L'Etoile - how may it be read?

Satori

Moonbow*....sort of crucial here as we are all sort of getting used to the idea of...How It MAY Be Read.


-She may be a man, esp. the Noblet shows a more androgynous figure, and thus he doesn't care so much about nudity.

-He/She may be insane, escaped from a nearby village where he/she was in the stocks. <grin>
 

Moonbow

Glad to see people still mulling over this card, sometimes its good to revisit cards and see something completely different. One of the blessings of this deck. :)

How about someone starting another card, or adding to the existing ones in the index? Anyone game?
 

Jasmeen

Bird & Butterfly

In a medieval point of view it could be said Etoille is a SOUL - it could be our personal soul pouring its own experiences into collective ocean of Anima Mundi. Why are there later bird, or lately, butterfly?

In ancient Greek butterfly is called PSYCHE - they used the same term for butterfly and soul.

I feel this card as a little confirmation - "yes, it seems behind this surface is really hidden your own path". :)

I think Noblet is great due to its' additive numbering. According to Jodorowsky - X.VII - it is exalted Chariot, it means your proper place (or direction) in a river of life. You act (Chariot) on the right place and in the right time (Star).
 

Promise

My own observations from the Payen:

When I imagine the scene taking place before me, I imagine L'Etoile not only emptying her vessels into the river but drawing water from the very same source, coming full circle. Something lost is something gained, equivocal exchange, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Depending on the surrounding cards, this can be a very positive outlook or a very dismal one.

The other thing that strikes me about L'Etoile is her facial expression; her eyes are deeply sad to me, yet the corners of her mouth are turned upwards in the beginnings of a smile. She mourns for what she is losing but knows that all things happen for a reason and that her sadness will be met with great rewards when the time is right.

L'Etoile can also suggest to me that one is in the right place at the right time, a place of security and comfort, where the true self can exist without identity being assigned by clothing or the light of the Sun casting shadows. L'Etoile is exposed yet she continues emptying her vessels, seemingly unaffected. This, to me, is the ultimate equilibrium that humans can experience.
 

Teheuti

I see her as doing a ritual, especially one that seeks to come into alignment or harmony with the rhythms and patterns of Nature, especially the patterns in the stars.

Jasmeen mentions Psyche. The maiden also reminds me of the Greek Psyche, who as a result of breaking the admonition of not looking at Eros, had to go through a series of tests set by Aphrodite. One of these involved filling a flask with waters from the river Styx. She was even assisted by a bird—in her case, an eagle (not seen on the Noblet card). It's interesting that Psyche's next task involved a descent into the underworld - similar to sense of the Moon card.
 

Bernice

Teheuti said:
I see her as doing a ritual, especially one that seeks to come into alignment or harmony with the rhythms and patterns of Nature, especially the patterns in the stars. (The eqillbrium I mentioned? Bee)

Jasmeen mentions Psyche. The maiden also reminds me of the Greek Psyche, who as a result of breaking the admonition of not looking at Eros, had to go through a series of tests set by Aphrodite. One of these involved filling a flask with waters from the river Styx. She was even assisted by a bird—in her case, an eagle (not seen on the Noblet card). It's interesting that Psyche's next task involved a descent into the underworld - similar to sense of the Moon card.
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This is an interesting observation re. the post-Noblet decks. I know next to nothing of Psyche (except her name), so after her descent into the underworld (poss. Moon card), what happened to her next. Did she end up rejoicing (The Sun) ?

Bee :)
 

Bernice

Many thanks Mary. (Shades of Beauty & the Beast... I'm guessing that's where the tale originated from.)

So yes! The Sun did come out for her - reunited with her love/husband and immortal to boot!

Very fitting story-line for those trumps. :) :)

Bee
 

tigerlily

I may have found an explanation for the two pitchers here:

Alchemy explains the cosmos as the result of the Luminous Agent exploding out of the Primordial Darkness and acting on the Primal Mud (which was discussed in "Water"). Since Fire is separating (Hot) and inflexible (Dry), the effect of Heat on the Primal Mud is to rarefy the Watery part and to condense the Earthy part. That is, through its Heat the Luminous Agent causes separation, so the part of the Primal Mud that retains its Moisture becomes Water, and the part that retains its Coolness becomes Earth; thus the two Elements separate.
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Highlighting is mine. So the Luminous Agent would be the preceding (exploding!) Tower, separating the Primal Mud into Water (the vessel being poured into the lake) and Earth (the other one being poured onto the land). I mean, alchemy could have influenced the design of the card, couldn't it?
 

Sophie

Alternatively, the maiden with the two jugs derives from the much older images of the healing and sacred water-goddesses - such as Coventina (in Britain), which I link below. These water goddesses and this type of iconography were common throughout the Mediterranean and Celtic worlds, and remained in use long after Christianity took over as the religion of the people - sometimes the maiden was said to be the Vouivre, a mythical female water creature who gave fertility to barren women; and sometimes, Mary in her role as healer. Many springs in France had past associations with healing goddesses, and now have present associations with either fairies, other Otherworld entities, or with the Virgin Mary (Lourdes being the best known).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hope-coventina01.jpg


Furthermore, Alain Bocher has argued that the etymology of L'Etoille is Le Toulle, which we can see on some of the older decks, meaning the spring in old Occitan. Even if we don't accept that linguistic link (it might also be a play on words, in the language of birds), the iconographic and mythical link between stars, springs and healing goddesses is the most compelling origin for this card - and to me, the best way to read it :)
 
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