Is this the reason you think astrology isn't real?

Your sun has a message for you

hints of an Oklahoma sunrise, August 2020, 6:40 AM

Having spent a year living near the ocean, I chuckle a bit now when I come across astrology skepticism. Observing the wild, wild ways the phase and movement of the moon impacts the wild, wild waves of the ocean, it just couldn’t be more clear. How could a heavenly body have such a profound impact on the water that covers our planet and not have a profound impact on these human bodies containing nearly 60% water?

(Video from December 15, 2024 Full Moon like are you jokinggggggg? THOSE WAVES)

But also, I do understand the skepticism, especially when you have a sun sign whose characteristics feel foreign¹, like it completely misses the mark of who you are.

Inspired by our collective journey into the sign of Cancer, filled with summer’s sunny cardinal kick-off energy, I wanted to have a little conversation² about sun signs for those of you who just don’t jive with the first astrological label applied to you.

First, let’s make sure we’re all on the same page about the role of the sun in your natal chart. A common misconception is that your sun sign is meant to describe your personality, and that this singular zodiac defines your entire natal chart, or even your entire life.

Au contraire, mon chéri!

The sun sign is an important placement in your birth chart, sure, in that it gives you guidance as to where the sun shines its warmth on you, and how you, in turn, shine your light on others. Unlike your rising sign - the sign on the Eastern horizon the moment your soul met your body - which is the energy tethered to your embodiment in this lifetime, your sun sign is quite untethered from you.

Your sun sign is a signpost from your Higher Self (think of the sun blazing down on the speck of earth where you lay in your mother’s arms as a newborn), sending you a message about who you are becoming, inviting you to discover and learn from the traits of the sign it was blazing through when you were born, in hopes that you’ll one day express those traits with confidence.

And because this is an invitation backed by the sun’s life-giving fuel-source energy, I think it’s fairly common to understand and respond to this invitation more as we age. So if you are someone who clocked early on that you didn’t mesh with the traits of your sun sign, maybe give it another go? You might find you view it differently now than you did when you were younger.

But ultimately, you are not your sun sign. Your sun sign is just an element of the snapshot of cosmic energy available to you at your birth!

kitty is standing all the way up in her sun’s energy!

Now, having had the opportunity to work with people through reading their charts and explaining their Big Six placements, I have some guesses as to why you don’t jive with your sun sign.

1. Your dominant planets, dominant elements, or signature sign is different from your sun sign. The very first thing I look at when I am working on someone’s natal chart are the formulas that calculate your dominant planet(s), your dominant element (earth, air, fire, and water), and whether or not you have a “signature” sign (not everyone does).
   My husband, for example, is a Leo sun - a fire sign - and he definitely has some Leo traits, but his dominant element is earth, and earth energy makes up 56% of the energy in his natal chart! So his expression of Leo sun energy is wildly different than someone whose majority energy is fire or any of the other elements.
   Additionally, I worked up a chart for a client whose signature sign was Virgo, but Virgo was nowhere in her Big Three placements (sun, moon, rising). But it didn’t take me long at all to see how she was soooooo Virgo-coded even though she wasn’t a Virgo sun!

2. You have an unaspected sun, or you have a weak or afflicted sun. If your chart shows that the sun has no major aspects (conjunction, opposition, trine, square, or sextile) to other planets in your chart, then your sun is considered unaspected, and an unaspected sun can express itself as either a really powerful expression of the sun sign energy or it can lead to an expression that feels very disconnected³.
   Probably more common, however, than an unaspected sun is a weak or afflicted sun. If your sun is in Libra, for example, its considered to be weak or “debilitated” because the sun is in its “fall” in that sign. Additionally, there are “dark houses” where the sun might struggle and feel afflicted - the 6th, 8th, and 12th houses make for challenging suns. It’s worth noting that the sign of Libra and the 6th, 8th, and 12th houses are all primarily concerned with others, hence, the sun (which is happy to be the “center” of things) gets agitated with the energies associated with those placements.
   Having worked with people on their charts, I think the single most important part of unlocking your sun energy is discovering what house your sun is in and how that interacts with the energy of your sun sign!

