Haindl Tarot

XVII - THE STAR

HEBREW LETTER: TZADDI, "FISHHOOK"

RUNE: EH "HORSE"

ASTROLOGY: AQUARIUS

ELEMENT: AIR

The Tarot is deeply optimistic. No matter how bad the situation, no matter how explosive or destructive, the sequence of trumps tells us that disaster can clear the way for a new understanding. This, in fact, has been the case in the real world. Before the Second World War people in the West took racism and anti-Semitism for granted. When the Nazis carried such bigotry to depraved extremes, the world came to understand that it could not allow complacency about hatred. This kind of renewal forms the core value of the Star.

The Star is card 17, and 17 reduces to 8, the number of Strength in the Haindl Tarot. The two cards have much in common. The openness of Strength and the belief in the future are the qualities that fill the higher trump.

The Hebrew letter for the Star is Tzaddi, which means "Fishhook." The image suggests a fish drawn from the sea. Now, just as the sea represents the unformed energy of the unconscious, so a fish symbolizes that energy taking shape. A fishhook symbolizes the mind entering the mysteries of the High Priestess and bringing forth ideas, concepts, artistic beauty.

The Rune is Eh, or E. Literally, this means "Horse," an animal considered holy by Indo-Europeans from India to Scandinavia. The Rune was often seen as Sleipnir, the eight-legged horse Odin rode on his travels between the worlds. Thus, Eh is a Rune integrating the different levels of existence.

Notice that the Rune reverses the Rune for Justice, which is Necessity. Necessity showed the principle of contraction or harshness in universal law. In the Star, we see the principle of expansion, of joy and new growth. Eh is a Rune of trust and loyalty. It calls us to believe in the Earth and the hope of renewal.

The astrological sign for the Star is Aquarius, one of the four fixed points of the zodiac. Aquarius means "water-carrier"; the symbol for it derives from the Egyptian hieroglyph for water. With all this, we would expect the element for Aquarius, and therefore for the card, to be Water. In fact, as the white border shows, the element is Air. We can understand this if we look again at the symbol, which shows waves - that is, wind stirring up water. This indicates thought bringing out ideas from the depths of the unconscious. Aquarius is the sign of visionaries, teachers, and inventors. Aquarius is also the sign of the New Age, the coming two thousand years. Aquarius, therefore, fits very well with the card of renewal.

The picture shows a woman at the bottom of a bare rocky hill where a stream of water splashes into a pool. She is washing her hair, a simple human act, yet the gesture of bowing her head becomes an act of unity with the Earth. The woman's hair blends into the water, recalling both the High Priestess, whose hair becomes a rain of light, and the Hanged Man, whose hair grows into the hillside like roots. We can see the rock through the woman's hair. At the bottom of the cascade of hair, and up near the scalp, there's a suggestion of red, as if the woman washes out blood from a wound. (This interpretation of a wound is mine, rather than something indicated by Haindl.) We see this red in the water, though only a trace mingled with brown, as if the wound is old and only needs cleansing. Like the High Priestess's river, the water is dark, impenetrable. At bottom right, however, we see bright colors, recalling the peacock from Justice and Death. Though we only see the pool, the pool may lead to a river and the river, in turn, to the sea, for the water appears to flow.

The rock is old and pitted, especially at the bottom right. We do not see any flowers here or grass or trees, but only the Earth's oldest forms: water and rock. The holes in the rock merge with the holes in the woman's dress, as barren as the hill. The dress suggests age, not only because of the ragged hem but also because it displays no decoration or individual style. It simply protects the woman.

Above her shines a cluster of stars, seven small ones and one large double star. The total is nine, the number of the Hermit; or, if we count the double as one, the total is eight, the number of Strength. In the ring of seven small stars we see subtle suggestions of rainbow colors. We know from the Hanged Man that these colors also radiate from the chakras, a connection between the heavens and individual human beings. The big double star in the middle is one star on top of the other; instead of two triangles producing six points, we have two pentacles producing ten points. The pentacle, remember, represents both Venus ( the Empress) and the human body. With the point up, the head - the place of reason - dominates. With the point down, the genitals - the place of passion - dominate. Here we see both combined, though the right-side-up pentacle appears in front. A white light shines from the center. The seven small stars suggest the Chariot; the ten points suggest the Wheel of Fortune. Together they make seventeen, the Star. Hermann Haindl did not make this connection consciously when he made the design.

The Tower gave us a picture of human arrogance leading to disaster. In the Star we see a picture of humility. Humility does not mean believing ourselves inferior or weak. It does not mean lowering ourselves before a church or ruling class. Such "humility," as Haindl says, only feeds someone else's pride. Instead, we simply need to recognize ourselves as part of nature. The woman in the picture does not bow her head to any secular or spiritual authority. She bends forward to join herself to the water. In German, the word for humility, demut, means courage to God.

The water flows beyond the picture, to a river or to the sea. As we move toward a New Age, we find the separate streams of humanity coming together. We can see this in the world communications network, in the concern for human rights in different countries, in various campaigns to ease suffering or end hunger. In religion, our time has seen something virtually unknown in human history - a drawing on many different cultures to form a new awareness, based not on doctrines but on people's experiences of God. We can look at violent religious fanaticism as a reaction against this powerful trend.

The bowing of the head recalls the Hanged Man. There, however, the picture suggested esoteric rituals as well as a renewal of values. In the Star, the gesture is a part of everyday life and therefore more real.

