Chapter 22

The Star Card and Chris Bledsoe

References to cards and meditations are drawn from:

• Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom: A Tarot Journey to Self-Awareness by Rachel Pollack, Weiser Books, 2019.

• The Complete Arthurian Tarot by Caitlín and John Matthews, illustrated by Miranda Gray, Eddison Books, 2014

• Hallowquest The Arthurian Tarot Course: A Tarot Journey Through the Arthurian World by Caitlín and John Matthews, illustrated by Miranda Gray, Thorsons, An Imprint of Harper Collins Publishers, 1997

• Rider Waite Smith deck: Originally published in 1909, updated, and republished by US Game Systems, Inc.

• Original Rider Waite Smith artwork created by Pamela Coleman Smith, 1909. Scanned to https://www.sacred-texts.com/tarot/xr/index.htm courtesy of Holly Voley. This original artwork is not the updated version created and sold by US Games and, therefore, is within Public Domain for use in this work.

• Appalachian Memories, written and performed by Dolly Parton, track 5 on the album, Burlap & Satin, 1983. (

• )

• UFO of God. Bledsoe, Chris, 2023, www.ufoofgod.com

• https://arabiannightsrum.com/stars/winter-constellations/taurus/

Tarot Adventures is a work of fiction. Unless otherwise indicated, all the names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents in this book are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

-=—=—=—=—=

Sitting up, I look around. It is the dawning of a new day. I realize I had fallen asleep, thinking about the Tower and the eights and all that I had learned during my last adventure. Shaking myself awake, I stand up, make sure everything is safely put away into my backpack, and begin walking.

I’m pondering what today will entail when I notice a trickle of water coming towards me. Following it, I grin to myself, recognizing the start of a new journey. Noticing that I’m walking along jauntily, swinging my arms, and humming Dolly Parton’s song, Appalachian Memories. Enthusiastically, I belt out:

Just poor Appalachian farm folk,

With nothing more than high hopes,

We hitched our station wagon to a star

I immediately stop singing and moving, startled by the scene before me. A lady is kneeling at the mouth of a stream, with one foot floating on the water while her knee supports her weight on land. She is pouring out two pitchers of water, one onto the land, the other into the stream.

“Oooooh,” I sigh, recognizing a major arcana card from the Rider Waite Smith tarot deck. I dig into my fanny pack and flip rapidly through the deck until I come to XVII The Star as it completes filling in.

“Ahh, number 17, one of my favorite numbers,” I mutter to myself. Looking up, I speak louder and say, “What do you have for me today, Lady?”

She stands up and faces me directly. Seven white stars float around her while a larger yellow star hovers over her head.

“I straddle two worlds, pouring out inspiration to both. Unlike my sister, Temperance, who flows the water back and forth, keeping it contained, I share the water freely.”

“Is it Holy Water?”, I tentatively ask. She chuckles and shakes her head. “No, this water represents A New Knowledge being shared on an unconscious level in this pool of water and into the physical world as represented by the land.

As she finishes talking, something flashes over our heads, heading in the direction that I’m looking. I see it dive toward the ground, then watch in awe as it climbs back to its previous height and streaks back over my head, painting green and yellow stripes across the sky. My chest tightens — not fear, but recognition. Like I’ve seen this before… or was meant to. I turn back to the star and ask her, “What was that?”

She smiles and says, “This is the beginning of your new knowledge.” I watch, my curiosity unsatisfied, as she fades away.

Looking around, I internally wonder, What just happened. Did aliens just land?

In the distance, I see an older man wearing blue jeans and a t-shirt, looking up at the sky. I feel good gazing at him, and I have a knowing that he’s somebody I can trust. Walking over to him, I say, “Hi, my name is Sorsha. Did you see that in the sky?”

He turns and faces me, saying, “I am Chris Bledsoe. I usually see orbs flying by overhead, but that was a new one!” He grins.

I ask, “Orbs? Like lights in the sky? I normally see some, but I always thought those were just satellites.”

Chris chuckles gently and says, “A lot of people dismiss them as satellites, but if you go out after dark and SkyWatch and you pray to our Heavenly Holy Trinity, you’ll see some amazing things that satellites simply cannot do.”

How fascinating, I think.

I tell him, “I don’t usually see people from our world around here. What are you doing here?”

He peers into my eyes, steps back, and says, “I don’t know. Tell me more about what you’ve been doing.”

