REVERSALS: The Moon Reversed

Thirteen

We have a bit of conundrum with the Moon. It's usual interpetation often has to do with hallucinations, insanity, wildness...but it also relates to dreams, fantasy, artistic talent, creativity, psychic ability, romance. This make interpeting the reverse a bit troublesome. Is it positive or negative? Let's see what we can work out.

1) Opposite: trying to figure out the opposite of the Moon is problematic. Logically, it should be "The Sun." But we already have that card. So let us say, instead, that it is the "Dark of the Moon." In this instance, I would interpet the Moon at its very worst, giving it's milder interpetations to the upright.

By the light of the Moon, we can still find our way--even if wild things do happen by that light. When the Moon is dark, however, dark things happen. We might well say that things are not merely wild, but primitive. Criminals lurk in the dark, shady folk with dark purposes and intents. Sexual predators instead of romance, artistic talent used to hurt and destroy. Evil fantasies and dreams. Here is the stalker, the person who wants to scare and harrass.

This interpetation would probably include a bad psychological time. If the querent suffers from any problem or has someone in their family suffering through such a problem (depression, bi-polar, substance abuse) they are going to be going through a dark time with it. It's going to be a long dark night of the soul.

2) Blocked: The energy of the Moon is that of chaos. It can be insanity or artistic genius, but either way, it is unrestricted. Blocked suggests a writer's block, perhaps a sexual block, even a block put on that insanity (medication that dulls the mind?). The block might be physical (bars on the window!), or just self-restraint. This is not order, so much as a lock on the door, keeping Chaos/freedom/wildness outside.

There may be calm with this blockage--but it is artifical. The chaos (insanity?) has not been removed/erased/corrected, only prevented. Bars protect the person from the wild, but the wild still calls to them. So, in this case, crime is prevented, but not stopped. Depression, etc. are held off, but not cured.

3) Upsidedown: Turn the card upside down and the creatures are not gazing up at the Moon--the Moon gazes up at them instead. This suggests that what rules and commands the wild is no longer in charge. Base as these intincts may be, they do have a guiding light that they look up to, a gut feelingthat they are following. It's certainly topsy-turvy for the light to be looking up at them, for them to be in charge instead.

It is out of primodial ooze, out of chaos, that order comes (the Sun will follow the Moon), but upsidedown suggests that order is moving into chaos instead. That even the guiding light of the moon has been subjected, and only the primitive reigns--unchecked, directionless, with no purpose or hope of coming to an end.

This is the sort of interpetation one might find for revolutions and riots, for countries melting down into political tormoil with no path to peace in sight. On a more personal level, you're likely to get this interpetaton for a complete mental breakdown or a merciless plummet into the worst depths of drug addiction. There is no civilization. Men and women are ruled entirely by their animal natures. Complete anarchy.
 

Lady Orchard

Thanks for these Thirteen, they're really useful.

For the Moon, I also thought of how this can be the card of psychic abilities, and so reversed, could indicate somebody being or imagining that they are under psychic attack? They believe a curse has been put on them.

Also - a disruption or block of menstrual cycles - early menopause for example.
 

michmm

The Moon Reversed has come up in times when one is going through some mental problems, a mental breakdown, etc.
It could also indicate the person blocking psychic abilities.
Could also indicate self-delusion.
 

FaerieStorm

The moon (both the Card and the Moon itself) relates to the ebb and flow of both the tides and energies. It can relate to feminine cycles and such.

Reversed, it might indicate menopause (i.e., the blockage of menstruation). It could simply refer to other kinds of female health problems. It could relate to an arising mental problem: schizophrenia, paranoia, psychosis, etc.

-FS
 

Thirteen

scary card, no?

Good points all of you! I'd forgotten about the menstrual connection. Quite right that it could signal menopause or other female problems.

You know, when I started this, I rather thought that the worst reversed card would be the Tower or the Devil...but I'm beginning to feel that it's The Moon. When I wrote out this reversal such terrible things came to mind. It really is the one card that postulates the most frightening possiblities from mental breakdowns, to hexes/curses, to nightmares and anarchy.

I think The Moon reversed now tops my list as the scariest card you could have in a spread.
 

jojojo

Beware of the moon

This is great Thirteen, I can really relate to your interpretations of the moon reversed. I have always seen it as incredibly 'dark', that you have ventured off of the path that you should be on...just like in the film 'American werewolf in London'......Beware of the moon....Stay on the road...

