UNDERSTANDING THE STAR

Like the water carrier of her zodiac sign of Aquarius, a maiden is pouring water
from two vessels, one onto the earth and the other into a pool. It is twilight, but
we can see clearly a tree and a tiny bird on the right of this serene landscape. At
one with the natural world, this woman is a maiden aspect of the earth goddess,
or card III, The Empress. Her nakedness under the stars shows purity and truth,
and she is connected with the cosmos and the divine. There are eight stars above
her, and one of them, a guiding star, is much bigger than the others. The Star
card reveals hope and guidance.
In the major arcana sequence, the Star comes after XVI, The Tower, and
before XVIII, The Moon. After the Tower’s destruction, the maiden and her stars
are a sign of hope for a new world. The cycles of nature continue, present in the
four elements represented on the card: Earth, Air, and Water, with Fire suggested
by the yellow guiding star. Pouring calming water onto the earth and into the
pool, she heals the past and the present.
The Star’s number, XVII, comprises 7 and 1, adding up to 8, or VIII,
Strength. Strength shows a clothed woman holding the jaws of a lion, in a bid to
control dangerous instincts. In the Star, the maiden has ascended to a more
conscious state of awareness. She can let the water flow, trusting that she is on
her path. In some decks, this card may show a winged maiden to illustrate
angelic guidance.

THE STAR’S ASTROLOGY

The Star’s sign is Aquarius the Water Carrier (January 21–February 19), and the
element of the card is Air. Water represents insight, consciousness, and healing
and Air, thought and idealism, suggesting the social conscience with which
Aquarians are so often attributed.

THE STAR AND KABBALA

The Hebrew letter of the Star is Tzaddi, meaning the fishhook; it also takes the
meaning of hope. On the Tree of Life, the Star is placed on the eighteenth
pathway, between the spheres of Yesod and Netzach. Yesod is the sphere of
magic and the moon, while Yesod stands for sensual passion and instinct. The
Star is therefore the result of both these aspects, bringing together the qualities of
the sun and moon to create a new Earth.

UPRIGHT MEANING
The Star offers hope and guidance, so if things have felt difficult recently, have
faith that your luck is about to change for the better. The Star is a powerful
symbol of hope, and you can begin to appreciate everything life has to offer,
including better physical and spiritual well-being. The Star supports beauty, and
creativity flows like the star-maiden’s water. In your projects and relationships,
you can be fully expressed, sharing your love, gifts, and talents. The Star allows
you to shine and show your Star quality, so your efforts are appreciated. You
may also feel more intuitive and insightful under the Star’s influence and have
more trust in messages from your angels and guides.
The Star also shows good health. It is the card of the healer and is
traditionally associated with astrology.
The Star can also indicate the following:

Home: You feel inspired to create beauty and style in your home, so craft
projects and design are especially favored now. If you have your eye on a
dream home, it will come to you.
Relationships: The Star shows that you are destined to be with someone; it is
time to find a soul mate. Other existing relationships are calm and
harmonious.
Career and money: The Star brings money luck. Work you do begins to pay
off, as you have considered your long-term goals and given attention to what
matters most. Entrepreneurs may be guided to begin a new business, or you
find you have a hidden talent you can put to good use. The Star can also show
awards and fame.

REVERSED MEANING
In the reversed position, the Star can show giving up too easily in your projects
and experiencing a creative block. You may be too attached to a fantasy scenario
—after all, starlight is bewitching—while overlooking the details. Alternatively,
you may feel lulled into a false sense of security in a venture that has no
foundation and little chance of success. An additional meaning is feeling alone
just now, without the support you need.

ITS WISDOM MESSAGE

Be inspired—dreams come true.

THE STAR’S SYMBOLS

In the Rider-Waite tarot, the Star appears with these magical symbols. Some of
them reappear in other major arcana cards, so learn to recognize them and you’ll
soon find you can apply your knowledge throughout the deck.

