The Sun is not the predominant force in Eastern Astrology like it is in Western Astrology. The mantel of Most Significant Planet is held by the Moon which is discussed in detail on the class The Moon. But the Sun's relevance in a chart is still great as he represents a person's willpower, authority, confidence, and even their status in life. He is also the Natural Atmakaraka, or indicator of the soul. Wherever he is placed the person will focus a lot of energy in their life toward the significations of that house. Regardless of this natural indication of importance in a person's chart, the Sun is still considered a mildly malefic planet, meaning that his aspect can harm other planets. He reaches his maturity, or gains full strength, in the 22nd year (21-22 years old) of the native.

A brief note on Atmakarakas: there is a second and more relevant one in everyone's chart, the Chara Atmakaraka. This is the planet in the latest degree of all planets throughout the chart. An example to illustrate this would be Venus in 29° Leo while Mars is 28° of Virgo and all other planets regardless of the sign they are in are posited at a lower degree. Venus is the Chara Atmakaraka and of great significance in this person's chart. The Chara Atmakaraka mostly differs from the Natural Atmakaraka in that not only are the house's significations of great importance in this person's life but so are the significations of the planet.

Significations of the Sun

The section below will show how the Sun's energy manifests in your life. These significations are directly impacted by how the Sun is disposed by sign, house, and aspect. In the case of people represented by the Sun in the person's life, it can affect the quality of the person's relationships with these people. An example of this would be having the Sun negatively placed giving the native issues with authority figures. Imagine a person that would always get in trouble at school or in the home. Or in the case of characteristics, that same person might have low self-confidence, be unpopular in their community, and not have much influence on those around them. It is up to the astrologer to interpret these significations accordingly as every aspect, sign, and house connotation can impact the manifestation of the Sun's energy in different ways.

People

the Father
Bosses/Rulers
Physicians/Pharmacists
Government Officials
Those with authority in your life

Characteristics

The soul and ego
Power and influence
Ambition and willpower
Vitality and dignity
Self-confidence
Professional status
Popularity

Health

The heart
The eyes
Vision

Miscellaneous

Red Ruby
Sunday
Gold (also the color)
Copper
East

Combustion – a Unique Rule

When the Sun is conjunct another planet, within 8°'s, that plantet is considered combust by the Sun. This is a harmful aspect that weakens the planet affected. It is described as the Sun burning the planet and also as the Sun outshining the other planet. And like all aspects, the closer the degree of aspect, the more intense the impact. From my experience, this is the most noticeable malefic aspect of the Sun.

Sun Combustion Example

This rule is also unique in that it does not apply to all planets conjunct the Sun. If these 3 planets are positioned within 8°'s of the Sun, they are only considered conjunct and not combust: the Moon, Rahu, and Ketu. This unique aspect only applies to Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn.

Aspects

In the aspects section, we will be discussing how the Sun impacts other planets by aspect. The Sun is one of the simpler planets that only aspects in conjunction and opposition to itself or the 1st and 7th houses as described by most Vedic texts. The Sun's aspect is considered mildly malefic, as it is the least harmful planet of all the malefic planets. Please look at the examples and the text below for a detailed explanation of the Sun's aspects.

7th House Aspect

The Sun aspects the house that is opposite from itself.

In the example above, the Sun is aspecting Jupiter from Scorpio to Taurus. This aspect is considered mildly malefic and does not cause serious harm to Jupiter, even with the tight orb of aspect. Any planet that is occupying the sign that is opposite the Sun is aspected by it. For example, Jupiter could be at 1° Taurus and would still be aspected by the Sun. Remember, the tighter the orb of aspect, the more intense the aspect is, for better or for worse.

1st House Aspect

The Sun aspects the house that it resides.

In the example above, we have added Venus to the sign of Scorpio. This aspect is called a conjunction or a 1st house aspect in Vedic texts. This aspect, despite its wide orb at 24°'s apart, is still considered mildly harmful to Venus and the houses she rules.

1st House Aspect – Combustion

The Sun combusts planets within 8°'s of it.

In the example above, we have added Saturn into the mix. Unfortunately for Saturn, he is within a single degree of the Sun making him combust. This aspect is considered harmful to Saturn and the houses he rules.

The Sun combusts planets even across house lines.

In the example above, we have added Mars in Sagittarius. He is 6°'s away from the Sun and despite him residing across house lines, he still suffers from combustion. This aspect is considered harmful to Mars and the houses he rules.

1st House Aspect – Shadow Planets

The Sun aspects shadow planets but does not combust them.

