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The Star is one of my favorite cards. And I'm always pleasantly surprised that it doesn't have more people resisting it like The Tower, or giving it layers of meaning like The Devil or Death. It's a card about faith, hope, and Divine guidance, and yet everyone's as delighted to see it as me.

Okay, I know that sounds ridiculous. Why would people be opposed to the promise of good things to come?

Well, hope is a challenging thing. Hell, the President of the United States made it a campaign topic. It suggests the Divine or angels, an end to struggle, the light at the end of the tunnel. That's tough sometimes. When you're sad or overwhelmed, being told there's a way out can be frightening. It suggests changes that might be large and just as scary. It asks for you to take risks, make adjustments, and be ready to entertain second chances.

The Star follows The Devil, a card about being trapped by harmful patterns and self-defeating behaviors, and The Tower, a card about breaking down the crumbling foundations to rebuild new things. It's a hope that emerges from tough, painful circumstances, a guidepost that points the way home. And the beauty of The Star? Is that all of these things are steps on the road to something amazing. The World, with its completion of a cycle and feeling of having it all, is only four steps away. 

In a way, The Star is a lot like a good Tarot reading. If you're feeling confused, lonely, or just plain in need of clarity, it can show you the road ahead. It can give you new insights on how you change your life. It's been delivered to you at a time you can handle it, when you're capable of making the change - but the change is up to you. It's a responsibility that is purely in your hands.

And making that change yourself, as scary as it can be, will make the conclusion all the more powerful and satisfying.
 
This week's deck is the Tarot of Prague by Alex Ukolov & Karen Mahony, a collage of photographs from Prague's art and architecture. I love the pensive, thoughtful look of the figure pouring the jars, and the little stars captured in the water. Divine love and new possibilities are wellsprings that never truly run dry, not if we know how to access them. But we do need to remember to take a drink.  


9/20/2012 03:15:01 am

This is a great treatment of an interesting card. I know that "Hope" is a standard key word for this card. In the Mythic Tarot, the Star is Pandora with her box, empty save for hope.

But, truth be told, the hope word is not an easy go-to for this card for me. Or at least it wasn't until I read this post.

Often I see the Star as healing and fulfillment. Those are hopeful things, right?

As an Air card associated with Aquarius, we are reminded that the "water-bearer" doesn't really bear actual water - rather it is starlight - the light of heaven - that is poured upon the Earth. And what could be more hopeful than that?

Thanks for stretching my thinking on one of my favorite cards!

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9/20/2012 09:33:49 am

Oh what a profound post. You're right; it's so hard to have that hope offered by the Star. I've always found it to be a peaceful, serene card. Lovely!

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