Tarot on a Tangent: Rediscovering Your Light with The Star Card Podcast by Psychic Tansy

Let's take some time to delve into the of the Star card. Here are the basics.

Basic Facts About The Star Tarot Card

The Star card is the 18th of the Major arcana cards in traditional tarot card decks. Its number is 17 because we start numbering the deck at 0 with The Fool Card. It is an Aquarius Significator card, representing aquarian energy or a subject with predominant Aquarius energy in their astrological birth chart. In terms of timing, if a querent draws the Star card it indicates Aquarius season which falls between January 21st and February 20th.

The planetary ruler for this card is Uranus, the modern planetary ruler of Aquarius. Uranus rules over innovation, technology, electricity, hope and uniqueness. Uranus also signifies sudden changes, disruption, lightning, unpredictability, rebelliousness, and revolution.

In a yes or no question, when this card presents itself upright the answer to the question is, yes. However, when this card is in reverse the answer to the question is, no.

The general interpretation of the upright position of The Star card is hope, faith, enlightenment, renewal, optimism, and divine manifestation. There is a great peace and freedom from worry represented by the Star card. Think of it as the tarot embodiment of the old Disney song from the 1940 animated classic Pinocchio, "When You Wish Upon a Star". As the song promises, when the Star card appears, “anything your heart desires will come to you. " There is no need to worry, just keep the faith.

What is the Meaning of the Star Tarot Card in a Love Reading?

In love, the upright Star card speaks to a situation full of the promise of good things to come. This is a big level up card. If you're dating, this card bodes well for a committed relationship. If you're already in a committed relationship the Star card in the upright speaks to a deeper level of physical and emotional intimacy in your future. It's a reminder to keep grounded, balanced and to keep lines of communication open.

If this comes out upright in answer to another person's opinion of you; the answer is favorable. This means the person sees you as a positive presence in their lives. Someone who is optimistic and spiritually grounded.

The Star card in reverse in a love relationship indicates disappointment with the connection. There's a loss of faith creating distance between partners. One or both partners may feel stuck in unhealthy cycles that haven't been able to extricate themselves from. This energy robs the relationship of its sparkle and shine. When this card presents itself in the reverse in romantic affairs, it's a sign that one or both partners are unwilling to commit more energy and time to a frustrating union. Hopes are dashed. It's very difficult to see a future together when this card comes out in the reverse in a love situation. 

What is the Meaning of the Star Tarot Card in a Career Reading?

When the Star card emerges in matters of career and business, it portends to new opportunities on the horizon. Either a promotion at your current company, new responsibilities, and increase in pay or a job opportunity in another company. This is about finding a job that is more aligned with your career dreams and receiving an opportunity that will allow you to be more creative in your work. The Star card is aspirational, so it's important to keep in mind that you will have to stabilize your new opportunity with an investment of time or effort.

However, when the Star card presents in the reverse position the interpretation is a little bit more ignominious. Like a star that's falling and losing its shine, the Star card in reverse represents unfulfilled hope and desire. It is about listlessness and hopelessness in this position. The Star card in reverse is heavy with disappointment and negativity born of dreams deferred.

In terms of business and finance, when the Star card shows up in reverse there's a good chance that an opportunity has been lost. This may have been a job where there was an expectation for advancement that never came into fruition. Creative blocks and obstacles create a work situation that is uninspiring and monotonous with the Star card in reverse.

As far as liquid assets are concerned with this card and reverse there's an indication that financial gains are flowing away from you. The money that flows in flows out again.

Are There Deeper Levels of Meaning in The Star Card?

Now that we have the general interpretations of the Star card, let's take a knee like the figure in the card and delve into some of the deeper esoteric meaning of this card. The Star card is definitely more than meets the eye.

The Hebrew letter represented by the Star card is Tzaddi which symbolizes the word fishhook. It translates into that which draws the fish out of the water. The nude woman depicted in traditional Star cards is an aquarian figure. She is a water bearer holding two pitchers which act as her Tzaddi or fishhook which she uses to draw water from the ocean of subconscious mentality, universal conscious represented by the pool of blue water in the card.

