If there's a card I'm always relieved to see in a feelings reading, it's The Sun. After more than a decade reading the Rider-Waite-Smith deck in Tokyo, I can tell you it's about as close to good news as the Major Arcana gets. But the reason The Sun is so reassuring isn't just that the feelings are warm. It's that they're clear — and clarity, in matters of the heart, is rarer and more valuable than warmth alone.
Here's what The Sun as feelings actually means, upright and reversed, including what it says about a crush, an ex, and the question everyone really wants answered: do they want this out in the open?
Quick Answer
Upright, The Sun as feelings is one of the most positive cards you can draw. The person feels genuine, uncomplicated happiness around you — warmth, confidence, and no urge to play games or hide it. They're not wrestling with doubt; they simply feel good with you. Reversed, the warmth is still usually there but dimmed: temporary clouds, holding back, or in some new connections a spark that flared bright and burned out. Even reversed, The Sun rarely turns cold.
The Sun Upright as Feelings
When The Sun comes up for someone's feelings, picture exactly that — sunlight. Their emotions toward you are bright, open, and easy. You make them happy in a way that doesn't come with a catch. They feel lighter around you, more themselves, a little more alive. This is the warmth of someone who isn't second-guessing whether they like you, because they already know.
That certainty is the part I'd underline. Plenty of cards show attraction; The Sun shows attraction without doubt. There's no anxious push-pull here, no mixed signals, no wondering where it's going. They like you, they know they like you, and the knowing makes them generous with it. If The Moon is the card of "I'm not sure what I feel," The Sun is the card of "I'm sure, and it's good."
There's also a childlike quality to this card that I rarely see written about. The Sun's joy is the joy of the inner child — playful, unguarded, free. When it describes someone's feelings, it often means they feel young around you, in the best sense: able to be silly, to laugh easily, to drop the armor they wear elsewhere.
When you're single or it's new
For a new connection, upright Sun is wonderfully straightforward. They're excited about you, optimistic about where it could go, and not inclined to hide any of it. This is the rare connection that doesn't keep you guessing.
In an existing relationship
For an established couple, The Sun signals a genuinely good season — warmth, pride in being with you, often a sense that the relationship has come through difficulty into the light. They feel lucky, and they don't mind you knowing.
The Sun Reversed as Feelings
Reversed, The Sun is a sun behind a cloud — still shining, just not at full strength. Most often it means warmth that's temporarily dimmed: the person feels good about you but something is dampening it right now — stress elsewhere in their life, a passing doubt, or a reluctance to fully show what they feel.
Sometimes reversed points to holding back. The feeling is there, but they're not letting it shine — guarding it, downplaying it, or not quite being themselves around you yet. The card's advice in that case is gentle: warmth grows when it's allowed to be seen.
I'll be straight about the harder reading, because for new connections it does come up. Reversed Sun can mean a spark that burned hot and then fizzled — intense interest that didn't sustain. If the early heat has noticeably cooled, the reversed Sun may be naming that honestly rather than promising a comeback.
From a crush
A reversed Sun from a crush usually means real warmth that's muted — they like you but aren't fully showing it, maybe out of shyness or distraction. Less often, it's a spark that's faded. Look at whether the warmth is hidden or genuinely gone; the card leans toward hidden.
From an ex, or during no contact
Here The Sun is unusually kind. Even reversed, it tends to show genuine positive feeling — an ex who remembers you fondly and, upright, often still wants you. The Sun is the card most likely to mean an ex's warmth survived the breakup. During no contact, it suggests their feelings about you stayed sunny even in the silence.
Do They Feel It — or Do They Want It Seen?
Here's the angle most Sun articles miss, and it's the one that makes this card special. The Sun isn't only about feeling good. It's about visibility — light that shows everything, hides nothing. So when it describes someone's feelings, the deeper reading isn't just "they're happy with you." It's "they have no wish to keep it secret."
That matters enormously, because plenty of cards show private warmth — feelings held close, kept off the record. The Sun is the opposite impulse. The person who feels The Sun toward you tends to want it known: they'll tell their friends, they'll make plans in daylight, they won't keep you tucked away as a maybe. If you've been someone's secret and you draw The Sun, the card is pointing toward that changing — toward a feeling that wants to step out into the open. Warmth you have to hide is rarely The Sun. The Sun wants witnesses.
The Sun vs. The Moon as Feelings
These two are perfect opposites in a feelings reading, and seeing them side by side is clarifying. The Moon as feelings is emotion at night — real but blurred, anxious, unsure of itself. The Sun is emotion at noon — clear, confident, glad to be seen. If you're getting mixed signals and pull The Moon, the feeling is genuine but unformed. If you pull The Sun, stop second-guessing: the warmth is real and it isn't trying to hide.
How the Japanese Tarot Tradition Reads This
In Japanese タロット占い, The Sun (太陽) is read with words like 「素直」(sunao) — honest, open, without pretense. Teachers I trained with framed the upright Sun in love as feelings that are 「飾らない」— unadorned, not dressed up or performed. I find that captures something the English "happy" misses. It's not just that the person feels good; it's that their feeling is sincere, free of the games and strategies that cloud so many connections. When this card describes someone's feelings, the gift it names is honesty — and in love, honesty is its own kind of warmth.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does The Sun as feelings mean they love me?
It points to genuine, warm, confident affection — often love, or a very strong liking that's headed there. What makes The Sun special is the certainty and openness: they don't doubt how they feel and they don't want to hide it. It's one of the most reassuring feelings cards in the deck.
Does the reversed Sun mean they've lost interest?
Usually not. Reversed Sun more often means warmth that's temporarily dimmed — stress, shyness, or holding back. For some new connections it can mean a spark that faded, but more often the feeling is still there, just muted rather than gone.
What does The Sun say about how my crush feels?
Upright, your crush feels bright, uncomplicated happiness around you and isn't inclined to hide it. Reversed, the warmth is likely still there but muted — often shyness or distraction rather than a lack of feeling.
Will an ex come back if I draw The Sun?
The Sun is one of the more hopeful cards for an ex. It frequently shows genuine lingering warmth, and upright it often means they still want you. It's not a guarantee, but of all the cards, it's among the most encouraging for reconciliation.
Is The Sun a yes for love questions?
Generally yes. As feelings or as an outcome, The Sun leans strongly positive — warmth, happiness, and clarity. Reversed it softens to "yes, but give it light and patience" rather than a no.
Closing
If you've pulled The Sun for someone's feelings, you can mostly set down the worry. This card doesn't deal in mixed signals. The warmth is real, the person knows their own heart, and — most telling of all — they have no wish to keep it in the dark. The only thing The Sun asks of you is to let it be seen too. Meet open with open. This card rewards people who stop hiding.
Want this card beyond the feelings question? Read the full The Sun meaning, or compare it with The Moon as feelings for what unclear, nighttime emotion looks like instead.
