Hope As Resistance
How to work with The Star in Aquarius season.
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This Friday marks the beginning of Aquarius season. Personally, I’m an Aquarius moon (aloof humanitarians, unite!) and The Star is my “life path” card, so I thought some insights into the card and a ritual practice to welcome in this new energy were called for.
In my book, Neo Tarot: A Fresh Approach to Self-Care, Healing & Empowerment, the affirmation for The Star is “I have the power to heal and become a beacon of hope for others.” But why does Aquarius correspond with The Star in tarot? And why is The Star about “hope”?
“Hope is fragile. Precious. Hope catches the light, splitting the darkness. Revealing your destiny.” So says Mother Aughra.
The Star comes directly after The Tower, a card etched deep into our collective consciousness through stories like the Tower of Babel. The tower’s levelling represents the fall of ego, the forced elimination of edifice, the destruction of conceit, hubris, and the illusion of separation and hierarchy. When it seems like all else is lost, what have we got but our will to survive? Our stubborn persistence that it’s not the end? Our hope? And through what force but hope do we come to realise all that remains?
The figure in The Star is not a Pollyanna. They are a dogged survivor. They’re hope their resistance. When others might peek from their own (still standing for now) towers and grimace or wonder bemused at the gall—nakedness, the nothingness—of this figure, the water bearer themselves exist in a state of revelatory connectedness.
It’s only by losing everything that we realise how little we need. It’s only when all we thought we knew is exposed as fiction (as avidyā, Advaitins would say) that we’re cleansed and renewed by the truth of unity—the formless absolute that is the mind of God/dess—in all things.
And in a world of atomisation and individualism, centering one’s spiritual nourishment and vision for the world around collectivism, unity, and hope may mean being made a pariah. Defending those ideas strongly can even mean being thought of as a tactless eccentric (I relate). But if we can learn to embody the water bearer in the Star Card by practicing trust and hope with quiet confidence and by staying the course, we remember that we are all aspects of the same force, dreaming.
And that there is nothing to get attached to. As long as humanity can’t seem to grasp these concepts, The Star holds hope for us and pours forth a vision of unity, connection, and oneness onto the world. This is their gift.
A powerful example of The Star in popular culture, for me, is the uncomplicated, resolutely hopeful truth of Nina Simone’s “I Got Life”.
A ritual for The Star
Start by lighting a candle and placing a fire-safe dish next to it. Then pull your favourite Star card from your deck/s and begin to connect with it. Do this in whatever way feels good to you—I recommend displaying it in front of you at eye level and simply breathing mindfully while slowly taking in all the colours and images within the card.
Now, watch the above performance again. Then, picking up a pen and paper, let the hurt or frustrated part of you (only to whatever level you’re comfortable and resourced to do so) flow through your pen. What don’t you have? List the objects, trophies, assets, and situations you don’t have and wish you did. List the “things” you did have and lost. For example, you might like to write “I don’t have a partner, I don’t have a good credit score, I don’t have a Range Rover” etc.
Let this be a cathartic process, where you allow yourself to simply audit from the position of a neutral witness: what don’t you have? Once you feel complete in your list, fold it up and use your candle to burn it and place it in your fire-safe dish. Watch it burn. Exhale and imagine release your emotional bonds to these things.
Then, take a new page. And allow the hopeful, spiritually connected part of you to speak. Imagine your inner Star Card figure is speaking to you, if that helps: What DO you have? Let the answers flow out through your pen, as you continue to breathe and witness from that place of neutrality. What you have doesn’t need to make sense either—no need to censor it. If you find it challenging to list things, start by copying down Nina Simone’s examples and grow your list from there. When you come to a natural sense of completion, finish off your list by writing: “I’ve got life.” Then sign it, date it, and put it away somewhere sacred to you.
But wait, you’re not finished! Spend the final 10-15 minutes writing a list of your hopes. Not the things you want—the heartfelt vision that you hope for, for the world. Use the unfinished sentence “For the planet, I hope….” and see what comes out. You might also like to play with prompts like “For my community, I hope…” or “For my country, I hope…” or “For my friends, I hope…” It might also help to imagine yourself as the figure in The Star card; as Aquarius the water bearer themselves, looking down at Earth from space. As you feel yourself naturally coming to a close, allow a slight smile to come across your face.
