The Star

Compassionate Action

From Science Tarot

 The Star is that wonderful card of hope in the Tarot. It suggests inspiration and the outpouring of Divine Guidance to lead us through even the darkest night. When we gaze at the stars we feel a connection to the solar system, to the universe, to the whole. The Star reminds us to tune in to a higher vision  to something grander than our own existence. It is a reminder that even after disasters and upheavals may plague us there is a calm after the storm when chaos is replaced by cathartic cleansing and peace.

All of these qualities are always here with us on our earthly walk. They are within each of us as we are all expressions of divinity in the physical realm. Our every thought and action is a channeling and manifesting of the creative power that made the entire universe whether we are consciously aware or on autopilot. When we turn our attention to the wisdom of being in alignment with those qualities that support ourselves and each other we can clear out negative and destructive tendencies within us that broadcast out to the world. and start to shine the light of hope, wisdom, and love.

The Star reminds us that we are called to be in harmony with both the Above and Below, that the natural laws of the universe are not minor suggestions that we can take or leave at our whim. We are living in a constantly creative state. How we interact has impact every moment. We each are responsible for our own thoughts, actions, and the resulting  consequences.  We can easily see that humanity has not been practicing good stewardship of our planet. Destruction of habitats, mass extinctions, and overpopulation is devastating. It seems our Mother Earth is lately issuing more stern warnings than ever before. We can be overwhelmed with all that is happening right now- pandemics, fires, storms that get more severe each season, drought and more. Basic human sense seems to be thrown to the winds that feed the flames and muffle out the voice of wisdom and truth. 

If ever we have been challenged to follow the Star’s message of Compassionate Action it is now. We are called to remember that there is no difference between Spirit and Matter and embrace and understand that each of us is a living expression of the sacred. This can help us define how we move and express ourselves through our day. No matter how overwhelming it gets, non matter how out of control we feel, we always have a choice as to how we respond. We can never know the full impact of our interactions with others. One act of kindness can make a huge difference in someone’s life the results of which may never be connected to that action or even remembered. Each time we make a conscious action of prayer, blessings, or make a physical adjustment to how we consume and relate to the planet affect us inwardly as we as the outward action. We are all connected. There is no way we are independent of every other living presence and that includes humans, trees, water and animals. 

May we dig in deep and go beyond the current mass confusion and misinformation swirling around us. May we connect with that place of compassion for ourselves, each other and for all beings. May we take the action that promotes hope, peace, and healing.  

Shine your light.

...Kathryn Ravenwood  8/25/20

 The Hierophant

from the Housewives Tarot

Original Writing by Kathryn Ravenwood 

 

The Hierophant is card #5 in the tarot. It is the number of man, struggle, strife, and conflict, the number of the spiritual self seeking expression in its human form. As humans we seek to understand the practicalities, mysteries, the secrets of the universe, and, sometimes, just to understand what the heck is going on!

Traditionally the Hierophant is a figure of religious import such as a pope or a great teacher and is associated with orthodoxy and is traditionally the intermediary between us and god/goddess. The priests/priestesses of the past officiated as oracles, diviners, ritualists. They performed the ordained and guarded the secrets and mysteries. Teachings and traditions were passed on to initiates in mystery schools to those deemed worthy of understanding. The general public was told to be obedient to these authority figures to assure salvation and a better life to come. If things did not work out well, then there must have been a mistake or a sin involved.  Now go repent. Shame, guilt, and control were the rulers rapped on our collective knuckles.

Over the centuries we have expanded our ability to gain information and gradually became better educated. With education came questions, seeking answers, and for as many viewpoints that emerged there was an expert, a guru. The role of the Hierophant has not changed much but its way of communicating and teaching certainly has.

In the above image we see a 1950’s radio. In addition to news reports, the public began to have a huge exposure to recreational information.  Advertisements, weekly or daily programs introduced characters and stories that became cultural lore. We listened endlessly to songs of pain, suffering, love gone wrong. Add movies and television and the average person was totally inundated with the Hierophant in all its guises relating every possible piece of information. 

Today we have the internet and instant communication across the world. It is impossible to know what is true or false. Even images are altered to redefine someone’s desire of how a scene is presented. Spiritual and religious opinions are offered up as gospel with a new prophet or guru riding the highs of exposure only to drop into oblivion or disgrace. The Hierophant has become a hungry, insatiable machine churning out opinions, doctrine, dogma, fear, false hope, lies, truth, and the entire gamut of human opinion. We can learn how to fix our clogged sink drain from YouTube,  access a course and become fluent in a foreign language, or fall into the vast wormholes of conspiracy theories. All in the comfort of our own living rooms.

Sometimes we need to take a time out, take a break from the onslaught of information. As we explore information we see the exposed dualities and can take a breath and process, do our homework. The true nature of the Hierophant is to open our eyes so we can learn to view the universe for ourselves. We need education, training, and exposure to many ideas and viewpoints but with all that information is the ever present possibility of corruption through power, manipulation to gain control, all dosed in the vanity and ego of self importance. 

Ultimately, it is up to us to navigate the sea of information and find our own way. The Hierophant is a teacher but what I decide to follow is up to me.  The Hierophant reveals but I choose through my own intuition, my own connection to divinity, my own ability to discern. I may change my mind and point of view but that is part of learning and growth. We build on experience. We test and accept or reject. We create our own ethos, our own platforms, all based on collective information be it of family, church, or the school system.

As we become increasingly open to receive and learn we are wise to remember to keep our discernment and filters working. Just because you resonate with some information does not mean it is true. It is good to monitor how this information effects you - does it put you into fear and anger or does it bring a sense of calm and peace?

Our time of the Earth is an opportunity to seek union with the divine in however that is possible for us. To find the truth often lies in neutrality rather than plunging from one polarity of opinion to another. The true guru is the one that teaches us to go within, to be still, ask, and then wait and listen for our own guidance to come through.  

Sometimes we just need to turn off and tune in.  I share what came to me once in prayer, 

“In the silence, all are present.

In the silence, all are at peace.

In the silence, all is forgiven.

In the silence, all is love.”

May your studies bring you illumination and may you have the generous heart to share that light with the world.

...Kathryn Ravenwood   8-9-20