by Erik M Roth
As the Sun draws ever closer to its solstice point (which literally means “solar standstill”) on December 21st, it is a valuable time to talk of the reasons why we are more than the seasonal astrological sign we were born under. The sign the Sun was in at a person’s birth is still by far the most popular understanding that the public has of astrology here in the West. What is not well-known is that this is a recent development in the history of astrology. If a person defines themselves simply by their Sun sign, then I invite them to read on and open up to the much greater potential and complexity that an astrology chart can provide.
Sun-Sign Astrology first appeared in 1930 (using birthdates) and then 1937 (using Sun Sign) and only because it was an easy way to sell newspapers (read more about it here beginning with the column “What the Stars Foretell” by RH Naylor in the Sunday Express in England). For many centuries before that it was recognized that the Moon and other celestial points played a bigger role in a person’s horoscope or natal astrology than just simply “your sign” or “Sun sign”.
RH Naylor’s weekly column was an apex moment of a build-up that began in the 1800s with various astrology books and other publications (including Raphael’s Prophetic Ephemeris/Messenger/Almanac) that were focused on the signs of the Sun (forecasts based on birthday) explaining one’s nature or what will happen to them on a given day. Since prediction tends to be popular no matter what century or millennium it was, it was no surprise that this gave some energetic momentum to the weekly column in 1930 and 1937. So, if we look at a newspaper “horoscope” and find the 30-day period in which we were born, we will find out daily or weekly words to live by.
“You will go on a big adventure tomorrow, so pack your bags!” it might say for the Sagittarius Sun sign. Or for a Cancer Sun sign, “you are likely to find yourself in a cranky mood, so keep the slippers on and binge-watch your favorite TV series.” Since there are only twelve signs, is this intended to explain 1/12 of the world population? If it was, we likely would not need counselors, advisors, therapists, astrologers, priests, parents, friends and so on to help us navigate the tumultuous waters that is life. Anyone can see this doesn’t explain who we are or what will take place in our lives. We humans are highly complex beings that live on a complex planet and within a larger community of planets or other kinds of worlds.
Our natures even go beyond the mysteries of astrology, but astrology can assist us in understanding the essences within ourselves, thereby revealing the intent of our life through the archetypes of the signs. The Sun is just part of the overall formula. However, with the popularity of Sun-Sign Astrology, it has influenced a good number of astrologers and systems of astrology where it has taken up a larger meaning than what it actually does in our lives. In the weekly or daily “horoscopes” of most publications today, I view them as distracting and confusing (or entertainment at best) to the core of what astrology really is. The reason why I view them as such is because those publications do not know the billions of individual astrology charts. If they are going off of simply the sign the Sun happens to moving through, then it can be a real disservice to most of the population who has three, four or five signs prominently featured in their astrology charts where the Sun is just one part.
For those daily or weekly astrology descriptions or summaries that include what else is going on in the sky, especially planetary alignments, special astrological dates, mythology, cosmology, phases of the Moon, etcetera, then it becomes much more meaningful to all of us and can help us navigate in a general way. To me, that is a beneficial sharing of the astrological “weather” of sorts, keeping us informed of what the heck is going on in the new bizarre world we’ve entered into.
What Does the Sun Sign Mean?
The answer is totally dependent upon which system of astrology or astrologer you subscribe to. It Western or “Regular” astrology, it can vary anywhere from a person’s soul and their essence to 
their personality, self-image or ego and depends upon the astrologer. In Humanistic Astrology, The Sun represents the “The center and power of self. The person’s purpose and direction in life.” (A Handbook for the Humanistic Astrologer by Michael R Meyer pg 71). In Shamanic Astrology, it represents “the fuel you burn to reach your life purpose.” As a shamanic astrologer, I of course, subscribe to that definition. And that understanding of it was confirmed over and over again through the many hundreds of chart readings I’ve done and the many classes I’ve facilitated.
Daniel Giamario, who brought forth Shamanic Astrology into the world in the 1980s, was mentored by a humanistic astrologer, Dane Rudhyar, early on in his life. Rudhyar broke through the mainstream astrology with a more holistic and person-centered approach that took into account the totality of a human being. The Sun played an important role in this, but more insight was uncovered in Rudhyar’s work that allowed many others to pick up where he left off to assist in empowering people.
Since Shamanic Astrology is “archetypal-driven”, which means that the signs/archetypes are the primary force in our lives. Their essence is tied to the Earth’s seasons and the countless myths both ancient and modern. The Sun is a star among the hundreds of billions in our galaxy, but it is the one which is the most important to us all. It is this star that moves across the sky along with the planets and our relationship with all of that is just as vital in combination with the archetypes, since they can’t really be separated from one another.
