I was at the center of a flower of life mandala which held the merkaba of my auric field.
I could see and feel a white light blooming at the seed center of the mandala, then pushing out through my heart into luscious green waves of anahata blissings. The heart is the first organ to be born of the sacred geomatrix. It then washes out into rings of yellow like the halo of the sun. This light subsides into a deep sky blue ocean, which sinks deeper still into a dark blue which fades to black at the edges of the mandala. I realize that these darker colours at the periphery of my field are my self imposed energetic limitations. I sink deep into the seed source and from there send fourth a spirit burst of energetic love which pushes the bright coulours of love out past the edges of my mandala.
This is a Hindu term for a circle. It is a kind of yantra (instrument,
means or emblem), in the form of a ritual geometric diagram, sometimes corresponding to a specific, divine attribute or to some form of enchantment (mantra)
which is thus given visual expression (6). Cammann suggests that mandalas were
first brought to Tibet from India by the great guru Padma Sambhava in the 8th
century A.D. They are to be found all over the Orient, and always as a means
towards contemplation and concentration—as an aid in inducing certain mental
states and in encouraging the spirit to move forward along its path of evolution
from the biological to the geometric, from the realm of corporeal forms to the
spiritual. According to Heinrich Zimmer, mandalas are not only painted or drawn,
but are also actually built in three dimensions for some festivals. One of the
members of the Lamaist convent of Bhutia Busty, Lingdam Gomchen, described
the mandala to Carl Gustav Jung as ‘a mental image which may be built up in the
imagination only by a trained lama’. He maintained that ‘no one mandala is the
same as another’: all are different because each is a projected image of the
psychic condition of its author, or in other words, an expression of the modifcation brought by this psychic content to the traditional idea of the mandala.
Thus, the mandala is a synthesis of a traditional structure plus free interpretation. Its basic components are geometric figures, counterbalanced and concentric. Hence it has been said that ‘the mandala is always a squaring of the circle’.
There are some works—the Shri-Chakra-Sambhara-Tantra is one—which prescribe rules for the better imagining of this image. Coinciding in essence with the.
mandala are such figures as the Wheel of the Universe, the Mexican ‘Great Calendar Stone’, the lotus flower, the mythic flower of gold, the rose, and so on. In a
purely psychological sense it is feasible to identify the mandala with all figures composed of various elements enclosed in a square or a circle—for instance, the
horoscope, the labyrinth, the zodiacal circle, figures representing ‘The Year’ and
also the clock. Groundplans of circular, square or octagonal buildings are also
mandalas. As for the three-dimensional form, there are temples built after the
pattern of the mandala with its essential counterbalancing of elements, its geometric form and significant number of component elements. The stupa in India is
the most characteristic of these temples. Again, according to Cammann, there are
some Chinese shields and mirror-backs which are mandalas. In short, the mandala
is, above all, an image and a synthesis of the dualistic aspects of differentiation
and unification, of variety and unity, the external and the internal, the diffuse and
the concentrated (32). It excludes disorder and all related symbolisms, because,
by its very nature, it must surmount disorder. It is, then, the visual, plastic
expression of the struggle to achieve order—even within diversity—and of the
longing to be reunited with the pristine, non-spatial and non-temporal ‘Centre’,
as it is conceived in all symbolic traditions. However, since the preoccupation
with ornamentation—that is, with unconscious symbolism—is in effect a concern for ordering a certain area—that is, for bringing order into chaos—it follows
that this struggle has two aspects: firstly, the possibility that some would-be
mandalas are the product of the simple (aesthetic or utilitarian) desire for order,
and secondly, the consideration that the mandala proper takes its inspiration
from the mystic longing for supreme integration. In Jung’s view, mandalas and all
concomitant images—prior, parallel or consequent—of the kind mentioned above,
are derived from dreams and visions corresponding to the most basic of religious
symbols known to mankind—symbols which are known to have existed as far
back as the Palaeolithic Age (as is proved, for example, by the Rhodesian rock
engravings). Many cultural, artistic or allegorical works, and many of the images
used in numismatics, must have sprung from this same primordial interest in the
psychic or inner structure (with its external counterpart to which so many rites
pertaining to the founding of cities and temples, to the divisions of heavens, to
