The Star Tarot Card Meaning: Hope, Love and Reversed
Nov 7, 2026 · The Editors
The Star tarot card meaning: hope, healing and renewal, what the card shows, upright and reversed meanings, the Star in love and career, and yes or no.
The Star is card XVII of the Major Arcana — the calm after the Tower. It is one of the most hopeful cards in the deck: healing, renewal and quiet faith that things will be well.
What the card shows
- A woman kneels at the edge of a pool under a night sky, one foot on land and one in the water.
- She pours water from two jugs — one into the pool, one onto the land, where it runs off in five streams.
- Above her, one great eight-pointed star and seven smaller stars.
- A bird sits in a tree behind her — an ibis, the bird of the Egyptian god of wisdom.
She is unguarded and unhurried. The storm is over.
Upright meaning
- Hope — the belief that things will get better.
- Healing — recovery after hardship.
- Renewal — fresh energy and inspiration.
- Guidance — a star to steer by.
Reversed meaning
- Lost faith — discouragement or despair.
- Disconnection from what inspires you.
- Impatience with healing that takes time.
In love
Upright: healing in a relationship, or new love after a painful time. A gentle, honest connection. Reversed: feeling hopeless about love; giving up too soon.
In career
Upright: inspiration, a hopeful new direction, recognition after hard work. Reversed: losing motivation, or doubting a path that is right.
Yes or no
Upright: yes. Reversed: not yet — keep faith.
Navigating by the stars
For thousands of years, sailors and travellers found their way by the stars — the North Star above all. The Star card carries the same idea: a fixed point of light to steer towards when everything else is dark. Compass rose meaning.
Astrology
In the Golden Dawn system that shaped the 1909 deck, this card belongs to Aquarius: the water-bearer — the figure pouring from her jugs. Readers who combine tarot with astrology look at where that sign or planet falls in their own chart.
Questions to ask when you draw it
- What gives me hope right now?
- What am I still healing from?
- What is my guiding star — the thing I steer by?
Write the answers down. Tarot works best as a prompt for honest thinking — the card asks the question; you answer it.
For all 78 cards, see tarot card meanings · Tarot spreads for beginners.
