Right from the beginning of time, the stars in the sky have inspired hope, awe, beauty, and dreams. In the tradition of the Tarot, the star stands for rebirth, renewal, and most of all, faith.

As a symbol, it connects us to those corners which are lit by our belief in the better, happier, lighter days, even when the outside is replete with stress, mayhem, and chaos.

The star encourages us to believe in our heart’s desires, those cherished wishes which we have the will to manifest.

Here are three reminders from the star for us to carry through:

Optimism: the ability to feel happy

Staying positive is primal when it comes to thinking about our goals. The star conventionally represents a bright, elated outlook and a period in which life begins to finally come together.

In contemporary interpretations, the glittery spread in the sky reminds us to stay close to our wishes, keep our bucket list in place and work towards them with a renewed vigor every single day. It could be a daily routine like meditation, or a weekly self-love ritual, or an afternoon tea breather. These keep the fuel of positivity intact.

Do go ahead and indulge in that yummy waffle you have been craving without regrets because those dopamines and serotonins need a regular boost.

‘Hope springs eternal’ is an indication that being in a happy zone encourages positive expectations about our life goals. This, in turn, gears us up to work better, faster and stronger to reach our heart’s destinations, however, far they feel to be.

The star is a reminder to bring our good fortunes home, because, we’ve got the power!

Inspiration: the ability to be open and receptive

During the pandemic, many of us lost a lot, but one of the most important of all that loss was our ability to stay inspired and motivated. So many of us lost direction because every ounce of our future plans vanished in the snap of a finger.

When we lose the ability to trust in the outcome, our inner light fades part by part, event by event, cell by cell. We become overwhelmed with doubts about ourselves and others.

It seems like rocket science to connect back to the purpose and find that drive and inspiration within and outside. We are back to square one, at times, and other times, confused.

The star conveys that if we are open and receptive, inspiration can come from anywhere, even in the dark, unlit, walls of our minds. For instance, while on my way home one evening, I noticed a cat visiting her kittens under the building stairs and nobody knew about it.

They looked hungry, so I fed them bread and played with them. While at it, I made a conscious effort to set aside the week’s disappointments, and stayed in that moment, a brief time-out, which made me feel good, which I would definitely have missed on any regular day.

That’s when I realized I should be doing this more often. So I’ve been practicing mindfulness lately, and it has opened up the opportunity for richer and fuller experiences.

The silent city dawns that come with the lockdown, the hustle of the traffic that follows after, 
the spicy whiffs from Mom’s food, the dried flowers inside that heavy book, 
you so carefully kept for some school craft project, 
the colors that set on a white curtain against the afternoon sun,
talking to your beloved plants, calling an old friend, 
the chai biscuit conversations, or quiet reflections! 
There is so much to notice and observe, in and around! 
Look for them, find what works for you, and do it!

Efforts: ability to declutter/offload

For us to find that magic, our hearts need to be unloaded and vacant, a release from the difficulties and disappointments, from the pressures and stresses. Now, how in the world is that going to be easy at all?

The star comes to tell us that our efforts might not seem too big but they are significant. These petit shots of labor will add up to the mountain of prosperity and abundance that we seek. Every single effort is a block in place to build the mansion, and so we must treat it. We can recognize our steps and appreciate them, for starters.

More often, even when we ignore or simply don’t notice that little nail holding the handle of a cooking pan, hidden and darkened, it remains a vital part of that structure. So while we carry our organs, bones, and chores around like bots, in superficial harmony, we lose the senses that make us alive.

Recognizing and appreciating our efforts towards our goals is essential for us to hold on to a sense of purpose. The stove pan will function once the nail comes off and with it, the handle.

But then we have to hold it with a pair of mitts because bare hands aren’t heatproof after all! Once we ignore the nail or the smallest effort, it travels to oblivion and we stop doing it somehow because it’s just a tiny nail, right? We can manage with the gloves!

We have better things to do than take a 5-minute break and center ourselves or re-read our wish list or put that nail back in place! Who will update our social reels if we spend half a day without our devices? What harm could one night of labored insomnia do anyway?!

The beautiful star corresponds to the element of air. Keeping a buoyant and resilient mind is a step towards the realization of our wishes. The habit of clearing the unwanted extensions helps us recenter, appreciate what we have done and been doing, and feel happier and lighter.

It is only when we are in a lifted and higher state that we get creative to reach a particular somewhere, we see the opportunities where there are none, we feel confident in the midst of uncertainty, we find fortitude in a breaking situation.

Consider this. In our wish lists, some of us have self-love as a goal. Daily business is seldom forgiving and weekends are caught up in prepping that daily business to run with plans and strategies, back-ups, and solutions. What’s left are the hours of sleep, we so struggle to get, with all those Formula 1 races of thoughts and visions in our heads.

Chanting, ‘I love myself or mai apni favorite hun’, in the midst of all that is definitely not enough.

But during the day or night, if we can find a quiet space, a place to pause, do a simple ritual of breathing, or anything that is a quick getaway from everything around, that’s where we offload all the extras and we start creating the landscape for our self-love to manifest.

The technique is special to each of us. The effort is keeping up to that routine and not compromising it most often. When we do forget, we go back to the star to help us remember.

The star is one of the many fascinating figures and imagery used in the Tarot. Though the interpretations of the Tarot have evolved through time, their underlying qualities of guidance and insight remain. Many of the translations have been inclined towards mental health.