orientation and the space-time relationship, bear eloquent testimony). The juxtaposition of the circle, the triangle and the square (numerically the equivalents of
the numbers one and ten; three; and four and seven) plays a fundamental rôle in
the most ‘classic’ and authentic of oriental mandalas. Even though the mandala
always alludes to the concept of the Centre—never actually depicting it visually
but suggesting it by means of the concentricity of the figures—at the same time it
exemplifies the obstacles in the way of achieving and assimilating the Centre. In
this way, the mandala fulfils its function as an aid to man in his efforts to regroup
all that is dispersed around a single axis—the Jungian Selbst. It is of interest to note that the same problem occupied the alchemists, except that a very different
aspect of being was under investigation. Jung suggests that the mandala represents an autonomous psychic fact, or ‘a kind of nucleus about whose intimate
structure and ultimate meaning we have no direct knowledge’ (32). Mircea Eliade,
speaking as an historian of religions and not as a psychologist, sees the mandala
chiefly as an objective symbol, an imago mundi rather than a projection of the
mind, without, however, discrediting the latter interpretation. The structure of a
temple—the Borobudur temple for instance—in the form of a mandala has as its
aim the creation of a monumental image of life and the ‘distortion’ of the world to
make it a suitable vehicle for the expression of the concept of supreme order
which man—the neophyte or initiate—might then enter as he would enter into
his own spirit. The same is true of the great mandalas traced on the ground with
coloured threads or coloured dust. Here, rather than serving the purposes of
contemplation, they have a ritual function in which a man may move gradually
towards the inner area, identifying himself with each stage and each zone as he
goes. This rite is analogous to that of entering into the labyrinth (denoting the
quest for the Centre) (18), and the psychological and spiritual implications are
self-evident. There are some mandalas which counterbalance not enclosed figures
but numbers arranged in geometric discontinuity (for instance: four points, then
five, then three), and are then identified with the Cardinal Points, the Elements,
colours, and so on, the significance of the mandala being wonderfully enriched by
these additional symbolisms. Mirrors of the Han dynasty depict the numbers
four and eight balancing each other and disposed round the centre in five zones
which correspond to the five Elements (that is, the four material Elements plus
the spirit or quintessence). In the West, alchemy made quite frequent use of
figures having a definite affinity with the mandala, composed of counterpoised
circles, triangles and squares. According to Heinrich Khunrath, the triangle within
the square produces the circle. There are, as Jung has pointed out, ‘distorted’
mandalas different in form from the above and based upon the numbers six, eight
and twelve; but they are comparatively rare. In all mandalas in which numbers are
the predominant element, it is number-symbolism which can best plumb its
meaning. The interpretation should be such that the superior (or the principal)
elements are always those nearest the centre. Thus, the circle within the square is
a more developed structure than the square within the circle. And the same
relationship to the square holds good for the triangle; the struggle between the
number three and the number four seems to represent that between the central
elements of the spirit (corresponding to three) and the peripheral components,
that is, the Cardinal Points as the image of ordered externality (corresponding to four). The outer circle, on the other hand, always fulfils the unifying function of
overriding the contradictions and the irregularities of angles and sides by means of
its implicit movement. The characteristics of the ShriYantra, one of the finest
mandala-instruments, have been explained by Luc Benoist. It is composed around
a central point which is the metaphysical and irradiating point of primordial
energy; however, this energy is not manifest and therefore the central point does
not actually appear in the drawing, but has to be visualized. Surrounding it is a
complex pattern of nine triangles—an image of the transcendent worlds; four of
these triangles have the apex pointing upwards and the other five downwards.
The intermediate—or subtle—world is suggested by a triple aureole surrounding
the triangles. An eight-petalled lotus (signifying regeneration), together with others of sixteen petals, and a triple circle, complete this symbolic representation of
the spiritual world. The fact that it exists within the material world is suggested
by a triple-lined serrated surround, signifying orientation in space (6).
To see a mandala in your dream, signifies that you will experience some positive changes in your waking life. It also symbolizes wholeness, unity, healing, inner peace, spirituality, and harmony.
