Theosophical Correspondence.

Translation from German by Robert Hutwohl^[1]

Question: — What does occult philosophy teach us about the nature of the sun?

          Answer: — Academic science teaches that the sun consists of a core, a photosphere with its prominences and sunspots, and proves by means of the spectroscope that it contains the same chemical elements that are found on our globe, which is inevitable since, as philosophy teaches, everything has come from one thing. However instructive this theory may be, there is little that is edifying to be found in it. The situation is different with the teaching of occult philosophy, according to which the sun is a living, intelligent being. One of the greatest mystics of the Middle Ages, Dr. John Pordage (d. 1681), says:

In particular, the body of the sun consists of light fire and is the center, the heart and soul of the world. The spirit has placed and embodied in it its powers of understanding, will, senses and imagination, and consequently its reason. He rules the whole world through it (the sun) and enlivens everything through its life-giving rays.

          Jacob Böhme also says that the sun’s radiance has a deeper (spiritual) reason than the external world itself, and in the Psalms it says: “God has erected his tabernacle in the sun.” It is not God’s fault that science cannot prove this.

Note

^[1] Theosophical Correspondence. What does occult philosophy teach us about the nature of the sun? By Dr. Franz Hartmann. [Theosophische Korrespondenz. Von Dr. Franz Hartmann. Was lehrt uns die occulte Philosophie über das Wesen der Sonne? Theosophischer Wegweiser 8, no, 7 (April 1907), 220-221] {This article was reformatted from the original, but with the content unchanged other than minor typos, translation from German by Robert Hutwohl, ©2025}