The Sun card is one of the key images among the Major Arcana cards in the Tarot deck. It depicts a child riding a white horse under the rays of the sun. The child, who appears innocent on horseback, carries within a deeply archetypal content that this apparent innocence does not immediately reveal to the uninitiated. Behind the card lies an archetype that is simultaneously radiant, dominant, and scorching. The card should be viewed as part of a broader symbolic whole, in which hermeticism, alchemy, astrology, and Jungian psychology converge. In these frameworks, the Sun appears as the center of the psyche, a force that both maintains inner order and dissolves structures that cannot withstand the light. In its deeper symbolism, the card clearly shows why Tarot cards cannot be categorized as good or evil, for each card contains its opposing elements—including the Sun, which is often seen as predominantly positive.
The Sun card does not only depict joy, vitality, and brightness. It represents an archetypal structure that recurs both on a cosmic scale and within the individual psyche. The card symbolizes the core of consciousness, the center of the psyche, which guides perception, choice, and the experience of self. In the Jungian sense, this corresponds to the ego—not as an everyday self-image, but as an internal structure that maintains order and directs action.
Astrologically, the Sun refers to the core of individual being, and certain astrologers call the highest level of this force the White Sun. In this case, it is no longer about the personal ego but about pure, transcendent consciousness—a core of awareness that no longer organizes the experience of self, but radiates beyond it. In esoteric astrology, the White Sun represents the manifestation of the highest spiritual light, outward-directed illumination, and the radiant presence of divine consciousness. It is the essence of clarity, order, and peace. It can be understood either as a supernova—an extreme release of light—or as the mystical light beyond experienced in near-death states. Both express a reality that no longer unfolds on the symbolic level alone, but functions directly as an experiential and transpersonal phenomenon. In this sense, the White Sun is the exalted form of the Sun's power—the highest aspect of consciousness, which no longer constructs individual selfhood but transcends it. It is the brightness that penetrates all and reveals the true nature of things.
According to alchemy, this highest Sun is the perfected First Matter—Prima Materia—depicted as a circle with a dot at its center. The symbol crystallizes the essence of the alchemical process. It represents the spiritual base substance, the primal form in which all potential forms still exist undivided. There is not yet a distinction between parts, but all possibilities of development are already present. The center point represents the seed of spirit, which radiates order and form outward. The circle around it signifies wholeness and unity. In this context, the Sun symbolizes Fire—an active, form-generating force that both constructs and dismantles. It is the principle of creative destruction, through which all new things are born, and thus a central part of transformation aimed at purification and integration of being.
In alchemical symbolism, the Sun corresponds to calcination. This is a process in which a substance is burned to ash by intense heat. It is the first stage of transformation, in which the existing is broken down so that the new can emerge. In psychological terms, calcination depicts the inner work in which the surface structures of personality are subjected to flame: false identities, vanity, roles, and attachment to material values. This does not happen symbolically, but often concretely through life crises, losses, or deep introspection. The fire burns away everything that does not belong to the original essence and reveals the enduring core. The light of the Sun card is therefore not only comforting—it is also revealing, purifying, and demanding. It illuminates so brightly that illusion cannot remain hidden.
As the element of Fire, the Sun is linked to the masculine aspect of Spirit, which is active, creative, and form-giving. In contrast, water represents the feminine Soul, which is receptive, adaptive, and sustaining. In many religions, including Christianity, the union of these two elements serves as the origin of creation: spirit above the waters. This symbolic union represents a primal force in which opposites combine into a creative whole.
In the image of the Sun card, this union is not depicted directly, but it operates in the background and gives the image its inner tension. The child riding the white horse embodies a formed state of consciousness—purified and clarified existence that has emerged after transformation. The horse is instinctual force, the child its master, and the Sun above all, the center that maintains order. The card tells us that the fire has already done its work: water has met fire, the transformation has occurred, and the result is an integrated individual standing in the revealed light of truth without masks.
In Hermeticism, the Sun represents the source of consciousness and form, through which invisible reality gains structure and shape. In the Emerald Tablet, a central text of early Hermeticism, it is stated that the Sun unites what is above and what is below. The Tablet declares: "Its power is perfect if it is turned to the Earth." This refers to the idea that the highest spiritual force is realized only when it is grounded in material reality. Thus, the Sun is not merely a source of light, but an organizing intelligence that arranges chaos into order.
In Tarot, the Sun card depicts the moment when this organizing force has emerged. The light has clarified structures, made inner order visible, and rendered it actionable. The Sun forces everything into the open. It reveals also that which would prefer to remain hidden. The child in the card hides nothing. He stands in the light, where nothing remains in shadow. That is why the Sun is the most revealing card in the entire deck.
