The Sun is the tarot card of joy, success, and clarity. It shows a child riding a white horse under a huge smiling sun, arms spread wide, and it's read as the moment when things are going well and you can see your path plainly. Upright, the Sun is read as happiness, confidence, warmth, and success. Reversed, it's read as joy that feels dimmed for a while, delays, or confidence that tips into overconfidence.
The Sun is card number XIX in the Major Arcana, the 22 named cards of the tarot deck. It comes right after the Moon, and many readers see the pair as the move from confusion and night into daylight and clear sight.
The Sun Keywords
The Sun's keywords center on joy and clarity. Here's how they shift when the card is reversed:
| Upright | Reversed |
|---|---|
| Joy | Temporary setbacks |
| Success | Delayed success |
| Clarity | Self-doubt |
| Warmth and vitality | Feeling dimmed |
| Confidence | Overconfidence |
What the Sun Card Shows
The Sun card shows a large sun with a calm human face shining over a gray stone wall, with tall sunflowers growing along the top of the wall. In front of it, an unclothed child wearing a wreath of flowers and a red feather rides a white horse bareback, arms spread wide, beside a long red banner. The best-known version is the one Pamela Colman Smith painted for the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot, first published in London in December 1909.
Arthur Edward Waite, who designed the deck with her, described the card in his 1910 book, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot: "The naked child mounted on a white horse and displaying a red standard has been mentioned already as the better symbolism connected with this card." He wrote that the child stands for "a child in the sense of simplicity and innocence." Here's what each part of the picture is read as:
- The sun is read as life, warmth, and the plain truth of daylight. Its rays alternate between straight and wavy lines.
- The child is read as innocence, freedom, and the simple joy of being alive.
- The white horse is read as strength and purity, carrying the child easily.
- The red banner is read as energy and celebration.
- The sunflowers are read as growth and abundance, all turned toward the light.
- The stone wall is read as the safe, sheltered life the child is riding out of, into the open.
The Sun Upright Meaning
The Sun upright is read as a time of happiness, success, and clear sight. It often turns up when things are going well or about to, such as good news, a goal reached, a happy relationship, or simply feeling more like yourself, and it's read as encouragement to enjoy it fully and let yourself be seen.
Waite's divinatory meanings for the card were "material happiness, fortunate marriage, contentment." That's why the Sun is still read as one of the most welcome cards in a reading.
The Sun Upright in Love
In love, the Sun upright is read as a warm, happy, honest relationship. For someone single, it's read as meeting someone who makes you feel light and fully yourself. For a couple, it's read as joy, openness, and a good season together.
The Sun Upright in Work and Money
In work, the Sun upright is read as success, recognition, and confidence in what you do. With money, it's read as a stretch where things feel more comfortable and secure, along with a reminder to share the good fortune.
The Sun Upright in Spirituality
Spiritually, the Sun upright is read as a time when your practice feels bright and easy, such as rituals that feel full of energy or a renewed sense of wonder. It's read as permission to find joy in your craft.
The Sun Reversed Meaning
The Sun reversed is read as joy that's still there but harder to feel for a while. It often points to temporary setbacks, delays, or self-doubt that keeps you from enjoying what's going right. It can also be read as overconfidence, or as forcing a cheerful face when you need rest.
Waite's meaning for the reversed card was "the same in a lesser sense," so the reversed Sun has long been read as a gentler version of the upright card rather than its opposite.
The Sun Reversed in Love
In love, the Sun reversed is read as a relationship going through a cloudy patch, or as trouble seeing the good in a partner for a while. It can also be read as expecting a relationship to be perfect.
The Sun Reversed in Work and Money
In work, the Sun reversed is read as success that's delayed or less visible than you hoped. With money, it's read as advice to stay patient and avoid overconfident spending.
The Sun Reversed in Spirituality
Spiritually, the Sun reversed is read as feeling a little disconnected from the joy in your practice. It's read as a nudge to return to the simple things that first made it feel bright.
The Sun as Feelings
As feelings, the Sun upright is read as someone who feels happy, warm, and open toward you. Reversed, it's read as someone who likes you but feels unsure, or who is holding back their enthusiasm for now.
Is the Sun a Yes or No Card?
