For the better part of this past year we've been traveling through the major arcana. We've discovered the pathway of the development of a healthy personality, learned the qualities of an enlightened mind, and have come to an understanding that a truly meaningful life depends on a harmonious working relationship between the conscious and subconscious minds. As the journey has continued, we've felt the effects of influences beyond our control and received guidance regarding the most positive ways to deal with change. By the time we passed through the forces expressed in Death into the highly energized state found in Temperance, it's possible that we may have also stumbled into a vague understanding of another great truth that is told in the Tarot: We are not really separate beings, isolated and alone. The states of mind demonstrated throughout the major arcana are intrinsic to the human condition, shared by all of us. The journey revealed through the triumphs is a thread that ties us together, countless souls on a common pilgrimage.
Most recently our trek has ushered us through conditions of extreme emotionalism, unreasonable restrictions and the sudden breakdown of former beliefs. We emerge from that chaos to find a familiar face, someone who we've already met several times along the way. Who is the woman in The Star, and where else have we found her?
This is Hathor, most ancient of Earth Goddesses, known in her earliest form as the Horned Cow Goddess. Hathor is Mother Nature in her most benevolent aspects. Fishing in the waters of the subconscious for the unknown, Earth Mother greets us with the gift of meditation and points the way towards psychological healing. She stirs the pool of universal consciousness and creates vibrations that are the beginnings of new ways of thinking. The healing power of meditation is the focus of The Star, and is the key to regenerating the Spirit following the effects of The Devil and The Tower. It's also instrumental for the control of the lower instincts that reside in the personality, as shown in Strength.
Hathor has appeared in a variety of forms as we've traversed the Fool's Journey, beginning with the Hoigh Priestess, who refers to the ancient Horned One with the crescents on her head and at her feet. Earth Mother bursts forth in The Empress and again in Strength, then wields the sword of Justice that follows the turning of the Wheel of Fortune, on which her name in inscribed in its archaic form, ATOR. The four triumphs that represent Earth Mother-The Empress, Strength, Justice and The Star-have a powerful rapport between them, which is to be considered when they present together in a reading. The energies in these cards work in concert.
Symbolically, the knee on the Earth and the foot on the water suggest balance between the physical realm and the subconscious mind. Water flowing into the pool signifies interaction with cosmic influences, while that pouring onto the ground indicates a modification of the five senses. The Star is a promise that meditation has the power to heal not only the mind, but the body as well. The seven small stars in the background represent the seven chakras.
I a reading, the appearance of The Star always encourages the practice of meditation and points the way towards psychological healing. A person represented by this card will be highly intuitive and eager for the truth. Courage, loyalty, hope, inspiration, unselfish aid, gifts of the Spirit and great love are qualities that are associated with this triumph. This is someone with a strong commitment to the common good.
Meditate on The Star to quiet your mind and develop new ways of thinking.
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