Liminal/New Liminal Tarot - Star

[Bodhiseed]

 

17 – Star

 

A star-shaped figure, flanked on each side by three stars, pours out two pitchers of water. One pitcher creates five streams and the other a small pool. The trees are bare; a large bird sits atop one tree.

 

The Fool arrives in this desolate, green-less landscape feeling miserable, as if life has ground him beneath her heel.  I like to imagine the five streams in the Star as the five rivers in the Underworld that he’s traveled through up to this point:

          Styx – ‘abhorrence’ – Hanged One

          Lethe – ‘oblivion’ – Devil

          Cocytus – ‘wailing’ – Death

          Phlegethon – ‘fire’ – Tower

          Acheron – ‘misery’ – Star

Thankfully, his misery doesn’t last too long because the Star pours out the waters of life onto the earth. The bird sends him a message that the Star is his bridge, allowing him to cross over to the healing waters of the pool (like the thermal pool Athena created for Hercules to heal in after his labors). The Star is also a guide*, leading him back to his true self instead of blindly trusting others or his ego. She teaches him about discernment, the ability to see clearly beyond his emotions, wishes, and opinions.  He learns the necessity of being mindful and adaptive, of having wise hope without expectations attached, and of keeping an open mind instead of leaning on his pride.

*The constellation Pleiades (Seven Sisters) is one of the nearest clusters to the earth and can be seen with the naked eye, thus it has been used for navigational purposes.

 

“Sometimes when you’re overwhelmed by a situation – when you’re in the darkest of darkness – that’s when your priorities are reordered.” —Phoebe Snow