The Sun – the literal light of our lives. The Sun is our joy, our identity, our everything. It IS us. In modern astrology, the Sun is associated with the fifth house which makes sense. The Sun is shiny and life-giving, and the fifth house is creative and joyful. But in traditional astrology, the Sun rejoices in the ninth house. So what is that about?
The House
The ninth house is much more than travel and education. The ninth house is, in essence, our worldview. Astrologer Nate Craddock uses a phrase coined by a German theologian to describe the ninth house: “The matter of utmost concern.” Whether that matter is religion or law or education or morality, the ninth house is what gives our lives meaning.
The Connection
You know how the Sun is at its highest around noon, but that the real heat of the day doesn’t start until mid-afternoon? Well, that 3pm heat is when the Sun is in the ninth house. It is literally when the Sun is strongest in the sky. And since traditional astrology is thoroughly based in visible celestial phenomena, it makes perfect sense that the ninth house would be where the Sun rejoices.
Of course, it goes much deeper than that. In traditional astrology, the ninth house is known as the House of the God. If you recall the post of the third house, you’ll remember that the third house deals with religion and spirituality, but in a communal, ritual sense. The ninth house, standing in opposition, is where individuals ask the big questions. It’s where we confront the kinds of questions that one can only answer for one’s own self. “Why am I here? What is my purpose? What do I believe?” So just as the Sun provides the underpinnings of our individual identities, the ninth house represents the underpinnings of our belief systems and the way we approach the world.
The Sun is also seen as a neutral figure, neither benefic or malefic. In Greek mythology, Helios, the sun god, was described as all-seeing, his watching eye always upon the world. From this, we get the ninth house’s connection with law. The Sun is both neutral arbiter and omnipotent judge. Because of this, the ninth house represents justice. And when the Sun is involved, justice is often done.
Finally, the ninth house is associated with travel. And one thing I love is that, when talking about travel, most people immediately think of going somewhere sunny and bright! But outside of this, the connection to the Sun may seem tenuous until we think about the daily life of most peasants, particularly in Europe. Travel was very uncommon EXCEPT in the case of pilgrimage. And it’s here that we tie in the ninth house’s representation of what shapes us and the Sun’s role as life-giver. It’s not a huge logical leap to see how religious travel would fit in here.
In the Natal Chart
If you have the Sun in the ninth house, you will always have a strong identity and a seeker’s mentality, regardless of sign. If your Sun is exalted in Aries in the ninth, you’ll always be boldly chasing meaning, forever in the process of becoming even more of who you are. But even if your Sun is in detriment in Aquarius in the ninth house, you’ll still find yourself shining like a supernova as you methodically investigate life’s biggest questions. No matter the sign, the Sun in the ninth house knows what’s really important in life. And knowing that helps us know where to direct our personal light.
Bringing It Together
The Sun is who we are. It’s how we shine and how we construct our identities. The ninth house is where we confront our desire for meaning. It’s how we decide what really matters to us in life. And when we combine them we see so clearly the interplay between our individual selves and the cosmos. The question, “Why am I here?” is an intensely personal one, but it is also universal. And with the Sun and the ninth together, we see that the personal and the universal are one and the same.
Do you have the Sun in the ninth house, or do you know someone who does? What is it like?
My little Leo son has his sun in the 9th. He is still very young so it’s hard to describe him in relation to this at this point, but he’s one of the brightest, happiest, raw emotion, inquisitive kids I’ve ever known, so I look forward to seeing all of it play out as he gets older!
Thank you for this! I have a lot of planets equally split between the 9th and 10th. My sun’s not in the 9th, but my ascendant is in the 3rd decan of Sadge and I have always been a seeker, as you put it, of knowledge in many different subjects. I consider myself a life-long learner.
While I love the idea of travel, I think my 10th house sun and midheaven (and other 10th H planets) have made me a bit of a workaholic. So I missed out on the wanderlust aspect of my Sadge rising. But definitely huge on the seeker aspect.
I’ve got Sun in the 9th (Taurus). You have analysed this brilliantly and gave me further food for thought. Especially the part that travel isn’t always a delight.
I’ve always had philosophical tendencies, read a lot since a young age. I’m a cheerful happy person by nature, but unlucky to have been born in a terrible family. I had to move to another country, hence I understand that travel isn’t always just for fun.
What you wrote about religious beliefs and world-view is also very accurate and I can relate. In my teens, I read a book by A.J.Cronin, Keys to the Kingdom (*). I learned from it that what matters is the actual message of religion, and that the messages of most (if not all) religions are very similar.
(*)
It appeared that the old priest was merging pleasure with instruction. From time to time, while he held the string [of the kite], the boy would sit in the summerhouse taking down dictations on strips of paper. Completed, these laboured scrawls were threaded on the string, sent soaring to the sky …
“Our bones may moulder and become the earth of the fields but the Spirit issues forth and lives on high in a condition of glorious brightness. God is the common Father of all mankind.”
Mollified, Sleeth [the priest who was investigating the strange ways of the old priest] looked at Father Chisholm [the old unconventional priest]. “Excellent. Didn’t Saint Paul say that?”
“No.” The old man shook his head apologetically. “It was Confucius.”
“Why am I here” is the central question of my life, but I had to travel very far to reach it, because I got hung up on asking “WHY” about anything and everything on my journey. My sun is in Leo, conjunct Pluto (that’s been useful in delving very deeply into my primary question).
The Pluto conjunction means that I’m not one of the “shiny-bright” Leos.
I was born at 3:35 pm, in the heat of the day as Midara puts it.
Gemini Sun, Venus and Pallas in the 9th!
Me (Aries), my ex husband (Capricorn) and our daughter (Libra) all have our Sun in the 9H. My south node is also in 9H Aries, and I finished college and was done with higher education. My ex got two highly useful/ technical extra degrees – an MBA and MS.
I think about the Sun in Fall in Libra like this- my daughter is 13 and in the past 5 years she has had several days where she is struggling and said “Mom, I CAN’T get out of bed” or “Mom, I really can’t force myself to face school today.” My exalted Sun in Aries in the house of his joy has never not hopped out of bed, made the bed, and brushed my teeth, even on my darkest days. I may want to climb back in at 6 PM, but I can always go through the motions of the day. My ex’s Capricorn Sun is similar. He never misses a day of work unless he is genuinely very physically sick.
I have a Leo sun in 9h and this is spot on especially with the strong identity and seekers mentality!