The essential nature and function of the Sun in astrology, is that which the Ancient Greeks call Gnosis - knowledge, or the state of knowing. Epistemology is a philosophical discipline which is concerned with the study of the nature of knowledge, how to define it and on what basis can a thing be justified as known. Epistemology would likely hold little utility for the core archetype of the Sun, as the Sun represents the state of knowing which emanates from within. To know is to exist, and to exist is to know - it warrants no justification because it is derived from the truth of one’s own experience. From this place of Gnosis we become aware of ourselves and the world around us, and from this awareness choices are made and actions follow.