When I was asked to give a lecture on the Black Sun, first by the ASAS and then at the VZLA (two professional astrological associations in Netherlands), my initial reaction was a bit of panic. With all the excellent work done on the Black Sun by top astrologers such as George Bode, Peter Delahey and Wout Hendrickx, what could I possibly hope to add? This reaction was in complete agreement with the placement of the Invisible Luminaries in my horoscope. Yet precisely this placement of both Black Sun and Black Moon so prominently in my horoscope allowed me to share a more personal view of these Luminaries, which in themselves are most certainly im-personal. It is this view that I would like to share. First of all, I will briefly sketch how the Black Sun was ‘discovered’, then described the principals processes which are associated with this point, give a brief comparison with the working of the (White) Sun, and round up with some comments on its placement in the horoscope of Mahatma Gandhi.
First of all, I have placed the word ‘discovered’ in quotation marks because the Black Sun, unlike the (White) Sun, is not a material object. Its origins lie, just as those of the Black Moon, in the postulation by Kepler that the planets’ orbits were not circular, but oval or egg-shaped. The focal point of the apparent orbit of the Sun around the earth was thus not always the same distance. By mirroring the distance of the Sun in its orbit at its closest to the earth, an ‘empty’ or ‘invisible’ focal point is created. This is the position of the Black Sun. However, given the enormity of the distance between the Sun and Earth, the Black Sun does not progress through the zodiac with the speed of the Black Moon (which is logical, given the Moon’s proximity to the Earth) but has been and will be at around 12° of the sign Cancer for hundreds of years. This is one very important reason why the Black Sun cannot be given any personal interpretation in the sign of Cancer, for instance, only a universal one.
As was the case with the Black Moon, the consequences of Kepler’s theory regarding the empty focal points in the orbits of Sun and Moon were not expanded upon by astrologers until the 19th / 20th century in France by Dom Néroman and later Jean Carteret. The astrology of the Black Sun and Black Moon was brought to Netherlands by George Bode, and it took root and was shared in books, lectures, conferences in the last twenty years of the 20th century until the present. The addition of these Invisible Luminaries to the field of astrology cannot be underestimated. They, in combination with the Lunar nodal cross, establish three levels of consciousness within astrology in which the (White) Sun and Moon and the planets comprise the material level of consciousness, the Black Sun and Black Moon the spiritual level, and the Lunar Nodal Cross the universal level of consciousness. These three levels of consciousness are what we, as astrologers, should concern ourselves in keeping with the shifting paradigm concerning matter and consciousness taking place in the scientific community.
Although there is attention for the Black Moon outside of Netherlands, particularly along the lines developed by a sect in France using Néroman’s work which interpret the Invisible Moon as a dark sort of Lilith-feminine principle, there is very little being done with the Black Sun. (There have been books written suggesting that the re-integration of the essential qualities of the Black Moon can be achieved by a transiting Pluto square natal Pluto, or a Secondary New Moon. There is no way to achieve transformation on a higher level by occurrences at a lower level! Rather, it is the higher that influences the lower. The writer of said book is not even a qualified astrologer but he distributes these books in various languages freely.)
I would like now to list a few principles which are associated with the Black Sun and its opposite point in the horoscope, the Diamond.To begin with, a contrast with the (White) Sun. Whereas the Sun represents the INDIVIDUAL spark of Life in this incarnation or manifestation on Earth, the Black Sun can be associated with the UNDIFERENTIATED SOURCE of Life itself, with all the uncountable possibilities of manifestation entailed. Thus, one often perceives its presence in the horoscope as a sort of CHAOS, particularly surrounding the House in the horoscope where the Black Sun falls. The DIAMOND (point opposite the Black Sun), on the other hand, illustrates the principle of REFINEMENT and DISTILLATION. The point in the horoscope where the Diamond is found shows where the individual can achieve excellence and distinction. Here below a short summary of the principles of the two points:
Black Sun: infinite possibilities; unlimited potential; chaos and multiplicity; a Port to the Divine (not a hole)
Diamond: sanding and polishing of the crude; the process of distillation, fermenting and ripening; refinement; ones secret aspiration!
Although it is interesting to consider the Black Sun/Diamond axis as it falls in the horoscope with regard to the selection from unlimited possibilities in the House where the Black Sun falls and the refinement of it in the House of the Diamond, the greatest value of these points is in their role with relation to the process of ‘rejection’ by the environment during childhood of the individual’s unique spiritual essence (represented in the horoscope by the Black Moon), and the ‘compensation’ by adopting socially accepted behavior and its repetition (shown by the Black Moon’s opposite point, Priapus)
Without the integration of the process offered by the Black Sun and Diamond, it is unlikely, if not impossible, to progress beyond the artificial persona adopted (Priapus) towards the re-integration of one’s unique spiritual essence (Black Moon). One chooses the socially accepted behavior because of the rejection of the Black Moon early in life. Yet at some point (the mid-life crisis is one common example) this behavior becomes uncomfortable, so one goes in search of other possibilities. These unlimited possibilities are given by the Black Sun. Yet it is not enough to throw oneself into an endless series of experimenting with various new manners of being or experiences. One must integrate that which corresponds with his or her essence and begin the distillation and refinement of it, the Diamond. At that point, one has transcended his or her dependence on acceptance by the world by pretending to be what it wants, and re-integrates his/her unique essential qualities and offers them to the world for its benefit.

An example of a horoscope in which this process is evident is Mahatma Gandhi (see below).