MAJOR ARCANA

The Star Tarot Meanings

The Star is a shining beacon of light that follows the darkness and destruction of The Tower, it offers hope, direction, and guidance and can symbolise a new awakening. The Star is represented by the element of air and the astrological sign of Aquarius, so it’s more about mentality and the connection between the head mind and the heart-mind.

It’s a very inspirational card that offers us a new idea, new mindset, new way of thinking about things, that can lead us down a new path or help us to find clarity on the journey we’re already on.

The Star Upright Meanings

In the upright position, The Star is a very nurturing card, it is able to soothe our previous wounds and helps us to see the world with fresh eyes. The main upright meanings of The Star are:

Hope
Inspiration
Guidance
Wishes
Optimism

In the upright position, The Star is a hugely positive and empowering card. Think about sitting by a window and watching the brightest star in the sky, you may find yourself wishing on it, or thinking about the possibilities to come. That is the energy The Star evokes when it appears in our spreads.

The Star Reversed Meanings

In the reversed position, The Star’s brightness is lost, it turns into a card of confusion and it’s like trying to find the star on a cloudy night. The stars are there, we know they are, but we just can’t see them, the same applies to The Star reversed, we know that there is hope, optimism and opportunity open to us, we just can’t see where to find it. Some of the main reversed meanings of The Star are:

Pessimism
Faithlessness
Feeling lost
Unrealistic expectations

With The Star in reverse, we have to take all that positivity from the upright position and flip it, what are the opposites of those upright meanings? That’s what The Star reversed symbolises, the darker side of that same coin.

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Reading The Star in a Tarot Spread

If The Star comes up in a spread, think about the dreams, desires and wishes that are being put forward. What is it that is being hoped for? Try and also identify any other cards in your spread that may have darker undertones, or be causing the quarant or yourself, to be stuck in that darker, more confusing state of mind.

The Star is the light in the darkness, so the easiest way to identify its meaning is by figuring out what that darkness is first and then seeing what kind of light and guidance The Star could be offering within that context.

The Star as An Invitation

As an invitation, The Star often asks us to find a more optimistic approach to our problems, to explore all the options, no matter whether they seem far-fetched or grounded in realism.

For The Star, this invitation could be the following:

An invitation to find a more optimistic outlook on your current situation
An invitation to find the glimmers of light, hope and guidance within a dark place
An invitation to dare to hope for your desired outcome
An invitation to release your will to the universe and allow things to come to you in their own time

The Star as Sage Advice

The Star teaches us a lot about patience, but also about renewal. Although The Star isn’t a completely new beginning, it can symbolise a new chapter. It is one of the last reminders in the major arcana that everything works in cycles and what was bad will be made good once more.

Some advice The Star may offer is:

Have faith that things will come in their own time and when they were always meant to
Dream big, but don’t try and run before you can walk. Set smaller goals to reach the bigger ones
Embrace new sparks of inspiration and allow yourself to be carried away with them to bigger and better things

The Star as a Lesson

The Star brings with it lessons of hope. It can be easy, as we age to lose that fresh and optimistic view of life, especially when we have so much more experience with the real world. However The Star reminds us that hope is always there, there will always be new opportunities, we just have to open ourselves up to them.

Some lessons that The Star may offer you are:

To learn to trust in divine timing
To learn when it’s ok to allow your dreams to run away with you and when to rein them in
A lesson in optimism and how it doesn’t always come naturally, we have to fight for it
A lesson in setting realistic expectations without also setting up limiting beliefs

The Star as a Redirection

The Star is often a redirection we get when we’re going down the wrong path. Much like the northern star, we can sometimes lose sight of our destination and The Star shows up to show us our true north, the direction we should be moving in.

As a redirection, The Star could symbolise a need to:

Take a second and try and rediscover what your true north is
Take a more optimistic outlook on a situation in order to gain more clarity
To have more faith in yourself and the universe
To follow the inner guidance that is coming to you naturally

The Star - Number 17

The Star is number 17 in the Major Arcana. The number 17 can be broken down in a few ways, one of which is by looking at the partnership between its two digits, one and seven. As one is the number of creation and seven is the number of spirituality, we get the creation of a new spiritual self. This then leads us to The Star’s properties of hope, wish fulfilment and finding a new direction after the darkness of The Devil and The Tower. We can also add the two digits together to give us the root number of eight, the number of long-term stability. This, again is something we desperately need after the events of The Tower.

The Star - Aquarius

The Star is the card of Aquarius so we can use the properties of Aquarius to guide our interpretations. Aquarius being an air sign means that we can apply the elemental properties of air to The Star, helping us pinpoint its energy within the mental and communicative parts of the self.

Aquarius is a sign known for being very truthful, technical and innovative. They are excellent problem solves and always have their eye on the long game rather than quick wins.

The Star - Explorer

When it comes to archetypes, The Star can fall into the role of explorer. There is an optimism that comes with this card that allows us to see the opportunities in front of us in much more clarity than before.

When we are stuck in the darkness of The Devil and The Tower, hope seems lost and we can’t imagine having that first for new experiences. With The Star, we get that passion back. We start to plan for what is to come and dare to dream bigger than before.