Introduction
Vedic Astrology revolves around Surya (The Sun) which is the foundation of life and the source of vitality for the universe. It holds a very significant value in our lives and is very interesting to understand as well.
The Sun represents the soul within us and the zodiac in which it is placed within our chart is the Sun Sign of the native. The sun represents the light of your life and wherever it is placed shows how the people in your life perceive you.
Sun also represents your confidence, your personality, and your ideals. It is the king of all planets and every other planet revolves around it to complete its traversals.
Sun is beautiful as well as cruel at the same time. Curious to know whether your sun is strong or not? Stay tuned till the end and you will find it out soon!
Relationship with Planets
Friends: Mars, Jupiter, and Moon
Enemies: Venus and Saturn
Neutral: Mercury
Sun gives distinctive results with Rahu and Ketu which eventually becomes better as the native gets mature with time.
Now, you must be questioning why such a relationship exists in the first place. Let us understand and interpret the idea behind this concept.
Sun is a very masculine planet and traditionally, the gender of the Sun is termed, Male. It is aggressive and fixed, unlike other planets which may be variable such as Moon. In terms of friendliness, Sun is comfortable with Moon, Jupiter, and Mars.
Mars corresponds to the intensity of the Sun and hence, Sun feels very comfortable in signs of Mars because it attains that willpower, impulse, and aggression of the soldier planet Mars that makes the Sun feel comfortable. Hence, we can observe in Astrology that Sun gets exalted in Aries which is the sign of Mars.
However, actually, Sun is exalted exactly at 10 degrees within Aries and may not always be exalted even if it is present within Aries. Sun is naturally friends with Jupiter as it feels comfortable with the wisdom offered by Jupiter. Further, Jupiter is also highly expanding in nature and is considered one of the elderly planets like the Sun representing a subtle softer version of masculinity similar to the Sun.
Sun is comfortable with Moon as well and shines brightest within the Cancer zodiac sign owned by Moon. It corresponds to the purity of the Moon and is a natural benefic for Cancer signs.
So, what makes the sun have a poor relationship with its enemies? Let us uncover that now.
Sun usually does not give good results when in conjunction with Venus or Saturn. Venus and Saturn are usually very good friends with each other but do not have a friendly relationship with Sun. Saturn and Sun are natural enemies.
As per Vedic context, Saturn is the son of the Sun with one of his wives named Chhaya (Shadow). It is said that Saturn was neglected by the Sun despite being his father and further, Sun’s first wife Sanjana’s children once struck Saturn in the foot and injured him out of anger.
This is why Saturn is said to spin slower than other planets and takes a longer time to complete one revolution further is accounted for by the fact that it stays in a zodiac sign for 1.5 years compared to other planets which are relatively faster.
Further, due to the strained relationship with Sun, Saturn is not friendly with Sun and does not give good results to it. They are very distinct and polar opposites of each other.
As mentioned before, Sun exalts in Aries while Saturn debilitates in Aries and Sun debilitates in Libra while Saturn is exalted in Libra.
Sun focuses on fame and powerful people while Saturn represents the trodden and impoverished or unprivileged strata of society. They are equally influential and affect a person in their chart.
Venus is not friendly with Sun because Sun enjoys being motivated constantly and keeps working on something in life while Venus loves being materialistic and represents life satisfaction which cannot exist if a person is constantly working on something to better themselves.
The relationship of the sun with mercury is slightly different from other relationships. Curious as to why is that. Let us explore the same.
Sun and Mercury are neutral towards each other. They are not the best of friends in terms of good results but do not harm each other either.
Sun helps Mercury achieve good fame through its analytical mindset and provides the willpower to them to achieve goals. Mercury is said to be the estranged son of Moon with one of the wives of Jupiter and hence, Moon is not friendly with Mercury.
Sun values Moon as its illumination and hence, even though is not enemies with Mercury, yet gives neutral results.
Grahan Astrology: Decoding Solar Eclipse
Rahu and Ketu which are the north and south nodes mathematically for Sun and Moon are not natural friends with them. They cause the Sun and Moon to undergo eclipses and distort them into illusions if placed together in the chart for the person.
However, we cannot directly say that Sun and Rahu will always give poor results or that Sun and Ketu, as well, may give good results depending on the position.
If Sun is the disposition for Rahu, that is, Rahu is placed in Leo then it will amplify the desires of the Sun related to the theme of the house in which it is placed and the native will desire to achieve a lot of fame based on the activities related to that house too.
