Getting started is as easy as finding the right deck and brushing up on the cards. While every card has meaning, the Star card, part of the Major Arcana, is something special. Here’s what the Star card could mean for you—whether you pull it facing upright or reversed. Her left hand represents the subconscious, with the water nourishing the earth and continuing the cycle of fertility in the lush landscape around her. In her right hand—the conscious—she pours the water onto dry land marked by five rivulets, symbolic of the five senses. The woman has one foot on land and one in the water. “As she kneels at the small pond, she engages in a purification ritual, letting go of that which no longer serves her and instead embracing the flow of life,” says Brigit Esselmont, founder and CEO of Biddy Tarot. The woman is at once practical and intuitive, and her nudity represents both her purity and vulnerability. The Star card is also marked by a single large star—symbolizing her core essences—and seven smaller stars, which represent the chakras. “It’s a beautiful card with a deep and powerful message, especially for those going through a rebirth of some kind,” says Esselmont. “The Star card invites the reader to shed her skin—all the layers that have built up over the years—and be ’naked’ under the beauty of the starry night sky. This is about being vulnerable, authentic, and raw—being who you really are.” It’s something that takes courage. “As a Major Arcana card, this card speaks to a very deep level of the soul,” says Esselmont. “It’s no easy feat, and it takes a high level of awareness and consciousness to stay in this place.” This is the time to dream big and open yourself to new ideas and opportunities. In other words: Out with the old, and in with the new. A reversed Star card is often an invitation to test the depth of your faith in yourself. “It’s about getting to the core of who you really are and staying in connection with this,” says Esselmont. The Star card is also particularly relevant in career readings. “I see it as an invitation to bring your whole self to work,” says Esselmont. “Show yourself, and express your truth.” In finances, the Star card can bring hope and faith that your financial situation will stabilize. “You may need to first audit your bank balances, savings, and spending—the cleansing ritual represented in the card—and then start afresh with how you manage your money,” says Esselmont. “I also see the flow of money as being important—allowing the space for money to flow in and to flow out in constant movement.” Upright or upside down, there is much to be learned from the powerful Star card. It’s a symbol of renewed hope and a feeling of immense blessings from the universe, a time of growth and development. Reversed, the Star car is an opportunity to see, and grow from, the lessons in your current struggles so that you emerge more connected, more grounded, and more in tune with what you really want in your own life. Either way, it’s a card with a powerful message, and its lessons are a road map to growth.
