The Star is the eighteenth card in the Tarot Deck. It is given the number 17 because the very first card (The Fool) is given the number 0.
The Star represents Hope, Optimism, Healing, Good Times ahead, Miracles, Unconditional Self Love and Wishes coming true.
Let’s look at the picture below of The Star. The picture is from the Rider Waite Tarot deck which was first published in 1909. It is a great deck for beginners because every card has a picture describing its meaning. Today the majority of Tarot decks are based on the Rider Waite deck. It is also a ‘deep’ deck because the creators of it put multi layered meanings inside it.
We see a naked woman half kneeling. One foot rests above the water. She holds two water containers and she pours water onto the pond and the land. Above her is a huge golden star and around are 7 smaller stars. Behind the women is a tree with a bird sitting in it – the Ibis bird.
The Star card is similar to the Temperance card – put them beside each other and compare them.
SYMBOLS
Woman
This woman represents hope. She seems graceful and serene yet focused. Some Tarot readers believe that the woman in the Star card represents a goddess associated with ‘the star’ which is Venus. Goddesses names include Ishtar and Isis.
Body Posture of Woman
The women is naked. The Queen of Heaven was often seen as naked. Being naked is being real – no pretense.
Facial Expression of Woman
The woman is focused 100% on what is doing. She is in the moment. She watches how the water pours into the pond, representing the unconscious. She is aware of her unconscious but she is not deep within it. In fact her right foot is above the water.
Water – Pond
The water in the pond represents the unconscious. The watery depths of our being. The woman has her foot resting on the water which is a physical impossibility. Why is this? Perhaps it is indicating that to have hope means rising above the mire of emotions and fears that the unconscious can hold.
Water – Small Streams
The water poured from the jugs flows over the green fertile land. 5 streams run from the poured water. Some water returns to the pond to show the unconscious is fed by the flow just as much as the conscious (land).
Stars in Sky
The gold star represents hope. It has 8 points. The Babylonians believed that their queen of heaven goddess Ishtar was represented by an octagram and she ruled over the planet Venus. The word star may come from the word Ishtar.
The 7 smaller white stars represent the 7 chackras, the 7 visible planets in the sky and the 7 metals of alchemy. 7 is a sacred number in many traditions and religions, past and present.
The Ibis Bird
The bird is an Ibis which is Egyptian mythology represents Thoth and Hermes – the wisdom carriers.
Gods / Goddesses
The Star is ruled by all the Gods and Goddesses that rule over the celestial stars especially Sirius and Venus (which is actually not a star).
Female: Star Goddesses, Virgin Mary, Ishtar, Inanna, Astarte, Astrea, Venus, Nuit, Isis, Arianrhod, Aphrodite
Male: Thoth, Nodens, Hermes
Number
The number of The Star is 17.
1 +7= 8 which is the Strength card. When we have inner strength and courage we do not give up. We keep going and have optimistic hope.
8 is also the amount of points on the star in the Star card.
Astrology
The astrological sign Aquarius rules over the Star Tarot card.
According to astrologers and many people in the New Age movement, we are now in the age of Aquarius. The Age of Aquarius is an astrological age, which shifts roughly every 2,150 years. It’s defined by the sun’s position at the time of the March, or vernal, equinox. The Age of Aquarius begins when the March equinox point moves out of the constellation Pisces and into the constellation. There is a lot of controversy about when this age begins, but many agree it has not begun yet.
Aquarius is ruled by Uranus so we have the element of rebellion which also brings in the Age of Aquarius when old ways of thinking and behaving will no longer work.
Aquarius rules the ankles and calves as well as circulation throughout the body.
Kabbalah
The creators of the Rider Waite Tarot deck were members of the Golden Dawn, a group that had many teachings based on the mystical Kabbalah of the Jewish nation. When I say Kabbalah forget about monotheism, Judaism, God, and religion for a moment. Kabbalists are mystics in a sense. They believe God is neither male nor female and in fact has many aspects. Their systems are all about learning why we are here, the mystery of the universe and what the big plan is.
