connecting to: The Moon

In this series, “Connecting to:”, I am examining each of the major arcana in depth. The major arcana are the most powerful and impactful cards of the tarot deck. Through a rich symbology, these twenty-two cards share with us the mysteries and secrets that are universal to the human experience and to spiritual evolution.

Each of these posts is a combination of a couple things: Intuitive notes I took while meditating with the card, comparisons of my notes to the traditional meanings of the card, and any other research or tidbit of information I find interesting/relevant! Think of these posts as little bulletin boards, with post-its from different sources and thought bubbles stuck all over. I may add to them from time to time, as well.

The Moon — XVIII — Major Arcana:

Meditation notes:

My first thoughts are that this card feels ritualistic and ancient. It feels mystical, and like it has a secret. There are occult vibes coming through. But more than that, there is an innate energy here. It’s intuitive, it has to do with the things that no one taught you. Figuring out how to do what feels best to the body, and therefore connecting with the most basic part of yourself. The part that’s existed since the beginning of time.

These two women seem like they’re tapping into that innate power while worshipping the moon. Honestly, they might be, but they’re also celebrating themselves: They are naked, caught in movement. It looks like they could either be in the middle of a beautiful dance choreography or a guttural howl. In either of those instances, they would be unashamed of their bodies. Their nudity has nothing to do with sexuality — it’s simply natural. Their hair is out and wild, calling to mind the mane of a lioness. Their fingers are long and thin, almost claw-like, not to mention the masks they wear. All of it is so animalistic, so raw and unabashed feeling. Important to note, too, that their masks are both of animals that are known for their cunning.

Our main characters have their backs turned to a river. As a symbol, water in the tarot tends to represent wisdom, intuition, spirituality — all things that are to be trusted. The river on this card, however, is home to a somewhat alarming and squiggly woman who looks like the black ink monster from Ferngully. Despite her looking distinctly evil at first glance, when you pay attention, you notice that she shares the same claw-like hand shape as the two dancing women.

Looking more at their surroundings, the grass behind the two women is longer and more overgrown than anywhere else in the card. It denotes a need to tend to your spiritual self, a need to “tap in” so to speak, whether that’s through meditation or dream work or whichever way works for you. There’s also a road between them that leads to a cave that is pitch black, it is the unknown. Whether it’s the ink lady or the cave — their only options each include a darkness. In contrast, the night sky is filled with stars, and the mountains are beautiful. The moon’s eyes are closed, her mouth downturned. She is either upset, or asleep.

All in all, this card calls to mind the book The Women Who Run With the Wolves, which I’ve mentioned on this blog before. The moon card feels like a reminder to embrace our shadow selves. It is a beckoning to allow our shadow side permission to really exist and reside with dignity in ourselves. It’s also an encouragement to give our shadow side grace where she needs it, and even to celebrate the shadow for lighting up the dark nights — just like how the moon is being worshiped and celebrated in this card for lighting up the night sky.

This card is about celebrating our rougher edges, those defense mechanisms that have gotten us this far, and it’s also about knowing which parts of her to leave behind in the river. It takes true wisdom and a sureness of self to know which parts of self must be stripped and which will be taken down the new path into the unknown future. It takes an understanding that the secret to loving your shadow is knowing she will always exist within you. She’ll come out to defend you when necessary, but there’s a time and a place from now on. Just like there’s a time and a place to do a ritual that invokes the power of the moon with you and your naked friend in coyote masks. Ha!

But when you sit with the imagery of the card for long enough, you do have to wonder — ARE they leaving the ink woman behind? Or were they actually invoking her, calling her up, asking her to rise from the river and accompany them on the trip? That’s an enticing possibility.

Reflecting on traditional tarot meanings:

This was a funny one because I’m always surprised when I’m reminded that The Moon is a card that is often associated with confusion. Lol! Nothing about this imagery pulled me in the direction of confusion, it was all giving such a natural, innate knowing sort of vibe to me. But I can see how, if you are in a state of general confusion — you would really need to be able to listen to your intuition as a guiding force in order to get to a state of clarity.

Something that was mentioned here and here that I do feel like I missed touching on — Yes, this card is a call to listen to your gut instincts. But it’s important to note that the reason it’s necessary to be able to trust your intuition in the first place is because there is an element of illusion at play right now. When The Moon comes up in a tarot reading, it’s telling us that something is not quite what it seems. Best to trust your gut instincts over whatever a-little-too-dreamy situation you’re being presented with.

From: “Tarot for Change” by Jessica Dore

Whenever I’m in study mode, this is one of the first books I pull out lately. Here are some of my favorite snippets of what she had to say about The Moon:

The idea that confusion could have therapeutic value is powerful because it takes a human condition that’s generally thought to be negative and suggests that it could actually be an ideal time for working on our ancient and atrophied modes of seeing, moving and knowing.

p. 108

To be in a state of not knowing creates openings, illuminates new pathways, and is thus ripe with potential, even as what we can’t grasp yet may scare us. When defenses drop, new edges and footholds appear, and when we’re flailing, we’re a lot less picky about what we grab hold of to stay alive.

p. 109

What I take away from both of these is that confusion creates a state where gut instinct for survival takes over, and possibilities are seen where they once were not. It forces a certain type of creativity that is innate and eternal.

Is it possible that confused times are actually perfect openings to call on parts of ourselves that we can’t otherwise access?

p. 108

I especially love what she says here because it’s easy to see how this deck’s visual interpretation of The Moon aligns with the point Dore is making. In this sense, I could see the “confused times” being the “deity” that is being worshipped by the two figures in the card. They are basking in their own confusion, and they are doing so through a ritual that is absolutely “calling on parts of themselves that they can’t access otherwise”. The part of themselves that they can’t access otherwise is the ink lady from the river — She, who was born from their intuition and who they share those animalistic, claw-shaped hands with.

What is the advice The Moon offers?

The advice of The Moon card is to trust yourself and to be weary of anything that seems too good to be true right now. This is a call to trust your gut instincts as you embark on a new path, and I feel like the imagery of The Modern Witch’s Moon card is a representation of how to go about trusting yourself. The advice of The Moon card is to get comfortable with yourself and with your confusion. It’s about allowing yourself to sit in your negative feelings long enough to allow the solution to present itself to you. It’s about letting go of all pretenses about how you “should” go about a certain situation, and just doing what needs to be done — even if it leaves you looking undignified (to some) and feeling naked with vulnerability.

The advice here is to allow your shadow side some space to breathe and think and feel and rage. Because once you’ve given her the time to sort through those big, negative feelings, it is your shadow side that will be able to guide you. This guidance will be coming from a deeply natural, intuitive part of you that exists at your core.