The notorious occultist Aleister Crowley has said, “Every man and woman is a star”. The Star represents the ultimate value—or what Frederic Nietzsche called the ‘highest hope’. It is the first of ‘three lights’ in the major arcana, which are, respectively: the star, the moon, and the sun. (This triad represents three distinct alchemical phases: the star, a creative origin; the moon, a journey through darkness and fragmentation; and the sun, a great illumination.)
The star is a new beginning; it emerges after the apocalypse of the crumbling Tower. Contrary to the Tower Arcana, the star symbolises slow organic growth rather than manic haphazard construction. Its landscape is green and fertile but undeveloped, again contrasting with the dark and apocalyptic mood of the tower. After the dark night of the soul of the tower, the star offers new hope.
A naked woman pours out two jugs of water divided into five streams, symbolising the five senses. There are two trees—like in the Garden of Eden—yet one has a bird rather than a snake. Perhaps these two trees symbolise life and death, abundance and barrenness, knowledge and innocence—potential destinies. The woman is crowned with a seven-pointed diamond star, and seven smaller stars form a halo around her. There is an atmosphere of inspiration, abundance, fullness, and rejuvenation.
The star also represents direction: the ’pole star’ that orients us, or the star of Bethlehem that leads us to the Christ child. The ancients had star charts. Today we have google maps; we don’t look up at the sky much but down at our devices—we don’t see the landscape. On the other hand, the ancients spent a great deal of time looking up at the stars—both for pragmatic reasons like navigation and the sheer wonder at the vast expanse.
We know that the star's light comes from an ancient source, yet a star symbolises a future promise. Furthermore, the star in the shape of a diamond points to an indestructible yet transparent essence. The naked woman is not adorned by cultural artefacts (like the Priestess, for instance) but by nature herself.
Of course, even though the star represents hope, it could also mean naivety and innocence. When we are young, we don’t believe in death and decay—we take our energy for granted. Youthful energy is naked and unprotected—it sees horizons but not limits. And while a star shines, it can quickly be engulfed by darkness.
Today everybody wants to be a star. Stars in the media shine a bright charisma, but they are surrounded by predatory darkness. Movie stars, for instance, like Marlyn Monroe, Kurt Cobain, Arthur Rimbaud, Keats, and Jim Morrison, to name a few, had a brief shiny moment before being swallowed by premature death. For a start, there is the danger of glamour and narcissism, of gazing too long at one's reflection.
For a good reason, Nietzsche’s dancing star has great appeal to young people. Our sense of primordial wonder is most intense when we are young and discovering our own ‘dancing star’. The youth need the vitality of chaos and to break down the Apollonian rigidity with Dyonesian glee and primal experience—the star could mean sacrifice. Balancing and walking the tightrope between these two forces—nature and artifice—the Dionysian and the Apollonian. This is the job of the one who follows the creative star.
To conclude, a star is something that guides us from a distance, which intimates a possibility. It is the first glimpse of enlightenment, fullness, and redemption—at the same time, it is distant and inspires longing. The star symbolises one’s unique identity, quality, and highest hope. ‘Hold high your highest hope’, said Frederic Nietzsche’s Zarathustra—who also said: ‘You must have chaos to give birth to a dancing star’.
This article is part of a consideration of our study group on symbolism and Psychomagic. If you want to become a member and join one of our study groups, please write to me at andrewpgsweeny@gmail.com or check out the events calendar below for more details.
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