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The sun () is considered a very important part of astrology. It is the most important of the astrological planets. In Roman mythology the sun was represented by Apollo, the god of light and Helios the god of the sun. The Sun is the star at the centre of our solar system, around which the Earth and other planets revolve, and which provides us with heat and light.

Astrologically ^[1] the sun is usually thought to represent the conscious ego, the self and its expression, personal power, pride and authority; leadership qualities; and the principles of creativity, spontaneity, health and vitality; the life force. The sun also involves creative enterprises that are a projection of the person, from art and business to having children and parenthood (especially fatherhood). It also rules the fun side of life from sport and recreation to holidays and social events. In short, any occasion that 'allows us to shine'. The first-century poet Marcus Manilius in his epic, 8000-verse poem, Astronomica, described the Sun, or Sol, as benign and favorable. In medicine the sun is associated with the heart, circulatory system and the thymus. The sun is the ruler of the 5th house. The Sun is the planetary ruler of the zodiac sign Leo.

The Sun is associated with Sunday. Dante Alighieri associated the Sun with the liberal art of geometry.

Contents 1 Sun signs 2 Sun sign dates 3 Sun sign astrology 4 Chinese astrology 5 Indian astrology 6 References

The portion of the sky (or arc) that the sun travels in every year, rising and setting in a slightly different place each day, is in reality a reflection of the Earth's own orbit around the Sun. This apparent path of the Sun through the sky is called the ecliptic . The arc of the ecliptic is larger the further north or south from the equator the latitude is, giving a more extreme difference in day and night and in the seasons during the year. The sun travels through the twelve signs of the zodiac on its annual journey, spending about a month in each. The Sun's position on a person's birthday therefore determines what is usually called his or her star sign , birth sign or zodiac sign, although it is in fact more accurate to call it a person's Sun sign. The concept of sun signs is most commonly used in the West where the majority of people are familiar with their sun sign.

The zodiac sign and house occupied by the sun will indicate how a person focuses their energies and activities, and how they integrate the different parts of their personality into a coherent whole. ^[2] It shows the mode of expression the person uses to feel most alive and vital, and how they seek admiration, notice and respect from those around them.

Below are each of the signs with a brief description of their characteristics, and their approximate corresponding dates when the sun enters and leaves each sign using the tropical zodiac. The precise date varies slightly from year to year, owing to the leap year adjustment. A person born on the first or last day of a sign is on what is called the cusp and needs to check their exact time of birth to be sure of their sun sign.

• Aries (March 21 - April 19): Assertive, impulsive, sometimes selfish.
• Taurus (April 20 - May 20): Resourceful thorough, sometimes indulgent.
• Gemini (May 21 - June 20): Logical, inquisitive, sometimes superficial.
• Cancer (June 21 - July 22): Tenacious, sensitive, sometimes clinging.
• Leo (July 23 - August 22): Generous, proud, sometimes arrogant.
• Virgo (August 23 - September 22): Practical, efficient, sometimes over-critical.
• Libra (September 23 - October 22): Co-operative, fair, sometimes lazy.
• Scorpio (October 23 - November 21): Passionate, sensitive, sometimes obsessive.
• Sagittarius (November 22 - December 21): intelligent, straightforward, sometimes careless.
• Capricorn (December 22 - January 19): Prudent, ambitious, sometimes suspicious.
• Aquarius (January 20 - February 18): Humanitarian, unconventional, sometimes detached.
• Pisces (February 19 - March 20): Imaginative, sensitive, sometimes impractical.

Main article: Sun sign astrology

Sun-sign astrology is the simplified system of astrology most commonly found in many newspaper and magazine columns. In typical horoscopic astrology, all of the planets are taken into account for interpretation. In Sun sign astrology, however, only placements affecting the Sun are used. The position of the sun is considered within one of the twelve zodiac signs depending on the month of birth. This sign is then called the sun sign or star sign of each person born that month.

Sun sign astrologers take this basic twelve-fold division and relate all the current movements of all the planets to each other, using traditional rules to divine meanings for each sign separately. Paradoxically, because the Moon has the fastest apparent movement of all the heavenly bodies, it is often used as the main indicator of daily trends for sun sign astrology forecasts.

Despite its vast popularity with the general public (e.g. in the UK over 60% of adults are said to read their "stars" first on opening a newspaper, a slightly higher proportion in the USA^{[citation needed]}), there is much argument about the validity of sun sign astrology, particularly amongst astrologers of different persuasions. The more traditional the astrologer, the more likely they are to dislike sun sign astrology.

In Chinese astrology, the sun and the moon, or yang and yin, are said to represent the masculine and the feminine, respectively. One way to think about the interaction of the sun and moon signs in one particular person's horoscope is Jung's theory of the anima/animus, which is very similar to the Chinese idea that every human being should strive to balance the yang and the yin, or the masculine and the feminine, in her/his own personality and life.

In Indian astrology, the Sun is called Surya (Devanagari: सूर्य, sūrya) , and is the chief solar deity, one of the Adityas, son of Kasyapa and one of his wife Aditi^[3], of Indra, or of Dyaus Pitar (depending by the versions). He has hair and arms of gold. His chariot is pulled by seven horses, which represent the seven chakras.He presides over "Ravi-war" or Sunday.

Astrologically the sun or Surya represents the soul, will power, fame, authority, kingship, highly placed persons, father, vitality and courage.