After a heavy card, the seeker breathes a sigh of relief when they see The Star in the tarot. The kneeling woman, the running water, the starry sky: everything seems to say that the worst is over. And, for the most part, it really is.
The problem is the size of the promise. Arcane XVII is so beautiful that many people read a guarantee of a happy ending in it. The Star is not that. It describes a state: hope, renewed faith, healing beginning, the serenity of someone who survived the blow and believes again.
This guide brings the profile of the arcane, the reading symbol by symbol, and the little-told story of the card. It also shows the reversed position in both schools and the side that almost no one comments on: when The Star is not good news.
Does the card The Star guarantee that things will improve?
No. No card guarantees anything, and with this one, caution is great, because it is easy to sell as a certainty of good days.
What The Star indicates is reconnection. It usually comes right after The Tower, Arcana XVI, the collapse. If The Tower is the lightning that knocks down, The Star is the water that rehydrates and the spirit that returns. It is the first relief after the fall.
This changes the atmosphere, but it does not dispense with the journey. The card describes the moment of the one who asks, it does not sentence the outcome. Whoever promises healing, reconciliation, or money based on a single card is selling something else, not a tarot reading.
The Star reignites the spirit for you to move forward. It does not walk for you, and it does not deliver the ready result.
Profile of Arcane XVII
| Field | The Star |
|---|---|
| Number | XVII (17) |
| Other names | L’Étoile (Marseille), La Stella (Italian decks), The Star (Rider-Waite-Smith) |
| Correspondence | sign of Aquarius, in the Golden Dawn table |
| Element | Air |
| Position in the sequence | after The Tower (XVI), before The Moon (XVIII) |
| Upright keywords | hope, faith, renewal, serenity, healing, inspiration |
| Reversed keywords | shaken faith, discouragement, disconnection, disillusionment |
| Yes or no | tends toward yes, a yes of faith and process |
It is worth noting the astrology of the card. In the Golden Dawn correspondence table, The Star corresponds to the sign of Aquarius, a fixed Air sign. Unlike the case of The Sun, there is no great fight between schools here: the attribution to Aquarius is the standard adopted by most modern material. If you want the complete list of 22, it is in the guide of the major arcana of the tarot.
Symbol by symbol: what the image tells
In the Rider-Waite-Smith, designed by Pamela Colman Smith in 1909, each element has a function. Arthur Edward Waite describes the scene in The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, now in the public domain. He speaks of "a great, radiant, star of eight rays, surrounded by seven lesser stars," with a figure pouring the Water of Life from two jars.
- The naked woman kneeling: defenseless vulnerability. Waite associates the figure with truth without a veil. The nudity here is sincerity, not eroticism: it is showing oneself completely.
- One foot in the water, one knee on the ground: the foot in the water touches the psychic world, the emotion. The knee on the ground touches the concrete world. The figure maintains contact with both planes at the same time.
- The two jars pouring water: she pours the Water of Life without retaining anything. One jar waters the earth, the other returns it to the lake. What is received returns to circulate.
- The central eight-pointed star: the guiding north, the essence, the focus. The eight points refer to renewal.
- The seven smaller stars: they rotate around the guiding star. Modern reading usually associates them with the seven chakras or the seven classical planets. It is an interpretive layer, not a description by Waite.
- The tree and the bird in the background: Waite describes a bird perched on a bush. The hermetic tradition usually identifies it as the ibis of Thoth, linked to wisdom. It is an addition of interpretation, not of the original text.
The set does not speak of great luck. It speaks of replenishment: someone who, after the drought, returns to pour and receive water.
From the one who points to the sky to the woman of the two jars
The scene you know is the result of layers. There is no single history of the arcana, and tarot archives are honest about that.
- Cards from northern Italy, 15th century: in the Visconti-Sforza and d’Este versions, the arcana mixes two popular themes, the figure pointing to the sky and the astronomer with his instruments to measure the stars.
- Minchiate tradition: in some decks, a man with a pointed hat is read as one of the Three Wise Men, marveled before the Star of Bethlehem. It is the reading of the star of the Magi, from a specific branch.
- Marseille pattern, from the 17th century: the scene of the naked woman kneeling, pouring two jars of water, is fixed under a large star surrounded by smaller stars.
Only in 1909 did Waite and Pamela Colman Smith consolidate the current version, with the central eight-pointed star, the seven minors, and the bird in the tree. In this sequence, The Star, The Moon, and The Sun form the lights of the sky. They are the bridge between the dark part of the deck, with The Devil and The Tower, and the luminous part that closes the arcana. Therefore, The Star is the first breath after the fall.
The Star in the reading: love, work, and combinations
In love, the card speaks of hope and reconnection. After a breakup or a hard phase, it points to healing and renewed faith. For those who are alone, it is time to believe again. For those who are in a relationship, it indicates a bond that is rebuilt with sincerity. It is worth crossing with the love tarot method. It is a promise of crossing, not a guarantee of reconciliation.