For example, if Rahu is placed in House 2 for a Cancer ascendant which means the disposition is Sun for Rahu then the native will desire to achieve a lot of fame through their family and finances.
Rahu may distort the righteousness of the Sun to achieve goals but it will grant the energy to the native to achieve financial stability through different means or sources that might not be always righteous.
Rahu provides an illusion to the Sun which may even make the natives very mysterious and secretive about the themes of the house and nobody will be able to decode their true intentions.
Sun and Ketu are very different yet interesting combinations. Ketu is said to not have its head and constantly seeks guidance from its ruling planet or the planet it is in conjunction with.
Here, Sun gives rise to guide Ketu to become a king or give a desire to the natives that they are destined to become leaders but that may happen only when supported by proper karma.
Sun and Ketu combination is very good for the spirituality of the native and they may incline towards spirituality at a later point in life.
The results of the Sun along with these shadow planets get better as and when a person matures and their D9 Navamsa Chart gets activated more. Generally, post the age of 35, the person with Sun and shadow planets attain a high name and fame, as well as shine in the themes of the house where it is placed.
Sun in Zodiac Signs
You might be wondering how these correlations between the sun and other planets manifest in reading zodiacs. Let us understand the same through a brief overview.
The nature of the Sun is a wide topic of interest to study and it gives different results with different signs. Sun Signs are very significant within Vedic Astrology and represent the soul of the person. It shows how the person is perceived by society and the nature in which society pays attention to them.
Sun also represents the ego of the person and their confidence which may or may not be good at different points in life.
We will explore the ideas of Sun Signs separately as well but we will gain a general overview of the sun in different signs based on their friendliness with the ruling planets.
Sun is very comfortable within Aries and as mentioned above, it gets exalted at 10 degrees within Aries. However, it will give good results only when not aspected by malefic planets or unfriendly planets. In that case, the sun will start giving opposite results and the true energy may not be utilised by the person.
For example, if Sun is in conjunct with Saturn within Aries or is aspected by Saturn then Sun will not be able to realise its true potential and instead of making the person famous, may even result in making them infamous related to the themes of the house in which this placement occurs.
Sun in Taurus gives the person a desire for stability and makes them stubborn about it. Taurus being naturally ruled by Venus may even gain false ego due to Sun which makes them very obstinate.
Sun in Gemini gives mixed results and the person may try to satisfy their ego through their network.
Sun in Cancer is very comfortable even though it is a water sign and attains its most righteous state in the purity of Cancer which is ruled by the Moon. Natives with Sun in Cancer are gifted with natural intuition and are hailed as the healers of society. Further, the passive-aggressive propensities of Cancer are explained by the friendly nature between Moon and Sun.
Sun in Virgo makes the person very analytical and gives them the illusion to attain perfection through this mindset that many times keeps the Virgo not realizing their true potential due to their overthinking and scrupulous nature about small things and life changes.
Sun in Leo is empowered to become the king. It gives wonderful creativity to the natives and they may achieve great name and fame in society for their intelligence.
Sun in Libra is debilitated and makes the person avoid conflicts and be peaceful which is against the true nature of the sun which is aggressive and cruel. Such people are very gifted creative artists and good at making illusions as evident from the charts of many famous actors in a world whose job is to fake someone else.
Sun in Scorpio is an explosive combination as it is very comfortable with Mars but being a water sign, this sun is not the usual nature of attaining fame. This Sun will give the native a natural tendency to hide and makes them mysterious. It is hard to guess the true intentions of the native with Scorpio Sun which gives them a natural innate ability to lie as well.
Sun in Capricorn and Aquarius gives the person good tendencies to work but such people have to work in a disciplined way to achieve success in their lives.
Sun in Pisces is slightly weak and generally makes the person lack confidence but helps them explore their spiritual side in a very different way than others.
Know whether your Sun is strong or not?
Curious to know the signs of the strong sun or weak sun within your chart? Let us see how your personality tells us about that.
You can see from your own characteristics in daily life whether your sun is strong or not. If you naturally like to take the initiative in your group and are good at convincing others then your sun is likely to be strong.
A good sun will always attract attention towards you from society irrespective of whether you like it or not. For example, in my experience, I have seen that Aries Sun usually loves and craves this attention from others while Scorpio does not like this attention and tries to stay hidden from others.
A strong sun will constantly motivate you to do something in life and you will be super busy trying to attain your goals and set new goals once they are attained.
If you do not like to rest and get frustrated with idle time then your sun is giving you good results. You will always desire to be accepted by society and try to attain power positions within the administration or even within any place you are a part of.
