The Sun in Rags

The Sun-in-Rags is the Hour of beautiful endings. He was once a Name of the Sun-in-Splendour, its aspect as the departing sunset, but after the Intercalate he became a shattered Hour, and a grim reminder of the True Sun’s former glory and its sorrowful end. He can be seen at times wandering the Mansus, a cold and distant radiance accompanied by a silent retinue.[2][3][4][5][6] His aspects are Winter[7] and Lantern[1] and his hour is noon.

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Events

A Name of the Unconquered Sun: The Sun-in-Rags was acknowledged as a Name long before the Division of the Sun, representing a cold and distant sunset. His influence can be seen in ancient times through the Roman emperor Elagabalus, who may have been a dupe or avatar of the Sun-in-Rags.[2][5]

The Intercalate (1582): The Forge of Days was responsible for dividing the Sun-in-Splendour, who she loved. From the death of the Sun the Solar Hours emerged, among them the Sun-in-Rags, who most resembles the deceased ruler of the House of the Sun.[8]

The Second Dawn: It is prophesied that some day the Sun-in-Splendour will return, and it is implied that the four children of the Sun will be consumed in the process, including the Sun-in-Rags.[3]

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Servants

• Maids-in-the-Mirror: The dead who pass the test of the Ascent of Knives enter the service of the Sun-in-Rags. They are said to favor orchids, and can assist in gathering Witnesses for the Apostle Entheate.[9][10][11][12]
• Elagabalus: An infamous Roman emperor who Christopher Illopy believes had some connection to the Sun-in-Rags, and may have even been an avatar of them. Elagabalus was known to have passed the White Door at some point. The Elagabaline Manacles are also tied to him.[5][13]
• The Church of the Unconquered Sun: An organization influential in the Third and Fourth Histories that worshipped the Sun-in-Splendour and his Names like the Sun-in-Rags, though it also had relations with the Sisterhood of the Knot and acknowledged the non-solar Hours they followed. Its priests were all male, though they had rites in which women could cross ceremonially to manhood. It allied with the Sisterhood during the War of the Roads against the Children of the Leashed Flame, but after that event and the Intercalate soon after they were severely weakened, and no longer hold significant power.[14][15][16]
• Poppy Lascelles: A wealthy and amiable woman who occasionally funds occult scholars. The price of her assistance, though, is a future sacrifice to the Sun-in-Rags - “someone who’ll end matters properly”.[17]

Relationships

• The Sun-in-Splendour: The Sun-in-Rags was originally a Name of the Sun-in-Splendour, the Hour which ruled the Mansus after the Lithomachy and before the Intercalate. He was its aspect as the departing sunset, and now wears a shattered crown.[4]
• The Meniscate: Another of the Solar Hours created from the Intercalate, representing the Sun’s night-self.
• The Madrugad: Another of the Solar Hours, representing the chilly winter dawn.
• The Wolf Divided: The wound of the divided Sun, born from the Intercalate along with the Solar Hours, though he is not counted among them himself.

Other Notes

• The Sun-in-Rags is said to be the Hour which Winter-Long most commonly ascend under.[20]
• The Sunset Rite invokes the Sun-in-Rags, where the sorrowful tears of an assistant may draw the Hour. It then acknowledges an ending and lends its assistance.[21]
• The player in Cultist Simulator can invoke the power of the Sun-in-Rags to bring about a beautiful ending, though what will end cannot be controlled. It was believed by many in the community that this could even result in the death of the player character, resulting in a similar ending to the one that occurs if Poppy Lascelles claims their life. This has since proven to be false. [22]
• During the early development of Cultist Simulator, the Sun-in-Rags was originally presented as an Hour with Lantern and Moth as aspects. This was because Winter had not yet been conceptualized as a Principle to better fit the themes of endings and remembrance.

Real World References

• The Sun-in-Rags takes the place for the Hanged Man in the Tarot of the Hours. The Hanged Man can represent sacrifice, uncertainty, and prophecy. They are often presented as a martyr of some sort, or perhaps a false one, and the card may indicate a need to let go of something, or an unhappy situation which must be escaped. The method in which the figure is hanged is similar to that used for traitors in Italy, though there is an implication of self-sacrifice in its presentation. Parallels are also drawn to the germanic god Odin, who hung himself from a tree to gain knowledge.
• Elagabalus reigned over the Roman empire very briefly in the 2nd century, infamous for his decadence, scandals, and religious controversies before being assassinated. His name was given to him posthumously, and comes from the Syro-Roman sun god which he served as a priest under and tried to place as the chief deity of the Roman pantheon, above even Jupiter. Another name for the god during this time translates to “God, the Undefeated Sun,” which brings to mind the Church of the Unconquered Sun in the Secret Histories.[18]
• Elagabalus is mentioned in Teresa Galmier’s book about Janus, the two-faced Roman god of doors, beginnings, and endings who is mysteriously referenced several times in Cultist Simulator. The exact details of this connection are unknown.[19]

Theories and Questions

• The phrase “Sunset at Noon” likely refers to the consequences of the Intercalate, and the Sun-in-Rags in specific, an Hour representing the departing sunset who has been thrust into the role of the midday sun at noon. This is further emphasized by his placement in the Tarot as the card numbered 12.[14][23]
• It is curious that the Sun-in-Rags specifically gets called both a god-from-light and a god-from-blood, where the other children of the sun are only referred to as one or the other. Likely some aspect of him as he currently is was defined by the Intercalate more so than the Meniscate and the Madrugad, though unlike the Wolf-Divided he did exist in some form before then.

In-Game Sources

1. We call upon the Sun-in-Rags, which is distant We call upon the Sun-in-Rags, which is not as it was We call upon the Sun-in-Rags, which burns still 2. Read 'The High Mysteries of the Innermost Chamber of our Church Solar' 3. Read 'The Time of Division' 4. The Chamber of Ways (influencewintere) 5. Read this volume of Travelling at Night 6. A Friendly Visit from Poppy 7. Veneration: Winter 8. Read 'The Book of the Extinguished Heart' 9. Maid-in-the-Mirror 10. Mantra of Ascent 11. Read Poemander's 'On What is Contained by Silver' 12. Send a Maid-in-the-Mirror to lure a Witness 13. Elagabaline Manacle 14. Sunset Passages 15. Against the Sisterhood of the Knot and... 16. Read 'How the End will Begin' 17. Poppy Lascelles, Speak to Poppy Lascelles, Question Poppy closely, Going quietly 18. Elagabalus, Elagabalus (deity) 19. Read this volume of the Locksmith's Dream 20. AMA: "For example, the Sun-in-rags normally oversees Winter ascensions..." 21. Sunset Rite 22. The End is Beautiful (Grand) 23. Sunset at Noon

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