I’m posting two quotes from Waite’s Fellowship of the Rosy Cross Philosophus 4 = 7 Initiation as they provide keys to a fuller understanding of this card. Quotes throughout this post will be from here unless otherwise indicated:
“The 28th path of Tzaddi, which is a channel of communication between Netzach and Yesod, is called in our secret tradition the natural intelligence. It is said to perfect, after its own kind, the nature of every being under the orb of the Sun. It refers more especially to the mind, which is allocated to the Sephira Yesod. The ascent into Netzach is not through the natural mind but by that directing power that works within it."
and
“The Symbol of the 28th path represents Shekinah as the new moon on the side of Mercy, looking towards the glorious Sun of Tiphereth and reflecting its sacred radiance. The animals below are the unregenerate instincts of the natural man in Malkuth, while the crayfish reaching up toward the land is the evil part of our nature. Shekinah is the soul-part shining in the region of material darkness, ignorance and savage fear. She reflects over the sad region of our suffering estate the Divine Light of the self-knowing spirit. The two towers signify the ramparts of the visible world, and the space between them is the issue into the unknown. In another and not less important aspect, the moon is the natural mind, the state of reflected and partial light, the illusion, the glamour and the uncertainties of the logical understanding in the presence of the great problems. I have said that the new moon is on the side of Chesed; in the waning it is on that of Geburah; and at the full it is said to reflect the Sun of beauty and righteousness. These also are aspects of the mind, which in the glory of its fullness reflects the mind of Christ, thus corresponding to Shekinah, whom I have termed the vesture of Messias."
From the PKT:
“The distinction between this card and some of the conventional types is that the moon is increasing on what is called the side of mercy, to the right of the observer.”
Here Waite seems to be referring to a comment he made earlier in Class 1, Section 2:
“18. The Moon. Some eighteenth-century cards show the luminary on its waning side;”
The sixteen primary and sixteen secondary rays—32 total—might refer to the 32 paths on the Tree of Life.
The Moon in this image has three parts: (1) A new moon waxing; (2) a gibbous moon represented by a female face with eyes closed; (3) a full moon. The waxing and waning aspects represent the uncertainties and shifting illusions of the natural mind. Waxing on the side of “Mercy” would seem to indicate a beneficent influence contradicting the commonly-held view of this card as negative. Regarding the full moon, to quote Waite, “At the full it is said to reflect the Sun of beauty and righteousness.” The woman is Shekinah.
The path between the pillars indicates the way into the unknown, beyond five senses and three dimensions. In the PKT Waite says the dog and wolf represent:
“The fears of the natural mind in the presence of that place of exit, when there is only reflected light to guide it.”
and
“It illuminates our animal nature, types of which are represented below—the dog, the wolf and that which comes up out of the deeps, the nameless and hideous tendency which is lower than the savage beast.”
In his description of the Waite-Trinck Moon, Waite describes them as:
“The unregenerate instincts of the natural man in Malkuth.”
and
“While the crayfish reaching up toward the land is the evil part of our nature.
In the PKT, Waite doesn’t address the towers at all, but in his FRC Philosophus Initiation he says:
“The two towers signify the ramparts of the visible world.”
A rampart is something constructed as a defensive device, a wall or tower for example. The towers represent the natural defenses of the mind which resist all efforts an individual might make to move beyond its material frame of reference. This is illustrated as the fear of the unknown in the dog and wolf. This fear keeps us safely insulated, but can also be a barrier that must be overcome if one wants to attain anything beyond the mundane.
The
Waite-Trinick Moon makes it a little easier to picture what Waite’s getting at with this card; as does
this diagram showing its placement on Waite’s revised Tree. The Moon is reflecting the Sun of Tiphareth for the benefit of the natural mind (Yesod) and the animal instinct (Malkuth).
“The Symbol of the 28th path represents Shekinah as the new moon on the side of Mercy, looking towards the glorious Sun of Tiphereth and reflecting its sacred radiance.”
and
“Shekinah is the soul-part shining in the region of material darkness, ignorance and savage fear. She reflects over the sad region of our suffering estate the Divine Light of the self-knowing spirit." [i.e. Tiphareth]
Waite doesn’t say explicitly but it can be inferred that the influence from Tiphareth should come through Netzach.
As already shown, Waite identifies the animal instincts with Malkuth; these two quotes show his identification of Yesod with the natural mind:
“The 28th path of Tzaddi, which is a channel of communication between Netzach and Yesod, is called in our secret tradition the natural intelligence. It is said to perfect, after its own kind, the nature of every being under the orb of the Sun. It refers more especially to the mind, which is allocated to the Sephira Yesod. The ascent into Netzach is not through the natural mind but by that directing power that works within it.” [i.e. Shekinah]
and
“The Man corresponds to Yesod, the Grade of Theoreticus and the purification of your natural mind.”—FRC, The Ceremony of Reception in the Portal of the Third Order
I don’t believe the number of dew drops has that much (if any) significance, though it might have. Waite gives the key to their meaning in his comment, “The dew of thought falls; the message is: Peace, be still;” The thoughts represented by the dew derive from Tiphareth, the “Divine Light” quoted above. Throughout the FRC Rituals, Waite refers to “dew” in connection with Divine doctrine, presence or speech. Here are a couple of examples:
“Dew of Divine Speech, falling in stillness on the heart, filling the soul with Knowledge. Enter into the heart and purify; come into the soul and consecrate.”—FRC, Practicus Initiation
and
“The dew of Thy Presence falls therein, and it breathes forth fragrance of the Spirit.”—FRC, The Ceremony of Consecration on the Threshold of Sacred Mystery for the Watchers of the Holy House
In summary, in one sense the Moon is the natural mind with all of it shifting and illusions; even when “full” that fulness is still only temporary. In another sense it's Shekinah operating within the natural mind as a calming influence, reflecting Divine dew drops of Light and Wisdom from Tiphareth.