Major Arcana · XVII
The Star Tarot card meaning
Hope after the storm; healing, calm faith and a guiding light ahead.
- Arcana
- Major Arcana, card XVII
- Astrology
- Aquarius
- Upright
- hope, renewal, healing, inspiration
- Reversed
- discouragement, lost faith, disconnection, despair
- Yes or no
- Yes
What The Star means
The Star is card XVII of the Major Arcana, and it arrives right after the upheaval of The Tower. It is the calm night sky after a storm. At heart, it is a card of hope, healing and quiet faith, a reminder that you can breathe again and that a gentle light is guiding you forward.
The Star upright
The traditional image shows a woman kneeling by a pool under a great eight-pointed star, with seven smaller stars around it. She pours water from two jugs, one into the pool and one onto the land, and a small bird rests in a tree on a nearby hill. Her nakedness suggests openness and having nothing left to hide. Upright, The Star often points to renewal flowing into both your feelings and your practical life.
In everyday terms, this can look like feeling hopeful again after a breakup, regaining energy after a draining season, or finding a new sense of direction. The card often shows healing that is real but soft, like a long walk that clears your head or a kind message that arrives just when needed. It invites you to trust that things are slowly getting better and to let yourself feel inspired.
The Star reversed
Reversed, The Star may point to hope feeling far away. You might feel discouraged, disconnected or unsure whether things can improve. Perhaps you have been through a difficult time and are struggling to believe in brighter days, or you have stopped doing the small things that used to lift your spirits.
The card does not leave you in the dark. It invites you to look for small sources of light: a friend who listens, a favourite song, a moment outside under the sky. Faith rarely returns all at once. It grows through little acts of care. Even one tiny step of reconnection can begin to bring the stars back into view.
The Star in love and relationships
Upright
In love, The Star often shows a relationship that feels healing, gentle and full of hope. It can describe a bond that helps you open up after past hurt, or a fresh start built on honesty. If you are single, it may point to feeling ready to love again, with a lighter heart and clearer sense of what you want.
Reversed
Reversed in love, the card can reflect feeling disappointed or losing faith in romance, perhaps after being hurt. It invites you to tend your own heart first, and to remember that openness can return slowly, when you feel safe. A kind evening with yourself is a fine place to start.
The Star for career and money
Upright
Like the great star above the pool, a hopeful vision can return to your job or studies, bringing renewed motivation with it. It may show inspiration for a creative project, recovery after a stressful period, or a growing sense of purpose. It invites you to follow what genuinely lights you up and to set goals that feel meaningful, not only impressive.
Reversed
Reversed, it may point to feeling uninspired, burnt out or unsure why you are doing what you do. Reconnecting with what once excited you, and allowing yourself proper rest, can help restore your spark over time. Even ten minutes on a favourite task can remind you why it mattered.
The Star as feelings
Someone who sees you in The Star's light may feel hopeful, peaceful and quietly inspired, the way a clear night sky feels after rain. They may see you as a positive presence, someone who brings calm or healing into their life. Their feelings tend to be sincere and gentle, with a quiet optimism about what could grow between you.
The Star: yes or no?
Yes The Star is a clear yes, filled with hope and positive energy. It suggests things are moving toward healing and a brighter outcome.
As adviceKeep hoping, gently. Pour care into both your heart and your daily life, and let the small lights guide you.
The Star in a three-card reading
- Past
- In the past position, The Star points to a time of healing after difficulty, or a hope that carried you through. Whatever helped you recover then may still be a resource you can return to.
- Present
- In the present position, The Star suggests you are in a quieter, gentler stretch after a storm. It invites you to rest, to trust that things can mend, and to let small signs of renewal count.
- Future
- In the future position, The Star suggests hope is ahead and worth moving toward. Not a quick fix, but a steady light: keep doing the small things that restore you, and let your sense of direction return.
Positions from the Past, Present, Future spread.
Symbolism and imagery
What is pictured on the traditional Rider-Waite-Smith Star card, and how each part is usually read:
- Water poured on the land and into the pool: renewal flowing into both the practical and the emotional
- One great star and seven smaller ones: hope and guidance after hard times
- The bird in the tree: the soul, and wise thoughts taking flight
- Her nakedness: openness, honesty and nothing left to hide
What Waite wrote in 1910
Arthur Edward Waite created this deck with the artist Pamela Colman Smith, and gave its meanings in The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1910, revised 1911). His words come from the old fortune-telling tradition and can sound stark or puzzling today. They are here so you can see where the modern meanings above come from.
A great, radiant star of eight rays, surrounded by seven lesser stars — also of eight rays. The female figure in the foreground is entirely naked. Her left knee is on the land and her right foot upon the water. She pours Water of Life from two great ewers, irrigating sea and land.
Loss, theft, privation, abandonment; another reading says — hope and bright prospects.
Arrogance, haughtiness, impotence.
Source: A. E. Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (London: William Rider & Son, 1911), public domain. Read the full text.
The Star in the Fool's Journey
Chapter XVII · The Seven Lights
In the Emberlune app, the Fool's Journey is a story game with one chapter for each card of the Major Arcana, guided by Nox, Luna's black cat. Hope after the storm, healing and calm faith. Seven little stars around the great one shine in turn, each a small hope: watch them, tap them back in the same order, and light the whole sky.
After the storm, the path comes down to a quiet pool under a clear night sky. The air smells of rain and grass. Everything is very calm.
Nox Card number seventeen: the Star. After the Tower, this is the card that says: it is going to be all right.
Nox It is the card of hope. Not loud hope. The quiet kind, that comes back after something hard, like stars after clouds.
The Fool's Journey opens with the app. Get one email when it does.
Journal prompts
Questions to sit with when The Star appears:
- What gives me hope right now, even in a small way?
- Where in my life am I ready to heal?
- What would I do if I truly trusted things could get better?
The Star combinations
The Star + The TowerThe card before The Star in the Major Arcana. After a sudden upheaval comes calm and repair. The pairing often marks the moment when rebuilding can begin.
The Star + Three of CupsHope shared with others. Friends, community or a support group may be part of how healing happens now.
The Star + The HermitQuiet guidance from within. Time alone, reflection or a gentle mentor may help you hear what your hope is pointing toward.
Spreads to draw The Star in
Questions about The Star
Is The Star a good card?
Yes, The Star is one of the most hopeful cards in tarot. It speaks of healing, renewal and calm faith after a difficult time. It is often a welcome sign that you can breathe again.
What does The Star mean in love?
In love, The Star points to a gentle, healing connection and renewed faith in romance. It can show a fresh start, honest openness, or feeling ready to love again after past pain.
What does The Star reversed mean?
The Star reversed often shows discouragement or a temporary loss of hope. It invites you to reconnect with small sources of comfort and inspiration so your faith can grow back.
Explore The Star in a reading
Ask what is on your mind and draw your own cards. The free reading shows each card's meaning in its place.
Tarot is a tool for reflection, not a prediction, and never a replacement for medical, legal, financial or mental health help.
