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The Star: An In-Depth Look at Tarot Card #17
“Keep the faith. Don’t lose hope. Better times are ahead.”
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Introduction
The Star is the 17th card in the Major Arcana. It is preceded by The Tower and followed by The Moon.
The Star is a classic symbol of hope, faith, and trust. She pours out her cups because she completely believes they will be refilled.
Uranus rules this card and its associated sign is Aquarius. In a yes/no reading, this card usually indicates yes.
This analysis will follow the art of the Rider-Waite tarot.
Keywords
Hope, faith, trust, divine plan, peace, good fortune, wishes come true, the light at the end of the tunnel, surrender.
General Meaning
Since The Star follows The Tower, The Star comes about as a moment of peace after a period of destruction and chaos. After you experience a Tower Moment and move into rebuilding your life, you begin to restrengthen your faith in the Universe.
Since The Star can occur after an intense moment in your life, it is entirely possible you are not fully aware of all the blessings around you.
This card represents the purity of faith. The woman on the card is naked, vulnerable to the cosmos and the world around her. She gives away the excess she has because she trusts the cycles of the universe will ensure she will be cared for. She has surrendered herself to the Divine Plan.
With the arrival of the Star, you can take this as the end of your previous struggles. A better time is coming.
Even if you struggle to keep the faith, know you receive help from unseen forces. Luck is on your side.
This next period of your life will be deeply fulfilling.
You can trust the Universe will provide for you. Good things are about to come to you—opportunities, abundance, and rest.
This is a time to trust. Even if you struggle to see any reason to remain hopeful, choose hope anyways. Be calm, choose peace, and remain steady in your faith.
Don’t allow fear to take hold of you. Choose to believe the best outcome will happen.
Overall, The Star knows, understands, and trusts the cycles of the Universe. She knows she is due a period of reprieve and fortune. She keeps the faith better times are just around the corner.
Symbology
The two feminine elements, the Star represents the connection between water and earth. Because of this, The Star is a card of incredible feminine energy.
This is the 17th card in the Major Arcana. In numerology, 17 represents immortality, hope, intuition, and self-expression.
She holds a cup in each hand.
The cup in her left hand represents her subconscious mind. Like the sea, bodies of water represent the subconscious mind in many tarot cards. She pours her cup into the pond, replenishing her subconscious mind and fueling her creativity.
The cup in her right hand represents her conscious mind. This cup she pours out onto the ground. The stream from this cup becomes five rivulets, representing the five senses.
She has one foot in the pond, representing her subconscious, and one foot on the ground, representing her consciousness. This action symbolizes her balance between her subconscious and conscious mind and her active engagement with each.
She recognizes the importance of both her consciousness and subconsciousness.
Her nakedness represents her purity and vulnerability. She has nothing to hide from herself or the Universe. She is exactly who she is without pretense.
In the sky behind her, there are 8 stars.
The large star symbolizes her core essence — hope, faith, and renewal.
The 7 smaller stars symbolize each of the 7 chakras — Root, Sacral, Solar Plexus, Heart, Throat, Third Eye, and Crown.
The bird in the tree behind her is a holy ibis. In ancient Egypt, the sacred ibis was worshipped as Thoth, the god in charge of the order of the universe.
The Star holds a lot of similarities to Temperance, Major Arcana 14.
Like The Star, Temperance also has one foot in the water and one foot on land. Unlike the Star, Temperance swishes water between two vessels. She is also fully clothed and standing straight up.
Of the two, The Star has more to do with faith in the Universe. Temperance has more to do with knowledge, understanding, and faith in the self.
In a Reading
In General
You’ve recently endured a period of extreme challenge. This period forced you to remove your limiting beliefs and rebuild your life in a new direction. You’ve realized your core essence, what you want, and who you are.
You are moving into better times.
You have faith in your connection to and place within the Divine Plan. You’ve accepted you’ll never fully understand the reason for what you’re going through, but you have faith that everything you encounter has a reason behind it.
Even when it doesn't seem like it, you know you are blessed by the Universe.
If you struggled with keeping your faith recently, this represents a renewal of all these wonderful feelings. Hope is easy to lose. If you have lost it, it is returning now.
A deep appreciation will mark this new period of your life for yourself.
Difficult times prove that we are stronger and more resilient than we give ourselves credit for. Difficult times also show us the parts of ourselves that need more work. You understand what makes you powerful, and you also understand, in yourself, what brought you misfortune before.
You are entering a peaceful time marked by significant personal growth and development.
Everything and anything is possible for you right now. Be open to new ideas, experiences, and growth.
In Love
For Singles: Your recent love life has been disastrous. Take peace from the idea that better times are ahead. Understand what brought about your previous romantic strife, and move ahead with faith the universe will provide for you.
A better romantic life is headed your way. Be calm, peaceful, and hopeful.
For Those in a Relationship: If your relationship has recently been through a rough patch, take peace from the idea the worst is over. Now is the time to rebuild together. Renew your faith in your partner and consciously emphasize their strengths in your perception of them.
Remember that love is a daily choice. Make this choice gratefully.
In Career
Your career or professional life had a momentary crisis. This could have been burnout, a conflict with another person, or job loss. Better times are ahead, but look back and understand what you could have done better.
The Universe will provide for you, but the lessons it gave you in your recent past will serve you well. Make sure you learn them fully.
Thanks for reading! When are some times you’ve felt the energy of The Star in your life?
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