The Star
The Star is the seventeenth Major Arcana card, numbered XVII. It follows the Tower's rupture with an image of calm and renewal, associated with hope and quiet confidence after a crisis.
Last reviewed: 2026-07-18
Historical fact
Along with the Emperor card, the Star is at the center of a controversial, well-documented reassignment made by Aleister Crowley in the Thoth system. He swapped the astrological and Hebrew correspondences that the Golden Dawn traditionally assigned to these two cards, a change he justified with a passage from the 'Book of the Law.'
Interpretation — Rider-Waite-Smith / Golden Dawn
In the 1909 version, a nude kneeling figure pours water from two jugs, one onto land and one into a pool, under a sky with seven smaller stars and one large central star. It represents hope, renewal, quiet confidence, and healing after a difficult period. Reversed, it's commonly read as discouragement or a temporary loss of faith.
Interpretation — Thoth (Aleister Crowley)
In the Thoth deck, Crowley assigned the Star the Hebrew letter Heh (traditionally tied to the Emperor in the Golden Dawn), linked to the sign of Aquarius. It represents the individual's cosmic light, naked truth revealed beyond any structure — a reading that reinforces the card as a symbol of spiritual clarity.
This section presents one tradition's interpretation, not a verifiable fact.
Frequently asked questions
- Why is the Star's astrological assignment controversial?
- In the Thoth system, Aleister Crowley swapped the astrological and Hebrew correspondences the Golden Dawn traditionally gave to the Star and the Emperor — a documented change he justified based on a passage from the 'Book of the Law.'
- What does the Star's image represent in a reading?
- Broadly, it represents hope, renewal, and confidence after a period of difficulty — the calm that follows the rupture symbolized by the preceding card, the Tower.
Sources
- Michael Dummett. The Game of Tarot: From Ferrara to Salt Lake City (1980).
- Arthur Edward Waite. The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1910).
- Aleister Crowley. The Book of Thoth (1944).
- Stuart R. Kaplan. The Encyclopedia of Tarot (1978).