I ran across an interesting piece of information in Waite's
Lamps of Western Mysticism [1923] that shines additional light on the symbolism of the Star. The same information is in
Studies in Mysticism [1906]. Waite talks about the symbolism of the "star of Venus" but doesn't identify it as an eight-pointed star; however the star of Venus is virtually always an eight-pointed star.
In the following quote Waite is discusses a book entitled
The Mystery of the Cross [1732], by a certain mystic Douze-Tems. I apologize for the lengthy quote but usually it's impossible to quote Waite with context.
"I must confess perhaps to some personal predilection derived from strange ways of reading, if I express the opinion that it is probably from the later Kabalists that Douze-Tems drew part at least of the intellectual generosity which is one of his most attractive characteristics. There is nothing to shew that he knew them at first hand, but there were many treasures of learning then available in Latin books which presented Jewish theosophy as an eirenicon [means of reconciliation] between the Law of Moses and the Law of Christ, and which sought at once to lay the foundation of lasting peace in Israel and to heal the many dissensions of the several sects in Christendom. From sectarian bitterness Douze-Tems was wholly free, and though certainly not a Catholic he speaks invariably with an enlightened indulgence towards the Latin Church and its mystery which, at his period, was exceedingly rare in those who did not belong to it. As the work is so little known and in no sense readily accessible, I must not permit it to be inferred that its Rosicrucian and Kabalistic connections make The Mystery of the Cross beyond measure obscure and difficult. On the contrary, it is a manageable treatise which, supposing discrimination in the student, is full of wise guidance and ministries at the initial stages of the life within. It has, in an unusual degree, that seal of conviction which I have already mentioned; in spite of certain limitations that are sufficiently obvious, it is the work of a man who has been in those high places of which he discourses, and there will be the less disposition to challenge his claim to the use of one daring statement which appears in his first lines: Absque nube pro nobis [for us there are no more clouds, or veils]. It is drawn from one of the memorials of the Rosy Cross. What was that mystery which for him had ceased to be clouded and of which he claims to have written both “within and without”—that is to say, with a plain external sense and yet with an inward meaning? Who was this pilgrim through eternity who could cite yet another maxim: Dulcia non meruit qui non gustavit amara [They are not entitled to the sweet who have not tasted the bitter]—which bitterness is actually the experience of that cross, the mystery of which he unfolds? He says further, with the Rosicrucian Masters who went before him: In cruce sub sphæra venit sapientia vera [At the cross one approaches the realm of true wisdom]. Here there is no opportunity to discuss questions of symbolism, but the simple planetary figure of the star Venus represents, for those who used it after this concealed fashion, the crucifixion of love issuing in [leading to] that wisdom which is not of this world, and is love itself in resurrection. Those who are acquainted with symbolism may be disposed to regard the apparently obscure allusion as one of the keys which open the closed entrance to the particular palace of Douze-Tems; for, in its final understanding, the work of the mystic can only present itself to the mind as a part of the work of that love which produced the whole universe in consequence of an infinite clemency. In this case, the bitterness which is inseparable from the Cross of advancement is the essential acerbity [bitterness] of election, whereby that which is gross is transmuted, and this realised, the darkness of all the Carmels [a mountain of initiation] is indeed no longer clouded."
By bitterness Waite's not talking about asceticism or severe self-denial, but the unavoidable struggles that confront a person on the path of return. He says the star of Venus represents a crucifixion of love, leading to wisdom that's not of this world, which, as he explains it, is love resurrected. This is something I haven't encountered in Waite before and I'm not sure what to make of it, but the imagery in the Star seems to reflect it. The tree, the hill it's on and the Ibis all make more sense now. Earlier in this thread I contemplated the idea there might be some crucifixion symbolism at play here and there does seem to be. The mount that the tree's on represents the ascent on the path of initiation. The tree stands for the cross, or mystical crucifixion. And the bird is love resurrected, or the higher wisdom attained.
*Edit to add: After thinking about this, the idea of "crucifixion of love" seems to follow Waite's "Christ-life formula" which plays an important role in the higher grades of the Fellowship of the Rosy Cross, being:
Adeptus Minor = Life and crucifixion
Adeptus Major = Death and Burial
Adeptus Exemptus = Resurrection
Adeptus Exaltatus = Ascension
Wisdom and love can be thought of as almost interchangeable. The crucifixion of love being symbolically the crucifixion of Christ and his love (wisdom) on one level, the human level; and then resurrected to a new level, the cosmic level. All this being symbolic of transformations occuring within the initiate him or herself.