The Star, the Moon and the Sun: An Optical Analogy
AUTHOR’S NOTE: Here I’m using the analogy of a telescope to examine the transition between the three consecutive “lights” of the Major Arcana.
As the series of tarot trumps nears its end, we are faced with the necessity of refocusing our view of the world from all angles — mental. emotional, spiritual and practical — as the perspective first zooms out (Star), then dramatically in (Moon) and finally out again to acquire a steady fix on the “way things really are” (Sun). The fall of the Tower has left us wide open to fresh inspiration, while Judgement and the World beckon us to remake our reality.
The Star is remote and relatively inaccessible by ordinary means, requiring us to stretch our consciousness to the limit in striving to apprehend its subtleties. It reminds me of peering into the “wrong end” of a refractor telescope, which reduces anything in the field of view to tiny proportions. In that sense, it could be seen as “whispering in our ear” in its small, crystalline voice rather than speaking loudly and plainly to our understanding of circumstances. The display may be crystal-clear but it is reduced to an indivisible minuteness, making it nigh-impossible to appreciate its jewel-like nuances without unduly straining for clarity. Expect innate lucidity and precision but not necessarily amplification. Given the exaggerated difficulty in fathoming the significance of this distant eminence, we may simply scratch our head in puzzlement, fall back on wishful thinking and hope for the best. The popular trend is to see this card as implicitly positive when in fact its meaning is often inscrutable and the experience of it either neutral or utterly passive. If we’re tired of drama, this may be a good thing as we let its mild, attenuated rays wash over us. In its coolness it can be a card of serene and soothing tranquility, akin to “pouring oil on troubled waters.”
As one of the two most imposing features in the sky, the Moon will send us groping for the focus bezel if we carelessly allow the telescope to stray onto it. It will fill the eyepiece with a blurry haze of blinding white, making it impossible to discern any details of the surface. This is emblematic of the distortion, exaggeration and mystification inherent in the Moon’s illusory nature, which can produce a baffling uncertainty and confusion. Its half-light is the customary domain of the burglar and the night-stalker. Unlike its astrological counterpart, the tarot Moon is not about feelings and emotions in general, but more about the sense of unease that can arise from clouded vistas and gnawing doubt. It may be best to train the lens on it during the symbolic “dark of the Moon” in order to scan the dusky landscape without the distracting “glamor” of the solar presence; in other words, to find a quiet interlude for contemplation.
Bringing our figurative telescope to bear on the Sun is inadvisable because we may “see more than we care to know;” nothing is concealed from the glare of the Sun. It has a reputation for unalloyed benevolence, but in fact the brightest illumination may well produce the deepest shadows since there could be aspects of the situation that won’t tolerate the light of day; letting the Sun into the dark recesses of the matter could be a decidedly uncomfortable experience. If we want to truly see what’s going on, we need to aim our instrument into the dim corners where the unconscionable elements have retreated. Another possibility is the “too much of a good thing” scenario that might lead to overexposure (think “sunburn” or a washed-out photograph with no light-and-dark contrasts to create scenic depth). Anything that seems “all good” is bound to have its downside, and “what we see” is not always “what we get” when the Sun runs amok.
In practice, the Star and Sun are usually interpreted as favorable and the Moon as unfavorable, but as with all things there is a range of possibilities. If we are doing something that must remain private, under the hooded eye of the Moon is where we want to be. The Sun represents the energizing and restorative principles that strengthen our resolve but can also instill overconfidence, while the Star speaks an abstract language that is indifferent to ethical niceties (it doesn’t care whether we’re looking for sympathy , it will give us an honest but disinterested accounting at arm’s length). The Star “nudges” where the Sun commands and the Moon misleads; the traditional image reminds me of the endless cycle of evaporation and precipitation, the second half of which is partly absorbed and partly returned to the source. In terms of relative virtuousness, we could consider the Sun as moral the Moon as immoral and the Star as amoral. As agents of light, they will bring their variable emanations to bear on the cards surrounding them, for good or ill.
Originally published at http://parsifalswheeldivination.wordpress.com on December 6, 2023.