3. Finally, your sun sign energy might be at odds with your cultural conditioning. I think that this is a hang-up that circles back to what I wrote about essentially needing to grow into your sun sign’s energy and invitation to growth in this life. If you are a Sagittarius sun, resplendent with the energy of exploration and adventure, but you grow up in a societal context that insists on predictability and sticking close to home, you might not be able to see yourself as a Sagittarian native at all! It’s been my experience, however, that growing into midlife helps many of us let go of those cultural expectations, so once again, I think it’s vital to revisit your sun sign energy as you age to see if you can recognize parts of yourself that felt foreign to you earlier in life.

It’s okay Carrie, girl embrace your sun sign energy!

As some of you know, I’ve been an enthusiast of all things people and personality for many years. One of my favorite things about studying the Enneagram was finding concise messages for each of the Enneagram types. For example, the unconscious childhood message that each type received as a child. I find these statements distill down lofty ideas into easily understood concepts.

I created some brief statements for each sun sign to try to convey the energy you are invited to explore and develop in this lifetime. I hope you find these messages helpful!

THE MESSAGE FROM YOUR SUN SIGN:

Aries sun: You are here to start the fire. Move first, speak first, act first. The world needs your boldness, so trust instincts and be brave!

Taurus sun: You are here to grow deep roots and bloom in beauty. You came to teach us all the sacred art of slowing down. Your presence exudes the importance of stability, beauty, and pleasure that lasts.

Gemini sun: You are here to chase the spark. As a collector of all things peculiar, playful, and wise, you build bridges between thoughts and people. Stay curious and keep spreading the seeds of ideas wherever you go.

Cancer sun: You are here to love like the ocean tides. You feel so deeply, and your gift is your care. You embody the safety and the wonder of moonlight, so step into your softness as your power.

Leo sun: You are here to shine and empower. When you live from your heart, you light up everyone around you. Resist the urge to dim yourself, and be bold, bright, and creative - it is your gift to us all.

Virgo sun: You are here to strengthen the world with care. Your light is found in your devotion to improvement, to healing, and to service. Forget perfection and find the beauty in the things you do to make things better, clearer, and more true.

Libra sun: You are here to harmonize and to elevate. You’re meant to bring people together, to make life more graceful, more fair, and more lovely. Don’t let people-pleasing dim your light. Your balance is powerful.

Scorpio sun: You are here to transform and transcend. You are the phoenix and the alchemist. You’re not here for shallow waters; you’re here to go all the way down and all the way through. Let your depth be your light.

Sagittarius sun: You are here to explore and expand. You’re our wanderer, our philosopher, and our bringer of big ideas. Don’t let the world shrink you; we need the optimism that you shine.

Capricorn sun: You are here to build what lasts. You carry ancient strength, the kind that builds mountains stone by stone. You came to show us what perseverance, integrity, and vision can create. Let your steadiness speak for itself.

Aquarius sun: You are here to challenge the system with purpose. You’re here to liberate, innovate, and light the way to a better future. Don’t be attached to fitting in - you were born to stand out.

Pisces sun: You are here to dream the world into being. You live between realms, carrying the wisdom of myth, music, and moonlight. You teach us that we can trust what we know, not just what we see. Let your imagination guide you and know that you already are magic.

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Thank you for letting me share my enthusiasm for understanding ourselves as we stand in the power of sunlight shining down on us! It is such an honor and a joy to get to have these conversations with you.

Speaking of … please do let me know in the comments about your relationship with your sun sign and if my sun message spoke to you!

Know someone who might like to know more about sun signs? Please share away!

If you would like for me to partner with you to explore your natal chart through your Big Six placements, you can find out how to book a reading here! Also, if you want to support more deep dives like this one, you are invited to become a supporter of Gemini Wrongs.

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Two thousand words later and I’ve got nothing left in me for a witty sign-off so please just know I am wishing you a wonderful season of Cancerian energy,

Meg

1. Couldn’t be me - I’m a Gemini sun and moon and my signature sign is Gemini, so I’ve only ever seen Gemini as my comfy, chaotic home

2. You can catch the video version of this conversation in my IG highlights, the one labeled Astro: Sun, by clicking over to my main profile

3. Further, unaspected suns can express as an extremely solar energy (which is to say, extremely self-centered) OR not solar at all (huge difficulty expressing their individuality)