Moon following Star in Major storyline...

[Herzog]

Concerning "the Journey" or "storyline" of the Majors, what is the explanation of the Moon following the Star?

With the Star there is finally some room to breath, a chance to make things better after the crash of the Tower. So why another trip back into the murky unconscious? Seems anti-climactic, or like one step forward... two steps back

I know there are many interpretations for the Moon and that Confusion, Psychic Strangeness, Scariness, Deception etc are just a few... But why darkness of any kind after such a lovely card like the Star? The Moon appears better suited to follow the Tower like some sort of hazy, disorienting aftermath of an explosion

Just curious...

 

[Grizabella]

Well, it's a reminder, I think, that you can't keep your head in the clouds without realizing that there are two sides to everything. All isn't just starry and wonderful, there's the other, murkier side to life and any situation, too.

 

[Herzog]

Hmm... "head in the clouds..." that makes sense. Never thought of the Star like that but yea, a certain dreaminess does connect.

I tend to see the Star as clarity or actively working on yourself in a deep and meaningful way. And because water is present in the picture, the unconscious is already active and speaking to you...

 

[Thirteen]

Self-Knowledge

Beyond the oasis of the Star is the darkest, wildest and scariest territory in the Tarot: the Abyss. The desert, if you like, a land that the High Priestess, alone, knows how to navigate (which is why the hebrew word for her is "the camel" who carries us across this desert).

This looks like a step back, but really, if you think about what happened with the Tower, you'll see that it's not. Rather, it's a way to avoid a repeat of the Tower. Usually it's the wants/needs of our emotional and unconscious self that lets us believe in the Tower rather than seeing right away that it's false. To avoid being tricked like that again, we have to cut through this land (which is actually a shortcut to enlightenment!) where we come face to face with that part of ourselves. We will be scared, tricked, deceived, inspired, and driven a little insane in this land of dreams and nightmares and primal urges. But once we come out, we will know how to avoid being tricked, deceived, scared, etc.

We will, if you like, know our weaknesses. Also, along the way, we should discover some gemstones in the grit and sand: instincts, creativity, psychic abilities. That's the other step forward in this card. We come out of it with very valuable treasures. It is a rough and wild, terrifying and dangerous exploration of that part of ourselves we never, in waking moments, want to acknowledge. But it's not a step back. Self-knowledge is the most powerful knowledge of all.

Does that make sense?

 

[Herzog]

Beyond the oasis of the Star is the darkest, wildest and scariest territory in the Tarot: the Abyss. The desert, if you like, a land that the High Priestess, alone, knows how to navigate (which is why the hebrew word for her is "the camel" who carries us across this desert).

This looks like a step back, but really, if you think about what happened with the Tower, you'll see that it's not. Rather, it's a way to avoid a repeat of the Tower. Usually it's the wants/needs of our emotional and unconscious self that lets us believe in the Tower rather than seeing right away that it's false. To avoid being tricked like that again, we have to cut through this land (which is actually a shortcut to enlightenment!) where we come face to face with that part of ourselves. We will be scared, tricked, deceived, inspired, and driven a little insane in this land of dreams and nightmares and primal urges. But once we come out, we will know how to avoid being tricked, deceived, scared, etc.

We will, if you like, know our weaknesses. Also, along the way, we should discover some gemstones in the grit and sand: instincts, creativity, psychic abilities. That's the other step forward in this card. We come out of it with very valuable treasures. It is a rough and wild, terrifying and dangerous exploration of that part of ourselves we never, in waking moments, want to acknowledge. But it's not a step back. Self-knowledge is the most powerful knowledge of all.

Does that make sense?

Learning how to avoid being tricked again... beautiful. So the Devil's "power" is rendered useless at this point....

Also, I never knew that about the High Priestess. Thank you

 

[SunChariot]

Concerning "the Journey" or "storyline" of the Majors, what is the explanation of the Moon following the Star?

With the Star there is finally some room to breath, a chance to make things better after the crash of the Tower. So why another trip back into the murky unconscious? Seems anti-climactic, or like one step forward... two steps back

I know there are many interpretations for the Moon and that Confusion, Psychic Strangeness, Scariness, Deception etc are just a few... But why darkness of any kind after such a lovely card like the Star? The Moon appears better suited to follow the Tower like some sort of hazy, disorienting aftermath of an explosion

Just curious...

The Moon is my card about romance and romantic love. It doesn't have any others meanings for me. But in that sense, maybe after you have gained your sense of hope and trust back in life you are ready for love. Without faith and trust you can't have a happy love relationship.

Don't know if that helps, but I thought I'd add it in in case.

Babs

 

[dma88]

But why darkness of any kind after such a lovely card like the Star?

just a thought on that.. the major arcana represent our spiritual journey, which can be a long one, spanning thousands of lives, so each step in the journey is a big one. I read somewhere (I think from Michael Tsarion) that each of the MA encapsulates all the events of each of the centuries since christ. so again, big steps. that means that the moon doesn't happen a week after the tower while you're still in shock.. it means it happens to a future "you" many decades in the future.

 

[Thirteen]

each of the MA encapsulates all the events of each of the centuries since christ.

Kinda limits human history, doesn't it? Erases Ancient Egyptians, pre-Christian India, Mayans, Ancient Greece, and a lot of the Roman Empire.

Christ-till-now is a pretty short period of humanity. Why wouldn't the Majors incorporate all? And does this mean that once we get to 2100 (the World) it's all over?

 

[FadeToWhite]

I don't really see the Moon as a negative card - just another side of things we haven't looked at (or can't see for whatever reasons). I don't know...for me, the Moon has always had this positive connotation of "Things are not what they seem, but if you look closely and keep your mind open, you'll begin to see the truth." I guess I see it more as a "warning" or "heads-up!" card than a negative one.

 

[Thirteen]

I don't really see the Moon as a negative card.

I think what perplexes Herzog is that the Tower is chaotic, a shake-up, then comes the calm of the Star. The Moon is back to things being un-calm again. It's not about positive/negative so much as chaos and order. He's wondering why there isn't a straight-forward build up from the Star's calm-after-the-storm through the Sun's rock-solid reason, to Judgement's determined renewal to the World's wholeness.

Why, if you will, that bump in the road fwhich, as he says, seems to step back into Tower shake-up? Positive or negative, the Moon is not about things being in order, or rational or calm. It doesn't follow the quiet of the Star with more quiet. The Moon, even at it's very best, is a giddy, inspired, imagination-run-wild card.

That, I think, is what Herzog finds perplexing.