The Star
The Daughter of the Firmament; the Dweller between the Waters
Hope poured out: clarity, renewal and the vision that restores after the storm.
| Trump | XVII of the 22 (Atu) |
|---|---|
| Letter | ה Heh, “window”, value 5, Simple letter |
| Path | Path 15, Chokmah to Tiphareth |
| Astrology | ♒︎ Aquarius, fixed Air, Jan 20 – Feb 18 |
| Old title | The Daughter of the Firmament; the Dweller between the Waters |
| Rider-Waite | The Star |
| Colour | Violet (King scale) |
In a reading
Hope, clarity, inspiration, the renewal of faith after loss; unexpected help; the sense of being part of a larger order. Badly placed: dreaminess, disappointment, false hope.
Working with the card
| Do | Trust the long view; pour yourself into what inspires you. |
|---|---|
| Bring | Openness, faith, a sense of your own orbit. |
| Beware | Dreaminess; hope with no vessel under it. |
| Ask | What do I see when I look past the immediate? |
Correspondences
On the card
Nuit, the goddess of infinite space, kneels on a globe and pours the waters of life from two cups, one over her own head and one onto the earth. Behind her turn a spiral galaxy and a seven-pointed star; crystals grow at her feet, and roses and a butterfly attend her.
Kabbalah
In the Thoth system the Star takes Heh, the window, and path 15 from Chokmah to Tiphareth, the letter and path that the Golden Dawn gave to the Emperor. Heh is the Mother in the Tetragrammaton: the window through which the light of Wisdom pours into Beauty. Crowley made the exchange on the authority of Liber AL I:57.
Astrology
Aquarius, fixed Air, ruled by Saturn (Uranus in modern practice): the water-bearer who pours out the stars. The decans of Aquarius are the Five, Six and Seven of Swords.
Number
Seventeen, and Heh's value 5, the pentagram and the star. The seven-pointed star is Babalon's, and the spiral of the galaxy shows that every man and every woman is a star.
Depth psychology
The anima as guiding star, and the renewal of hope after the Tower's collapse: the psyche's capacity to be replenished from a source beyond the ego. Jungian readers see the return of libido from the unconscious.
Thoth and Rider-Waite
Waite's naked woman kneels by a pool beneath eight stars; Crowley's Nuit is explicitly the goddess of Liber AL, the pool becomes a galaxy, and the letter changes from Tzaddi to Heh.
Where sources differ
Golden Dawn and Rider-Waite tradition assigns the Star to Tzaddi and path 28 (Netzach to Yesod). Crowley's swap with the Emperor is unique to his system.
The sign in depth
| Dates | Jan 20 – Feb 18 |
|---|---|
| Type | Fixed Air |
| Ruler | Saturn |
| Exalts | No planet |
| Weakens | Sun (detriment) |
| Motto | “I know” |
| Body | Ankles, circulation |
| Opposite | Leo, Lust |
| Gifts | Originality, idealism, friendship, independence, objectivity, reform |
| Shadow | Detachment, contrarianism, cold intellectualism, stubborn ideology, aloofness |
More in the astrology chapters: Aquarius.
Related cards
Pairs with
- צIV The Emperor The Star and the Emperor trade letters and paths in the Thoth system
- פXVI The Tower Renewal after collapse
The decans of Aquarius
- ♀︎Five of Swords DefeatVenus, Jan 20–29
- ☿︎Six of Swords ScienceMercury, Jan 30–Feb 8
- ☽︎Seven of Swords FutilityThe Moon, Feb 9–18
Courts ruling Aquarius
Other paths touching Chokmah
Other paths touching Tiphareth
Correspondences follow the Golden Dawn system as used in Crowley's Book of Thoth and Liber 777. Paintings by Lady Frieda Harris, © Ordo Templi Orientis. Where sources differ.