Inside the Rider Waite deck is a multitude of Kabbalistic meanings. I will briefly explain a few of the Kabbalistic meanings within The Emperor card. Believe me when I say you could learn for the rest of your life about Tarot and Kabbalah and still only scratch the surface. I’m keeping it superficial but easy to understand. I am also using on purpose the word Kabbalah rather than Cabala.
The Star is represented by the letter Tzaddi – צ – which represents fish hook. A holy person in Hebrew is called a Tzaddik – a beacon of light to their followers.
The Star on The Tree of Life sits on the path between Netzach (Victory) and Yesod (Foundation).
The name of this card is ‘Natural Intelligence’ which implies that there is a natural intelligence within each of us especially when we are calm and meditative inside. We see the meditative woman in the card. She reminds us that when we are still, then we come in contact with our natural intelligence.
KEYWORDS / KEY PHRASES
For the ancients the stars moving in the sky gave them direction (when travelling) and when to sow or reap by the appearance of a star or constellation). For example the Egyptians noticed that Sirius would appear in the sky every year around the time of the flooding, so the star became a symbol for life, hope and fertility.
Optimism / Hope / Healing / Change for the Better / Positive Future / Dreams come True / Blessings / Praise / Inspiration / Miracles
Self Healing / Unconditional Self Love
MESSAGE FROM THE STAR
The Star is telling you that after the upheavals of The Tower there is calm and peace. You may have gone through a hard time but this card is saying the hard time are over. Now is the time of gentle healing, hope and love. Now you can hope for better times and a more bright future.
If you are currently going through a card time then this card is fortuitous because it means good luck is coming your way.
Ask yourself these questions:
What gives me hope right now?
What kind of spiritual peace am I experiencing?
What new area of self love is coming into my life?
What can I dream of that can become reality?
What kind of healing can I offer myself?
What kind of healing can I offer the world?
What inspires me?
What motivates me?
Allow yourself to focus on the healing energies of the Star. The light of the Stars are usually soothing when we go outside at nighttime and look up. On a clear night, go outside and look up at the stars. Pick the brightest star in the sky and make a wish. Wish for what you want and then wait for it to come your way.
When we have hope, we have courage. When we have hope, we have the ability to keep going.
THE STAR REVERSED
When I see a reversed card I simply see the energy blocked or inhibited in some way.
How would The Star be inhibited?
If the Star is inhibited you have no hope. You feel stuck, downtrodden and hopeless. You feel there is no way out of your situation and you feel it to your core. You are scared you will never feel optimistic again. You may also have false hope – something you believed would come about failed.
If you get The Star reversed for yourself or someone else some questions to ask might be…
Am I feeling a sense of hopelessness?
Am I feeling there is no light at the end of the tunnel?
Am I not seeing that perhaps there is a way out of this situation?
Am I negative about where I am? Am I constantly complaining?
Am I sick and I feel I will never be well again?
Do I have a lack of trust in something greater than myself?
Have I given up?
If you get The Star reversed you have to understand that you have lost hope. In order to get yourself out of the situation you are in you MUST find hope once again. You must seek it out and grab it and hold onto it as you pull yourself out of the hole that you are in. Easier said than done of course! The only constant in life is that everything changes and the place you are currently in will change also.
TO SUM IT ALL UP…
The Star card tells you there is a star inside of you. Whether its your Persona, Ego, Conscious or Unconscious you are now being given the gift of self love, hope, healing and joy. Grab it and enjoy it.
The Star invites you to bathe in the starlight that is upon you right now.
Aim for your dreams, no matter how big or small.
Wish upon a Star…you can be a winner in whatever you choose to be.
The choice is yours.
PHOTO CREDITS
Star Tarot Card: By Pamela Coleman Smith – a 1909 card scanned by Holly Voley (http://home.comcast.net/~vilex/) for the public domain, and retrieved from http://www.sacred-texts.com/tarot (see note on that page regarding source of images)., PD-US, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17299744
All other pictures are from www.pixabay.com and are creative commons and free for commercial use.