The Star speaks of our healing journey, of our quest to embody wholeness and completeness and a felt connection to the universe. The Magician, ruled by Mercury, says that our healing is in our hands; and that there are many ways through which the cosmos teaches—which one will we choose? Our oracle card invites us into this method: “I choose to learn through love.” When we choose to learn through love, we lay down our weapons. But what other ways are there to learn? Well, the world is full of bitter lessons that we can enroll to. Fear has its lessons. Our anger has its lessons. Avoidance can teach us things. Unskilled speech–the way we talk to other people–can be a teacher. And the list of painful teachers goes on: revenge, animosity, superiority complexes, separation, paranoia, exclusionary practices, hate, resentment, intolerance, unrealistic positivity, greed, and so forth. These and many other teachers can teach by way of reflecting our inner world back to us, but first they do it through pain. We may hope to awaken to Oneness through the mirrors that the fear teachers can provide. Or we can bypass them altogether and choose the power that can heal us not through pain, but through the direct realization of our unity with everything: Love. Love doesn’t teach through pain: it prepares us to face the pain that’s already there in the world. This isn’t a pollyanna view of reality. We are not denying our pain, our hurt, or our trauma. We are simply choosing to stop inflicting them onto our own selves, and onto others and the world, as we take charge of our own healing. Love as a teacher brings serenity from the get-go. Its premises are simple: we only practice what’s the best and highest for all involved, we speak the truth, and we stop letting fear and separation guide our steps. Embodying those premises can be the work of a lifetime. When we choose to learn through love, as The Magician we take into our own hands the deep personal and collective healing for which The Star is a promise. Will love be your teacher today?