Seeing a mandala in your dream means that positive changes are occurring in your waking life. It also symbolizes wholeness, unity, healing, spirituality, and harmony.
All things that flow and grow were regarded in early religions as a symbol
of life: fire represented the vital craving for nourishment, water was chosen for its
fertilizing powers, plants because of their verdure in spring-time. Now, all—or
very nearly all—symbols of life are also symbolic of death. Media vita in morte
sumus, observed the mediaeval monk, to which modern science has replied La vie
c’est la mort (Claude Bernard). Thus, fire is the destroyer, while water in its
various forms signifies dissolution, as suggested in the Psalms. In legend and
folklore, the Origin of life—or the source of the renewal of the life forces—takes
the form of caves and caverns where wondrous torrents and springs well up (38).
Light, traditionally, is equated with the spirit (9). Ely Star asserts that
the superiority of the spirit is immediately recognizable by its luminous intensity. Light is the manifestation of morality, of the intellect and the seven virtues
(54). Its whiteness alludes to just such a synthesis of the All. Light of any given
colour possesses a symbolism corresponding to that colour, plus the significance
of emanation from the ‘Centre’, for light is also the creative force, cosmic energy irradiation (57). Symbolically, illumination comes from the East. Psychologically
speaking, to become illuminated is to become aware of a source of light, and, in
consequence, of spiritual strength (32).
To see light in your dream, represents illumination, clarity, guidance, plain understanding, and insight. Light is being shed on a once cloudy situation or problem. You have found the truth to a situation or an answer to a problem. Also consider the color of the light for additional significance.
If the light is particularly bright, then it indicates that you need to move toward a higher level of awareness and feeling. Bright light dreams are sometimes common for those who are near death.
To see soft or shadowy lighting in your dreams, indicates feelings and thoughts from the primal aspects and less developed parts of your unconscious.
To dream that you cannot turn on the light, indicates a lack of insight and perspective on a situation.
If you dream of light, success will attend you. To dream of weird light, or if the light goes out, you will be disagreeably surprised by some undertaking resulting in nothing.
To see a dim light, indicates partial success.
To dream of lights is very good. It denotes riches and honour.
Seeing light in your dream indicates a clear mind, plain understanding, and insight. Light has been shed on a once cloudy situation or problem. You have found the truth to a situation or an answer to a problem. Seeing a bright light in your dream indicates that you need to move toward a higher level of awareness and feeling. Bright light dreams are sometimes common for those who are near death.
The symbolism of power has been subjected to an extensive study by
Percy Ernst Schramm in his Herrschaftszeichen und Staatssymbolik (Stuttgart,
1954). Power, as a symbol, represents irradiating force, but it is only latterly that
it has acquired this significance, for in totemistic and primitive times it was
generally understood more in the sense of an image of the forces of nature (and of
the animal world in particular) than as an expression of abstract or temporal
dominion. Hence, the principal attributes of a superior power are simply magnified versions of totemic emblems or of adornments derived from them, such as
necklaces of teeth and claws, hides, head-dresses, horns, and various kinds of
standards exhibiting these objects. It was probably with the dawning of the solar
cult that the diadem—the original form of the crown—came to be adopted as
another attribute of power. The immediate effect of the assumption of power upon the body and the attitude of mind is to confer impassivity, indifference—
either real or affected—and serenity and, equally, a tendency to ‘swell with
pride’. Hence the fascination of the hieratic gesture and its use on solemn occasions. Dynamic movements such as stretching out the arms or nodding or turning
the head may also be executed in a rhythm suggestive of hieratic strength and
calm. Ancient art gave expression to a basically similar attitude towards the
powers of the world. Height above ground-level, and the situation of a particular
symbolic element at the centre of a symmetrical pattern—the Greek Potne Theron
for instance—are further illustrations of power-symbolism, deriving from the
symbolisms of level and of the ‘Centre’. Differentiated expressions of power give
rise to the king, the priest and the military leader, each one characterized by his
respective attributes. The synthesis of power is denoted by ternary symbols
such as the triple crown. Certain other symbols embracing the threefold power,
such as the trident, are generally reckoned to pertain to the infernal regions, but
this has come about rather through the influence of traditional, mythological ideas
than by true symbolic logic. Magic power—a corrupt form of religious power—
is symbolized by the wand and sometimes by the sword. There are also certain
other objects linked with the idea of power, but they are attributes or instruments
rather than symbols proper.