The eight stars and guiding star: Hope and divine guidance are embodied by
the stars. The central yellow star, according to A. E. Waite, is a symbol of
Freemasonry called the Flamboyant Star, or Seal of Solomon. (Waite had
become a Freemason in 1901.) However, this talisman is usually shown with
six rather than eight points, so perhaps this was to be just one aspect of its
meaning. The star may also represent Sirius, or Venus (see The Historical
Star). The eight stars each have eight points, symbolizing renewal. Eight is
also the sum of the Star’s number, 17.
See the star crown and canopy of stars on card VII, The Chariot.
The maiden: A symbol of eternal youth and the creative soul, she may be the
Greek Aphrodite or the Egyptian deity Isis (see The Historical Star).
See the maiden as a symbol of civilization on card VII, Strength.
The bird: The bird may symbolize the dove of Aphrodite or the ibis of Isis
(see History). The ibis may be an intentional link with the card’s Hebrew
letter Tzaddi, which, according to tarot scholar Jonathan Dee, is “the perfect
fishhook.” The ibis also links with the Egyptian god Thoth, who was
sometimes shown with the head of an ibis, one of his sacred creatures. In
general, birds are symbols of freedom and the soul.
Flowing water: This is the water of life, symbolizing resourcefulness and
healing. The star-maiden pours water into the pool and onto the earth to
nourish it, just as the goddesses Venus and Isis brought fertility to the land.
 THE HISTORICAL STAR: GODDESSES AND
ANGELS
The image of the maiden and star has altered little over the centuries, from
its simplest form in the Visconti-Sforza tarots—a woman holding a star—
to the more illustrative Rider-Waite image, to which is added a pool, tree,
and bird.
The star maiden herself may be Greek love and fertility goddess
Aphrodite, the Roman Venus, who is often pictured with a dove. If so, the
star above her is Venus, the Morning Star. An alternative identity is the
Egyptian Isis, queen of magic and fertility, associated with the Ibis bird. If
this is so, the big star is her symbol, Sirius, also known as the Star of Isis,
fertility omen of the Nile. Legend has it that when Sirius, the brightest star
in the night sky, appeared, the Nile flooded, watering the crops growing on
the silt bed of the delta.
In some decks, the star-maiden is an angel. The card also embodies
Faith, one of the “lost” virtue cards of the tarot that existed in early decks.
The early Faith cards of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries show a female
figure holding in one hand one cup and in the other hand a cross. In this
way, perhaps Faith’s cup became subsumed into the two vessels of the Star,
and her cross, symbol of religious guidance, went up to the heavens to
become one of the eight stars in the sky.

THE STAR’S REFLECTIONS

We can see aspects of the Star in these minor arcana cards:

The Three of Coins, for creativity

The Six of Cups, for harmony
The Nine of Cups, for luck and a wish come true
Ace of Wands, for creativity and inspiration
Six of Wands, for victory and acknowledgment
 The Ace of Coins, for beginnings and money luck
The Nine of Coins, for comfort and contentment

TRY A READING WITH THE STAR: WISH UPON A STAR

Take the Star from your deck and lay it before you. Now shuffle the remaining
card, and cut the deck or fan out the cards facedown. Choose five cards with
your left hand and place them around the Star, as shown. You could ask, “What
will inspire me?” or “Will my wish come true?”

Card 1: You/your present situation

Card 2: Your wish
Card 3: The outcome
Card 4: What hinders you
Card 5: What helps you
 XVIII THE MOON

Alternative Names: Illusion, Luna

Number: XVIII
Numerology Link: IX, The Hermit
Astrological Sign or Planet: Pisces the Fish
Element: Water
Hebrew Letter: Qoph (Kuf)
Symbol: The back of the head
Meaning: Hidden problems
Tree of Life Pathway: Nineteenth, between Malkuth and Netzach
Chakra: Third eye, for intuition
Key Meanings: Illusion, dreams, and crisis
UNDERSTANDING THE MOON
The Moon is a card of duality and emotional turmoil, with its two foreboding
towers and two howling dogs. One dog appears domesticated while the other is
wild—a wolf, even—representing the dual aspects of internal conflict. The sun-
moon above appears to gaze upon the scene below, but the eyes are closed; the
solar aspect, the perspective of daylight, is blind under moonlight. The central
crayfish appears to struggle halfway between the water toward land. Something
very important is about to surface.
The crayfish stands for the fearful self. He can just glimpse the long and
winding road that yawns beyond the dogs and the towers. He senses that others
have trodden this path before, but can he follow? And if he does, is there reward
for taking this risk? Under the light of the sun-moon, what he is seeing may be
an illusion, pure fantasy. As A. E. Waite says, “The card represents the life of the
imagination apart from the life of the spirit.” This is the dark night of the soul, a
lonely time when there is little but moonlight to guide us. We, like the crayfish,
will need to make a decision in order to resolve the conflict between staying safe
in a place we know and taking on the challenge of the unknown.
In the major arcana sequence, the Moon rises after card XVII, The Star, and
before XIX, The Sun. With the Star, we have realized our guidance, the path we
must follow, and the Moon shows the hidden impact of this realization, when
deep-seated doubts and fears are realized. The Sun is the resolution of this dark
night, a sanctuary before we make our final Judgment on our actions before the
ending and beginning of our journey with the World. To heal the conflict of the
Moon, we need to embody our higher self, our soul wisdom.
The Moon’s number, XVIII, or 18, adds up to 9—IX, the number of the
Hermit. Both the Moon and the Hermit show being alone and a time for self-
reflection.

THE MOON’S ASTROLOGY

The Moon’s sign is Pisces, the Fish (February 20–March 20), whose element is
emotional Water. In astrology, the Moon in Pisces means compassion and
intuition. Pisces the Fish and stands for the soul, as well as sexuality and
creativity.