The water and the fish within it represent the unbroken flow of knowledge. The woman is literally using her Tzaddi to fish for truth in the depths of subconsciousness through meditation which is also a function the letter Tzaddi. Kabbalists associate the letter Tzaddi with Aquarius. The aquarian figure is a representation of the hermetic principal of "as above, so below" bringing us full circle into one of the basic meanings of the Star card. The manifestation of a wish. The realization of a dream fished from the collective conscious into reality.

The large yellow star in the background represents cosmic radiant energy which shines forth from our sun and the other stars in the sky. The eight-pointed yellow star in the Star card is also featured in the Wheel of Fortune. The seven smaller white stars which surround the yellow star represent the seven chakras, seven planets of esoteric astrology their correlating seven alchemical metals.

The purple mountain in the back represents the great work people must engage in to receive enlightenment like our golden-haired water bearer in the Star card. 

There's a scarlet Ibis perched on a tree representing the human brain and nervous system in the background of the card. The Ibis was a bird sacred to Hermes Trismegistus and ancient Egyptians and has been adopted by hermeticists here because it's bill is a natural fishhook, or Tzaddi on the banks of the Nile River. It symbolizes the ability to bring the thought process to rest during meditation so that truths can be revealed to us.

There's some debate about the identity of the water bearer among esoterics. Some people believe her to be the Egyptian goddess Hathor, or Empress while others think she is the High Priestess. She is mother nature. Her left knee rests on Earth and her right foot rests on water. She balances herself by water, but the earth supports her weight, her journey into meditation and peace.

What is the Star Card's Symbolism in the Thoth Tarot?

The interpretation of the Star card in the Thoth tarot is slightly different from Rider - Waite - Smith and Marseille derived decks. In the Thoth Tarot this is unequivocally one of the most positive cards. Reversals are generally not read in Thoth Tarot.

In the Thoth Tarot, The Star card is represented the Hebrew letter He instead of Tzaddi. He translates into a window, a vehicle that allows divine light to pass through. This card is an acknowledgment that every person is a star and is created in the image of the divine. The water bearer on the star card in the Toth deck is none other than the Egyptian goddess, Nut. She is the embodiment of the feminine divine. She is the mother of the sky and the heavens. In this joyful interpretation of the Star card Nut is bathing herself in the waters of life poured from a golden cup.

The golden cup represents the sun, the Lord the Giver of Light. In the center of the golden cup is the star of Venus. A seven-pointed star representing love, beauty and creation spiraling out of God's love and flowing over Nut. In her other hand is a silver cup representing the moon and mankind.

The moon represents illusion. As divine light enters the world of man it loses some of its luster to the world of illusion. What is lit by the light of the Moon is somewhat obscured.  The moon cup, the cup of illusion, is said to hold the blood of the Holy Grail spilling out into the physical world. It is more angular than the spiral flowing shape coming out of the golden cup representing the Sun and God. This is because the world of man is more ordered and rigid than the world of spirit. 

At the bottom of the card above Nut's knee are five small angular shapes representing butterflies. These butterflies are spirits who have departed from the physical world and are ascending into the heavens. The number 5 is meant to represent the 5th Element of spirit. The background of the card is the formless sea of the cosmos.

This card encourages us to look to the divine when we are mired and bogged down by the world of man. At the bottom of his card are geometric shapes representing the world of matter. 

How To Work with The Star Card’s Energy

When you're feeling discouraged or short on optimism it's a good time to take some time to meditate on the Star Card. Use it as a vehicle to remind you of how you are like the water bear in the card. What do you want to draw out of the waters of collective consciousnesses?

Focus on the star in the card and reflect on how you shine in the world. Think about your light and how you illuminate others with it. Consider that which you have made manifest. Which of your dreams have come true? How have you been bathed in the light of the Divine, like Nut?  

Inhale and understand that as long as you draw breath there is hope. You can still your mind, focus and retrieve anything you need; any solution you're seeking out of the waters of collective consciousness. You just need to believe.  You have the power, it's right at your fingertips. Remember as a famous cartoon cricket once sang...  "Anything your heart desires will come to you."