Of great interest is the complex symbolic system behind the emblems of the
Egyptian pharaoh. The double crown denotes Upper and Lower Egypt, but it
also expresses the ideas of the masculine and feminine principles, and of heaven
and earth. Sceptres—straight (the lash) and curved (the crook)—are probably
attributes of cattle-raising and of agriculture respectively; yet at the same time
they denote the straight path (or the solar, diurnal, logical course) and the crooked
path (the lunar, nocturnal and intuitive). The Uraeus beyond doubt symbolizes
the sublimated serpent—raised, that is to say, in height (the kundalini), so as to
become a symbol of strength transformed into spirit or an aspect of power. In
itself, the idea of power embraces the notions of extreme self-awareness and
integrity, defensive concentration of forces, appropriation and domination of the
environment, and effulgence. Hence, to take these ideas in turn, the symbols of
power are names, seals, marks, standards and signs; masks, helmets, head-dresses,
swords and shields; sceptres, crowns, pallia and palaces; and effulgence is expressed by gold and precious stones. Domination also finds expression in such
forms of the quaternary as four-headed sceptres, hermae or thrones alluding to
the cardinal points. The crown, in its most highly developed form, embraces the
diadem or circle and the hemisphere or image of the vault of heavens; and sometimes it denotes the four points of the compass—or suggests them by means of four bands which rise up from the diadem to meet higher up, in the middle,
surmounted by another symbolic motif. The idea of royalty is, of course, linked
with sun-symbolism, and therefore the animals associated with it are such as the
eagle and the lion, and on occasion the dragon. Once Christianity had become the
official religion of the Roman Empire, various Christian symbols of sublimation
accrue to the symbolism of power, notably the crucifix and the fleur-de-lis. The
latter symbol is found in Byzantium, whence it reached Central Europe, Germany, France and the Western world by the 1st millennium A.D.
To dream that you have power, indicates your growing confidence, high self-esteem and increasing skills. Alternatively, your dream of power may try to compensate for a waking situation where you felt powerless.
To dream that you do not have any power, refers to a waking situation in which you felt unable to do anything.
Dreaming that you have power indicates your growing confidence, high self-esteem and increasing skills. Alternatively, your dream of power may try to compensate for a waking situation in which you were powerless. Dreaming that you do not have any power or feel powerless, refers to a waking situation in which you felt unable to do anything.
Traditional symbols of love always express a duality in which the two
antagonistic elements are, nevertheless, reconciled. Thus, the Indian lingam, the Yang-Yin, or even the Cross, where the upright beam is the world-axis and Chinese
the cross-beam the world of phenomena. They are, in other words, symbols of a
conjunction, or the expression of the ultimate goal of true love: the elimination of
dualism and separation, uniting them in the mystic ‘centre’, the ‘unvarying mean’
of Far Eastern philosophy. The rose, the lotus flower, the heart, the irradiating
point—these are the most frequent symbols of this hidden centre; ‘hidden’ because it does not exist in space, although it is imagined as doing so, but denotes the
state achieved through the elimination of separation. The biological act of love
itself expresses this desire to die in the object of the desire, to dissolve in that
which is already dissolved. According to the Book of Baruch: ‘Erotic desire and
its satisfaction is the key to the origin of the world. Disappointment in love and
the revenge which follows in its wake are the root of all the evil and the selfishness
in this world. The whole of history is the work of love. Beings seek and find one
another; separate and hurt one another; and in the end, comes acute suffering
which leads to renunciation.’ Or to put it another way: Maya as opposed to
Lilith, illusion balanced by the serpent.
To dream of love or being in love, suggests intense feelings carried over from a waking relationship. It refers to your contentment with what you already have and where you are in life. On the other hand, the dream may be compensatory and implies that you may not be getting enough love in your life. We naturally long for the sense to belong and to be accepted.
