Apollo Karneios / Exalted Sun Talismans / Sol Invictus!

I am excited to announce the release of the Apollo Karneios / Exalted Sun Talismans following the Winter Solstice—a sacred moment marking the Sun’s rebirth. The Sun reached its southernmost declination during the solstice, marking the longest night in the northern hemisphere. Now, the turning point has passed, and with each day, solar light grows stronger. In celebration of this renewal, we honor Sol Invictus—Invincible Sun! Inventori lucis soli invicto augusto (Invincible Sun! I glorify the unconquerable Sun, the creator of light).

Apollo Karneios

A lone ram steps into a misty field, barren from the winter past. With each step, the mists begin to fade, dissipating like the darkness of night giving way to the first rays of the morning Sun. With each step the Ram’s shape shifts, becoming a manlike figure with golden skin and the radiance of the Sun. His hair flows like golden rays of sunlight, but his ram horns remain, an unshakable connection to his primal, life-giving essence. The land awakens in response, with each footprint bringing new life — leaves unfurl, flowers bloom. He is Apollo Karneios, the ram-horned Apollo, who brings life and hope to barren land.

O Apollo! I call thee Karneios; for such is the manner of my fathers. Hie, hie, Karneios, often invoked! Your altars bear all the flowers nurtured by the Horai, and the sweet crocus of winter. For you, the eternal fire, never feeding on the ashes of yesterday.

— Callimachus, Hymn to Apollo

He is Apollo Karneios, the ram-horned Apollo, a figure of resurrection and new beginnings. This aspect of Apollo is cardinal in nature like the fiery spirit of Aries. His emergence is the initial spark of life, the first impulse of creation that bursts forth at the vernal equinox. He heralds the arrival of spring, the season of rebirth and transformation, when the seeds of the earth begin to sprout and new growth takes root.

Apollo is not just the bringer of life; he is the protector of life, and for the ancient Greeks he was a threshold guardian who safeguarded the home, a divine protector and Averter of Evil. The god of the Silver Bow, who sees and strikes far. Possessing prophetic foresight and oracular light, he is the god who illuminates the future, guiding us toward greater understanding through divination. Apollo is the central source of cosmic harmony around which the muses dance and share divine inspiration, including Urania, the muse of Astrology.

Apollo provides not only protection and physical vitality but also spiritual and creative vitality. He is the force that brings forth new life and ripens fruits. It is through his light that we find the spark of our unique expression and deliver the fruits of our labor into the world.

The Sun, The Daimon, and the Plot of Life - adapted from Apollo’s Chariot The Meaning of the Astrological Sun, Liz Greene

Apollo is depicted in Greek mythos as not the actual physical Sun that shines in the sky, but as the carrier of the Sun. A divine being who transports the Sun in his golden chariot from east to west every day, Apollo is a vessel for something beyond human comprehension—the One, the fiery core of godhead. The philosopher Heraclitus believed fire to be the primal element, the fundamental substance of creation. As humans, we may carry a divine spark, but we are not, in ourselves, the One. Instead, there is an animating life-principle that incarnates into or is carried by our mortal selves. Apollo embodies this principle, carrying the light that sustains all life.

Why do we feel ill when we lack sunlight? It is difficult to describe, but we all understand that it is much more than mere physical light and warmth. The Sun in the birth chart points to where we are closest to this experience—where the door to this sense of carrying a greater purpose can open most easily. There is no person who is not, in some way, still in the process of developing their Sun. It seems there is no such thing as a fully realized or completed Sun, nor a person in whom the Sun is entirely manifest. Its very nature suggests that the psychological principle symbolized by the Sun is a constant, cyclical process of struggle and re-emergence.

Apollo is also the god we turn to when overwhelmed by grief. If we refrain from suppressing our sorrow and instead channel it into a song, a poem, or a painting, we are, in essence, offering it to the god, allowing him to transform it. Whatever our misery may be, expressing it through a creative outlet—under whatever name we call upon—brings about a shift. The act of creation itself is magical. It creates a space between us and our grief without causing dissociation. Though the grief remains, it becomes bearable, no longer overwhelming.

"We might equate the Sun’s plot with the individual’s myth or, as Socrates once put it, the individual daimon. Interestingly, the Greek word mythos has two meanings: it can be a story, or it can be a plot or structure. The Sun’s plot is the story that makes an individual life coherent. We should not be surprised at the fact that in the Greek world, the bard—the poet-singer who recited the great sagas and tales—was sacred to, and inspired by, Apollo."

Astrological Election

“For operations of the Sun they made images in the hour of the Sun rising in the first face of Leo. [These images were of] the Sun (whose form is of a crowned king) sitting in a chair, holding a raven to his bosom, and under his feet a globe.They carried this image to make a man invincible and honorable, to bring to an end to what has begun, and to drive away empty dreams. It is also strong against fevers and plagues. They made the same [image] in a balas or ruby, in the hour of the Sun, when he is happily rising in his exaltation”
-Excerpt From Three Books of Occult Philosophy

Wednesday 17 April 2024 around 12:55 pm - Hour of the Sun

The stones were engraved during the hour of the Sun on 17 April with the Sun in its exaltation and triplicity of Aries conjoining the midheaven and ruling the Leo ascendant. The combination of the exalted Sun conjoining the midheaven while also being the domicile and triplicity lord of the ascendant enhances the potency of the talisman to bring its bearer increased visibility, vitality, confidence, honors, elevation and favors from those in solar positions of authority.

The fixed and fiery nature of the Leo ascendant and the Moon also occupying the solar sign of the Lion further augments long-term success and achievement. The exalted Sun is receiving the Moon through a waxing trine aspect, with the first quarter phase of the Moon additionally boosting the Apollo Karenios talisman’s ability to generate growth, advancement, and honors. The Moon is moving in between aspects with Venus and Jupiter: moving away from a trine with Venus and applying to Jupiter with her next aspect. The applying aspect between the Moon and Jupiter has reception due to Jupiter occupying the exaltation of the Moon, and Jupiter is bonifying the condition of the Moon through a superior square aspect.

Moreover, not only does the superior square aspect from Jupiter to the Moon improve the Moon’s condition, but the co-presence of Jupiter in the tenth house with the exalted Sun also fortifies the confidence and willpower of the talisman’s bearer in following the purpose and passion of their heart and creating the inspiring life they envision for themselves.

Mars in Pisces is the lord of the exalted Sun and is separating from Saturn. Mars possesses the essential dignity of being in his own bounds and face as well as triplicity. Mars is also applying toward an uplifting sextile aspect with Jupiter, while being received by Jupiter into his watery home of Pisces. The harmonious reception between Mars and Jupiter signifies uplifting support, success, and being able to rise above whatever challenges have been brought by Saturn in the past.

Each talisman in the Apollo Karneios / Exalted Sun Talisman collection is a unique creation. Every ring was meticulously hand-carved from jeweler's wax over countless hours, as a devotion to Apollo Karneios and cast in 925 solid sterling silver. Each ring contains dirt collected from the Apollo temple of Bassae, Saffron, and Rosemary that I personally grew and harvested.