, the four elements and directions (in Christian terms Christ represents spirit crucified on the crossbars of the material universe, nailed to the rules and limits of the solid world) but here, although a cross can still be discerned on the vertical and horizontal axes, it has expanded its limits, rotating on the astrological clockface so that twelve rays or vectors emanate from its centre, its forces set free to radiate in all directions.

The Rose and Cross here united and empowered can be seen to represent ‘female’ and ‘male’ energies coming together in a potent synthesis, hence the appearance of the alchemical couple.

Finally, at the bullseye center of this compound image of solar power is an EYE – but to avoid having the eye seem like the traditional all-seeing patriarchal cyclopean eye in the pyramid, the pupil is gazing UPWARDS as if meditating or engaged in supreme self-contemplation at the core of golden perfection.

The eye is fringed with RED flame, like eyelashes flaring out at each side in the feathered shape of blazing wings. The wings of a phoenix resurrecting from its pyre. 

Below the Sun itself, a lush and conical green hill rises. I suggest basing its shape on Glastonbury Tor as seen from the ‘front’ prow end – perhaps with hints of the spiral path that ascends to the summit.

Atop the hill, where St. Michael’s church sits at the peak of the real Tor, we have a distant, fabulous city to represent all our utopias and dreams of a perfected future.

On our card, the city could look like something from the Jetsons or a Carmine Infantino “saxophone forest” or look to LeCorbusier’s Radiant City for a backdrop of futurist towers in any style of your choosing. I’m seeing it as a somewhat abstracted arrangement of simple Deco towers, reminiscent of Hollywood glamour posters such as the one we’ve included for ref…

As this is a special area of your expertise, I’ll leave it to you to devise the perfect architectural representation of a dream city of tomorrow!

Our city is also primarily inspired by Superman’s Bottle City of Kandor, but here the bell jar that usually encloses Kandor is SHATTERED – the city is encircled by the jagged peaks and troughs of broken glass that top a wall representing the circular base of the bottled city. 

This base or plinth or dais or whatever it’s correctly called appears to be made of jigsaw puzzle pieces upon which we see the red bricks of a wall. Some of the jigsaw pieces are loose and floating free as if the wall is beginning to disintegrate into zero-G.

The broken glass and dismantling wall suggest the end of restriction that the card symbolizes – walls are down, chains are broken, limits are removed…

Hovering just above the city’s highest tower, below the sun is a little spinning DISCO BALL as seen on our Magician card.

Now we come to the two central figures – instead of cherub like children cavorting in the light, we have two SUPERHERO figures – a young man and young woman wearing capes, like stylized members of the Legion of Superheroes.

They look like Oscar statues – sleek and reflective figures suggestive of soaring freedom and futurity – leaping into the air, arms raised above their heads like arrows pointing to the zenith overhead. The idea is to suggest the nakedness and openness suggestive of this card. We are witnessing, as Crowley puts it, ‘The emancipation of the human race.’.

The wonderboy on the left is GOLD while the supergirl is SILVER. The boy has the emblem of elemental EARTH on his chest – a downward pointing BLACK TRIANGLE with a WHITE line across its top third. The girl has a simple downward pointing BLUE TRIANGLE, the sign for WATER.

They both wear streaming RED capes, which recall the energy and dynamic motion of the red banner in traditional cards. Full of vigour, free and proud.

They hold hands as they ascend, smiling into the perfect day when everyone is set free from restriction and fear. Here is the promise of Utopia.

Beneath the two figures, on the lush green grass of the hillside, FOUR BIG SUNFLOWERS grow – springing up where loops of snapped CHAIN are coiled on the ground, left behind by the young paragons when they broke free and took to the sky!

In the noonday sun, it all works out – hand and hand, we soar toward the Celestial City – the eternal Happy Ever After moment captured and refined to its purest brightest essence here. Light, Life, Liberty and Love!