To see a couple in love or expressing love to each other, indicates success ahead for you.
To dream that your friend is in love with you, may be one of wish fulfillment. Perhaps you have developed feelings for your friend and are wondering how he or she feels. Your preoccupation has found its way into your dreaming mind. On the other hand, the dream may suggests that you have accepted certain qualities of your friend and incorporated it into your own character.
To dream that you are making love in public or in different places, relates to some overt sexual issue or need. Your dream may be telling you that you need to express yourself more openly. Alternatively, it represents your perceptions about your own sexuality in the context of social norms. You may be questioning your feelings about sex, marriage, love, and gender roles.
To dream of loving any object, denotes satisfaction with your present environments.
To dream that the love of others fills you with happy forebodings, successful affairs will give you contentment and freedom from the anxious cares of life. If you find that your love fails, or is not reciprocated, you will become despondent over some conflicting question arising in your mind as to whether it is best to change your mode of living or to marry and trust fortune for the future advancement of your state.
For a husband or wife to dream that their companion is loving, foretells great happiness around the hearthstone, and bright children will contribute to the sunshine of the home.
To dream of the love of parents, foretells uprightness in character and a continual progress toward fortune and elevation.
The love of animals, indicates contentment with what you possess, though you may not think so. For a time, fortune will crown you.
Dreaming of love of being in love, suggests intense feelings carried over from a waking relationship. It implies happiness and contentment with what you have and where you are in life. On the other hand, you may not be getting enough love in your daily life. We naturally long for the sense to belong and to be accepted. Seeing a couple in love or expressing love to each other indicates much success ahead for you. Dreaming that you are making love in public or in different places, relates to some overt sexual issue or need. Your dream may be telling you that you need to express yourself more openly. Alternatively, it represents your perceptions about your own sexuality in the context of politic and social norms. You may be questioning your feelings about sex, marriage, love, and gender roles.
To see green fields in your dream, symbolize great abundance, freedom, and happiness. You may also be going through a period of personal growth. Alternatively, this dream may simply be an expression for your love of nature.
To see freshly plowed fields in your dream, signify growth, early rise to wealth and fortunate advancements to places of honor.
To see dead or barren fields, signifies lack, pessimism and your jaded prospects for the future.
To dream of dead corn or stubble fields, indicates to the dreamer dreary prospects for the future.
To see green fields, or ripe with corn or grain, denotes great abundance and happiness to all classes.
To see newly plowed fields, denotes early rise in wealth and fortunate advancement to places of honor.
To see fields freshly harrowed and ready for planting, denotes that you are soon to benefit by your endeavor and long struggles for success.
Seeing green fields in your dream, symbolizes great abundance, freedom, and happiness. You may also be going through a period of personal growth. Alternatively, this dream may simply be an expression for your love of nature.` Seeing freshly plowed fields in your dream means growth, early rise to wealth and fortunate advancements to places of honor. Seeing dead or barren fields means lack, pessimism and your jaded prospects for the future.
Dreaming that you’re in a field can have differing meanings, you have to look at all the details carefully and make an interpretation based on how it made you feel; still, green and pleasant fields are usually a symbol of happiness and great prosperity in your personal and working life. If the field has withering crops and is dried up it signifies completely the opposite. If you are in a newly ploughed field it can signify that you will achieve everything you want so long as you put in the hard work, you reap what you sow as it were.
To dream that you are at the center of something, represents your belief that everything revolves around you. The dream may also be a metaphor that you are in the middle of some situation that you cannot get out of. If you are off centered, then it indicates that something in your life is out of balance.
Symbolic of latent, non-manifest forces, or of the mysterious potentialities the presence of which, sometimes unsuspected, is the justification for
hope. These potentialities also symbolize the mystic Centre—the non-apparent
point which is the irradiating origin of every branch and shoot of the great Tree of
the World (26).
To see seeds in you dream, symbolize fertility, heritage, potential, and continuity of life. Now is the time to start a new venture. Alternatively, a seed relates to the human psyche and soul. An idea has been planted in your mind and new a experience is being created.
To dream of seed, foretells increasing prosperity, though present indications appear unfavorable.
