The naked child mounted on a white horse and displaying a red standard has been mentioned already as the better symbolism connected with this card. It is the destiny of the Supernatural East and the great and holy light which goes before the endless procession of humanity, coming out from the walled garden of the sensitive life and passing on the journey home. The card signifies, therefore, the transit from the manifest light of this world, represented by the glorious sun of earth, to the light of the world to come, which goes before aspiration and is typified by the heart of a child.

But the last allusion is again the key to a different form or aspect of the symbolism. The sun is that of consciousness in the spirit--the direct as the antithesis of the reflected light. The characteristic type of humanity has become a little child therein--a child in the sense of simplicity and innocence in the sense of wisdom. In that simplicity, he bears the seal of nature and of Art; in that innocence, he signifies the restored world. When the self-knowing spirit has dawned in the consciousness above the natural mind, that mind in its renewal leads forth the animal nature in a state of perfect conformity.-- A.E. Waite

The Zodiac is a kind of childish representation of the body of Nuith, a differentiation and classification, a chosen belt, one girdle of Our Lady of infinite space. Convenience of description excuses the device.

The green mound represents the fertile earth, its shape, so to speak, aspiring to the heavens. But around the top of the mound is a wall, which indicates that the aspiration of the new Aeon does not mean the absence of control. Yet outside this wall are the twin children who (in one form or another) have so frequently recurred in this whole symbolism. They represent the male and female, eternally young, shameless and innocent. They are dancing in the light, and yet they dwell upon the earth. They represent the next stage which is to be attained by mankind, in which complete freedom is alike the cause and the result of the new access of solar energy upon the earth. The restriction of such ideas as sin and death in their old sense has been abolished. At their feet are the most sacred signs of the old Aeon, the combination of the Rose and Cross from which they are arisen, yet which still forms their support.

The card itself symbolizes this broadening of the idea of the Rose and Cross. The Cross is now expanded into the Sun, from which, of course, it is originally derived. . . . The limitation of mundane law, which is always associated with the number Four, has disappeared. Gone are the four arms of a Cross limited by law; the creative energy of the Cross expands freely; its rays pierce in every direction the body of Our Lady of the Stars.-- Aleister Crowley

A bright, bold sun with a face in the image of man shines forth its rays. Drops of Yod (the life force) radiate into shimmering waters of rebirth and continuity. A lotus flower in full bloom signifies the microcosm within the macrocosm. The Sun's light offers warmth and security, a cheerfulness after having navigated the way along the shadowy path of the moon. Nothing is dim or concealed here; we can clearly see the way to our Highest Goal. This is the key of clear sight, the full light of day, the unrestrained joy and happiness one feels in childhood. It is a card of innocence and rejoicing.-- Susan Hansson

Throughout history, people have honored the Sun as our greatest source of light and warmth. In the myths of many cultures, the Sun is a prominent god - full of vigor and courage. He is the vital energy center that makes all life on earth possible. It is natural, then, that in the Tarot the Sun also symbolizes radiant vitality and splendor. . . . When you see the Sun, know that you will be successful at all you undertake. Now is the time to let your light shine.-- Joan Bunning

The Liberated One: According to Waite's first edition: "The nipples and navel of the child are the points of a water triangle hinting at the letter Mem and the Hanged Man. For the stage of unfoldment represented by the Sun is the expression of the law the Hanged Man symbolizes.-- Richard Roberts

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