Your hope is necessary. Radical. Beautiful. And yes, fragile. Nurture it gently until it gets stronger. ✫~
“Hope” is the Thing With Feathers, by Emily Dickinson
“Hope” is the thing with feathers -
That perches in the soul -
And sings the tune without the words -
And never stops - at all -
And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard -
And sore must be the storm -
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm -
I’ve heard it in the chillest land -
And on the strangest Sea -
Yet - never - in Extremity,
It asked a crumb - of me.
Aquarius Hats are here *:･ﾟ✧✷☆
In celebration of the season, I bring you, the ultimate zodiac-themed baseball hat!
This hat features my original Aquarius glyph design on the front, and a tiny valiant sword on the back. Perfect for Aqua angels and aliens, this hat is made-on-demand in a fully WRAP-certified Econscious site using 100% organic cotton. Available now (in five colours) from my website <3
P.S. Not an Aquarius? All other zodiac signs are for sale in my shop now too, plus a bonus hat design featuring the iconic phrase, “MAGIC HAPPENS”.
Tarot Card of the Week ~ 4 of Swords Rx
Key themes: Recuperation, conserving energy, withdrawal, consolidating losses, rest.
Neo Tarot affirmation: “Be being still, I gain strength and inner clarity.”
When “pushing through” is all you’ve ever done, disengaging from less than ideal situations in order to recover your energy and clarity is a form of radical self-care. 🕊️
So many of us are burned out by the last few years, meaning we’re *beyond* exhausted, but it’s those who feel like they have no choice, but it’s those of us who ~keep fighting forward that are at risk of losing our conviction, our hope, our belief in “the point of it all”. 🐇
But that kind of faith is exactly what you’ll need to muster to deal with the potential negative consequences of ~not letting yourself rest. 🦙
Don’t let yourself get sick or lose your sense of joy and meaning. It’s all too easy to fall into a hole. And yes it take dedication to learn, slower new ways of thinking and being. But it’s never too late. 🦢
And don’t “slow down to speed up”, cheeky! Slow down to slow down. Sending you clouds of dreamy rest. 🌬️☁️
A Tarot Reading Update ~
While I’m still visiting Tongva Land (Los Angeles) here and there every year, I’m predominantly based in the Southern Hemisphere now. Since this move, I haven’t allowed tarot reading bookings on the weekends. This has meant that for the last two years, all my tarot reading clients in the Northern Hemisphere have only been able to book with me after hours (sometimes very late at night or early in the morning) on weekdays. That all changes now!
I’ve *just* opened by books for Saturdays and Sundays in the Northern Hemisphere <3 That means if you’re based in the US or Europe, you’ll be able to comfortably receive a reading from me without losing any sleep or stealthily occupying the meeting room at work (as much as I love it when you do that).
Right now, these Sat/Sun bookings are in trial mode, so if they’re popular and the few hours allotted book out fast, I’ll open up lots more time on both days. Book your February spots NOW ☆⭑
What is Creativity Coaching?
In case you’re wondering what I actually mean when I say I offer creativity coaching…it’s just another word for creative facilitation. This means I blend my training in life coaching, creative coaching, meditation teaching, witch knowledge, and lived experience to offer you a container in which to explore the magic of your creative consciousness, so that you can tell your story, make your shit, and help change the world. Past clients have included everyone from award-winning filmmakers, clinical psychologists, and creative studio owners, to famous musicians, intuitive oracles, and many shy, would-be creatives waiting for the encouragement they need to turn up the brightness in their lives and express themselves. Even if it’s just for themselves.
I’m currently taking calls for my next round of my 1:1 creativity coaching series, Come Alive. This is a program informed by my signature framework that will assist you in unlocking your unique expression and tapping into more imagination, joy, and play. All in the spirit of defiant anti-perfectionism!
Read more FAQs HERE and BOOK A CALL with me and we can chat it through. Scholarships available <3
Xo Jerico