Seeing seeds in you dream, symbolizes fertility, heritage, and potential. It also represents the continuity of life. Alternatively, it relates to the human psyche and soul. An idea has been planted in your mind and new experiences are created.
Seeds symbolise new opportunities and new beginnings. Just as a seed is the beginning of a new life (or its earliest stage), your unconscious may be telling you that the ideas you have planted are beginning to germinate. Additionally, past experiences and hard work may be leading to new opportunities or possibilities.
In the vertical scheme of the human body, the focal points are three in
number: the brain, the heart and the sexual organs. But the central point is the
heart, and in consequence it comes to partake of the meanings of the other two.
The heart was the only part of the viscera left by the Egyptians in the mummy,
since it was regarded as the centre indispensable to the body in eternity; for all
centres are symbols of eternity, since time is the motion of the periphery of the
wheel of phenomena rotating around the Aristotelian ‘unmoved mover’. In traditional ways of thought, the heart was taken as the true seat of intelligence, the
brain being merely instrumental (25); hence, in ancient attempts to explain the
profound and continuing analogies between concepts, the moon was said to
correspond to the brain and the sun to the heart. All representations of the
‘Centre’ have been related in some way to the heart, either through correspondences or through substitution, as in the case of the goblet, the coffer and the
cavern. For the alchemists, the heart was the image of the sun within man, just as
gold was the image of the sun on earth (32). The importance of love in the mystic
doctrine of unity explains how it is that love-symbolism came to be closely linked
with heart-symbolism, for to love is only to experience a force which urges the
lover towards a given centre. In emblems, then, the heart signifies love as the
centre of illumination and happiness, and this is why it is surmounted by flames,
or a cross, or a fleur-de-lis, or a crown (4).
To see your heart in your dream, signifies truth, courage, love, and romance. It is representative of how you are currently dealing with your feelings and expressing your emotions. Also consider the saying "the heart of the matter" which implies that you may need to get down to the core of a situation before proceeding.
To see a winged heart in your dream, represents the power of love and its ability to penetrate through to anyone.
To dream that your heart is bleeding or aching, represents desperation, despair, extreme sadness and sympathy. You are lacking support or love in some a situation in your life.
To dream that you have a heart transplant or heart surgery, indicates a huge change in your personal relationship. Perhaps you are involved in a rebound relationship.
To dream of your heart paining and suffocating you, there will be trouble in your business. Some mistake of your own will bring loss if not corrected.
Seeing your heart, foretells sickness and failure of energy.
To see the heart of an animal, you will overcome enemies and merit the respect of all.
To eat the heart of a chicken, denotes strange desires will cause you to carry out very difficult projects for your advancement.
Seeing your heart in your dream means truth, courage, love, and romance. It is representative of how you are currently dealing with your feelings and expressing your emotions. Also consider the saying "the heart of the matter" which implies that you may need to get down to the core of a situation before proceeding.
In theogony, the Sun represents the moment (surpassing all others in the
succession of celestial dynasties) when the heroic principle shines at its brightest.
Thus, after Uranus, Saturn and Jupiter, comes Helios Apollo. On occasion, the
Sun appears as the direct son and heir of the god of heaven, and Krappe notes that
he inherits one of the most notable and moral of the attributes of this deity: he
sees all and, in consequence, knows all. In India, as Sûrya, it is the eye of Varuna;
in Persia, it is the eye of Ahuramazda; in Greece, as Helios, the eye of Zeus (or of
Uranus); in Egypt it is the eye of Ra, and in Islam, of Allah (35). With his
‘youthful’ and filial characteristic, the Sun is associated with the hero, as opposed
to the father, who connotes the heavens, although the two (sun and sky) are
sometimes equated. Hence, the weapon of heaven is the net (the pattern of the
stars) or the power of binding; while the hero is armed with the sword (symbolically associated with fire). And it is for this reason that heroes are promoted to
solar eminence and even identified with the Sun itself. In a given period of history
and at a certain cultural level, the solar cult is the predominant if not the only one.
