February 21, 2010 - The Star

A few mixed responses sent me to a simpler, more basic question, "What's the one thing I need to know today that will lead me to happiness?" More than love, friendship, will I/won't I, will he/won't he, is a profound longing for peace and happiness.

After my heart was figuratively broken but not yet literally, and I sat recovering in every way after hip surgery, The Star came up often in my daily readings. I greeted her with such joy for She is the embodiment of hope and I was sorely lacking in any sort of hopefulness, my world nothing but shades of gray. When The Star comes up in a reading, she is about regaining hope, being inspired, being generous, feeling secure. The thing about the Star is that it isn't a practical card. It says you're on the right track, your aspirations are blessed, but you must take positive action to achieve them.

In the Jane Austen Tarot, The Star depicts Louisa Musgrove unconscious in bed after her impetuous accident jumping from the quay. Anne Elliot, Captain Wentworth, Captain and Mrs. Harville wait in another room staring at a lone star through a open window. This scene captures beautifully the hopefulness of The Star. At that moment, Captain Wentworth remembers why he fell in love with Anne and Anne realizes that this man she still loves has altered his feelings toward her, although she has no idea if he is in love with her. A.E. Waite called The Star, "Truth unveiled." Coming as it does after the devastation of The Tower, it reminds us that sometimes we need an intense occurrence to reveal our essential truths.

It's funny, but my first glimpse of stars during my trip to Alaska was my first morning. A break formed in the clouds, maybe an hour's length, probably less. I looked up at a swath of bright points in the thick dark and there, to my right a shooting star. This card takes me back to that first hopeful morning. I so wanted Alaska to change me, to settle things, to lead me to the right path.

"When a star shoots across the sky it's a rather definite and literal signal that there really is a divine plan...and we are part of it." p. 46