Sun deities and the sun as a symbol, are usually associated with masculine energy and the moon and nighttime are more often associated with feminine energy. Even the wording Son (Sun) of God has associations to the masculine aspect of God and there are numerous examples of male sun deities, some of them being Ra, Helios, Liza, Lugh (Ancient Epyptian, Greek, West African, Celtic).
There are some exceptions to this though, and one is found in the mythology of my own Scandinavian ancestry. In the old Norse religion the sun was represented as the goddess Sol, also called Sunna. Her brother was Mani, representing the moon.
Sol and Mani ride through the sky in horse drawn chariots, like many other sun deities are described as doing. The chariots are chased through the sky by the wolves Skoll (Mockery) and Hati (Hate). During Ragnarok when the world descends back into chaos the wolves will overtake the chariots.
In one of the poems in the the Poetic Edda, a figure called Svalinn rides in Sol’s chariot and holds a shield between her and the Earth. Without it, the Earth would be consumed in flames. This sounds very much as a mythological description of the Earth’s magnetosphere, which is even described within astronomy as a ‘gatekeeper’ protecting us from solar wind and cosmic rays.
How the Old Norse, and other ancient people, knew about these cosmic phenomena through their mythologies is an interesting question to ponder.
There are more examples of feminine sun deities such as Amaterasu, the Japanese sun goddess, Arinna - Hittite (Syrian) sun goddess and Shemesh/Shepesh, Ugarit sun goddess.
Join me for Divine Feminine Ancestry & Soul Lineage where we will explore the mythologies of our ancestors over 3 months. Sign up here.