Frazer, however, as Eliade has noted, brought out the divergencies of the solar
elements in the sacred rites of Africa, of Australia and Oceania as a whole, and of
North and South America. The cult of the Sun reached an advanced stage of
development only in the New World, and—most advanced of all—in Mexico and
Peru. Eliade concludes that, since these were the only countries in pre-Columbian
America to evolve a viable political system, it may be concluded that there is a
parallel between predominantly solar cults and ‘historical’ forms of human existence. We must not overlook the fact that Rome, the most powerful political force
of Antiquity, and the originator of the historical sense, upheld solar hierophany,
which, during the Empire, dominated all other cults in the form of Mithraic ritual
(17). An heroic and courageous force, creative and guiding—this is the core of
solar symbolism; it may actually come to constitute a religion complete in itself,
as is shown by the ‘heresy’ of Ikhnaton in the 18th dynasty of Egypt; here the
hymns to the sun are, setting aside their profound lyrical interest, expressions of
theories about the beneficent activity of the king of astral bodies. The sun on the
horizon had long served the Egyptians of the Ancient Empire as a means of
defining ‘brightness’ or ‘splendour’. They were also forcibly struck by the analogy between the daily disappearance of the Sun and the winter solstice (19). At same time, there was, for the primitive, astrobiological mind, an essential connexion
between the Sun and Moon, analogous to that between heaven and earth. It is well
known that, for the vast majority of peoples, the sky is symbolic of the active
principle (related to the masculine sex and to the spirit), while the earth symbolizes the passive principle (cognate with the feminine sex and with matter); these
equations, nevertheless, are occasionally transposed. And the same thing happens with the Sun and Moon: solar ‘passion’, so to speak, with its heroic and
fierce character, clearly had to be assimilated to the masculine principle, and the
pale and delicate nature of lunar light, with its connexion with the waters of the ocean (and the rhythm of woman), obviously had to be classified as feminine.
These equations are certainly not constant; but the exceptions do not invalidate
the essential truth of this symbolism. Even physically speaking, the Moon merely
fulfils the passive rôle of reflecting the light which the Sun actively diffuses.
Many primitive tribes hold that the eyes of heaven are the Sun and the Moon
located on either side of the ‘world-axis’, and there are prehistoric drawings and
engravings which may be interpreted after this fashion. Eliade notes that, for the
Pigmies and Bushmen, the sun is the eye of the supreme god. The Samoyeds see
the Sun and the Moon as the eyes of heaven, the Sun being the good eye, and the
Moon the evil eye (one can see here an unequivocal instance of the symbolism of
dualism expanded by the assimilation of that of moral polarity). The idea of the
invincible character of the sun is reinforced by the belief that whereas the Moon
must suffer fragmentation (since it wanes) before it can reach its monthly stage of
three-day disappearance, the Sun does not need to die in order to descend into
hell; it can reach the ocean or the lake of the Lower Waters and cross it without
being dissolved. Hence, the death of the Sun necessarily implies the idea of
resurrection and actually comes to be regarded as a death which is not a true death.
For this reason, too, ancestor-worship is associated with the cult of the sun, in
order to offer the symbolic promise of protection and salvation. Megalithic monuments are based upon the amalgamation of these two cults (17). Thus, the broadest and most authentic interpretation sees the sun as the cosmic reductio of the
masculine force, and the Moon of the feminine (49). This implies that the active
faculties (of reflexion, good judgement or will power) are solar, while the passive
qualities (imagination, sentiment and perception) are feminine, with intuition
possibly androgynous (26). The ‘correspondences’ of the Sun are chiefly gold,
among the metals, and, of the colours, yellow.
Alchemists regarded it as ‘gold prepared for the work’ or ‘philosophical
sulphur’, as opposed to the Moon and mercury (the metal), which is lunar (57).
Another alchemic concept, that of the Sol in homine (or the invisible essence of
the celestial Sun which nourishes the inborn fire of Man) (57), is an early pointer
to the way the astral body has latterly been interpreted by psychoanalysts,
narrowing its meaning down to that of heat or energy, equivalent to the fire of life
and the libido. Hence Jung’s point that the Sun is, in truth, a symbol of the source
of life and of the ultimate wholeness of man (32). But here there is probably some
inexactitude, for totality is in fact uniquely symbolized by the ‘conjunction’ of
the Sun and the Moon, as king and queen, brother and sister (32). In some
folklore-traditions, the urge to allude in some way to the supreme good, which, by definition, is incapable of definition, is met by the saying ‘to join the Sun and
the Moon’.
