“Certain truths, like certain stars, require stillness and clarity to perceive.”
For as many stars as the human eye can see in the night sky, there are multitudes more that can only be seen with special equipment, and multitudes of magnitudes more that potentially exist but can never be acknowledged. Which star then, does the Star tarot card refer to? All of them. The Present and the Potential. The Seen and the Imagined. The star so close that it has its own special name and the star so distant that it is an irreconcilable myth.
When taken at face value, the Star represents a source of information, wisdom, or inspiration that exists outside of the Querent’s conscious self and immediate reach. Where and how the spark of understanding is struck is not as important as what the Querent does with this nascent light. A subtle meaning of the card can be, “Trust, but verify,” as what is bestowed by that flash of insight might not be accurate to the present concern, but the act of investigating the possibilities can reveal a more concrete truth or more stable path for the Querent to accept.
Studying the stars in the terrestrial night sky requires patience and stillness. Even those stars that can be easily seen by the naked eye force the observer to stand still and to look with determination just to confirm where they are and what other stars are with them. Seeking the wisdom offered by the Star card calls for the same effort, especially when the Querent is seeking that wisdom from within themselves. It calls for the Querent to stop rushing for validation or other people’s opinions, to listen to their feelings and gut reactions that contradict what their well-educated reasoning is leading them to do. To listen to the circumstances that surround them.
In a one-card reading, the Star is a call to introspection and quiet observation and answers with “Wait,” and to take comfort in that patience. This is not the time to be rushing back and forth, but to hold still and see what is moving around and within the Querent. If the Querent is seeking spiritual advice, the card can signify that the Querent should turn to their familial, community, and/or ancestral connections as the guide they are seeking requires a more personal means of interaction. Often the Querent knows the answer to their query, but they need some time to sit with that answer and to accept that understanding.
In a multi-card reading, the Star can point to the cards following it as discrete advice, separate from the overall theme of the reading. It can also point to an obligation or commitment that the Querent needs to complete, such as a private vigil or personal offering of duty or goods. It is like the Hermit in that it calls for the Querent to step away from complications, but it is unlike the Hermit in that it does not require the Querent to isolate themselves to reach understanding. After all, it is in the sharing of the study of the night sky that new stars are revealed, and a deeper understanding of the cosmos is obtained.
If the tarot deck is read with reversals or the card is ill aspected, the Star becomes an ignis fatuus that leads travelers astray. Any advice it refers to should be carefully inspected before acting upon it, and the source of that advice also investigated to reveal if they are speaking maliciously towards the Querent. This is the false hope that Pandora trapped in her jar, the mirage on the horizon that can never be reached no matter how much effort is expended in the attempt, and the fervent belief that defies immediate action with the announcement that regardless how bad the dam is cracked and leaking, that everyone will be okay without any work or repair.
The Star is a card representing petitions and responses, be they heart deep prayers or penitent actions. It is the solitude of the crowd and the expansion of being. But also, the folly of thinking that these are the only things that matter. It is a call to review oneself and one’s actions by taking the time to prove them true.
Next Card: XVI – The Tower – ““Coming through will hurt, but coming through is how you survive.”
Noxporium’s Tarot Card Masterpost: 78 Tarot Cards
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