In the example above, we wiped the slate clean to clearly illustrate how the Sun aspects the shadow planets, in this case Ketu. Even though Ketu is within the 8° orb of the Sun, Ketu does not suffer from combustion and is considered conjunct. This in particular is a special aspect which will be described in greater detail in the Rahu – Basics and Ketu – Basics pages. But here is a simplified explanation; when these two shadow planets are close to the Sun, they represent a solar eclipse, whether minor or major. In this case, Ketu is swallowing the Sun.

Rulership and Placement Disposition

In this section we will go over what sign the Sun rules, how he functions there, and how he functions in the other signs.

The Sun's relationship to the signs.

Exalted

The sign where a planet is exalted in is the place where the planet's energy is best expressed reaping the most beneficial results in a person's life. Keep in mind this is only according to placement of sign and other factors such as aspect and house number can either positively or negatively impact these results. So, referencing the picture above, the Sun is Exalted in the sign of Aries. When interpreting charts with this placement, expect extremely positive results from the Sun if it is not aspected by malefic planets. Because the point of exaltation is 10°'s of Aries, it functions best in the first 10°'s of this sign, benefiting the native the closer it is 10°'s. It is most beneficial at exactly 10°00's Aries and loses this extremely positive energy as the degrees increase. But please note, it is still very positive energy past the point of exaltation, just not as positive.

Moolatrikona

The sign where a planet is moolatrikona is the place where the planet's energy is very positively expressed giving very beneficial results in the person's life. While this is not as positive as the Exalted placement, it is still a great placement for a planet. Referencing the picture above, the Sun is Moolatrikona in the sign of Leo, the sign the Sun rules, in the first 20°'s. Just like the point of exaltation, the benefic energy of the Sun in this placement increases depending how close to the 20th degree it is. After 20°'s, it is considered Own Sign which is still a positive placement, just not as positive as Moolatrikona.

Own Sign

All of the luminary planets rule at least one house; and like a person in their own home, the Sun feels comfortable there and expresses his energy in a positive way. Referencing the picture above, from 20°01' of Leo to the 30the degree, the Sun is considered Own Sign. This placement is considered positive and reaps good results for the person with this placement.

Friend

All planets like other planets and function well in their homes (houses). The Sun is friendly with the Moon, Jupiter, and Mars, and thus is comfortably placed in the signs of the Moon, who owns Cancer, Jupiter, who owns Sagittarius and Pisces, and Mars, who owns Aries (his Exalted sign) and Scorpio. If the Sun is placed in these signs (excluding aspects and house rulerships), it is considered naturally positive for his significations.

Neutral

The signs not colored are considered neutral for the Sun, meaning they neither negatively or positively impact him by placement. In this case, the Sun is neither friend nor enemy to Mercury and functions neutrally in his signs of Gemini and Virgo.

Enemy

Just like all planets have friends, they also have enemies or planets that don't welcome their presence in their homes or signs. These planets are considered enemies. The Sun is enemies with Saturn and Venus. He functions negatively in Saturn's signs, Capricorn and Aquarius, and in Venus's signs, Taurus and Libra (his Fallen placement).

Fallen

Just as a planet can be placed extremely positively, such as the exaltation, there is an opposite placement that is extremely negative, or fallen (also called debilitated). And just as there is a point of exaltation where the planet is most benefic, there is a point of debilitation where the planet is most fallen or negatively placed. If the Sun is placed in the sign of Libra, he is Fallen and does not manifest his energy positively in the person's life. Naturally, excluding other factors, the significations of the Sun are on the negative side of the spectrum. While there is self-confidence and self-reliance in a positive placement, self-doubt, insecurity, and dependence on others is likely in this negative placement. It is up to the astrologer to analyze the significations and apply a negative filter to them.

The Sun and the Moon

The relationship between the Sun and Moon will be covered in greater depth on The Moon – Basics page. But for the purposes of this aspects section, it is important to understand that the Moon cannot be combust from the Sun. Instead, it is closer to a new moon state, whether waxing or waning, the closer in proximity it is to the Sun. While this does transform the Moon into a malefic planet, it does lessen its strength and thus its ability to provide positive results in a person's life.

What was covered…

We introduced the Sun as the Atmakaraka.
We described what the Sun indicates in the section titled The Significations of the Sun.
We introduced how the Sun aspects planets that are too close to it in the section titled Combustion – a Unique Rule.
We went in depth on how the Sun aspects other planets and provided examples to illustrate how it works in the section titled Aspects.
We described how the Sun functions throughout the zodiac and introduced the student to Exaltation, Moolatrikona, Own Sign, Friend, Neutral, Enemy and Fallen placements in the section titled Rulership and Placement Disposition.
And we briefly touched on the subject of the next lesson, The Moon, and introduced the relationship between them in the section titled The Sun and the Moon.

The Sun – Basics