The SunTarot card meaning

What the Sun card shows

A big sun with a calm face fills the top of the card, its rays reaching out in straight and wavy lines. Below it, tall sunflowers lean over a grey stone wall. In front, a naked child wearing a crown of flowers and a red feather sits on a white horse, arms flung wide. A large red banner streams beside them.

After the shadows of the Moon card, everything here is lit up. There's nothing hidden and nothing to fear.

Riding with no reins

The child rides bareback, with no saddle and no reins, and isn't holding on. Compare that with the Chariot, where a soldier in armour steers by willpower. Here, nobody's steering. The horse and the child just trust each other.

That's a good picture of what the Sun feels like. Things work without being forced. You can relax, because for once nothing needs controlling.

The Sun upright: joy, success and clarity

Upright, things go well. Success at work, happiness in love, good health, a confident mood. It's also the card of clarity: confusion clears, and you can see the situation plainly.

Let yourself enjoy it. Some people get nervous when things are good, waiting for something to go wrong. The Sun asks you to stay in the good moment instead of bracing for the next bad one.

The Sun reversed: clouds, not darkness

Reversed, the Sun is still the Sun. The joy is delayed or dimmed, not gone. A small setback, a grey mood, a plan that takes longer than you hoped. That's why it still counts as a leaning yes on our yes or no page.

It can also mean overconfidence: being so sure things will work out that you skip the work. Or feeling flat when everything around you looks fine. If that low mood lasts, it's worth paying attention to.

Is the Sun the best card in tarot?

Plenty of readers would say so. It's hard to read it badly. Even surrounded by difficult cards, it tends to mean things will turn out better than they look. In a yes or no question, upright, it's one of the clearest yeses in the deck.

Outside the garden wall

The sunflowers grow on the far side of a grey wall, and the child has ridden out in front of it. A walled garden is safe and tended. The child has left it behind and is out in the open, with nothing between them and the world.

That's the Sun's kind of happiness. Not cautious contentment, but joy you're willing to show. If you've been keeping something good to yourself out of fear it'll be taken away, this card says bring it out into the light.

The Sun in love

In love, the Sun is about as good as it gets. Happy, easy, open relationships. Laughter, warmth, feeling like yourself with someone. Couples may be heading toward a celebration, a commitment or a new family member. For someone single, it says you're at your most attractive right now, so get out there.

Reversed, the happiness is still there, just clouded by small doubts, stress or a temporary low.

Their feelings in the Sun

They're happy around you, and probably don't hide it. Their feelings are warm, open and uncomplicated. Reversed, they still like you, but something is dampening it, like stress, shyness or a bad week.

Success at work under the Sun

At work, it's recognition, success and confidence. A project that lands, a promotion, a good review, a business doing well. Show your work and take credit for it.

With money, things are looking up. Reversed, the improvement is slower than you hoped, but it's coming.

The Sun as advice

Be glad, openly. Share the good news. Go outside. Let the day be good without waiting for the catch.

Cards to read alongside The Sun

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  The Moon. The card before. Confusion and fear, before the Sun makes everything plain.

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  The Chariot. A rider too, but in armour and steering hard. The Sun's child rides free.

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  Ten of Cups. The Sun's happiness at home: family, love and contentment.

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  The Star. Hope, two cards earlier. The Star is believing it can be good. The Sun is when it is.