L'Etoile - how may it be read?

Reflecting on this card I keep coming to the conclusion that she/he is bathing. Its either dusk or dawn judging by the stars and the bird in the tree and here we have a naked woman (some say a male) kneeling and pouring water. Could she be cleansing her feet, but then why is she completely naked? In a reading situation what could that refer to? A cleansing ritual to dispel negativity perhaps, something inspirational, impulsive, uplifting? Some people may prefer to read the card in a more astrological way.

In a reading situation this card could be seen as performing a cleansing ritual, a mood enhancer perhaps.

Below, I attach the Hadar:

Hadar L'Estoille

This is one of those cards that sort of stops me in a reading, making me really take in the other cards surrounding it and think....what energies surround the individual, what forces/force come to bear upon the person/situation/reading. The Star itself is a gentle energy, a time of beauty, but in the daylight most stars are obscured.

The card reminds me that stars, celestial objects are above us, whether we see them or not, whether it is night or day, and those stars are bathing us in light and energy all the time that we are outside.

When I see the woman naked I think she is so comfortable, so at one with her surroundings, as if she trusts the ground, the trees, the birds, and the water to hold her in this place, in safety.

So what is it that holds her in this place of safety, and what is it that makes her believe that she is this safe? So safe that she can play beside a stream in daylight, knowing that other energies may be affecting her, and she welcomes them....or at least she doesn't fear them, and she allows them to work their magic.

That central star over head in line with the woman sometimes anchors me in the reading....and tells me that the person is right where they should be, at this particular moment in time. That all the earth turns and continues on, that the stars themselves know that the woman is there on the beach, that the bird sings her song, that the water ripples to the rhythm of her pulse and that all is synchronized to the moment of Now..and Now....and.....Now

Jean Flornoy's Noblet

Hi Moonbow,

If ignoring the usual (rider-waite) interpretation for this card, it seems to me that whatever she's doing is being done in semi-secret (under the night sky) and is something that is routinely familiar to her - she's both comfortable and attentative.

I also think the amount of stars shown is a clue. Not sure about the bird, the Ozzy Wirth deck (earlier than Rider-Waite) shows a butterfly..... at night!

Bee

Excellent insights! And so good that we are all seeing something different in the same card, it helps to build reading meanings.

Bernice I was referring to the bird in the Hadar and also my Grimaud. I guess if it IS a butterfly in the card then that would still make the timing dawn or dusk. Unless its a moth.... hmmm

If you look at the trees in the Noblet they are so much more controlled, tightly held together than in the Hadar. IN the Hadar there is more freedom, the Noblet speaks of a more precise and controlled world/worldview.

Part of that I think is the nature of the woodcut, and has to do with constrictions around carving, however even the woman holds herself more steadfastly. She is still naked, but there is a stiffness to her demeanor.

Further I wonder about the star shaped belly button. This has always interested me about the Noblet. That belly button has held my attention ever since I first popped the deck out of the box. Because indeed, it is like another star.

Could it be speaking to the idea that we ourselves are made of stardust? I also come form the more modern perspective when saying that the umbilical cord is like a tether, so when you see the old-fashioned spaceman you think of her on the tether, tied to the ship, floating ever so gently in space. Much like a baby floating on the end of the umbilical cord.

So that star, reminds us of our dependence upon a mother, reminds of us birth, and perhaps that we are indeed spiritual creatures before we are human beings? Perhaps the body itself is like a space suit? This costume that we zip into when we become earthlings?

Just a quick thought or two: Aquarius, the water carrier is also pouring out his water. I see that more than bathing, Moonbow*. I'm reminded of the Moon card with it's overt Cancer symbolism, and the Sun card with it's Gemini symbolism.

Bee, 8 stars 1+7=8 Justice, another woman.

Satori, I love the whole "querent's in the right place" thing. Yes.

Another thing: is the point of the card the Star? or the wo/man pouring out the water? Being human, we focus more on the humans in the cards (I"m thinking about the sun card, too). I suppose if it was just about the star there would be no enigmatic naked person with water jugs, now...

I have never found the Star card to be especially cuddly...as I told one client (when she popped up in response to his question about a new woman in his life)...she is cold, distant, and very bright.

I always get the impression she is more involved with an inner life ...doesn't care about being observed...probably used to it because of being so bright..
and ready to dump that water...so ready it preoccupies her totally.
We never carry anything forever...we always drop it, set it down, release it, pour it out.
To be a carrier is to also to be a releaser. Sometimes this comes up in a reading....like Linus and his blanket sometimes we aren't ready to begin pouring.
And also that it's time to look at the thing we are pouring out and where it's going to land.

The belly button star reminds me that we are made up of the very elements that make up a star...the only difference is our soul.
The Star card to me is the soul of all matter....the alchemy and mystery of that spark that created life.
Such a fine line...between a star and us...just a little tilt of the pitcher and we go from being contained, to being released into a form that can never be contained again.

The Star is that moment when you pause before you act...or don't act...it's that moment when you ask two questions at the same time...what if I do, what if I don't?

Anyway this is some of what the Star has taught me so far.

Focussing on how it may be read I can see that Lark, Bernice and Satori see the card in a similar way to how I may read it in that this person is very much involved in a personal activity, but in a possibly public area, she is alone and comfortable with herself but not shut off from the eyes of others.

In a reading situation I don't, yet, focus too much on the stars so much as what she is actually doing herself, and see her as a person involved in the situation at hand. The large star is there to light up her activity and give a sense of the time of day.

But its good to see how we each may read this card and whether each others' interpretations can be of use to us.

Had a thought about it being night-time..... when most people are asleep. Here she is, openly doing her thing without a stitch of clothing, fully revealed, illuminated beneath a bright starry sky. So that only those who are 'awake' will see her.

And the star in her belly-button (yes, everything in this time-space continuem is composed of the same celestial elements), maybe suggests that She herself is very aware/awake of some omni-truth, and the task she is bent on has a direct bearing on it.

'Sleeping people' would possibly think of this as a 'hidden' activity, if they were told about it. In this context the card has a rather arcane flavour........

The 8 stars: 8 = Justice. Astrologically speaking I also incline to this association. Perhaps it indicates 'eqillbrium' in this card....?

Bee

Edit: A bit later.....

1) Maybe in a reading it could indicate that someone (or series of events) is working towards a correctly balanced outcome of some situation?

2) May also mean that the querent is not seeing the wholeness or truth of something - or lacks perspective ?

3) As above (2), but the querent IS seeing and acting in accordance with the wholeness/truth of something....

Still mulling on this card..........

Bee