17. The Star

The Star (XVII) is the seventeenth trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks.

Iconography

A naked woman kneels by the water; one foot is in the water, one foot is on the land. Above her head a star shines out. In each hand she holds a jug. From one jug she pours a liquid into the water. From the other jug she pours a liquid onto the land. In other, older decks a woman (or sometimes even a man) is simply looking and sometimes gesturing at a large star in the sky. The shell fish is symbolic of life emerging from the water of creation and starting on the path of return to the creator. The pool of water refers to the subconscious. The land refers to the material world. She renews both. The woman is pouring water (psychic energy) into the pool of Universal Consciousness. The other pitcher pours the water onto dry land in five rivulets, representing the five senses. Her feet are balanced between dry land and the pool. The bent leg on the ground (Earth) supports her weight, while her other foot is resting on the water of the subconscious. The path is narrow and long representing the trials and the length of time that evolution takes. The path has its ups and downs and is not completed right away, but a slow process of learning and focus. The 32 tongues of fire falling from the moon are symbolic of the 32 paths to the tree of life. The dogs are symbolic of mans nature, one is trained, and the other is wild, the positive and negative forces that we must control to complete our time here. The bird in the tree in the background is the sacred ibis of thought, roosting in the tree of mind.

Interpretation

The Star is the card of hope, harmony, and insight into higher correlations. Usually divined as hope for the future, good things to come regarding the cards close to the star. It shows that we are planning or starting things that will reach far into the future. We can rightfully place our hopes in their positive development. However, because the Star follows the card of the Tower, it also represents the end of a period of change and turmoil. Similar to a newly planted seed, some time is necessary before the fruitful effects of our actions become perceptible.

Symbolism

The bird nested on the tree bears resemblance to the Ibis, a bird which was venerated by the ancient Egyptians as a symbol of the god Thoth. There are altogether 8 stars which account for the 8 minor astrological planets (excluding the sun and moon which have their own respective cards). This is inclusive of Pluto – at the time of the deck’s illustration an unknown planet X (Pluto was officially discovered in 1930). According to Waite the main star is l’Etoile Flamboyante of the Masonic tradition.

Reading

With Aquarius as its ruling sign, The Star is a card that looks to the future. It does not predict any immediate or powerful change, but it does predict hope and healing. This card suggests clarity of vision, spiritual insight. And, most importantly, that unexpected help will be coming, with water to quench the Querent’s thirst, with a guiding light to the future. When the Star appears, be open to new ideas and growth. Listen to the still small voice within. It is important to remember that the Star is inspiring, but it is not a card of practical solutions or final answers. When you see Card 17, know that you are on the right track. Your goals and your aspirations are blessed, but to realize them, you must take positive action.
The Star is the opposite of the Devil who strips us of our faith in the future. Card 17 holds out the promise that we can eventually find peace of mind. The Star also reminds us to open our heart and release our fears and doubt. If you have been holding back in any way, now is the time to give generously. Friendship is an important area governed by the Star. Your friends are especially previous to you now, and you may friend their presence in your life a source of great happiness.
When the Star is reversed, there is a feeling of despair or discouragement. It suggests that we look for issues in our life where we find ourselves discouraged or feeling overwhelmed. In a career reading, the Star reversed suggests that we are beginning to feel quite disengaged from our work and the original motivation we had with your career has started to weaken.

The Star in the Tarot of Marseilles
Opposing cards

Devil – hopelessness, lack of faith, pessimism
Tower – upheaval, chaos
Moon – being troubled, disturbed, anxious
Two of Swords – blocked flow of feelings
Nine of Swords – guilt, anguish

Reinforcing cards

Fool – innocence, faith, trust
Empress – generosity, free-flowing love
Six of Cups – good will, sharing
Ten of Cups – joy, positive feelings, blessings

Quote

A strange emotion seized me. A fiery trembling ran in waves through all my body. My heart quickened its beating, tumult agitated my mind.
I felt that I was surrounded by portentous mysteries. And presently shafts of Light penetrated my being and illuminated many things before in darkness, whose existence even I had never suspected. Veils vanished of which I had been before unaware. Voices spoke to me. And suddenly all my former knowledge took a new and different meaning.
I discovered unexpected correlations in things which hitherto I had thought foreign to each other. Objects distant and different from one another appeared near and similar. The facts of the world arranged themselves before my eyes according to a new pattern.
In the sky there appeared an enormous star surrounded by seven smaller stars. Their rays intermingled, filling space with immeasurable radiance and splendour. Then I knew I saw that Heaven of which Plotinus speaks:
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“Where . . . all things are diaphanous; and nothing is dark and resisting, but everything is apparent to every one internally and throughout. For light everywhere meets with light, since everything contains all things in itself, and again sees all things in another. So that all things are everywhere, and all is all. Each thing likewise is everything. And the splendour there is infinite. For everything there is great, since even that which is small is great.
“The sun too, which is there, is all the stars; and again each star is the sun and all the stars. In each however, a different property predominates, but at the same time all things are visible in each. Motion likewise there is pure; for motion is not confounded by a mover different from it. Permanency also suffers no change of its nature, because it is not mingled with the unstable. And the beautiful there is beautiful, because it does not subsist in beauty. Each thing, too, is there established, not as in a foreign land, but the seat of each thing is that which each thing is. . . . . Nor is the thing itself different from the place in which it subsists. For the subject of it is intellect, and it is itself intellect. . . . In this sensible region, therefore, one part is not produced by another, but each part is alone a part. But there each part always proceeds from the whole, and is at the same each time part and the whole. For it appears indeed as a part; but by him whose sight is acute, it will be seen as a whole.
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“Where . . . is likewise no weariness of the vision which Is there, not any plenitude of perception which can bring intuition to an end.
“For neither was there any vacuity which when filled might cause the visible energy to cease; nor is this one thing, but that another, so as to occasion a part of one thing not to be amicable with that of another.
“Where . . . the life is wisdom; a wisdom not obtained by a reasoning process, because the whole of it always was, and is not in any respect deficient, so as to be in want of investigation. But it is the first wisdom, and is not derived from another”.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
I understood that all the radiance here is thought; and the changing colours are emotions. And each ray, if we look into it, turns into images, symbols, voices and moods. And I saw that there is nothing inanimate, but all is soul, all is life, all is emotion and imagination.
And beneath the radiant stars beside the blue river I saw a naked maiden, young and beautiful. She stooped on one knee and poured water from two vessels, one of gold and one of silver. A little bird in a near by bush lifted its wings and was poised ready to fly away.
For a moment I understood that I beheld the Soul of Nature.
“This is Nature’s Imagination,” said the voice gently. “Nature dreams, improvises, creates worlds. Learn to unite your imagination with Her Imagination
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and nothing will ever be impossible for you. Lose the external world and seek it in yourself. Then you will find Light. “But remember, unless you have lost the Earth, you will not find Heaven. It is impossible to see both wrongly and rightly at the same time.” – The Symbolism of the Tarot by P D. Ouspensky (1913)