Sun
A symbol of illumination, vitality, gold, consciousness, sovereignty, order, fire, and radiant life.
Definition
The Sun is a symbol of light, vitality, gold, consciousness, clarity, authority, and radiant life.
In Hermetic and alchemical symbolism, it often represents the solar principle: the active, illuminating, generative, and ordering force.
Expanded Explanation
The Sun is one of the central symbols in alchemical, Hermetic, astrological, mythological, and philosophical study.
It is associated with light because it reveals what is hidden, makes forms visible, and gives warmth to life. It is associated with gold because gold reflects solar qualities of radiance, nobility, incorruptibility, and completion.
In alchemy, the Sun is often paired with the Moon. The Sun may represent gold, fire, activity, consciousness, kingship, clarity, and the fixed luminous principle. The Moon may represent silver, water, receptivity, reflection, imagination, and cyclical change.
Within hermetic alchemy, the Sun is studied as a symbol of illumination and responsibility. Solar light reveals, but it must be balanced by reflection, humility, and lunar wisdom.