The Sun is card nineteen of the Major Arcana, and the brightest, happiest card in the deck. After the uncertainty of The Moon comes full daylight: joy, success, vitality and warmth. This is a complete guide to The Sun tarot card: its meaning upright and reversed, in love and career, and its astrology, crystals and symbolism. Read it as a mirror for reflection, never a fixed prediction.
The Sun at a Glance
| Trait | The Sun |
|---|---|
| Number | 19 |
| Arcana | Major |
| Upright keywords | Joy, success, positivity, vitality, warmth |
| Reversed keywords | Temporary gloom, blocked joy, over-optimism, low energy |
| Element | Fire |
| Planet | The Sun |
| Yes or no | Yes |
The Sun Upright Meaning
In the Rider-Waite-Smith image, a radiant sun beams over a walled garden where a child rides a white horse, arms open, a red banner streaming behind. Sunflowers turn toward the light. Everything is open, bright and alive. It is the simplest, most joyful image in the deck, innocence and warmth under a generous sky.
Upright, The Sun is the card of joy, success and vitality. It is unambiguously positive: happiness, good health, achievement, confidence, and the warm clarity of being fully yourself in the light. It promises good things and the energy to enjoy them. When it appears, celebrate, let yourself shine, and trust that this is a season of brightness and ease.
"The sun is that of consciousness in the spirit."A. E. Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot
The Sun Reversed Meaning
Reversed, The Sun rarely turns dark. It usually means the light is temporarily dimmed: a passing cloud over your joy, a delay in success, low energy, or a happiness that has not quite arrived yet. It can also hint at over-optimism or putting on a brave face that does not match how you feel. The reversed card reassures you that the sun is still there, even if a cloud is passing over it now. For more, see our guide to reversed tarot card meanings.
The Sun in Love
In love, the upright Sun is one of the most joyful cards to draw: warmth, happiness, and a relationship full of light, a flourishing partnership, a joyful new romance, or simply ease and delight in one another. Reversed, it can point to a temporary cloud, a happiness slightly out of reach, or putting on a cheerful front while something underneath needs care.
The Sun in Career and Money
In work and money, The Sun upright is a glowing sign of success and abundance: achievement, recognition, a thriving project, or a sunny, prosperous phase. Reversed, it can flag a delayed success, a temporary dip in confidence, or expectations that may be a touch too rosy.
The Sun and Astrology
Every Major Arcana card carries an astrological correspondence, and The Sun is ruled, fittingly, by the Sun itself, the centre of the chart and the source of vitality, identity and life. The Sun is who you are at your brightest, your essential self shining, exactly the radiant confidence of this card. You can explore the whole system in our guide to the planets in astrology.
The Sun and Crystals
To carry the Sun's bright, vital energy, a few crystals make joyful companions. Citrine is the stone of sunshine, joy and abundance, carnelian fuels warmth and vitality, and tiger's eye radiates confidence and optimism. These are traditional associations rather than proven properties. Our guide to crystals for every zodiac sign pairs a stone with each sign and its ruling planet.
The Sun: Yes or No?
In a yes or no reading, The Sun leans Yes. The Sun is the brightest card of joy, success and vitality, so tradition reads it as one of the strongest possible yes answers.
The Sun as Feelings
Upright, the Sun reflects genuine warmth, happiness and openness, someone feeling alive, confident and glad to be seen. Emotions are clear and unguarded. Reversed, the light is only dimmed: a passing low mood, blocked joy, or happiness that has not quite arrived yet.
The Sun as Advice
Let yourself enjoy this brightness and share it openly rather than holding back. If the joy feels delayed, trust that the cloud is only passing.
Is Tarot Real?
Honestly, tarot is a language of symbols and a tool for reflection, not a way to predict a fixed future. The Sun cannot promise endless happiness. What it can do is celebrate the brightness you have and remind you to let yourself enjoy it. Read it that way, take what rings true, and leave the rest. To continue, explore the rest of the Major Arcana or discover your tarot birth card. For a daily practice, pull a tarot card of the day.
Frequently asked questions
Upright, The Sun means joy, success and vitality. As card nineteen of the Major Arcana it is the brightest, most positive card in the deck, promising happiness, good health, achievement and the warm confidence of being fully yourself.
Reversed, The Sun rarely turns dark. It usually means the light is temporarily dimmed: a passing cloud over your joy, a delay in success, or low energy. It can also hint at over-optimism or a brave face that does not match how you feel.
The Sun is one of the strongest yes cards in the deck. It is overwhelmingly positive, a sign of success, joy and good fortune, so the answer is a confident and warm yes.
In love, The Sun upright is warmth, happiness and a relationship full of light: a flourishing partnership or a joyful new romance. Reversed, it can point to a temporary cloud or a cheerful front over something that needs care.
The Sun is numbered nineteen in the Major Arcana. In astrology it is ruled, fittingly, by the Sun itself, the centre of the chart and the source of vitality, identity and life.
The Sun represents joy, success and vitality: the radiant child on the white horse beneath an open sky. It is innocence, warmth and confidence, the simplest and happiest image of light in the deck.
