I’ve never understood the constellations. Still don’t. I couldn’t point out a single one and name it. But every winter it has become my habit to step into my back garden look up, considering their distance and their mystery. The way that their light travels from unfathomable distances to appear in my winter sky, like diamonds sewn into black cloth, reminds me of my smallness like nothing else. It felt like the ideal card to post the day before Christmas. (Although I recognise that most people who read this blog will come to it later, potentially at any time of the year!)

In most classic tarot decks, eight stars beam brightly in the sky, with one large, central star grabbing our attention the most. Below, a naked woman pours water from two jugs. The water of one jug lands in a pool, the other lands on the earth. A bird perches on a tree in the background, its wings stretched out as if it is ready to take flight (or perhaps it has just landed). It looks relaxed.

The word ‘inspiration’ is often associated with this card. Many people talk about The Star as a card that shows up when they ask questions about ‘finding themselves’. I never quite understood that; I couldn’t see how the image suggested such a thing, but it is clear to me now.

We might understand the idea of ‘finding ourselves’ to imply engaging in a Chariot-like process, forcing our ego on the world, picking up identities to wear like badges, declaring them as ‘who we are’. But after the shock of The Tower / House of God, comes The Star: the true self becomes known. The process of letting go, rather than searching, truly reveals who we are.

The woman in The Star pours away the identities that she doesn’t need. She exposes herself in the most vulnerable of positions: naked, outdoors, in the starry night. She has stripped herself bare of all of her labels and identities, knowing them to be false representation of her true self. She is completely alone but she doesn’t care if anyone sees her, because this isn’t for an audience one way or another. Instead of throwing on those old outfits that she was fond of before the shocking flash of The Tower struck, she now chooses to wear nothing at all.

What does that mean, to live a life that rejects labels? (As much as is possible, anyway.) It means allowing yourself to change your mind about things. It means that if you’re defending your ‘position’ in an argument, simply because you have identified with that position in the past, then you stop for a moment; you listen to what the other person says and you allow yourself to change your mind if it makes sense. It means if you hear a song by that artist who you hated in your teens and you secretly like it, you just play the bloody song and dance around the room to it. It means that, as often as is possible, you tune in with what Tarot readers so often call ‘your intuition’. (Although sadly, I feel that intuition is mistaken for illogical prejudice far too often).

To take this attitude out into Nature is one of the most healthy things that we can do for our connection to life. It is so easy to experience the same natural objects and creatures when we are outdoors: noticing the same things confirms our life stories. Check it out in yourself. When you go for a walk in a familiar place, what direction do you look in? What are your habits? Are any of the fixtures on your walk unconsciously grasped at because they build up your sense of identity? Why is it that you repeat this patterned attention?

Notice all of this, and then try shifting. Walk in the same place, but look in another direction. Imagine that you have never been here before. Throw off your habits. Walk as if you were naked on the inside, pouring away your unnecessary stories and labels. Move with the openness of our naked friend in The Star. See what happens.

And if you do happen to be reading this at a time of year when there are more darker skies, just look up! Tarot cards can be beautifully literal when it comes to Nature connection. Just look up! Marvel at the vastness up there! We are a mystery.

That’s all for now, friends. If you celebrate Christmas, then Happy Christmas! And if you’re reading this in the future on a summer’s day, then Happy Summer! (Or perhaps you are in Australia and it’s both…..)

Thank you for being here – and please check out my Therapeutic Tarot Sessions if you’d like us to work together. You can also sign up for the Tarot Blog newsletter (different to my main newsletter) below to receive occasional email updates (roughly monthly) with the latest posts.

Smiles from Scotland,

Stephen