XVIII-The Moon (♓︎)

The Moon by G A Rosenberg

Illusions seem real
reality a dark dream
when the moonlight wanes

I heard her calling me last night
Her voice the whisper of
the waning moon
casting shadows with her secrets
raising doubts from seeds left buried
all so long ago
She lured me with her promises
Secret knowledge offered
Illusions granted
Calling me through castle doors
Strange creatures howling point the way
I beguiled go
She showed me things that couldn’t be
Demented Nightmare’s gift
monstrous awakening
She took from me my secret fear
replacing shadows in its stead
I trembling go
and yet to reach the morn
through Hecate’s night reborn
–G A Rosenberg

At night, by the light of the Moon (particularly when its waning) we can see a lot less of our external surroundings than we can by daylight. Things appear shadowed and hazy and any light may seem blinding. Our imaginations have full play and we try to fill in the darkened spaces with a combination of intuition and imagination. What we see and how we interpret it can tell us a lot about ourselves if we are open to it. The Moon force in this way illuminates our interior selves.
The Moon trump shows us our fears and dark desires. It can give us deep understandings of our hidden longings or it can send us reeling into insanity, beset by fears and emotional demons that we have repressed and refused to face. When we find ourselves least able to cope with this psychic and emotional shit storm, the best that we can do is endure, knowing that night inevitably gives way to day.
When talking about the greater cycle of the Fool’s Journey or the Great Work, the Moon comes at a time when we have bravely made it through most of our shadow work and what’s left is some of the really dark repressed stuff that we were not yet ready to face. Under the influence of the Moon it becomes revealed and with courage, will and endurance we will survive.

Astrological Correspondent – Pisces(♓︎)-Pisces is an inward dwelling intuitive energy. It lives in its dreams and then brings them to the surface.Like an iceberg, three quarters of what Pisces feels is hidden and it prefers it that way. Pisces is sensitive and compassionate and feels things deeply both for itself and others. This can sometimes lead to self-pity or an over sympathetic approach.
Pisces would rather face happy dreams than unhappy reality. When it sees external life falling short of its dreams it tends to withdraw or may indulge in self-destructive behaviour. It looks for direction from other more self-directed energies. The Piscean energy can all too easily lose its identity as it takes on the characteristics of those it admires or who can get them through the storm seas. It is self-sacrificing in the extreme and this can lead to loss of self as well. Pisces is ruled by Neptune and is mutable in its ways.

Runic Correspondent-Othala(‘property’)–Othala means property in the sense that it is an ancestral land or sacred space. A sacred space is one in which we can be still and receive messages either from our ancestors or from our unconscious mind. It is a coming into our birthright in a spiritual sense and bringing what we learn to others and using it for the good of all. Another rune that is connected to The Moon trump is Algiz.

Path on the Tree of Life – Path 29-Qoph – Qoph translates as the back of the head. If the head in general is seen as the font of consciousness than the back of the head would represent that hidden dark side of our conscious awareness. This path is referred to as the Physical intelligence of Corporeal Intelligence because it concerns to the automatic and unconscious influences on the physical both in the sense of autonomic bodily functions and our psychosexual subconscious aspects. It connects the sephiroth of Netzach (“Victory”) with Malkuth(“Kingdom”) and shows the influence of Venusian Desire upon our physical form.

When the Moon shows up in a reading it may indicate that the querent is living in their imaginations quite a bit. This can be very positive if they are finding a way to express their imagination but can also have the negative connotation of jumping at shadows. The card may mean that the querent is beset by fears and imagining the worst in everything and everyone. Everything that once seemed bright may seem dark now. This is what many refer to as the dark night of the soul. When one is going through this, the best advice may be to just endure it until its over. There is value in seeing what one’s fears are and daylight will come eventually. Sometimes one has to feel the feelings until they stop and then move forward.
The Moon may also be telling the querent that they need to trust their intuition even if they don’t feel that they can see things clearly. They need to accept what their perceptions are and move beyond them, as difficult as that may sound. When one has lost their way in the woods, it is not what they imagine that matters but what signposts they can find that will lead them out.
The card may also mean that the querent is dealing with emotional issues that they have been repressing.

The inversed Moon may mean that the querent is recovering from a period of emotional stress and delusion. Things may be seeming a bit brighter and they may be seeing things more as they are and less how they fear them to be. It may mean that they are struggling against integrating recent lessons about themselves into their life and regressing a bit. The Reversed Moon may indicate that the querent is caught up in a frenzy of day to day activity to avoid taking a good look at emotions and thoughts that they are repressing. The card may also mean that someone has their psychic channels activated but due to their own lack of clarity is unable to distinguish between what’s real and what’s illusion.