Thoughts on the Star
FourLeafClover said:
I couldn't understand how it could be a card of receiving new life, or renewal, since the woman in the picture seems to be pouring out her energy instead of recieving something new.
She also seemed to be wasting it, by pouring it into water where it isn't needed, or onto the ground which is already green and where it can't help anyone anymore.
In
Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom, Rachel Pollack writes of the Magician card,
The life force that fills the universe is not gentle or benign. It must be discharged, grounded in something real, because our bodies, our selves, are not meant to contain it, but only pass it on...
We function best as a channel for energy. Unless we follow the path of the High Priestess in withdrawing from the world, we live our lives most fully when we create or are active. 'Create' does not mean simply art, but any activity that produces something real and valuable outside ourselves.
Many people experience feelings of being powerful so infrequently they try to hold on to them. By doing nothing they hope to preserve their magic moments. But we can really hold on to power in our lives only by constantly discharging it. By releasing creative power we open ourselves up to receive a further flow. However, by trying to hold on to it, we block the channels and the sense of power, which is really life itself, withers within us. The spectator at the football game, even the possessed church-goer, will find their excitement gone after the event that triggered it has ended. But the craftsman or scientist or teacher - or, for that matter, the Tarot reader - will find the power increase over the years the more they discharge it into physical reality.
This dynamic flow of energy is what I see as the message of
, even moreso than the Magician. To me, the biggest keyword for the card is FLOW. After the Tower dismantled the walls of ego and concept that fenced one in, tore apart the protective armor one used to shield oneself from the world's danger and pain, one is left naked, one's vulnerabilities exposed, like the lady in the card. Yet this lady is not afraid or self-conscious of her exposure. She is totally at peace because there is no energy block for her. Her heart is not hardened by past hurt. She has let it go. She is as comfortable in the world as a young child.
The woman on
is strong because she has unhindered access to sources of energy and power. What are those sources? Everything around her! How does she draw from everything around her? By giving freely of herself. When giving and receiving are in dynamic balance, one is in a state of equilibrium. In this state of equilibrium, energy flows freely because it is not restrained, dammed, or blocked anywhere. The point is not where, to what, or to whom she gives, but that she gives. The meaning and purpose is in the act itself. It is what keeps us connected and open to the world, and thus gives us energy and inspiration.
The woman on
reflects to me the person who has realized the Tao, the natural way of things. She does not try to grasp on to things, or push them away. She does not fight against life's constant flux, its impermanence. She gives naturally, knowing how and when to give based on her own intuition and understanding of her resources and energy. She is empowered precisely because she is receptive and open, unguarded. When we begin to try to hoard, or to resist things we don't like, we become disconnected from the energy sources available to us.
The posture of the
Star lady calls to mind the central figure of the
Six of Pentacles. But there is a distinct difference. The giving in the Six of Pentacles is measured, the giver making sure of precisely such things as whether what he is giving is really needed. The man on the Six of Pentacles would say, "Why pour water where there is already water? I should pour water on plants dying of thirst, or give it to a thirsty animal." There is nothing wrong with this approach, and it is even necessary at times. But such an approach can lead to blocked energy. The Star is more like the figures on the
Six of Cups, giving for the pure, innocent joy of giving. She gives simply because she has it to give, and as such, energy flows through her constantly, and she, like a child, is receptive to all the wonder in the world.