Taking a deep breath, hoping that he’ll hear me out with an open mind, I explain that I’m a college student who started studying the Arthurian Tarot deck on the first day of my spring break. I stammer, “So, I visualized myself within the first card, and then I was actually here.” I gesture all around us, indicating the fantasy world we are standing in.

He looks around with a raised eyebrow. Feeling hopeful, I pull out my questing tarot deck from my fanny pack and rifle through the cards, showing him the ones that I’ve already completed. “When I first started, all of these cards were blank. But you can see I’ve filled in quite a few so far.”

Flipping back to the Star card, I hand it to him so that he can get a closer look.

In his hands, it starts transforming from the Rider Waite Smith deck’s Star card into the Arthurian Tarot XVII The Star.

The image depicts the comet heralding Arthur’s birth flashing overhead and shaped like a dragon. A guardsman on the left stands, pointing at the comet. The guardsman on the right is slumped down on the ground, sleeping with his back against a wall. On top of the wall, a rooster stands over him. Between the two guardsmen, a fire basket flares, brightly lighting the area where they stand.

Chris taps his chin thoughtfully. “You say this deck is based on the King Arthur stories? That makes sense, but I believe there is a deeper meaning to this card. Let me show you.” He holds out his hand toward me. I step closer and gently grab hold.

The world whooshes around us, giving me vertigo. When I settle back onto my feet and regain my balance, I see that we are standing together near a backyard pond. Chris lets go of my hand and steps toward the water.

His clothes shift into a different outfit, and I see his face grow a couple of decades younger. Oh, this must be something that happened in his past, I muse.

He shouts to the sky, “Thank you for curing me of Crohn’s disease, but I’m done talking about you. My children are suffering, and I will not do this anymore.”

I bite my lip and stand silently as he storms back into the house, the screen door slapping closed behind him. The sky grows dark, stars pop out, and I hear rustling from inside the house. Chris steps back out, looking sleepy, but fully dressed.

Observing quietly, I see a portal open in front of him, and a bull leaps out. Chris shouts in surprise and falls to the ground, arms over his head, protectively. The bull looks a bit like an artist’s rendition of the constellation of Taurus, with the stars visible through its outline. Chris flips over onto his stomach, getting ready to run, then glances behind him and freezes. Confused, I turn to look and see a beautiful lady, dressed in white, floating off the ground. She beckons him closer and says, “You know why I’m here.”

Chris stands before her and quietly says, “Yes, Ma’am. You are here because I said that I’m done.”

Stepping closer, I hear her say, “This is your burden. You need to continue sharing your experience with the world. If you refuse to do this, you will be like the watchman in Ezekiel, who fails to warn the town. The death of every person was on his hands. If you refuse to continue sharing your experience, the blood of many people will be on your hands as well. Be not afraid. I will help you.”

The scene slowly fades to black, and Chris turns toward me, stepping closer. He takes my hand just as the world whooshes around us. He steadies me as I regain my balance. I stare at him, my eyes wide in surprise.

“That was real? That really happened to you?”

He nods solemnly. “Yes.” He holds up the Star card once again. She gave me a choice. I could either be the sleeping guard or the one who was awake and informed the people of the New Knowledge that was coming.”

“What’s the new knowledge?” I asked tentatively.

Chris stands with quiet strength. He slowly spreads his hands, palms up, shaking his head, and states, “I only have speculation right now…but my feeling is that God and the Lady will return and then everything will change.”

A quiet weight settles in me. Not fear… responsibility. “The Divine Feminine?” I find myself grinning. “I want to see that!”

He chuckles, hugs me, and states, “Me too, little one. Me too.”

-=--=--=-

The book Hallowquest: The Arthurian Tarot Course by Caitlin and John Matthews states:

The Star of Prophecy Speaks: I offer the gift of deepest insight. I am the heart of the crystal who has seen all. Within you also there is deep knowledge of the oldest kind. Pick up any stone and find within it the history of your earth. You are the stuff of the stars, from deepest space to the intricate spiral of life is but a small step.

Please note:
While the Tower card often brings abrupt, often painful change, the Star card signifies hope and new beginnings that follow destruction.

Additionally, Chris Bledsoe is a real person, and this chapter only focuses on one portion of his experience and how it relates to the Star card. Please read his book, UFO of God, for more information about his experiences.