No, you’re not seeing things. That is indeed the Nativity Scene on a Tarot card.
Sadly, Tarot is often misunderstood as a “heathen” construct. It’s better looked at as a tool that transcends religions and dogmas.
The Golden Tarot of the Tsar uses images based on the rich tradition of iconography in the Russian Orthodox Church. These deeply spiritual works of art are meant, like the tarot, for meditation in service of enlightenment and connection with the Divine.
As you know from Tarot . . . It’s Easier Than You Think, XVII The Star is about your calling. We talked about the sense of personal mission last time we looked at the card.
What always strikes me about the Star in the Christmas story is how unlikely the elements of the situation are to the rational mind. Here we have the newborn child of travelling parents from one of the least-well-thought-of areas of their world. And we have Magi travelling with gifts of great worth, following a star that ends up . . . right over the straw laid down for livestock, where the parents and their newborn are resting post-delivery. How did we see that coming? And is it likely the Wise Men were expecting that kind of picture when they set off to follow the star that promised the King of Kings?
What about once they were there? Did they ever have a moment when they doubted their mission? If they did, it didn’t affect their actions: they still gave their precious gifts to the low-born parents and child. Imagine the hope, the faith, the perseverance involved to follow through on what was begun despite the probable difference between what the Magi imagined and what the star brought them to.
Let’s take this down to your life. Your mission can have the most unlikely beginnings. The elements don’t have to make sense. You don’t have to know where the journey will end. You just have to follow your star. Keep the faith, don’t lose hope, listen to your inspiration no matter what you see around you.
Your humble beginnings will have a lasting impact, the same as the lasting impact of the outcast child born on the floor of a cave used for livestock.
Celebrate your star!
For those of you celebrating the Christmas season, may it deepen your faith to enrich your life and the lives of those around you.
We’ve had another look at XVII The Star.