The Sun: Poetry Prompts for Visibility, Authenticity, & Celebration
In the Tarot, the Sun card asks us whether we are willing to be fully seen — not as perfect, but as whole. It asks us: What if the person you've become is already enough to stand in the light?
We often imagine that success is when we finally step into the light. But stepping into the light means there are no more shadows to hide in. In the Tarot, the Sun card asks us whether we are willing to be fully seen — not as perfect, but as whole.
The Sun asks: What if the person you've become is already enough to stand in the light?
Now that you've done the work of becoming, who are you willing to let the world see?
Astrology - The Sun
Sitting at the center of our Solar System, the Sun provides light and warmth that allows life on Earth to flourish. It creates the conditions for life (or creates the conditions where life cannot thrive, as on other planets). The Sun gives light to everything around it, providing generous warmth to all alike.
From the Sun, we learn to sit in the center of our own beings, to shine our own light upon all that encounter us. The Sun sign in your natal astrological chart represents the very core of your identity.
Numerology - #19
19 - called the "Prince of Heaven" and associated with the Sun; 19 is made up of 1 & 9, the first and last single-digit numbers, the beginning and the end.
In numerology, we also reduce double-digit numbers down to a single digit. 1+9 = 10 -> 1+0 = 1; the Sun's number reduces down to 1. 1 is the number of new beginnings & the spark of creation. It is the start of a new cycle, a rebirth after one thing has ended.
Themes & Mythology of The Sun
- The Child - freedom and innocence
- Sunflowers - always turning toward light; growth is an orientation rather than a striving
- Wall - boundaries that support freedom rather than keeping us trapped
- Apollo - god of poetry, prophecy, music, healing
- Helios - all-seeing; nothing escapes the view of the sun
- Amaterasu - darkness as a gateway to self-rediscovery
- Icarus - brilliance is not invulnerability
- The Phoenix - exposure through fire; transformation through complete consumption
The Paradox of The Sun
Writing Prompts for The Sun
- Write from the perspective of your younger self before shame entered your vocabulary.
- What part of you survived its own burning?
- Write about joy without using the word “joy.”
- Spend an entire poem praising something ordinary.
- What would invite your light back into the world?
- Imagine every person you’ve ever loved sees the real you. What surprises you?
Recommended Poems for The Sun
“The Sun Never Says" by Hafiz
"The Summer Day" by Mary Oliver
"The Orange" by Wendy Cope
"A Blessing" by James Wright
"i thank You God" by e.e. cummings
These prompts and thoughts come from my workshop series The Labyrinth: Poetry for the Contradictions We Carry, live at Ixora Collective in Colorado Springs, CO. Join us biweekly as we journey through Tarot, astrology, mythology, and poetry, writing toward the tensions, longings, paradoxes, and transformations that shape a human life.