In work, it indicates rediscovered purpose. A project that was stalled makes sense again, and morale returns. It is a good card for a new beginning, not a seal of guaranteed success.
In health, it appears linked to recovery and renewal of energy after a heavy period. Here is the usual caveat: tarot is not a diagnosis and does not replace a doctor or therapist.
In yes or no, The Star tends toward yes, but it is a yes of faith and process. The thing is on the right path, with morale in favor, without fixing the immediate result. The complete criteria are in yes or no tarot.
In the most searched combinations:
- With The Tower (XVI): the natural pair. The Tower knocks down, The Star rehydrates. Healing after the shock.
- With The Moon (XVIII): faith crossing the fog. Hope sustains the walk through the uncertainty of the Moon.
- With The Sun (XIX): The Star promises, The Sun delivers. One is the crossing, the other is the visible result.
- With Death (XIII): end of a cycle followed by renewal. A new beginning after the closing.
The Star reversed: the two readings
This is where the most interesting divergence of the card lives, and almost no one records it.
The contemporary reading, more widespread in Brazil, treats The Star reversed as a light that has gone out: shaken faith, discouragement, hopelessness, disconnection from oneself, and disillusionment. It is the "I no longer believe."
Waite, in 1911, wrote something else. In his divinatory meanings, the reversed Star is "Arrogance, haughtiness, impotence," that is, arrogance, pride, and impotence. It is not discouragement, it is pride and incapacity, a completely different axis. Curiously, Waite himself gives two meanings to the upright card, between loss and abandonment on one side, and hope and good perspectives on the other.
Both readings work, and neither is wrong. What does not work is alternating between them depending on the card that appears. Choose one criterion and keep it for the entire spread. The methods for reading reversed cards are detailed in reversed cards in tarot.
When The Star is not good news
A luminous card also has a shadow, and the XVII arcanum has four.
- Passive hope: trusting that "it will work out" and sitting down to wait. The Star renews spirit, but those who only look at the sky do not water the earth.
- Idealization: transforming hope into fantasy and projecting a perfect future to avoid dealing with the present. The beautiful water of the card can become a mirror of illusion.
- Excessive exposure: the figure is naked and without guard. Opening up completely to those who do not deserve trust is the fragile side of the card.
- Waiting for a sign and not walking: staying and waiting for the universe's warning to act. The star guides the navigator, but those who do not row do not arrive.
A necessary note: The Star tarot card is not an orixá (orisha). It does not correspond to Oxum (Oshun), Iemanjá (Yemoja), or Oxalá (Obatala). Tarot and Afro-Brazilian religions are distinct systems, and the Brazilian tarot of the Orixás has its own structure, which does not mix with the European deck.
Frequently asked questions
What does the Star card mean in tarot?
It indicates hope, faith, and healing after a difficult phase. It is the moment of reconnection when spirit returns and the person believes again. It usually points to renewal and serenity, without promising a result. The card describes the state of the person asking, not the outcome.
Is the Star a good card?
Yes, it is one of the most luminous cards in the deck. Even so, it speaks of promise and crossing, not of a result already delivered. It appears often after The Tower, like the relief that comes after the shock. It is good news, as long as it is read as a process, not as a guarantee.
What does the reversed Star mean?
It depends on the school. In contemporary reading, it is shaken faith: discouragement, disconnection, and disillusionment. In the original Waite reading, it is arrogance, pride, and impotence, a different axis. Choose a criterion and maintain it throughout the entire reading to avoid contradicting yourself.
What is the zodiac sign of the Star card?
In the Golden Dawn correspondence table, the Star corresponds to the sign of Aquarius, a fixed air sign. Unlike other cards, there is little divergence between schools here. Most modern tarot material follows this same attribution to Aquarius.
Is the Star in tarot a yes or no?
It tends toward yes, as it is a card of hope. But it is a yes of faith and process, not of immediate result. The answer never comes from an isolated card. It depends on the question asked, the surrounding cards, and the method adopted before the reading.
Where to buy tarot decks and items
At Joia Mística Laroyê, you find what you need to study and practice:
- Tarot decks: Rider-Waite, Marseille, and Brazilian editions
- Reading towels: to set the table before the reading
- White and blue candles: the most used in ritual work for hope and peace
- Incense and smudge sticks: to clear the environment and the deck
- Crystals and pouches: to accommodate and protect the cards
Visit our shop in Extrema, Minas Gerais or buy via WhatsApp with delivery to all of Brazil. We also offer tarot readings with Joice.
To check the iconography and correspondences of the card, see the “The Star (tarot card)” entry on Wikipedia, and the original description by Waite in The Pictorial Key to the Tarot.
References
- Wikisource: The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, Part 2, description of the cards by Arthur Edward Waite
- Wikisource: The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, Part 3, divinatory meanings by Arthur Edward Waite
- Wikipedia: The Star (tarot card) entry
