Sun: Hero, Seat of Courage

Excerpt from Before Your Future

“The difference between a good life and a bad life is how well you walk through fire.” 

—Carl Jung 

In Sanskrit, the Sun is called shura, or “hero.” We all need a good Sun in the horoscope to handle the challenges life brings. In the horoscope, the Sun shows the type of energy that sustains us and allows us to stay focused and keep moving forward despite the odds. Dopamine is our main motivation neurotransmitter that wires us for heroism. The body is designed to fire dopamine neurons when we complete a task or achieve a goal, which gives us a surge of pleasure. As the Sun is the main indicator of enthusiasm, motivation, and goal-driven action, it can be likened to the dopamine in our physiology. 

Nature made goal-oriented action rewarding, and so in that sense, our Sun is constantly in search of a new dopamine hit. As a result, a weak Sun in the horoscope can produce destructive and addictive behaviors to acquire an artificial dopamine boost. These artificial surges downregulate the body’s natural production of dopamine, and the vicious cycle of low dopamine, depression, and destructive behavior follows. Thus, the pleasure surge of dopamine is carefully guarded by an auspicious Sun, looking only for actions that fulfill meaningful and consequential goals that uplift our lives and those of others. 

The Sun as the prime motivator means that our life journeys will be greatly influenced by the condition of the Sun in the horoscope. While the motivation to be the hero in one’s life story is wired into the consciousness, only the rare, evolved Sun is a natural-born hero. For most of us, the Hero’s Journey is learning to strengthen and elevate our Sun by consciously choosing dharma or “right” action over ego gratification. 

Let’s begin by looking at an evolved or auspicious Sun, as described in the ancient textbook on Vedic astrology Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra. 

“Honey-yellow-eyed is the Sun, square and radiantly pure, of pitta nature, intelligent, masculine, with little hair.” 

The golden hue of the Sun’s eyes signifies a spiritual nature, and the sweetness of honey symbolizes that evolved masculine energy has intersected with the feminine. It leads, protects, guards, and takes charge, but without domination and with empathy and understanding. The Sun has a square body, showing steadfastness, consistency, reliability, and the ability to “stay put.” Physiologically, both males and females with a strong Sun in the chart will tend toward squarer builds and wider shoulders. A strong Moon, or lunar energy, gives a more curvy and rounded body in both genders. In that sense the Sun’s ability to remain. steadfast can be equated to testosterone, just as the Moon’s flexibility can be to fluctuating estrogen. 

In ayurveda, the Sun is pitta or fiery in nature. Fire is equated with courage, valor, commanding presence, and boldness. A strong pitta constitution is usually required to take the “heat” needed to be a hero, lead, and stay the course. Of course, fire can also burn if you get too close, and so a strong Sun must be balanced by cooling lunar energy to prevent scorching or becoming a tyrant. The ancient text talks about thinning hair. In ayurveda, thinning hair is one of the symptoms of high pitta (fire element), as well as higher testosterone, in both males and females. In other words, a prominent Sun in the horoscope will indicate a high pitta ayurveda constitution. 

Less hair is also a sign of discipline and order as we equate it to soldiers and monks with shaved heads. Long hair embodies unruliness and unpredictability like the Moon. A prominent Moon in the horoscope will indicate a more kapha (water element) ayurveda constitution. Male Hindu monks don’t shave their heads; instead, they grow their hair to invite more feminine energy into their constitution. 

Finally, the Sun is radiantly pure or luminous because a well-disposed Sun in the horoscope enlightens the personality and gives intelligence, discernment, intuition, and the courage to take daring and principled action. 

The Sun is exalted in Aries and prospers in all three fire signs, which thrive on goal-driven action. Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius are naturally leading, initiating, and commanding environments, which match the Sun’s mandate. Like all good heroes and leaders, the Sun flourishes in astrological bhavas or houses that are designed for outer adventures and leadership, such as the first, ninth, tenth, and eleventh. 

The Sun loses its vitality and motivation in the fourth and twelfth houses and the water signs of Cancer and Pisces, which are more introverted, personal, and private. A well-placed Sun here too can give good results if it focuses on leading a daring inward journey and making a mark on the world behind the scenes. In Libra, the sign of “you and I are equals,” the Sun looks for diplomacy and equality rather than leadership. The balance-and compromise-seeking Libra weakens the Sun’s ability to lead and take decisive action and is thus considered debilitated here. Still, a well-disposed, debilitated Sun has the potential to give an open-minded and shared-power leadership style. 

The Sun conjunct Mars can lose its maturity to Mars’ rashness and impulsiveness. He may become too competitive, the need to win superseding the need to lead and protect. When placed conjunct Saturn, the Sun loses his confidence and some of his access to his divine light. Saturn is the servant of the zodiac and in awe of authority; his influence makes the Sun second-guess himself and lose his assured stride. Saturn can also curtail the ambition and drive of the Sun, making him too cautious or fearful. Sometimes this can also lead to overcompensation of Saturnian and solar energies, creating a personality that is driven to succeed at all cost. Again, if the over-all chart is well-disposed, then a Saturn and Sun conjunction— especially with some influence from Jupiter—can also produce a humble and duty-bound hero or leader. 

As Shakespeare said in Henry IV, “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.” With leadership comes great responsibility and accountability. Therefore, the Sun is considered a malefic, or hardship-giving planet, in Vedic astrology. Sun dasha, or planetary period, usually challenges and tests our resolve to take on some position of power or influence, even if it is just within a family. An evolved and prominent Sun shoulders the burden and responsibility voluntarily, and a weak Sun breaks under the pressure, creating a crisis of self-confidence. 

An afflicted but prominent Sun is the one we need to watch. It can propel someone to fame and produce many admirers and followers through false charisma, big egos, and tyrannical tendencies. For example, a close conjunction with Rahu without benefic influences of other planets may eclipse the Sun’s selflessness. People with their own weak Sun, seeking a vicarious dopamine surge, will search for such leaders to follow. Sadly, our current culture values the outward magnetic and hypnotic qualities of the Sun, rather than the genuine, selfless, and noble qualities of a hero. 

As the central figure of the zodiac and the dispeller of darkness, the Sun is divine light, atman, or our spirit and soul. This light has the potential to illuminate the true self hidden behind our mortal consciousness. The Moon is jiva, the mental body or consciousness that connects the soul to the physical plane of existence. The more evolved the Sun, the more we are anchored in the soul. The more evolved the Moon, the more anchored we are on the earth plane. When the Moon reaches out and intersects with the Sun, a true leader and hero is born—a symbiosis of the masculine and feminine energy creating a hero (Sun) who has plenty of inner reserves (Moon) to complete his mission. 

Finally, in the Vedic description of the course of souls after death, the “path of the Sun” leads liberated souls to the realm of brahman or enlightenment, while the path of the Moon leads back to another physical birth.