I agree that the moon reversed is one of the worst cards to receive in a reading. This is contrary to one of my tarot books that gave the moon reversed as 'light' and 'that you can now see everything clearly'. I could never relate to that as I always saw it as dark, mysterious and somewhat scary in a spooky kind of way.
 

YDM42

The Moon Reversed:

I'm new at this, but I wonder if anyone can percieve this:

The cards are ask to tell about the crow: (a bird) and the moon came up reversed (along side was the sun reversed and the 5 of pentacles reversed);

-A reversed Moon: The legacy of the crow is the bringer of lost souls out of the darkness and into the light- so could the reversed moon indicate coming out of the darkness (even lunacy) into the light?

-Sun bright forces of energy reversed could indicate forces of energy which are dark- since crow is the keeper of secrets. In mythology the sun and the moon where twins. Intuition and intellect.

- Five of pentacles reversed: restoration
the crow brings lost souls into the light.
---------- Any thoughts? I'm very new and I see this is an old thread...but maybe someone will respond.
 

Ladybro

Thirteen said:
Good points all of you! I'd forgotten about the menstrual connection. Quite right that it could signal menopause or other female problems.

You know, when I started this, I rather thought that the worst reversed card would be the Tower or the Devil...but I'm beginning to feel that it's The Moon. When I wrote out this reversal such terrible things came to mind. It really is the one card that postulates the most frightening possiblities from mental breakdowns, to hexes/curses, to nightmares and anarchy.

I think The Moon reversed now tops my list as the scariest card you could have in a spread.

I Thirteen, thank you I`m learning a lot from you. And talking about the moon I read in some books that is connected with the mother. I`m not sure if it`s motherhood, but it´s sure about Mother. In what sense? reversed perhaps?
 

YDM42

Ladybro said:
I Thirteen, thank you I`m learning a lot from you. And talking about the moon I read in some books that is connected with the mother. I`m not sure if it`s motherhood, but it´s sure about Mother. In what sense? reversed perhaps?

Perhaps again coming out of the darkness (mothers womb) into the light. I considered more about mental illness and how it relates to being a veil or illusion - also depression; all are in a sense giving birth or coming out of the darkness (illusion-night) and all can be very scary and dangerous.
Birth is a near death experince- leaving the saftey of the womb via contractions...etc...etc..

When I was young people predicted when you a woman was going to give birth by the various phases of the moon as it effected the gravitational pull on the fetus. Ebb and flow of the moon was very forceful.

I'm very intrested in how others connect the moon with change, especially in a reversal.

P.S. it is also connected with conception and a womans cycle- used to be used frequently in prevention method of birth control. Also connected with harvest, planting- farming, gardening and fishing- so it's not all evil in purpose. Maybe a full moon does give birth to some small things that are buried deep inside of us; like depression, mental illness, letting go and having fun; warewolves *shrug* so it is a birth giving life giving force more than anything else- and with its phases, unike the sun it's very temporary and transient. So I can't see long term "anthing"
 

Ladybro

YDM42 said:
Perhaps again coming out of the darkness (mothers womb) into the light. I considered more about mental illness and how it relates to being a veil or illusion - also depression; all are in a sense giving birth or coming out of the darkness (illusion-night) and all can be very scary and dangerous.
Birth is a near death experince- leaving the saftey of the womb via contractions...etc...etc..

When I was young people predicted when you a woman was going to give birth by the various phases of the moon as it effected the gravitational pull on the fetus. Ebb and flow of the moon was very forceful.

I'm very intrested in how others connect the moon with change, especially in a reversal.

P.S. it is also connected with conception and a womans cycle- used to be used frequently in prevention method of birth control. Also connected with harvest, planting- farming, gardening and fishing- so it's not all evil in purpose. Maybe a full moon does give birth to some small things that are buried deep inside of us; like depression, mental illness, letting go and having fun; warewolves *shrug* so it is a birth giving life giving force more than anything else- and with its phases, unike the sun it's very temporary and transient. So I can't see long term "anthing"

In this way, there are many similarities with The Empress.
But still I’ve difficulties to interpret The Moon as a mother, or harvest or little things growing up.
Once, a friend of mine asked me to be with her during a tarot reading, She asked a question about problems that she had with her couple. The tarotist draws the Moon card and said. “ It´s because of his mother” just that and only that.
The tarotis refused to say anything more about his mother or what kind the problem was causing her. The important thing here that was totally true.