Card XVII, Major ArcanaThe Star tarot card meaning
Upright and reversedThe Star in shortIn short
The Star is hope after the storm. Under a big gold star a woman kneels by the water and pours from two jugs, giving back what she got. It heals quietly, and tells you things can be good again.
- Hope
- Healing
- Renewal
Piece oneThe great star
A big gold star with eight points shines in the night sky, ringed by seven small white ones with eight points each. Waite ties it to the flaming star of the Masons. It stays lit when everything else goes dark.
"A great, radiant star of eight rays, surrounded by seven lesser stars..."Waite, 1911
Why it is hereThe great star is the hope that follows The Tower's storm. It lights the whole card, and the woman kneels beneath it to pour the water. The small stars repeat it, and so does the star on each jug. The light above and the pouring below belong together.
Piece twoThe bird
A small bird sits in a tree behind her. Waite mentions it, and says some later decks swapped it for a butterfly on a rose. His tree stands on the right; ours is on the left.
"...a shrub or tree, whereon a bird alights."Waite, 1911
Why it is hereThe bird is the one creature awake with the woman. It sits in the tree above her while the water runs. Its small presence turns a lone ritual into a living place. The great star is high and far away, and the bird is close, at her level.
Piece threeThe woman
A young woman kneels, eyes closed, hair loose. Waite says she stands for eternal youth and beauty, and many see Truth unveiled in her. His figure is naked; ours wears a cream dress and a blue cloak.
"The figure expresses eternal youth and beauty."Waite, 1911
Why it is hereShe's the one who acts under the star. Eyes closed, she pours from both jugs without hurry, and the water runs off into the land. Her calm matches the stillness of the sky. The jugs and the stream give her something to do with that light: she passes it on.
Piece fourThe two jugs
She pours from two jugs, one red, one yellow, each with a star on it. Waite calls it the Water of Life, poured on sea and land. His card waters the earth with one stream; in ours both fall into the pool and run off as a brook.
"She pours Water of Life from two great ewers, irrigating sea and land."Waite, 1911
Why it is hereThe jugs are what the star's light becomes in her hands. She pours both at once, and the water runs off as a brook. The stars on each jug tie them to the great star above. Hope, on this card, is something you can pour out and share.
Colour, and where else it appearsEchoes
-
The great star
Warm gold on night blue, with seven small white stars around it. The Moon has the same dark sky, but its light is borrowed. The World dancer turns against a night full of tiny gold stars. The Chariot's canopy is sewn with stars, a sky the driver carries along with him.
Also in -
The bird
An orange bird on a dark sky, the only other living creature on the card. In the Ace of Cups a white dove dives toward the cup from above. The World has a gold eagle in one corner, watching from a cloud. The Star's bird sits still in a tree, close to the ground and close to her.
Also in -
The woman
A cloak the colour of the night and a dress the colour of the light: she wears both. Temperance shows another figure with closed eyes, pouring between vessels by the water. The High Priestess wears blue too, seated with her scroll. The Star kneels, and gives instead of guarding.
Also in -
The two jugs
Warm red and yellow jugs, and cool silver water that pales as it falls. Temperance pours between two gold vessels and keeps every drop. The Star lets it all go, into the pool and down the stream. The Ace of Cups overflows from one gold cup into a pond of lilies.
Also in
Colour notes are ours, read from the picture; Waite does not explain the colours.
The StarUpright
Hope, healing, calm after a hard time. Waite records two readings: first loss, theft, privation, abandonment, and another, hope and bright prospects. We follow the second, like most readers today, and like the picture.
This card follows The Tower. The worst is over, the sky has cleared, you can breathe. Trust again, give freely, and let yourself heal slowly.
The StarReversed
Waite's words: arrogance, haughtiness, impotence. Hope turns into pride, or into the feeling that nothing you do matters.
The star seems hidden and you feel discouraged. Stay humble, keep a small faith alive, and wait for the sky to clear.
Yes or noYes.
Yes. The outcome is good. It may arrive slowly, and it will arrive.
The Star in your lifeIn your life
Love
Healing and fresh hope. A gentle, honest love, or a new start after pain.
Work
Share your work and your ideas. The inspiration is back and people notice.
Money
A slow recovery and better prospects. Be generous where you can. Keep plans simple.
Health
Recovery and rest. A card can't diagnose you; if something's wrong, see a doctor, and give healing time.
Spirituality
Faith comes back. Meditation, prayer or a night under the stars feels close now.
Advice
Keep hoping and give freely. The light's already above you.
As a person
Gentle, open, generous. People feel calmer around them.
Past, present, future
Past: healing after loss. Present: hope and calm. Future: better days and a wish that can come true.
Written by us, from Waite's meanings and the picture.
Symbols and correspondencesAt a glance
- Number
- XVII
- Hebrew letter
- Tzaddi
- Astrology
- Aquarius
- Element
- Air
- Upright
- Loss
- Reversed
- Arrogance
QuestionsCommon questions
Yes. It's one of the most hopeful cards in the deck. Waite records a darker reading of loss, but most readers today go with hope.
Healing, honesty, new hope. A gentle relationship, or a chance to love again.
Yes. It's hopeful, even if it's slow.
Waite calls it the Water of Life, poured on sea and land. He gives the card two mottoes, "Waters of Life freely" and "Gifts of the Spirit": you give freely what you were given.
Aquarius, an air sign, in the Golden Dawn system. Its Hebrew letter is Tzaddi.
Waite says most readers see Truth unveiled, pouring part of her treasure on the waters of the soul. He calls her the Great Mother, giving each one as much as it can take.
The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, 1911Card meanings and quotes: A. E. Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, 1911. Hebrew letter, sign and element: the Golden Dawn's Book T. Colours, life situations, yes or no and questions: written by us, from Waite's meanings and the picture.
All 22 major cards