rachelcat
Hello. I'm going to start a new Star thread as a general study thread, NOT about Star/Emperor stuff. (Well, not EXCLUSIVELY about that, but it would be fine to MENTION it in a study post!)
So here's my IDS study for the Star.
This is the goddess Nuith, who is also the Empress, and the Sky in Aeon, and Binah, the great mother of the third Sephiroth, and Babalon of Lust. The large globe in the background is the celestial sphere, so she is outside/above the created universe. She pours spirit from her golden cup and life from her silver cup. She is also Venus, the star that is highlighted on the globe (because of its 7 points). The star outside the globe is also 7-pointed. It is the symbol of Babalon. So we might think there is some kind of hierarchy of goddesses here:
Binah, the Great Mother or Great Sea, a sephiroth above the abyss
Star, outside the celestial sphere (and on the hey path crossing the abyss)
Nuit, the sky on Aeon, the sky we see from earth
Empress, the loving earth herself (but on a path completely above the abyss!)
Lust/Babalon, an earthy, sexy goddess who looks like she’s underground on her card
Queens and Princesses, personifications of the letter hey, also, like the Star
BUT—here is Babalon’s seal outside the celestial sphere, high above the Star. Does that mean the goddesses are interchangeable? I’m pretty sure these are all just aspects of the same Goddess, anyway. Just trying to make sense of it all . . .
Crowley points out that everything here is a spiral except the emanations from the lower cup. Life DOES seem to follow a straight line. We’re born, we live, we die. But we all know life is more spiral than most things—we’re born, we give birth, etc. He says Zoaster said God has a spiral force.
Most of Crowley's chapter on the Star is a quote from the end of the first chapter of the Book of Law. So I guess a trip over to the BofL study threads is in order. The quote is mostly about how to worship and welcome the Goddess into your life. Basically, "All rites of pleasure are my rites." Which is interesting for such a seemingly virginal, etherial card.
What’s with the tiny butterflies and roses? Life and rebirth, of course, but I don’t really associate that with the Star. More with the upcoming Aeon. And crystals grow, too, as mentioned in the Priestess card. I guess the Star is the beginning of the process of life and rebirth, which will come to fruition in the Aeon.
Snuffin explains about the City of the Pyramids in Binah, the dwelling place of adepts who have crossed the abyss. Good to know. I wondered why there are mountains outside the celestial sphere. Now I know they are pyramids on Binah. But it looks like there is an ocean between the pyramids and the Star. That must be the abyss.
Crystals: Snuffin says there are 7 20-sided crystals. That means they’re icosahedra, symbolic of water. Maybe they are above-the-abyss water of heaven?
What is the connection to Aquarius? “The individualist, the wise fool, bringing innovation to the world. I know that I don’t know anything.”
In a reading: The free gift of the universe to you. You will be blessed and uplifted. The goodness of spirit and life will be poured out for you.
So here's my IDS study for the Star.
This is the goddess Nuith, who is also the Empress, and the Sky in Aeon, and Binah, the great mother of the third Sephiroth, and Babalon of Lust. The large globe in the background is the celestial sphere, so she is outside/above the created universe. She pours spirit from her golden cup and life from her silver cup. She is also Venus, the star that is highlighted on the globe (because of its 7 points). The star outside the globe is also 7-pointed. It is the symbol of Babalon. So we might think there is some kind of hierarchy of goddesses here:
Binah, the Great Mother or Great Sea, a sephiroth above the abyss
Star, outside the celestial sphere (and on the hey path crossing the abyss)
Nuit, the sky on Aeon, the sky we see from earth
Empress, the loving earth herself (but on a path completely above the abyss!)
Lust/Babalon, an earthy, sexy goddess who looks like she’s underground on her card
Queens and Princesses, personifications of the letter hey, also, like the Star
BUT—here is Babalon’s seal outside the celestial sphere, high above the Star. Does that mean the goddesses are interchangeable? I’m pretty sure these are all just aspects of the same Goddess, anyway. Just trying to make sense of it all . . .
Crowley points out that everything here is a spiral except the emanations from the lower cup. Life DOES seem to follow a straight line. We’re born, we live, we die. But we all know life is more spiral than most things—we’re born, we give birth, etc. He says Zoaster said God has a spiral force.
Most of Crowley's chapter on the Star is a quote from the end of the first chapter of the Book of Law. So I guess a trip over to the BofL study threads is in order. The quote is mostly about how to worship and welcome the Goddess into your life. Basically, "All rites of pleasure are my rites." Which is interesting for such a seemingly virginal, etherial card.
What’s with the tiny butterflies and roses? Life and rebirth, of course, but I don’t really associate that with the Star. More with the upcoming Aeon. And crystals grow, too, as mentioned in the Priestess card. I guess the Star is the beginning of the process of life and rebirth, which will come to fruition in the Aeon.
Snuffin explains about the City of the Pyramids in Binah, the dwelling place of adepts who have crossed the abyss. Good to know. I wondered why there are mountains outside the celestial sphere. Now I know they are pyramids on Binah. But it looks like there is an ocean between the pyramids and the Star. That must be the abyss.
Crystals: Snuffin says there are 7 20-sided crystals. That means they’re icosahedra, symbolic of water. Maybe they are above-the-abyss water of heaven?
What is the connection to Aquarius? “The individualist, the wise fool, bringing innovation to the world. I know that I don’t know anything.”
In a reading: The free gift of the universe to you. You will be blessed and uplifted. The goodness of spirit and life will be poured out for you.