Druidcraft Study Group--The Sun...and how to effectively deface it

Laurelin

If I may try my hand at being incredibly boring and actually interpret this card...

The story of Taliesin is fascinating to me. His life comes from Ceridwen's own story. Let me sum it up in a nutshell:

Ceridwen has two children, one is hideously ugly, the other is beautiful. She decides to brew a potion to make the ugly child the wisest in the land. The potion has to be tended for a year and a day (a popular theme in mythic tales). She, being a queen and a goddess, has other matters to attend to so she has a doddering old blind man and a young boy tend it for her. They are to keep it warm and stir occasionally until it is ready. The potion is very persnickity. Only the first three drops are of any use. The rest is castoff. Well, the dawn before Ceridwen was due to arrive, the old man suggests that the boy add another log to the fire. The cauldron gets too hot and starts to boil the potion. Some of the potion boils over and splatters the boys thumb. Instinctively, he sticks the thumb in his mouth to stop the pain.

He is instantly imbued with all the wisdom that the potion offers. He then realizes that when Ceridwen arrives, she will surely kill him. Just then, he looks up and there she is. He transforms to a hare and runs away. She pursues him as the hound. Reaching a stream, he becomes a salmon. She becomes an otter and continues her chase. He jumps from the stream and transforms to a wren. She pursues as a hawk. Finally, in a dive to the earth, he becomes a seed of grain in a large field. As a chicken, she eats that grain and becomes pregnant with the boy.

She vows to kill him when he is born, but he is too fair to look upon. Instead, she swaddles him and sends him adrift on the river. He is discovered by a poor fisherman (I think) and is named Taliesin (which means, shining brow in gaelic). He becomes the finest bard in all the land and is forever revered for his wisdom and art.

Now, let's tie this to the cards:

The young boy would be very adult indeed if he were carrying all the wisdom of the world with him, despite his tender age. His harp confirms his position as bard. He has every right to be proud and unafraid. He has experienced far more than one could possibly expect, and it shows. I am struck by the play on words, here. Sun, son. Sun is the source of life. Son is an odd title for Taliesin, if you ask me. He is the son of a goddess but is raised as a simple foundling. He loves his father as dearly as his father loves him, but they are not father and child. I think this is significant to the card, but I don't have my book with me and cannot look at the books interpretation to get my brain-wheels turning.

--Laurelin
 

Arania

To me, the sun isn't strange at all. If I forget about learned symbolism, I see an ancient being in the body of a child. There is no need to hold on to anything, because he won't fall off and knows it. The face seems mischievious at times, but also conveys the message that he can be dangerous and vengeful if he has to - the sun can brn us, after all.
 

6 Haunted Days

I'm not sure what everyone is seeing in the child's face that they hate it so much, I see nothing creepy about nor ugly. It's weird, but I have read this complaint about many Sun cards in a few decks. That they look too adult or are creepy/offputting. WorldSpirit is one I can think of offhand.