Now, having established the principal terms of solar symbolism—as an heroic image (Sol invictus, Sol salutis, Sol iustitiae) (14), as the divine eye, the active
principle and the source of life and energy—let us come back to the dualism of the
Sun as regards its hidden passage—its ‘Night Sea-Crossing’—symbolic of immanence (like the colour black) and also of sin, occultation and expiation. In the
Rigveda—Eliade reminds us—the Sun is ambivalent: on the one hand it is ‘resplendent’ and on the other it is ‘black’ or invisible, in which case it is associated
with chthonian and funereal animals such as the horse and the serpent (17).
Alchemists took up this image of the Sol niger to symbolize ‘prime matter’, or
the unconscious in its base, ‘unworked’ state. In other words, the Sun is then at
the nadir, in the depths out of which it must, slowly and painfully, ascend
towards its zenith. This inevitable ascent does not relate to its daily journey,
although this is used as an image, and hence it is symbolized by the transmutation
of prime matter into gold, passing through the white and red stages, like the Sun
itself in its orbit. Of undoubted interest, as an indication of the intensity of man’s
attitude towards the Sun, is the reference by Tacitus and Strabo to the ‘sound’
made by the Sun as it rises in the East and drowns in the oceans of the West. The
sudden disappearance of the Sun below the horizon is related to the sudden death
of heroes such as Samson, Hercules and Siegfried (35).
To dream of seeing a clear, shining sunrise, foretells joyous events and prosperity, which give delightful promises.
To see the sun at noontide, denotes the maturity of ambitions and signals unbounded satisfaction.
To see the sunset, is prognostic of joys and wealth passing their zenith, and warns you to care for your interests with renewed vigilance.
A sun shining through clouds, denotes that troubles and difficulties are losing hold on you, and prosperity is nearing you.
If the sun appears weird, or in an eclipse, there will be stormy and dangerous times, but these will eventually pass, leaving your business and domestic affairs in better forms than before.
To see the sun in your dream, symbolizes peace of mind, enlightenment, tranquility, fortune, goodwill, and insight. It also represents radiant energy and divine power. Generally, the sun is a good omen, especially if the sun is shining in your dream. The sun may also be a metaphor for your "son".
To dream that the sun has a creepy, harsh glare, represents a significant disruption or serious problem in your life. The sun is considered a life-giver and thus, any abnormalities and peculiarities to the sun's appearance represents some sort of pain or chaos occurring in your waking life.
Seeing the sun in your dream, symbolizes peace of mind, enlightenment, tranquility, fortune, goodwill, and insight. It also represents radiant energy. It is a good omen to have the sun shining in your dream.
The sun sustains all life on Earth. When you see it in your dreams, it suggests that you are being nurtured and sustained by your environment and your life choices. It could also represent a spiritual force or the light of God. Sunrise may indicate new beginnings and a new wave of energy while sunsets suggest a period of closure and completion. Sunlight in your dreams is never a negative symbol. Light always symbolises or indicates consciousness and may signify masculine energy. Its presence, even in the most disturbing dreams, has reassuring qualities. Old dream interpretation books say that sun shining on you is an omen of good fortune and good will.
Planet: Sun.
Season: Summer.
Positive associations with this tarot card:
happiness, greatness, enlightenment, vitality, good health, love, fulfillment.
Negative associations with this tarot card:
misjudgement, delays, potential failure, inflated ego.
Simply one of the best, if not the best, cards in the Tarot. The Sun is a most welcome card and a signal of very happy, joyous times.
This card can represent holidays, good news around children or perhaps news or the conception or birth of a much wanted baby.
The Sun heralds a time of fun with friends and family and agreeable companionships and relationships.
Ultimately The Sun dispels negativity and promises of a happy ending.
Negatively The Sun perhaps suggests delays to your plans or achievements and does warn against arrogance and misjudgement caused by an inflated ego.