Earlier we saw that the Chariot, the Hanged Man, and the Star form a kind of trilogy. the Chariot exists in a mythic or shamanic world. The Hanged Man is closer to nature but with highly mythic overtones. In the Star we find one of the most naturalistic images in the whole deck. And yet the Star gives us a picture of mystical unity at the most basic level. For many religions, cleansing yourself forms the first step to unity with God. Christians become baptized to cleanse them of original sin and to become a new person. Jews go to the ritual baths; Hindus bathe in the Ganges; and Islamic people clean themselves five times a day, before prayers. In occult rituals, the seeker often washes and then puts on white robes.

The Chariot showed an androgynous figure mastering the dangers and terrors of life. The Hanged Man showed a male figure - Odin, emblem of patriarchy - giving up his arrogant sense of separation from nature. Odin literally hangs himself upside down. The Star shows a kind of consciousness that does not need such extreme measures. She bends down to wash her hair, and so becomes part of stone and water. With the star in the sky giving us fire and air, we find all four elements, not as in the mystic Grail emblems of, but in nature, in daily life.

The picture shows nature in its oldest forms. The woman, too, wears an old dress, with no design to signify culture. She is Gaia, the Mother of Life; in German, Erda, the Earth, the Ur Mother, origin of all things. In Greek myth Gaia is the first divinity, mother of Ouranos (Uranus), the Sky, who fathered Chronos (Saturn), who fathered Zeus (Jupiter), the ruler of the Olympian Gods. In the Star we return to Gala, past all the generations to our first Mother, the Earth.

Besides the idea of unity with nature, the bareness and simplicity of the card takes us back to life's origins. The Star gives us the courage to hope that our world will cleanse itself. Even if we suffer Tower-like disasters, life will continue.

Nor should we think of disasters as inevitable. In recent years people have talked of great horrors as necessary before the New Age can begin. We hear prophecies of war, of continents sinking, of two-thirds of humanity dying. People sometimes seem excited by these prospects, as if disaster would answer the pessimism or just the boredom of modern life. (On this question, see also Aeon.) The Tarot, however, teaches free will. If a reading shows a person heading for some great mistake, it allows for a change of direction. The same applies to our world. The Star does not just follow the Tower; it shows an alternative. We can change our ways. We just need the humility to bend down, to wash the world clean of violence and destruction.

DIVINATORY MEANINGS

The meanings for the Star are as direct as the picture. They speak of optimism, hope, openness. They say that the person either already has these qualities or can have them. Sometimes the Star comes after a period of troubles or a Tower-like upheaval in the person's life. Obviously, this aspect becomes stronger if the Tower (or some of the Swords cards) actually appear in the reading.

The Star is a card of renewal. The person has a chance to start over in some long-standing situation, or a new beginning becomes possible. The Star may require that the person go back to basic principles. If the person feels that life has become overcomplicated, then the card says to discover what really matters. What does he or she actually want? What has worked in the past? Can it work again? Has the person cluttered his or her life with unimportant commitments, or with desires that only seem important? Has a relationship gotten bogged down in too many minor arguments, too much, "I did this, you did that"? The Star says to find the most basic elements, the bare rock of reality and the flowing water of feeling. Notice that these recommendations go in a different direction than Justice, for example, which called for a careful examination of history. The Star goes back before all the history to find what truly matters. Both cards are valid but at different times. One reason to do readings is to get a sense of what approach to take in a given situation or as situations change.

This return to basics involves a cleansing. If the person has suffered or feels wounded in some way, he or she may want to look for a way to wash away the pain. For some people, this may mean a ritual, done alone or with friends. For others, it will mean finding good things in their lives, especially things that give them a sense of simplicity and hope. The appearance of the Star means renewal. We need to allow ourselves to experience it.

The Star means humility. It says to avoid acting out of pride or arrogance toward others. Humility does not require the attitude, "I don't matter. What happens to me is not important." Instead, humility tells us to recognize ourselves as part of something greater. This is the underlying basis of the optimism of the card. We can believe more easily in a future that does not depend entirely on our own efforts. When we see the Star, we know that life is on our side.

REVERSED

The qualities of the Star become blocked when it comes up reversed. The person fears for the future and finds it difficult to express action, particularly love. He or she may feel isolated. The Star reversed can indicate tension or anxiety.

The person has lost track of the basic issues in his or her life. In a specific situation the person has become too involved with details, especially if the reading deals with work. If it deals with relationships, the person may be focusing too much on history, especially resentment. The Star advises letting go of such things; reversed, it shows the person finding that difficult to accomplish.

If the person feels repressed or cut off from life, the reversed Star may indicate some old pain that needs exposure in order to cleanse the wound or allow renewal to emerge. In some readings this can reach back to childhood; in others, it will refer to some recent event. When reading for someone else, the reader may wish to discuss the possibilities with the person.

Ultimately, whether right-side-up or reversed, the Star means hope. Because of its powerful and simple image, the card works well in meditation. Let the picture move you; open up your emotions so that you experience yourself flowing into the Earth. While in Germany I had the opportunity to lead a guided fantasy using the Star and the Hanged Man. We saw ourselves climbing the World Tree with our roots deep in the rock and the stars above us among the leaves and branches. When we looked down from our high place we saw Gaia, the old woman washing her hair. Through that action, we allowed renewal and hope to enter our world and our own lives.