Sun Symbolism | Sun Folklore
Historically, pagan Babylon worshipped the sun as a deity, and pagan
Rome also worshipped the invincible sun. The Roman Catholic Church, with
the assistance of Caesar's civil Sunday law (Constantine), transferred the
Sabbath rest to the Sun Day, and commonly uses images and symbols of the
sun.
In the pagan tradition, the sun is an symbol or emblem of our inner
core, masculinity, power, supremacy, glory, authority and brilliance. It
represents the masculine deity, happiness, life and spirituality. The rising
sun is a symbol of hope. The rays are alternately straight and wavy, which
symbolize the heat and light that we derive from them. Some solar deities
include: Ra, Lugh, Apollo, Helios, Grainne and Amaterasu.
Sanskrit names for the Sun can be translated as fixidity, steadiness,
firmness, and strength of purpose. In terms of astronomy, the Sun simply
is. The Sun rises day after day regardless of weather conditions, the behavior
of humanity or the placement of planets in the sky. It traverses its set
path, always giving light and heat and asking nothing for itself in return.
The heraldic sun usually has a human face though this is not strictly
necessary.
The winged sun disk is a very ancient symbol. Long before Egyptian civilization
flourished, the sun disk appeared in the literature of ancient Sumer, which
was the first known civilization. In ancient Egyptian religion, the sun
disk became a primary symbol of Ra, the sun God. He was called the "Sun
of Righteousness with healing in his wings," a title which Christians
later adopted for their own God. The sun disk was carved over the doorways
of many Egyptian tombs and temples, and it appears on many papyri. In the
illustration above, the sun disk (as a pentacle) is carried on the wings
of Horus, and flanked by two uraeus.
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