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TL;DR: In The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1911), Waite describes The Star with a large eight-pointed star, seven small stars, and a naked female figure pouring water onto land and sea, and gives divinatory meanings including loss, theft, privation, abandonment, plus another reading of hope, while the reversed meaning is arrogance, haughtiness, impotence. In modern Tarot reading, this card is often understood as hope, healing, faith in the future, and reversed as loss of faith, temporary disappointment. Nhật Nguyệt's suggestion: choose one small task to finish during the day, say one thing you are grateful for, avoid major financial decisions based on inspiration, and prioritize a steady rest rhythm.
Where does The Star card sit in the Major Arcana?
The Star is the 17th card of the Major Arcana, the 22 great cards of Tarot. It comes right after The Tower, the card tied to collapse and crisis, so in many readings The Star is seen as the quiet space after a shock. The Rider-Waite-Smith deck was first printed in 1909, with art by Pamela Colman Smith under the direction of A. E. Waite; the divinatory meaning Waite gives in The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1911) is one layer of meaning, often different from the meaning common today.
How does Waite describe The Star card?
Waite writes in The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1911): one great star shining with eight rays, surrounded by seven smaller stars, also with eight rays. The female figure in the foreground is completely naked, her left knee on the ground, her right foot on the surface of the water. She pours the Waters of Life from two great vessels, onto both the sea and the land. Behind her the land rises, and on the right there is a bush or a tree, on which a bird settles. Waite says this figure expresses youth and eternal beauty.
Waite also notes that this star is l'étoile flamboyante, which appears in Masonic symbolism but has been confused within it. What the figure pours into that living scene is the nature of heaven and the elements. He quotes two lines said to be the motto of the card: "Waters of Life freely" and "Gifts of the Spirit". Waite says the summary of many showy interpretations holds that this is the card of hope; on other planes, it is confirmed as immortality and inner light.
What divinatory meaning does Waite 1911 give for The Star?
Waite lists divinatory meanings including: loss, theft, privation, abandonment; and he adds that another reading speaks of hope and bright prospects. The reversed meaning according to Waite is: arrogance, haughtiness, impotence. He keeps both contradictory directions of meaning in the same entry, so the reader should know that this is what Waite himself wrote, not something later generations added.
In today's Tarot reading, what does The Star mean?
In today's Tarot reading, The Star upright is usually understood as hope, healing, faith in the future. Reversed, this card is usually understood as loss of faith, temporary disappointment. The common keywords that come with it are hope, healing, faith. This is also the meaning used by Nhật Nguyệt's card draw tool, and it is not the divinatory meaning Waite gave in 1911.
In Nhật Nguyệt's understanding, what does The Star suggest?
In Nhật Nguyệt's understanding, The Star is the card of the quiet space after a shock, when we begin to see the way forward. The image of water poured onto both land and sea suggests a care that is at once concrete and spiritual, not separate from everyday life. Nhật Nguyệt does not treat this card as a forecast of the future, but as a mirror for the reader to ask where they are keeping or losing their faith.
What is Nhật Nguyệt's suggestion for today?
Nhật Nguyệt's suggestion: for work, choose one small, concrete task and finish it today to regain momentum. For relationships, try saying one thing you are grateful for in the other person instead of waiting for them to guess. For finances, avoid big decisions based on passing inspiration, and simply review the accounts you have. For health, prioritise rest and a steady routine, and see a doctor if symptoms persist.
Quick reference table: how do The Star upright and reversed differ?
| Aspect | Content |
|---|---|
| Deck | Major Arcana |
| Number | 17 |
| Main keywords | hope, healing, faith |
| Meaning upright | Hope, healing, faith in the future. |
| Meaning reversed | Loss of faith, temporary disappointment. |
Where do Waite 1911 and today's reading differ?
The most visible difference is that Waite puts loss, theft, privation, abandonment first, and only then adds another reading speaking of hope and bright prospects. Today's reading usually gathers The Star toward hope and healing, while the reversed direction leans toward loss of faith and temporary disappointment. Waite's reversed meaning is arrogance, haughtiness, impotence, quite different from the reversed meaning common today.
| Layer of reading | Upright | Reversed |
|---|---|---|
| Waite 1911 | Loss, theft, privation, abandonment; another reading speaks of hope and bright prospects | Arrogance, haughtiness, impotence |
| Today's reading | Hope, healing, faith in the future | Loss of faith, temporary disappointment |
Which details on the card are easily misunderstood?
One easily misunderstood point is the bird on the branch. Waite's description says only that a bird settles on the bush or the tree, and does not name the species. Identifying it as the ibis of Thoth is the interpretation of some later authors, not what Waite wrote in the entry on The Star card. Similarly, assigning the star's eight rays to the bagua or the seven smaller stars to the seven chakras are associations outside Waite's text, so they should be taken only as reference suggestions.
Another point is that the great star is not called Venus by Waite. Waite calls it l'étoile flamboyante and mentions Masonic symbolism. Associations with Venus or with guiding mythology are popular readings, not part of the original description.
Should The Star be seen as a forecast of the future?
It should not. Both Waite and today's reading present The Star as a set of meanings and associations, not a verdict on the future. When this card appears in a spread, it should be seen as material for reflecting on one's current situation. Decisions about work, finances and health still need to rest on real facts and, where needed, professional advice.
Overview article on the topic: Tarot Basics: 78 Cards and the Meanings of the Major/Minor Arcana
