The Star
Replenishment
“We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.”
Oscar Wilde, Lady Windermere’s Fan
The Star at a glance
Finbarre’s interpretation: The Star represents hope, renewal and the quiet restoration of trust after disruption.
| Upright | hope, renewal, healing, inspiration, openness |
|---|---|
| Reversed | discouragement, disconnection, pessimism, exposure, depleted faith |
| Linked card | The Tower |
| Soundtrack | High - Remastered 2022 by The Cure Open the full Tarot Interviews playlist on Spotify |
Upright meanings
- Hope
- Renewal
- Healing
- Inspiration
- Openness
- Restored trust
- Calm after crisis
- Authenticity
- A guiding vision
- Emotional replenishment
Reversed meanings
- Discouragement
- Disconnection
- Pessimism
- Exposure
- Depleted faith
- Loss of direction
- Difficulty receiving help
- Creative dryness
- Hope postponed
- Withdrawal after disappointment
The Star in a reading
| Area | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Love | Relationship energy: Honest openness, healing and renewed trust. Reversed: Discouragement or difficulty believing repair is possible. |
| Career | Work: Inspiration, recovery and a clearer long-term direction. Warning: Losing faith because progress is quiet rather than dramatic. |
| Money | Financial theme: Gradual restoration and realistic hope. Warning: Pessimism preventing constructive action. |
| Feelings | Upright: Hopeful, sincere and emotionally open. Reversed: Depleted, exposed or disconnected from possibility. |
| Advice | Prioritise: Replenish what crisis has drained and follow the clearest guiding point. Watch for: Demanding certainty before allowing hope. |
| Outcome | Potential: Trust and direction return gradually. Obstacle: Discouragement blocks the restorative process. |
| Yes or no | Yes, with patience and realistic hope. |
Symbols in The Star
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| The large eight-pointed star | The central star dominates the sky and is surrounded by seven smaller stars. It provides orientation and a stable point above the open landscape. |
| The two vessels | Water is poured into the pool and across the land. The figure replenishes inner and outer worlds rather than choosing one over the other. |
| The naked figure | Nudity indicates openness and a lack of defensive status. Unlike the figures in The Lovers, she is alone, suggesting restored relationship with the self and environment. |
| The bird and tree | A bird rests in the tree behind her. It introduces watchfulness, communication or spirit into an otherwise still scene. |
| One foot on water | The figure seems to balance partly upon the pool while kneeling on land. The position joins intuition with practical contact. |
A. E. Waite's original description
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. Behind her is rising ground and on the right a shrub or tree, whereon a bird alights. The figure expresses eternal youth and beauty.
The star is l'étoile flamboyante, which appears in Masonic symbolism, but has been confused therein. That which the figure communicates to the living scene is the substance of the heavens and the elements. It has been said truly that the mottoes of this card are “Waters of Life freely” and “Gifts of the Spirit.”
The summary of several tawdry explanations says that it is a card of hope. On other planes it has been certified as immortality and interior light. For the majority of prepared minds, the figure will appear as the type of Truth unveiled, glorious in undying beauty, pouring on the waters of the soul some part and measure of her priceless possession.
But she is in reality the Great Mother in the Kabalistic Sephira Binah, which is supernal Understanding, who communicates to the Sephiroth that are below in the measure that they can receive her influx.
Waite's original divinatory meanings
Upright:
Loss, theft, privation, abandonment; another reading says hope and bright prospects.
Reversed:
Arrogance, haughtiness, impotence.
Source: A. E. Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, first published in 1910, with illustrations by Pamela Colman Smith.
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Written and interpreted by Finbarre Snarey, tarot researcher, founder of the British Tarot Archive and coordinator of the UK living heritage submission for Rider-Waite-Smith tarot reading practice.
These interpretations reflect Finbarre Snarey’s understanding of contemporary Rider-Waite-Smith tarot practice. They are provided for education, reflection and entertainment only and should not be treated as medical, legal, financial, psychological or relationship advice.