Managing Neurodivergence With Planetary Worship
This is a broader follow-up post to my more recent Quick Spell to Lessen Social Anxiety. I have discussed before my personal framework for practicing religion as a neurodivergent person and how to start worshipping the planets as doing so has improved my life immeasurably. This blogpost aims to offer more direct advice on these fronts, particularly focusing on The Sun.
I believe it's essential for people who are neurodivergent and curious about the planets to work with The Sun because doing so combats broad and severe health implications of being neurodivergent.
- Solar work inherently boosts your confidence, and vitality by extension, which often suffers when you are a neurodivergent person who tries and fails for a lifetime to assimilate to neurotypical expectations and norms
- The Sun is the balance of Saturn, meaning he represents joy and contentment versus seriousness and depression. Both are intrinsic and necessary to the human experience; solar work means to lighten Saturn's effects when her weight upon you has become less endurable
- Solar work brings clarity because light reveals what's hidden in shadows, including those of your own mind. This is useful for those who have lost themselves to either the needs of other people or to self-destructive habits that are often co-morbid with neurodivergence. Solar revelation allows you to rediscover and have courage in oneself
- The Sun has healing associations and can be enlisted to help with finding support/treatment for autistic burnout or medical conditions (Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional)
As I have discussed before, I worship Apollo in place of The Sun. Being perhaps the most famous Sun god to ever exist, Apollo easily gives me everything the Sun would. You could also call The Sun Sol. You can worship the Sun as Helios. Or Brighid. It probably doesn't matter, but the most authentic feeling face/name you can work with—because the Sun also represents authenticity—the better.
The simplest way you can start communing with the Sun is prayer. One of the best times to do this is on a Sunday during Sun hour, or if you can't make Sunday any Sun hour of your choosing throughout the week. Intentionally go out into the Sun or face the Sun as you do this. Alternatively, make a drawing of The Sun or your chosen solar deity and face it as you pray. You can also simply light a candle. Incense, either frankincense or the many out in the world that are sun-themed, is optional, but helpful.
There are multiple translations of the Orphic Hymn to the Sun you can try out. I like rhyming even when it's bad, so I prefer Thomas Taylor's version:
HEAR golden Titan, whose eternal eye
With broad survey, illumines all the sky.
Self-born, unwearied in diffusing light,
And to all eyes the mirrour of delight:
Lord of the seasons, with thy fiery car
And leaping coursers, beaming light from far:
With thy right hand the source of morning light,
And with thy left the father of the night.
Agile and vig'rous, venerable Sun,
Fiery and bright around the heav'ns you run.
Foe to the wicked, but the good man's guide,
O'er all his steps propitious you preside:
With various founding, golden lyre, 'tis mine
To fill the world with harmony divine.
Father of ages, guide of prosp'rous deeds,
The world's commander, borne by lucid steeds,
Immortal Jove, all-searching, bearing light,
Source of existence, pure and fiery bright
Bearer of fruit, almighty lord of years,
Agil and warm, whom ev'ry pow'r reveres.
Great eye of Nature and the starry skies,
Doom'd with immortal flames to set and rise
Dispensing justice, lover of the stream,
The world's great despot, and o'er all supreme.
Faithful defender, and the eye of right,
Of steeds the ruler, and of life the light:
With founding whip four fiery steeds you guide,
When in the car of day you glorious ride.
Propitious on these mystic labours shine,
And bless thy suppliants with a life divine.
There is also this 1000+ year old prayer recorded in The Picatrix, credited to the Nabataeans (translation by Dan Attrell):
We pray, honor, and praise you, high lord Sun! For you give life to everything living in the world, and the world as a whole is illuminated by your light and governed by your power. You are seated in an exalted place. You have a great kingdom filled with light, perception, understanding, power, honor, and good. All things that can be generated are generated by your power. Through you the things that should be governed are governed. All plants live through you. All things persist in their strength through you. You stand excellent and honored in your effects, and powerful while remaining in your heaven. We salute, praise, honor, and pray to you in obedience and humility. We reveal all our intentions to you, and we ask and request all our necessities from you. You are our lord, and we beg you day and night that we obtain life and governance from your power. We disclose our intentions to you that you may both free us and defend us from our enemies and form all those seeking to do us harm. Let this also be done by the Moon, who is your handmaiden and is obedient to you—her light and brightness proceed from you and your power. You give power. You are the chosen lord in your heaven. The Moon and the rest of the planets are always servants to you. They obey you and never recede from your order. Thus, we praise you forever through the infinite ages of time. Amen.
These in-built prayers are helpful as a starting point. You might want to simply read them at your place of solar worship the first few times you try as you get into the habit. If you continue this practice, you can add your own personal prayers after the in-built prayer recitation, make your own edits to the prayers, or even write your own. Creativity is fantastic!
Another thing you can try is daily Sun salutations where you get up and greet the Sun, either as soon as you get up in the morning or at various points of your choosing throughout the day. This basically amounts to going outside, facing the Sun, and going, "GOOD MORNING SUN!"
But if you want to get more ritualistic with Sun salutations, there is Aleister Crowley's Liber Resh. Taking inspiration from Islam, Crowley advises the user of the ritual to salute the Sun four times throughout the day, at dawn, noon, dusk, and midnight. The Liber Resh can either be done temporarily at a set amount of time of your choosing, or permanently if this works with your sleep schedule.
If you are a routine-oriented person, it is easier to follow these practice if you append them to a pre-existing routine. For example, if you're too busy in the morning to do a prayer or salutation, but always take lunch at noon, you can practice before or after your meal. If you are not a routine-oriented person, remember that you don't need to do this every day or at the same time or way each day. That said, adding an additional ritual that brings motivational joy such as putting on yellow or Sun-themed robes or spraying on Sun-themed fragrance so you get into the mood, can keep you relatively consistent.
(Happy birthday to me as of the publication of this post and a very happy Leo season! May your neurodivergence shine brightly on this world.)
