The star card has to be one of the loveliest in the Tarot deck. It holds much promise, dreams fulfilled, a bright future, refinement and beauty.
Imagine my delight and intrigue as I discovered possible links to Morocco, a personal soul place and the 8 pointed star including the teachings of Ibn Al Arabi with our beautiful Tarot star.
Firstly, if the star is the trump 17 then 1+7=8. On many depictions in the star there is indeed a star with 8 points.
The 8 pointed star is the star of Venus and 8 years is the length of a full cycle of Venus. It is also called the star of Ishtar, a goddess of war, fertility, love and sex who was worshipped in Babylon around 2,000BCE.
We must also include Sumerian Innana, goddess of light, love, life and death.She was linked to the morning and evening star.
Both goddesses were deities of many dualities (we can see traces of this influences in the 2's of the Tarot minor arcana, especially 2 cups.)
The 8 pointed star was upheld as a symbol before the formation of Islam. Images of it were discovered in Ur as an 8 petalled rosette.
Babylonian star cult is the core and archetype of ancient astrology. The Greeks recognised Venus as evening and morning star 1,500 years after the Sumerians.
Sumer is located where several civilisations converged and the symbol migrated into other cultures. Abraham, the father of monotheistic faiths was in Ur.
Islam inherited pagan symbols as did other religions to accomodate astrology (astrotheology). Astronomy plays an important part in Islam. Stars were seen as part of creation and ancient symbols supported the Islamic view of creation. Planetary aspects determined times and places for prayer.
Muslim scholars poured over Greek learning. Pythagoras played an influential part in all of this.
Islamic art grew from the study of geometry. The idea being to seek to understand creation, not to worship it but to honour the creator.
In Morocco you can still find representations of this geometry in the Khatim and the zillij image of the star.
This image is particularly resplendant in Fes. A Moroccan city that goes back a couple of thousand years and it's long history can still be observed in the Medina. These mosaics were often on fountains and public drinking water taps.
This four fold construct is the design for a more contemporary fountain, again in Fes.
8 is an important number to Sufi mystics who had an appeal in North Africa. One of the most famous being Ibn Al Arabi, a C12 sufi master and cosmologist. He said; '' All phenomena are nothing but manifestations of Being, which is one with God. ''
His diagram is form symbolised by the square. Expansion is symbolised by the square with triangles pointing outwards, contraction is symbolised by square with triangles pointing in. The two star shapes together are the cycle of creation; 'the breath of compassionate', one of the 99 names of God and the highest pronouncable. The diagram is effectively a cosmological model of polarities that manifest form....( those 2's again!!).
Moroccan ornamentation carries these patterns although the flag is now a 5 pointed star, the seal of Solomon, but in mediaeval times it would have had 8 points.
The Khatim, (star mosaics) stand for interconnectedness, faith and ultimate harmony in creation, also the highest virtues in Moroccan culture. Learning, faith, community and love of beauty......it just about sums up the beautiful qualities of our Tarot trump 17, the Star card.
8 is an important number to Sufi mystics who had an appeal in North Africa. One of the most famous being Ibn Al Arabi, a C12 sufi master and cosmologist. He said; '' All phenomena are nothing but manifestations of Being, which is one with God. ''
Moroccan ornamentation carries these patterns although the flag is now a 5 pointed star, the seal of Solomon, but in mediaeval times it would have had 8 points.
The Khatim, (star mosaics) stand for interconnectedness, faith and ultimate harmony in creation, also the highest virtues in Moroccan culture. Learning, faith, community and love of beauty......it just about sums up the beautiful qualities of our Tarot trump 17, the Star card.
I was led to your site, and found this information very affirming for a couple experiences I had this weekend coming across the star card and also a strong pull to gather a group of 8 people and have them stand in a shape so that we could have a portal come through. It didn't end up happening yet, and it this is the cherry of confirmation on tip of the ice cream.
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