Starlight, star bright
First star I’ve seen tonight
I wish, I wish, I wish I might
Have the wish I wish tonight!
My name means ‘STAR’ so this has always been one of my favourite tarot cards. Star gazing, star-struck, star-crossed, stardust, stardom, starlit – our language is full of stars and being an astrologer, my own life is filled with stars. Stars have the power to lift us far above our ordinary daily life and help us reach for the skies.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star
How I wonder what you are
Up above the world so high
Like a diamond in the sky
Twinkle, twinkle, little star
How I wonder what you are.
STAR OF WONDER
When I lived in England, we didn’t get to see the stars very much or even the moon! Moving to Australia in my twenties, I became aware of the magic of the nightly show drifting by my bedroom window. Orion the Hunter would pass by, Scorpio with its great pincers, Castor and Pollux, the Seven Sisters – round and round they went, comforting me with their familiarity and brightness. Every evening this summer the great planet Jupiter has sailed by my own bit of sky, lighting up the heavens - King of the Gods.
When I was 21, I spent the summer working on a kibbutz in Israel. Each night the desert skies were filled with twinkling stars against a midnight blue background. The atmosphere was magical, peaceful and full of wonder…
We three Kings of Orient are
Bearing gifts we traverse afar
Field and fountain, moor and mountain
Following yonder star.
O star of wonder, star of night
Star of royal beauty bright
Westward leading, still proceeding
Guide us with thy perfect light.
WISDOM FROM THE STARS
Thousands of years ago, the priests and kings of Egypt and the Middle East used the stars to channel wisdom and knowledge from the heavens and direct moral and scientific law on earth. The word ‘con-sider’ means ‘to go with the stars’ and ‘dis-aster’, ‘to go against the stars’. All old and modern religions have an astronomical structure to them.
Individual fixed stars were considered to have their own power and sphere of cosmic influence while the calendrical influence of the constellations was important to show changes in seasons and weather. Stars were taken very seriously and were an important part of cultural life, used to relate cosmic myths and inspire artists. Stars were, quite simply, God’s will made manifest. This of course is where the word ‘divination’ comes from.
A few months ago I watched a documentary on the pyramids of Egypt. Historian and Egyptologist, Robert Bauval recently discovered that the relative sizes and detailed positioning of the great Giza pyramids are a faithful mimicry of the stars forming the belt in the constellation of Orion. The line up is geometrically perfect. And what of those mysterious ‘air shafts’ traveling from the centre of the great pyramids pointing directly towards the most Northerly and Southerly positions of Orion? Apparently, these were specially designed to project the soul of the deceased Pharaoh towards the heavens. How marvellous! This sort of thing blows me away far more than the microchip.
STAR CARD – TAROT MAJOR ARCANA
The Star card in the Tarot is made up of a one and a seven; one big star and seven satellite stars. I like to see the big star in the middle as the person’s higher self and the seven smaller stars as the planets - guiding the person on the cosmic journey and providing faith and comfort. If we add one and seven, we get the number eight, introducing the theme of power, balance and control.
The beautiful naked woman in the Star card represents the natural self that is beautiful because it is true. Those who are unafraid to express and love their true nature are creatures of God and blessed by the heavens with natural power and balance.
The Star represents our own unique talents shining through the expression of our birth charts and appears in readings when we need to remember our connection to the cosmos. Each one of us is a star in our own way.
WISHING UPON A STAR
“When you wish upon a star”, Walt Disney’s theme tune, is the perfect anthem for a man whose work inspired so many children and adults to believe in magic and follow their dreams. The song became a hit when sung by Jiminy Cricket in the children’s classic, ‘Pinocchio’. Here it is for those of us who need a reminder that dreams really do come true.
When you wish upon a star
Makes no difference who you are
Anything your heart desires
Will come to you.
If your heart is in your dreams
No request is too extreme
When you wish upon a star
As dreamers do.
Like a bolt out of the blue
Fate steps in and sees you through
When you wish upon a star
Your dreams come true.
Article published in The Magician (February 2002)
Official Journal of the Tarot Guild of Australia