The Dictionary of Symbols
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).
10,000 Dreams Interpreted
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.
Dream Moods
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.
