Who is the Sun?

Cartomancer

Who is the Sun?

The Sun card in the Tarot pictures Phaethon and the Sun Chariot.

The Sun card in the Waite deck pictures a youth on a horse with the Sun above. The youth, Phaeton, was the son of the sun-god Helius (Latin) (Helios=Greek) and the nymph Clymene, who was a daughter of Oceanus. Ovid in his book 'The Metamorphoses' said that Apollo was the father of Phaeton, but in Ovid's day Apollo had taken over the functions of the ancient sun-god Helius. The sun-god was also called Phoebus. The stars of Leo are the mansion of the sun. The Sun card portryas Phaeton in the stars of the constellation Leo.

The story goes that Phaeton's mother was married to the Egyptian king Merops, but she told her son that his real father was the sun-god. Phaeton told his friend Epaphus that the sun-god was his true father, but Epaphus ridiculed Phaeton and demanded proof for such a lofty claim. Phaeton questioned his mother, who said that he would have to go to India where the sun rises and ask the sun-god if he were indeed his father.

Phaeton boldly set out with hope and expectation that he would find proof of his mother's claim. Phaeton arrived and asked the sun-god if he were his father. Helius welcomed Phaeton and assured him that he was indeed his son. Phaeton asked that proof be given. Helius agreed and offered to grant any wish that Phaeton asked. Phaeton promptly asked to be the driver of the sun-chariot.

Helius shook his head and asked Phaeton to make another wish because it was unsafe for anyone to drive the chariot of the sun. He exclaimed that the horses of the sun chariot are strong and can be unruly, and Phaeton was not old enough or strong enough to handle them. The first part of the journey in the morning is steep and difficult even for fresh horses. The mid part of the journey is to the high heavens. Looking down upon the earth and ocean from such a height caused even the sun-god fright. The last part of the journey was down a treacherous slope. The horses have to be controlled or they would run too fast and run off the appointed path of the sun in the sky. The planets and the constellations must be minded while driving the sun chariot to prevent collisions with those heavenly bodies.

Nevertheless, Phaeton would not back down and his father reluctantly consented. The chariot was of pure gold with wheels of silver and was studded with diamonds, a gift from Vulcan. The horses were breathing fire and rearing to go. "Hold tight to the reins and to spare the whip."

"Follow the wheel marks that lie across the sky; they will guide you. Take the path along the zodiac. You will see Aries the Ram, Taurus the Bull and the Gemini Twins. Take the middle path, don't deviate to the north or the south. Do not go too high or you will scorch the heavens or too low or you will burn the earth. Hold on tight," Helius implored.

The journey started well as Phaeton boldly took the reins and started on his journey across the sky. Once off the ground, Phaeton panicked. The sun chariot swayed this way and that because Phaeton weighed much less than his father. His grip on the reins was weak and the horses sensed that he could not control them. Soon the chariot neared the northern constellations and began to burn them. The coats of the big and little bears were singed and Bootes the herdsman fled in fear of the fire. Across the sky Phaeton scorched a path that still glows today as the Milky Way.

Then the chariot plunged close to the earth and the whole world was on fire. The mountain tops were on fire and the fields were burning. The cities burned and the people were consumed. Fountains dried up and lakes evaporated. Libya became a desert and the skins of the people of Africa burned black. The earth cracked and swallowed the waters. The seas shrank. Earth called to Jupiter to save the living things from burning destruction.

Jupiter called Helius and the other gods together, and it was decided that Phaeton
must die. Jupiter thundered and hurled a thunderbolt at Phaeton who burst into flame and fell headlong into the river Eridanus. The Heliades, who were his sisters, cried and cried and were turned into poplar trees which line the banks of the river. Their tears become amber as they fall into the river. The musician Cycnus, who was a relative of Phaeton, mourned his passing and was transformed into a Swan.

The historian Hyginus claimed that Phaeton stole the sun chariot and that Zeus flooded the earth to put out the fire but it destroyed much of mankind. That flood was called the flood of Deucalion.

The connection between the Sun card and the constellation Leo is astrological. The artist choose to portray the constellation Leo is a mythical fashion by portraying Phaethon instead of a lion, which is usually seen in this constellation.

“Phaethon”, a painting by Gustave Moreau shows Phaethon crashing to earth in the Sun Chariot with the lion of Leo in the zodiac beside him. See illustration and full text here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phaethon

Auriga and Leo have claim to being Phaethon and influence over the Sun card, but the artist of the early Tarot choose to portray Leo in the myth of the Sun Chariot and the youthful Phaethon.

Phaethon:
http://www.theoi.com/Titan/Phaethon.html

OVID: The Metamorphoses (RE: Phaethon)
http://poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Latin/Metamorph2.htm

Mythology of Leo
http://avalon100.tripod.com/avalon/id21.html

Search for: “Leo Phaethon chariot sun images”

Helios:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helios

Phaethon:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phaethon

The Sun card is a representation of Phaethon and the Sun Chariot.

- Cartomancer (Lance Carter)