Yule 1999 Newsletter Paganism 101 - The Sun Edited by Adrianne Harris

The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you.
          Don’t go back to sleep.
You must ask for what you really want.
          Don’t go back to sleep.
People are going back and forth across the doorsill
          where the two worlds touch.
The door is round and open.
          Don’t go back to sleep.
(Rumi)

The Sun is an important object and symbol to Pagans all over the world. At Yule, we celebrate the return of the Sun to warm up the Earth. At the Summer Solstice, we celebrate the height of the Sun’s power in the world. If you sit in the light Sun at these times of year, you can feel the changes in the strength and power of the Sun. Yet as John Donne so eloquently wrote: "I could eclipse and cloud them with a wink".

The Sun is also a symbol that can be interpreted in many different ways. Some aspects of the Sun can be classified as follows:

Dawn	Noon	Dusk
Young man	Mature man	Old man
Apprentice	Master	Instructor
Sowing	Cultivating	Harvesting
Son	Father	Grandfather
Creation	Perpetuation	Dissolution
Thought	Action	Reflection
Spring	Summer	Autumn
Beginning	Middle	End
Birth	Life	Death

(compiled by NightMoon’s archives: Triple God Table of Correspondences)

The Sun can also be classified as being female. Some examples are in the list oppostie by Paul Rees. (See also, "The Sun Goddess" by Sheena McGrath, London, Blandford 1997 (thanks Glenys))

According to Norse mythology, Freyr was closely linked with the sun. He was the god of peace and fertility. His parents were the sea god Njord and the giantess Skadi. On a journey to the underworld, he saw and fell in love with the giantess Gerd. He sent his servant, Skirnir, on a journey to convince Gerd to marry him. He also gave Skirnir a magic sword to use. Skirnir, however, could not convince Gerd to marry his master. It wasn't until he threatened her with the magic sword that Gerd agreed to meet Freyr in a grove of trees to become his bride. This journey is symbolic of the journey of the sun across the sky and into the darkness of winter. (from Solar Folklore - http://solar-center.stanford.edu/folklore/folklore.html)

A Selection of Sun Deities

Apollo: Greek God, son of Zeus, and twin brother to Artemis, goddess of hunting and of the moon. Most frequently identified as the God of prophecy, philosophy, music and medicine. As Phoebus Apollo, "the shining one", he was also associated with Helios the sun God.

Bastet: Solar goddess depicted as a woman with a cat’s head. A popular Egyptian deity of pleasure.

Helios: Greek sun God, the son of the Tians Hyperion and Theia; brother of the moon goddess Selene. Helios sees all and hears all, and is invoked as witness to an oath sworn. As God of light, he can make the blind see - but equally, he can strike sinners blind. Helios was often represented driving a chariot drawn by four winged horses, his head surrounded by a halo of rays. In late classical times he was equated with Apollo. His Roman counterpart was Sol.

Horus: Egyptian God, whose name - meaning "he who is above, he who is afar" - would seem to indicate a sky god. He was depicted as a falcon, with the sun and the moon as his eyes. At the very beginning of the historical period, the king was equated with this divine falcon. As bearer of the solar eye, Horus is closely connected with the sun God Ra.

Marduk: The great sun god of Babylon from the time of King Ammurabi onward, the tutelar head God of the Babylonian empire. Considered an agricultural God, the god of wisdom, judgement, and the bringer of light. Marduk was regarded as the "Lord of Kings". He is symbolised by a reptilian dragon, the spade or the sickle.

Mithras: The Graeco-Latin name for the Iranian Mithra, whose cult and mysteries were spread by Roman troops and seafarers over the whole Roman empire during the first and second centuries AD. The religion of Mithras allowed only men to take part in its mysteries. As the god of loyalty, truth and the fight against evil, Mithras was a favourite of soldiers.

Ra: The old Egyptian name of the sun and the sun God. From the fourth dynasty onward the Pharaohs described themselves as sons of Re. In his barque, the sun god travels across the ocean of heaven, accompanied by his vizier, Thot, and his daughter Maat. The orb of the sun was taken as the visible body of the God, but it was also regarded as his eye. Symbols of his cult were the obelisks, whose pinnacles were struck by the first rays of the rising sun.

Samas/Shamash: The Semitic word for the sun became the Babylonian sun God; during the day he sees all things and hence is the God of justice and of the oracle. Son of the moon God, Sin, he is symbolised by the sun’s disc and a four pointed star surrounded by rays. In Assyria, the emblem was the winged solar disc. By night, Samas moves through the underworld, bringing nourishment and light to the dead.

Sol: Roman sun God corresponding to the Greek Helios.

Sol: Old Icelandic name for the sun. Personified as the daughter of Mundilferi (the old moon) and Mani (the new moon).

Sul: A Celtic Goddess, her name meaning "sun", worshipped in Southern England, especially near the area of Bath. An eternal fire burned in her temple. During the Roman occupation she was identifies with Minerva.