Paulina Tarot Study Group~The Moon

HearthCricket

My thoughts on The Moon!!

The mysterious Moon card is full of all the RWS symbolism and is awash with whites, greys, blues, greens and subtle yellows. The Moon shines down on the landscape in her triple aspects radiating out her light and drops of Yods burst out. A stark landscape of trees lingers far in the back, mysterious and unknown. These 6 trees represent the 6 senses, according to the LWB. In the foreground a dog-like creature howls at the Moon, considering which form to take, while a snake-like creature with a dog's head almost seems to smile and tempt the dog to transform to its darker side. Lots of shadow here! More stark trees, including some with fey faces and even the lollipop ones, are scattered throughout the card in subtle colours and the deep blue river runs between and into the distance. The crayfish lingers in the lower right hand corner and little trinkets of stars and fish hang from the waters edge. A bee (what is she doing out at night?) symbolizes "creativity and power". (LWB) Mushrooms that grow in the night are visible, but the snail is MIA! In a dream-like world of mystery and transformation, we are reminded of illusions and shadows taking place in our lives and in the world around us and that often our greatest creativity takes place at night or as a result of our dreams.
 

lalalibra

I love how in comparison to the RWS, the water here doesn't "stop" at a path; rather, it flows as a river far into the distance and beyond where the eye can see. It reminds me of the idea of how our unconscious mind is boundless and much larger than we can fathom in certain states. I like that there isn't a path; there isn't a clear way to travel in the Moon card, rather, you dare to follow the flow of the water. It's fun to wonder in what direction is this water flowing? I imagine it would be very interesting path-working to do with this card; to enter into the card and see where the water takes you...

I also like to think of the trees as representing a gateway. I take it that the trees here call back to the High Priestess card; she is in between worlds and ever on the horizon. It makes more sense to me to use these symbols of nature anyway (rather than man-made pillars/towers), tying into the idea of secrets hidden in the natural world, in the dark cycles. The Moon card, after all, reminds me of all that is wild and untamed.

I actually see this is a crab, not a crayfish? Apparently freshwater crabs are nocturnal, emerging at night to feed.

This card also makes me think of the concept of other realms in terms of how the foreground of this card shows all these trees and fantastical creatures - like there is an entire world to be seen here in this small, thick patch of wildlife we're in. And off in the distance, there are more trees, but they're too far away for us to see what surprises are hidden there.