For early pagan cultures, the sun stood as a symbol for male virility and was the god of power and life. As cultural perspectives shifted over time, cultures such as Egypt embraced the sun, as the moon, for its properties as a god or invoker of feminine fertility and rebirth. Without the sun no crops could grow, no cycles could pass and, in this pagan worship, the sun became a lasting symbol of power. Men and women paid homage to their gods, displayed their prowess and exhibited social status through tattoos of the sun.
Both ancient and modern cultures have revered the sun as a symbol for faith. While the mythology of the sun in pagan cultures stood for life and power, in Christian culture the sun became a symbol of the warmth and renewal in Christ. For Christians, the sun often represents the risen Christ, a very strong connection to the pagan phoenix. As the phoenix rises from the ashes, Christ too rose making the sun a strong symbol for Christian cultures.
In early cultures, when color was at a premium, those who could afford to pay tribute to their gods through decorating their flesh in vibrant colors stood out among the wealthiest cast. In addition to the sun's symbol for power in humanity, the ability to afford this sort of body art set the wearer apart from his or her peers. For the Mayans, for example, a tattoo of the sun often denoted a leader, a person of wealth and influence.
Because of the sun's general shape, most tattoo renderings of the sun are round, but tattoos of the sun are a diverse mix of stylized symbolism. The design of the sun is traditionally as much a tribute to the work of the artist as to the virility of the wearer, ranging from simple round designs to highly elaborate tribal artwork. Connections to the culture using the symbol often determined how the symbol was depicted. Sun tattoos include simple, round designs; Gothic; tribal; Celtic; and celestial depictions coupled with the moon.
Today, depictions of the sun are used in much the same way they were for early people, standing for wealth, power and virility, pagan influence, sexual fertility and the soul of humanity. Prized for its vibrant colors and eye-catching style, the sun continues to be a strong symbol. Unlike ancient people, modern uses of the sun can have any number of personal and cultural symbolic meanings to the wearer, but cultural understanding continues to connect the symbol of the sun in tattoos to an impression of power.