When the Sun is diminished of lustre

"The hope of a secure and livable world lies with disciplined nonconformists who are dedicated to justice, peace, and brotherhood." - Martin Luther King Jr., in Strength to Love

Sun: the giver of life, the cosmic candle of our beloved earth, the brightener of our days, the ruler of planets and people, and the centre of the solar system, is the reason for the existence of man and matter alike that surrounds our solar system. When the sun is diminished of luster, it is not just distressing, but depressing. Likewise, when the sun has risen: not only do we see because of it, but because by it, we see and gain everything else.

Contrast

The sun represents our conscious mind. It represents our will to live and our creative life force. Just as the planets revolve around the sun in our solar system, we derive our life purpose from the sun.

The sun is our ego. It is also that part of us, which makes us an adult and censors our "inner child." It invests in us, our reasoning ability; and helps us make final decisions.

The sun is our basic identity, and represents self-realisation. When you are required to answer the question "Who are you?", and you have passed your basic statistics and occupation, your reply will be a description of your Sun. The sun also represents our overall vitality. The sun directs us and is our controller, director, and lord.

As such, when we are "acting out" our Sun - a psychological term from the parlance of defence mechanisms and self-control; meaning, to perform an action in contrast to bearing and managing - we are purposeful, directed, proud, and creative. On the negative side, we can be haughty, overly willful, self-centered, and judgmental.

Though one might think that, the traits of their sun would come easy to them; the truth is, the sun exhibits our learning process. It is very important to remember that the sun only represents reason, as opposed to instinct.

When the Sun has risen, as they say in your astrological chart, into exaltation; you are no more the moon orbiting around your planet; but become the Sun that will burn through your hitherto frozen mind. In other words, you will gain vitality, vigor, and ability: intelligence and wisdom. Generally, in an astrological sense and terminology, the constellation of Aries is the Sun's exaltation - this is where the Sun has the most to express its energy. This is a place of power and control. But that does not mean that the Sun is diminished in others.

There are various dignities in astrology and all are, covered by one English word: "rulership." The five essential dignities are domicile, exaltation, triplicity, term, and face.

The last three are, all but forgotten by modern astrologers. Domicile, is commonly referred to as rulership.

The sun "rules" Leo, but is exalted in Aries. I suppose the reason why the sun is considered exalted in Aries is that the vernal equinox is the beginning of the astrological year.

Powerful

The sun is the principle of power and at this time of the year, he brings forth new life. In Leo, the middle of the summer, he is most powerful, but can be destructive. Grant Lewi, better known as the father of modern astrology in America and author of Astrology for the Millions and Heaven Knows What, referred to the Sun as indicative of "the psychological bias which will dominate your actions".

He further said: you may think, dream, imagine, hope to be a thousand things, according to your Moon and your other planets: but the Sun is what you are, and to be your best self in terms of your Sun is to cause your energies to work along the path in which they will have maximum help from planetary vibrations.

If I dwell so much upon astrological and astronomical issues, it is because in the affairs of man and matter that surrounds the sun, the rules govern man and matter the same.

The sun is our life purpose and the style in which we leave our mark in the world. Hence, the position of the sun in our astrological chart, shows where our personalities shine.

The areas of life associated with that house reveal the types of experiences which contribute to our sense of individuality and which shape our sense of pride.

These areas of life are ones in which we seek to express and focus our sun sign qualities.

The Sun formed about 4.5 billion years ago from the gravitational collapse of a region within a large molecular cloud in the Milky Way galaxy.

Most of the matter gathered in the center, while the rest flattened into an orbiting disk that would become the Solar System.

The central mass increasingly became hot and dense, eventually initiating thermonuclear fusion in its core. Almost all stars, form by this process.

Sun

Yet, remember that even after 4.5 billion years since the birth of our planet Earth along with the sun; the sun, which has nourished and cherished this planet in its evolutionary process, along with random visitors, and long before humanity was a possibility, never says, "You owe me Earth for all that I have done for you." Look what happens with a love like that: It lights the whole sky. That is the most supreme and illustrious quality of the sun humans ought to possess - limitless undying love, which shines around us like a million suns. It ought to call us on and on across the universe, endlessly.

The man, who extols the purity of love devoid of desire, is also capable of the depravity of a desire devoid of love.

I quote Martin Luther King Jr.: One of the great tragedies of life is that men seldom bridge the gulf between practice and profession, between doing and saying.

A persistent schizophrenia leaves so many of us tragically divided against ourselves. On the one hand, we proudly profess certain sublime and noble principles, but on the other hand, we sadly practice the very antithesis of these principles.

How often are our lives characterised by a high blood pressure of creeds and an anemia of deeds! We talk eloquently about our commitment to the principles of religion; and yet our lives are, saturated with the practices of paganism. We proclaim our devotion to democracy, but we sadly practice the very opposite of the democratic creed. We talk passionately about peace, and at the same time, we assiduously prepare for war.

We make our fervent pleas for the high road of justice, and then we tread unflinchingly the low road of injustice. This strange dichotomy, this agonising gulf between his word and his deed, represents the tragic theme of man's earthly pilgrimage.

Weakness

The sign position directly opposite a planet's sign of exaltation is, considered to be, its fall. As the exaltation is a place of awareness, the "fall" is a position of weakness concerning the function of the man, including everything else the he represents.

When a man falls in character, when a man falters from the given word, when a man fails in his faith of human kindness; he is said to be in fall; and that is when his sun is diminished of luster.

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