It strikes me that influences don't get more "external" than the Star: abstract, remote, hard to get your head around, but no less potent for all that. Since the Star corresponds to the sign of Aquarius (basically "right now"), it could be an influence coming from a broader social perspective, maybe some kind of "group-think" that you're having trouble penetrating intellectually or philosophically. Aquarian impulses are "humanitarian," but mainly for those who hold a common viewpoint; others need not apply. So the Star could have a kind of exclusivity about it, maybe an exclusionary or "outsider" vibe. Perhaps you can "see the light" but can't quite "break through" that crystalline vision to the heart of the matter. As an external influence, it could mean that someone or something is slipping away from you, winking in and out of focus like a star in the evening sky; it may have to get darker (a "waiting game") before that focus snaps into place, since, as has been said, "Wishing won't make it so."
This is along the lines of what I was going to share. Could be a religious or spiritual practice in your environment that is "preached" and that you yourself are familiar with this preaching. Doesn't necessarily mean these particularly preaching are very effective. They may be true in their own right, but they may or may not be particularly useful in your own life's framework.
I always look at Star in external influence as being the quality of the "telescope lens" between you and the overall "universe".
For example, the bible would be the telescope lens to the Star which creates a path to serenity, peace and an understanding of faith and hope relative to the Christian. The difference is the bible is what is read to you that helps you to create a connection between you and the Stars (the secrets of the universe). Often, we look to the Stars, atheist, religious, spiritual or not with hope there is more to life than "just this". Many of us have frameworks that connect us with this thinking (of seeing more) and it comes to us as a form of divine inspiration of some "other-worldly" (read: Alien
) perspectives that we
hope is guiding us in the right directly.
When I see Star in external influences, I want to see how "clear" is my lens? Is it smudged? Is it cracked? Am I even pointing at the right object? For example, am I even seeing the depths of the universe or did I not aim high enough? In other words is the telescope pointed at some terrestrial object closer to the ground, like a mosque, a church or even the Tower.
For some people, the Star feels "forced". That is, they're given the telescope and told if they do their research, study it's workings thoroughly and look through, they will find a great many things to marvel that will "enlighten" their spirit and give them a sense of worldly exposure. Except, I know a great few people who couldn't use a telescope to save their lives. Hence many people give one for Xmas, only for it to gather dust as they can't ever "find" anything.
The condition of the Star's energy in the card could also hint how well you can see celestial objects in general. Sometimes we need higher level teachings or the teachings we have used in the past, we may have outgrown that "technology. For example, if we want to see a far off galaxy, we'll need a telescope with a higher "aperture". This not only increases the clarity, highest possible magnification of closer objects, but allows us to see more distance objects that otherwise are not visible to the naked eye or with weaker equipment. Also if you know anything about telescopes, the eyepiece itself that you put in has relative magnification that works only as well as the telescope... many stargazers keep a set of these to the side. So they need to be high enough to see stuff... so maybe that can also reflect the performance in the star, your ability to see beyond a certain point or without distortion because you're using budget equipment (like plastic eyepieces instead of glass). For example, when looking at the moon up close to see the "texture" better, we apply a filter.
Anyway, this can get super archaic, if we're go back to the time when Galileo was viewing the moons of Jupiter for the first time as well as the crescents of Venus which proved the Earth was not the center of the universe/solar system. This aided him to shape his core philosophies.
Sounds sorta complex, but I like to think of the Star being the "view port" of the mind, the clarity of our heart and the ability for us to sense and "hear" the underlying powerful rhythms of the universe. This aids us in finding peace as well as helping us to create an inner star map that helps us to find our way to where we belong... if we're following a bad system or it is somehow being mismanaged, then this can adversely affect this connection between us and the greater sense of the world, i.e. the universe. This can often offer greater insight of our general state of mind as well... or in the very least, our "mindset" towards the teachings that surround us.