The Sun is the center of the universe and is an important part of astrology. The Sun is the ruling planet of Leo and is exalted in Aries. In classical Greek mythology, the Sun was represented by the Titans Hyperion and Helios (Roman Sol, and later by Apollo, the god of light). The Sun is the star at the center of our solar system, around which the Earth and other planets revolve and provides us with heat and light. The arc that the Sun travels in every year, rising and setting in a slightly different place each day, is therefore in reality a reflection of the Earth’s own orbit around the Sun. This arc is larger the farther north or south from the equator latitude, giving a more extreme difference between day and night and between seasons during the year. The Sun travels through the twelve signs of the zodiac on its annual journey, spending about a month in each. The Sun’s position on a person’s birthday therefore determines what is usually called his or her “sun” sign. However, the sun sign allotment varies between Western (sign change around 22-23 of every month) and Hindu astrology (sign change around 14-15 of every month) due the different systems of planetary calculations, following the tropical and sidereal definitions respectively.
Astrologically speaking, the Sun is usually thought to represent the conscious ego, the self and its expression, personal power, pride and authority, leadership qualities and the principles of creativity, spontaneity, health and vitality, the sum of which is named the “life force”. One of the first recorded references to Sun worship is from the Mesopotamian Religion and described in the Epic of Gilgamesh. The 1st-century poet Marcus Manilius in his epic, 8000-verse poem, Astronomica, described the Sun, or Sol, as benign and favorable. In medicine, the Sun is associated with the heart, circulatory system, and the thymus. Additionally, humans depend on the sun to produce and obtain vitamin D; an important supplement aiding the body’s immune system and bone health. In Ayurveda, it rules over life-force (praan-shakti), governs bile temperament (pitta), stomach, bones and eyes. In modern astrology, the Sun is the primary native ruler of the fifth house, but traditionally it had its joy in the ninth house.
The Sun is associated with Sunday. Dante Alighieri associated the Sun with the liberal art of music. In Chinese astrology, the Sun represents Yang, the active, assertive masculine life principle. Reference: Wikipedia
Below are some examples and price guides of antiques and art which depict the sun.
Pair of Two-Color Gold and Moonstone Sun Earclips, A.E. Köchert 18 kt., centering 2 oval carved moonstone faces, atop wavy white gold rays alternating with tapered ribbed flares, signed Köchert, with maker’s marks, ap. 25 dwts.
Sold for $2,000 (includes buyer’s premium) at Doyle in 2019
Medieval Crusaders Silver Ring Sun Symbol 9th- 11th Century AD A D section silver finger ring with solid band and large bezel engraved with Sun symbol. Probably military origins. 7.56 grams, 22.2 mm overall, 18.4 mm internal diameter. Approximate USA size 8 1/2, UK size Q 1/2, Germany size 18 1/2, Japan size 17. Very fine condition.
Sold for £190 at Live Antiques Ltd in 2020
Four baboons adoring the rising sun
This 5.7-ton block formed part of the base of one of the obelisks of the temple at Luxor: it comes from the back of the one that remains there, whose twin is on the Place de la Concorde in Paris. On their arrival in Paris, the Louvre’s baboons, standing on their hind legs and lifting their arms to honor the sun, caused a scandal that seems somewhat amusing today.
The animals were in fact honoring the sun. The obelisk is the most slender form of an extremely ancient Egyptian symbol, the “ben-ben,” which stands for the primeval mound of earth that emerged from the original chaos as the world was created by the sun. In front of the pylon at Luxor, the two obelisks stood on monolithic cubes that rested in turn on a pedestal. The front and back of the cubes were sculpted, or bore sculpted plaques, with figures similar to these. The Egyptian texts, and more particularly the hymns to the sun, make the meaning of the scene clear: the baboons are raising their hands, singing, and dancing in homage to the rising sun, which they guide and assist in its passage through the gates of day.
The baboons of Ramesses II Each of the baboons has as a pectoral the birth or coronation name (alternately) of Ramesses II. The king seems to have been fond of this baboon motif, which during his reign was also used, sculpted in the round or in very high relief, on the sun altar and crowning the facade of the temple of Abu Simbel. According to one hypothesis, it also was featured on the base of two obelisks erected east of the Temple of Karnak. The baboons’ adoration of the sun had come to be given special prominence by the time of Amenhotep III and Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten) at the latest.
Reference:The Louvre
Blind Orion Searching for the Rising Sun 1658 Nicolas Poussin French In accordance with the Greek writer Lucian (125–180 A.D.), the blind giant Orion is shown directed towards the healing rays of the sun by Cedalion, who rides on his back. Poussin has given the story a meteorological subtext by showing the earth’s vapors rising towards the moon (where Diana stands watching); they will be transformed into rain. Poussin painted this poetic picture—one of his greatest landscapes—for Michel Passart, an important Parisian patron of both Poussin and Claude Lorrain.
Reference: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Sun clock presented to Sydney Observatory Made by Esdaile, E in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, before 1952. This sun clock was patented by Sydney Observatory astronomer, William Ernest Cooke (known as Ernest), in 1924 and made in Sydney by Edward Esdaile. The user moves the top arm so that light shines through the hole onto the position on the lower arm marked with the current date. This action turns the hands via gears so the clock shows the current time. The graph on the lower arm, drawn for Sydney’s latitude, is of the ‘equation of time’, which compensates for seasonal variation in the Earth’s position. Refs: A SUN CLOCK. (1926, January 1). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 – 1954), , p. 6. Retrieved April 23, 2016, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16275400 Sydney has the World’s Best Sun Clock (1929, August 4). The Sun (Sydney, NSW : 1910 – 1954), , p. 23. Retrieved April 23, 2016, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article222952834 – includes photo of Cooke with clock Debbie Rudder
Reference: Museum of Applied Art and Sciences
Hermès “Dies Et Hore” Silk Twill Scarf 90cm France This scarf is in silk twill and in a yellow colorway. It was designed by F. Faconnet originally issued in 1963 (with multiple reissues); it is a classic astrological pattern with the sun in the middle. Accompanied by Hermès box, caretag, ribbon. Measures 36″ x 36″ (90 x 90cm)
Sold for 375 USD at Sotheby’s in 2019
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