The Sun, Simplicity, & Collective Joy

This post is part of my “Journey through the Tarot Major Arcana” collection. This is the nineteenth post in the series, which is an offering for paid subscribers. We focus mainly on the Gaian Tarot and the Herbcrafter’s Tarot in this series, which includes a look at the card’s themes, card comparisons, creative sparks and crafts, journal prompts, and even a song inspired by the card. These posts are longer than most of mine. Thanks for reading. I’d love to hear your responses in the comments.

The Sun card embodies the popular saying “Joy is an act of resistance” and applies it in the most collective way in all of the tarot. Some may bristle at the quote, concerned that it simply palliates the guilt we feel when we are joyful in a world with dismal realities. Yet joy is different from willful ignorance. Joy gives strength and sustenance to social justice. And we are the deliverers.

— Maria Minnis, Tarot for the Hard Work

Dear Ones,

The nature of the Sun card could not be more different from the nature of the Moon. Lunar energies are inward, reflective, quiet. Solar energies are outward, bright, exuberant. Unfortunately those attributes have been aligned with gender roles over time, with the Moon / receptivity designated as feminine and the Sun / activity seen as masculine. Repairing those gender stereotypes is part of the hidden agenda of the Gaian Tarot. I chose to frequently depict gentle men and strong women in the cards, like the exuberant woman in the Sun card.

Sometimes the Sun card seems too simplistic. What is there to say about it? It’s about happiness, joy, clarity, and letting your light shine. But that’s kind of the point — simplicity. It’s such a contrast to a constantly changing, dimly lit landscape drenched in moonlight.

We need both in our lives — times of mystery, times of simplicity. Times of shadow, times of clarity. Times of expressing grief, times of dancing with joy.

I especially appreciate Maria Minnis’ quotation above regarding the place of joy and happiness in social justice work. “Joy is different from willful ignorance,” she writes. “Joy gives strength and sustenance to social justice.” I have felt guilty more than once in recent times for feeling happy when the world is in such turmoil. Maria Minnis’ words help me to reframe my joy as fuel for doing my part to raise my voice and help others. She points out that the Sun reminds us to shine our light on others, through sharing our resources, whether it’s time, money, energy, skills, education, or something only we can uniquely offer.

“This little light of mine … I’m gonna let it shine!”