The Sun
The Sun is the nineteenth Major Arcana card, numbered XIX. It is widely regarded as one of the deck's most positive cards, associated with joy, vitality, and clarity following the uncertainties symbolized by the preceding cards.
Last reviewed: 2026-07-18
Historical fact
The Sun has been present since 15th-century Italian decks, usually showing two children or a single child beneath the sun. It is one of the cards with the most stable iconography throughout Tarot's history, with few significant compositional changes across different traditions and centuries.
Interpretation — Rider-Waite-Smith / Golden Dawn
In the 1909 version, a naked child rides a white horse under a large radiant sun, with sunflowers in the background. It represents genuine joy, vitality, mental clarity, and visible success. It's read as one of the deck's most favorable cards, associated with positive outcomes and restored confidence.
Interpretation — Thoth (Aleister Crowley)
In the Thoth deck, the Sun is tied to the Sun itself as a celestial body and the Hebrew letter Resh. It represents illuminated consciousness, vital energy in its most direct expression, and the fusion between the individual self and a greater force — a reading that expands simple joy into an experience of fullness.
This section presents one tradition's interpretation, not a verifiable fact.
Frequently asked questions
- Has the Sun's image changed much throughout Tarot's history?
- Not much. Since 15th-century Italian decks, the card has generally shown two children or a single child beneath the sun, making it one of the deck's most stable images across the centuries.
- Is the Sun considered one of the most positive cards in Tarot?
- Yes, in modern esoteric reading. It's associated with joy, vitality, clarity, and success, and is often cited as one of the most favorable cards among the Major Arcana.
Sources
- Michael Dummett. The Game of Tarot: From Ferrara to Salt Lake City (1980).
- Arthur Edward Waite. The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1910).
- Aleister Crowley. The Book of Thoth (1944).
- Stuart R. Kaplan. The Encyclopedia of Tarot (1978).