For example, a student with a strong sun will always be involved in different extracurricular activities, a worker with a strong sun will always try to become the leader of their projects within the organisation and obviously any seasoned politicians have a very powerful sun within their charts.
If you have experienced a situation where you were having many competitors and you were unsure that you will achieve victory but you still are motivated to strive to complete your goal and get a slight boost in luck that eventually led to your victory then your sun is definitely very strong.
You will be gifted with a very attractive aura if your sun is strong but that does not necessarily mean you will be approachable by people. Many times, I have seen that a strong sun gives a very cruel expression to the natives.
At first look, many people may misunderstand them as egoistic and too high in pride, yet in reality, once they get to know them they would realize that they are very motivated individuals with an intimidating aura.
A poor sun in the chart may give rise to a high ego in the person and make them focus on vanity.
It may even give rise to a desire to be validated by others and the person does not try to find sanity in themselves but rather searches for it in others very evident in many Venus signs too from my experience.
Sun will also drive your relationship with elders and your father. A good sun may not necessarily mean that your relationships with your father will be at ease but definitely, you will get good cross benefits from your father’s side in your life.
A very strong sun may instill too much pride in a person and make them very self-righteous. This makes them slightly uncomfortable in asking for help from others but they are themselves very wonderful helpers.
Further, Sun likes to network with fewer people. It is very famous among others but a strong sun will give the desire to make a very niche friend circle.
You can see this from the simple idea that Sun represents the king and the king will only accept you as a friend when you are of very high status in society or be able to resonate with that strong intense motivation that the native possesses.
Generally, I have seen this tendency in people born on Sundays too. People born on Sunday are very driven and highly optimistic individuals.
They desire to name and fame but only confide in a very limited circle and network with very specific people who can motivate them. Further, sometimes, the sun may give a tendency to make friends with sycophants and servile subjects who appreciate the native.
Natives with a weak sun may try to give a false boost to their ego by being friends with people who are less intelligent than them and expect praise for themselves from them.
Even sometimes natives with the strong sun may tend to satisfy their ego with this tendency and they should avoid it at all costs. A good networking circle that makes you compete and achieve goals is very important to bring out the full potential of the Sun.
Aspects of Sun
Sun is strongest in the house where it is placed and gets weak as we move away from that House. It is analogous to the nature of sun rise and sun set in real life.
The sun rises in the sign in which it is placed and its influence gets weaker as we move away from that sign. Sun can influence only 7 Houses from its own position. It aspects only the 7th House directly and has no other major aspects within the chart.
It is said that Sun illuminates the 7th House from its position and gives beneficial results related to the themes of that house. For example, if Sun is placed in the First House then it will aspect the Seventh House from there which is the house of relationships and partnerships.
Such a native will have a very attractive aura and the partners of such a spouse will be largely benefited from them as they will love them very much but at the same time, they may try to be dominating in the relationship too.
Sun is not able to affect the houses beyond seven houses from its position as it is said to have attained sunset by then.
Remedies for Sun
A good sun is essential in having the motivation and willpower to achieve goals in life as it is the very vital source of our souls.
Many times the sun may be afflicted by malefic or maybe in a weak position in charts and can be appropriately empowered through very simple changes in our lives that serve as wonderful remedies to attain the true potential of the sun.
A very simple yet elegant way to boost your sun is to sleep early and wake up early along with the sunrise.
It gives you the energy to achieve greater heights in life and empowers your goals. You can offer water in a copper vessel to the rising sun chant the 11 different names of the Sun in Sanskrit or even simply meditate in the presence of the rising sun.
You can even recite the Aditya Strotram or simply hear it to attain stronger confidence and willpower. These may be slightly difficult for everyone so another simple remedy for improving the sun is keeping highly motivated people in your network.
They say you are the average of five people you talk most often to, and truly if these five people are motivating and competitive then you are likely to accelerate your energy to achieve goals like them bringing out the true potential of your sun.
It is also recommended to simply take some good outings and trips from time to time to give a good boost to your sun. This enhances your working ability and also refreshes your focus and motivates you to achieve your goals so that you can once again go out on similar trips too.
Try to lessen your ego and utilise that energy towards constructive work with consistency and discipline then the sun will automatically start giving very good results.
I hope you were able to gain insights into this wonderful planet and will optimise your life to realize the true potential of your sun. This blog is part of the ongoing series on planets in Vedic Astrology.
Further, we will discuss sun signs and the concept of combustion by the sun in a different series. Keep following us and share with your friends too. That’s all for now, folks!