Be The Star

As I looked out into the night sky, across all those infinite stars, it made me realize how insignificant they are.” ― Peter Cook

I love this quote because it makes me laugh, and the profundity of the Universe is best expressed through laughter. We've entered Aquarius season, whose card is The Star, one of the most gentle and beautiful cards in the Major Arcana. The Star is here to help us laugh, heal, and celebrate the infinite. To understand the work of The Star we must first understand the preceding card, The Tower. The Tower comes to remove an obstacle to our spiritual growth that we could not remove on our own. The Tower is depicted with an actual tower being struck by lightning. The top of The Tower is a crown, representing both material wealth, hierarchal structure, and the mind. One individual falls and retains the crown on her head while the other figure is without a crown falling face forward. Without question, The Tower is an arresting image, but the 22 yellow raindrops are actually yods - blessings of grace from god. Remember that we are now in the Third Line of the Major Arcana, the final stretch in a cycle of spiritual growth.

As a society, we have plenty of Tower moments we can look at. The insurrection of the Capitol was a very literal Tower moment last year. It exposed the deeply rooted divides in our nation's foundational beliefs. Most recently we have seen that we are indeed a house divided and there is a very real possibility that the American democratic experiment will end because we have built our nation on the foundation of racism and erected the walls with the most inhumane systems of capitalism. In my last post about The Devil, I used examples of addiction. As individuals, The Tower is a logical next step to addiction and The Devil. The Devil brings us into an awareness that we are engaging in behaviors that keep us unconscious, but self-will is insufficient to change our thinking and behavior. This is when The Tower arrives to say, "You know that your ____ (job, marriage, drinking, family, mortgage, etc.) isn't what your spirit came here to do. You also know that it feels too big for you to change or remove on your own. No problem. I'll remove those structures for you." There are multiple levels in The Tower, and while they are almost always accompanied by some loss, The Tower never takes anything away that's supposed to come with us. The Tower is there to expose the places where we built upon an unsuitable foundation. Enter The Star.

The Star is the calm after the storm. The Star bathes us in light and healing after the upheaval of The Tower.

The Star is the first time in the Tarot that our attention is directed toward a cosmic perspective. The destruction that takes place in The Tower makes way for an unobstructed view of the cosmos and we can feel our right-sized place within them. Like Temperance, The Star is able to defy gravity with one foot on land and the other on the water. In the card Temperance, the angel is dressed in robes, standing upright, and pouring water both up to and down into her cups.

In The Star, she is relaxed, unrobed, and has a calm and somewhat playful demeanor. Temperance is measured and controlled, while The Star is natural and free. The symbol of Aquarius is the Water Bearer, and like Aquarius, The Star empties her vessels in endless streams. Aquarians are credited as being creative humanitarians, capable of envisioning and distributing the greatest good to the collective. In the experience of The Tower, any illusions that we could control or avoid unplanned changes are removed. In their place, we are humbled into receiving from the Divine. We are reminded that our perception of loss is not unique, it is what makes us human. The pool that her foot rests upon represents both the individual and the collective unconscious. She can safely balance there. Her other jug returns water into the earth. Seedlings grow around, new life emerges, and healing begins. The Star is able to give from a place of overflow because by healing herself, she is healing the world around her. We also see a bird in the background, a Crimson Ibis. This bird is the symbol of Thoth, the Egyptian god of arts and magic. The bird seems to be playfully and enthusiastically looking on. Many artists, myself included, can attest that some of the best work is created in the aftermath of loss - if we have the courage to heal through creation.

I think it's safe to assert that The Tower and The Star are more closely linked than any other cards in the Major Arcana. So much so that when The Tower appears in a reading, you know that The Star will be there to support you, even if it isn't pulled. When The Star shows up, it is there to heal some trauma. If we return to the examples of the Capitol insurrection as a Tower moment for the collective, we entered into The Star and Aquarius with some healing and peace on inauguration day. It would be tidy if we could end the narrative and call The Star a Deus ex Machina finale, but of course, the story goes on. Our stories are spiralic and without end. Biden has not healed our political divides, but there was a day of peace and hope for greater healing and unity. Returning to the previous example of addiction, someone may awaken to the fact that they are stuck in a limiting unconscious behavioral pattern in The Devil, but they are unable to untangle themselves. They may then suffer some consequences in The Tower, say they get a DUI or lose a job. In this situation, The Star appears to offer hope that life does have meaning beyond guilt, loss, or shame. In The Star, nothing is wrong - not because everything is perfect or even okay, but because in The Star, we find grace and feel our cosmic belonging.

No one among us has avoided trauma and loss. We are all trauma-informed. The Star gifts us by renewing our connection to hope, love, and light. This healing reminds us that we can trust the Universe because we cannot be separated from Source. If you are healing from a specific loss at this time, The Star is here to remind you that your existence is connected to a greater source of love. If you are feeling great right now, that is still the case too! Over the next four weeks, consider some ways that you can invite The Star into your life. Are you in need of greater support? How do you feel about asking for it? How good are you at receiving? What makes you feel restorative? When we are working with The Star, it's important to remember that it is our highest self that we are connecting to. When we make space to ask for help from the Divine to heal whatever loss or trauma we have perceived, we stop identifying as just a body. Our soul-work is done on behalf of ourselves and the collective. Anything can be a path to Divine healing. Yoga for some, a glass of wine for others. Dancing and singing, or meditation and journaling. For me, it's drawing with charcoal, cooking, camping, or simply walking in nature. The only requirement to healing in The Star is that you must first set the intention to receive health. Is there a practice you can incorporate to deepen your spiritual connection? What is the most sacred place you have been or can imagine? Why? If it touches your soul, it is The Star. Be The Star.