Hey baby, what’s your sign?

I know you’ve all heard this one before. How could you not? Pop astrology boasts that the day you’re born defines you through and through, and that if you should ever run into a feisty Aries or a kind-hearted Cancer at the bar, you should thank your lucky stars-you’ve found THE one!

I wish it were that easy… Astrologically, the Sun is one of the 3 major parts that defines the individuality of a person, but that’s where it ends. The Sun represents our ego, self-expression, individuality, as well as our vitality. If it helps, I always tell people to think of yourself when you get up in the morning. You’re planning out your day and what you’re going to wear. You make your way into the bathroom and begin to undress. Staring at yourself in the mirror, the “big three” breaks down like so:

The Ascendant (which I will get into later) = the clothes we choose to wear

The Moon (which I will ALSO tackle later) = how we feel about ourselves and our appearance

The Sun = the naked body

In many ways, the Sun is what’s underneath the mask of the Ascendant. It is the true self– our purest sense of individuality and self-concept. Remembering how planets, signs, and houses work; it can be said that the Sun itself is a “what”. The planet will always be the “what”, or the most basic concept. The Sun’s most basic concept is expression.

For example, in the chart to the left, the Sun is in Aries. The sign is representative of energy, or HOW we execute the basic concept. The energy associated with Aries is passionate, ardent, direct, and at times, forceful. When the Sun (expression) transits through the sign Aries (energy/direct), we get assertive self-expression. Those born with the Sun in Aries generally have great reserves of energy; they are active, honest, and quite fearless when it comes to accomplishing a goal. They can be quite competitive and forceful at times, and may need to learn how to slow down and take a breath.

Of course this won’t be the case with every individual born with the Sun in Aries. The Sun sign influence will be heavily modified by aspects, house placement, and even by the condition of Mars (natural ruler of Aries) and its condition in the chart. However, the basic example provided gives an idea of just how the Sun sign truly works. It won’t secure you a date with the looker at the bar (that’s Venus’ area of expertise), but it will help determine if the person you’re talking to is at least 33% interested.