The position of the Sun and its relationship to the other planets (from the perspective of living on Earth) provides with even more insight about our place. As long as the Earth spins and orbits the Sun, it’s archetype at specific points of Earth will not change (but the archetype itself can slowly evolve over time). It is akin to saying what is our relationship with the Solstices or Equinoxes or Mid-Season/cross-quarter points in the solar year? This can allow an exploration of the essences of the archetypes. When another planet or the Moon, happens to cross into space where the Sun would be within the first 30 days of summer solstice (June), then that planet is in the sign of Cancer. If another planet or Moon falls into a space during the mid-winter point (February), that celestial body is in the sign of Aquarius.
Those examples show a fundamental understanding of the relationship between the Sun, the planets and Earth all operating within the same solar system. The planets wouldn’t exist without the Sun, but at the same time the planets influence the Sun and each other as astronomers continue to learn every year. As we get to know this Sun and the solar system, we get to know ourselves even more.
The Sun shows the fuel or energy we burn to reach our life purpose. If we are vehicles, then we fill up on fuel from the Sun’s archetype (1 of 12). This archetypal fuel is generally something we express often or feel. But it is also dependent on what other planets are around in important aspects as it is not always that clear cut.
The Twelve Archetypes of the Sun
Here is a list of the 12 type of Archetypal Fuel we Burn (through the Sun) taken directly from the Shamanic Astrology Handbook by Daniel Giamario (2012/2014 Editions pg 89)
Capricorn – fuel is earthy, responsible, serious, administrative, management and control of one’s domain, a lawgiver, law abiding, keeps it together
Aquarius – fuel is airy, the grand experimenter, intellectual, the cosmic visionary, revolutionary, detached, the universal free spirit
Pisces – fuel is watery, empathic, universal compassion, unconditional love, selfless service to others, giving, deep mystical vision, safe space for others
Aries – fuel is fiery, aggressive, playful, competitive, courageous, centered on self, willful, independent, straightforward, childlike
Taurus – fuel is earthy, sensual, physical, receptive, centered on self, high aesthetic standards, love of pleasure
Gemini – fuel is airy, creative, intellectual, communicative, entertaining, socially gregarious, free-spirited and comedic
Cancer – fuel is watery, responsible, loving, nurturing, giving, family-oriented, instinctual, organic, serious and parental
Leo – fuel is fiery, courageous, dominant, confident, self-loving, charismatic, willful, leader-oriented, outgoing and loves to be the center of attention
Virgo – fuel is earthy, organic, discriminative, perceptive of the patterning of the psyche and nature, attentive to detail, devoted, giving (especially through the sacred work), perfection-oriented
Libra – fuel is airy, partnership-oriented, civilized, just, balanced judgment, aware, social and a peacemaker
Scorpio – fuel is watery, intense, lives of the edge, sexual, tantric, willful, deeply and powerfully feels the feelings, runs the energy, magical and commanding (I would also say focused on self)
Sagittarius – fuel is fiery, adventuresome, independent, philosophic, inspired, truth-oriented, in search of the meaning of life
The definitions above only describe the intent of the archetypes operating through us all. If you have more than one personal planet or point (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Mars, Venus, Vesta, Jupiter, Ascendant) on your astrology chart in the same archetype, then you are much more likely to identify with your Sun sign. But if you were born with the Sun in a different sign than the rest of your chart, then you may only identify with a small portion of that Sun sign. Also, the astrological house the Sun is in adds an additional layer to your Sun sign.
If you find that you also have an outer planet (or more than one), like Saturn, in dynamic aspect to the Sun (like a conjunction), then that will change the feel of that sign tremendously. Saturn, for example, will add Capricorn-like attributes to that Sun sign, creating a more earthy sign that recognizes limits and boundaries and holds itself to a standard, adhering to the rules of the game, limiting fun, be more self-critical but also more purposeful, able to keep it together within, has more incentive to use their resources wisely in order to achieve bigger goals.
As one can see, this makes a person much more complex than just their Sun sign. While it is entertaining at times to check quick social media posts that list a 5-word statement of the Sun sign as if that was all that you are, I encourage you to take it with a grain of salt”, as the expression goes. The real origin of those posts go back to a time before World War 2 just to sell newspapers and not really give due diligence to us as unique, highly complex and blessed human beings that we are. The Sun is meaningful, but there are many other players on the field of our astrology charts that can reveal some absolutely incredible information about who we are and the intent of our archetypal purpose.
– Erik Roth, Shamanic Astrologer