The Sun upright is one of the clearest yes cards in the deck. Reversed, it's still usually read as a yes, but a slower or smaller one, in keeping with Waite's "the same in a lesser sense."
Where the Sun Comes From
The Sun card is much older than the image on the Rider-Waite-Smith deck. In Part 1 of his book, Waite wrote that in older decks the sun shines over a wall "wherein are two children, either naked or lightly clothed, facing a water," the pair of children still seen in many Tarot of Marseilles decks.
- In older decks, the sun is drawn with drops falling from it, which Waite said Court de Gébelin called "tears of gold and of pearl."
- In some French decks, the scene changed again. Wikipedia's article on the Tarot of Marseilles notes that in a family of early Parisian decks, "The Sun shows a man on horseback bearing a banner."
- In the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, Waite chose the version he called "a much better symbol," a child on a white horse with a scarlet standard, which he credited to the French occultist Éliphas Lévi.
The Sun Correspondences
The Sun's correspondences come mostly from the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and later occult writers:
| The Sun | |
|---|---|
| Number | XIX (19) |
| Arcana | Major Arcana |
| Planet | The Sun |
| Zodiac sign | Leo |
| Tree of Life | Tiphareth |
Wikipedia's article on the Sun links the card to the astrological Sun and to the zodiac sign Leo, and notes that it "corresponds to Tiphareth on the Tree of Life," the bright center of the tree. Many practitioners work with the Sun card in daylight and at the summer solstice, and with sun-colored stones such as citrine.
How to Work With the Sun
The Sun is a good card to work with when you want to notice what's going right and let yourself feel it. Many practitioners use it in the morning or on a bright day. Here's a simple daylight practice for joy.
You'll need:
- The Sun card from your deck, such as the Gold Rider-Waite tarot deck
- A citrine stone, such as one from these citrine tumbled stones, which many practitioners keep for joy and confidence
- A sunny spot by a window or outdoors
- A journal and a pen
- Sit in a sunny spot in the morning with the Sun card in front of you. Let the light fall on the card and on your hands, without looking at the sun itself.
- Hold the citrine and take a few slow breaths, noticing the warmth.
- Write down three things that went right this week, however small.
- Hold the citrine over the card and recite:
Golden sun and open gate,
Joy is mine, I need not wait. - Write one simple thing you'll do today just because it makes you happy, then do it.
- Carry the citrine with you for the day, and touch it whenever you want to remember the list.
If you keep a tarot journal, the Sun is a good card to write about when you pull it. A few prompts to try:
- What made me feel most like myself this week?
- Where am I holding back joy until things are "perfect"?
- What would I do today if I let myself enjoy it fully?
Our guide to keeping a tarot journal has a free printable page for it. For the meanings of all 78 cards in one place, see our guide to tarot card meanings. You can also read about the Six of Wands, another card of bright, public success, and the Fool, the traveler who meets the Sun along the way.
The Sun Tarot Card FAQ
What does the Sun tarot card mean?
The Sun is the tarot card of joy, success, and clarity. Upright, it's read as happiness, confidence, and warmth. Reversed, it's read as temporary setbacks, delays, or joy that feels dimmed for a while.
What does the Sun reversed mean?
The Sun reversed is read as a gentler version of the upright card, such as success that's delayed or joy that's harder to feel for a while. Waite's meaning for it was "the same in a lesser sense."
Is the Sun a yes or no card?
The Sun upright is one of the clearest yes cards in tarot. Reversed, it's still usually read as a yes, but a slower or smaller one.
What does the Sun mean in love?
In love, the Sun upright is read as a warm, happy, honest relationship. Reversed, it's read as a cloudy patch or as expecting a relationship to be perfect.
What does the child on the Sun card mean?
The child is read as innocence, freedom, and simple joy. Waite described the child as standing for "simplicity and innocence," riding a white horse and carrying a red banner.
What zodiac sign is the Sun tarot card?
The Sun is linked to the astrological Sun and the zodiac sign Leo. On the Tree of Life, it corresponds to Tiphareth.
Is the Sun a good card to get?
Yes. The Sun is usually read as the most positive card in the deck. Even reversed, it's read as good things arriving more slowly rather than not at all.
What comes after the Sun in tarot?
The Sun is card XIX. It comes after the Moon (XVIII) and before Judgement (XX), and many readers see it as daylight after the confusion of the Moon.
