Some thoughts on the Moon

Thirteen

Book of Knowledge = Tarot

Also, when I saw the HPS first, I thought that she was more of a virgo type with her secret book of knowledge! What does that book refers too? To our inner knowledge? I am just confuse because this card is the symbol of intuition, but I see this lady as being rational. Anyhow, your analogy with the filtered and unfiltered stuff helps a lot to interpret these cards.
The usual astrological assignments give the Hermit the sign of Virgo. And you will notice that he has a lantern to guide him through the dark. He's not relying on pure instinct (the light of the moon). His keen mind and, yes, rational thought, is like a flashlight. Piercing the dark and making it give up its secrets. And, as you see, he'd rather find out those secrets for himself than read someone else's account of them. Virgos are so wonderfully skeptical ;) They have to see it for themselves.

The Moon is astrologically Pisces: swimming in emotions and instincts, in poetry and dreams. Pisces travels with the lunar tides. They don't seek knowledge, they open themselves up and accept it. Any of it, all of it. It's why Pisces often seem so otherworldly.

The HPS is astrologically the Moon. Meaning, as we discussed in the prior post, that she is the instinct and emotions that guide you through the dark. Instinct makes you jump at a sound that you may not have heard, but sense is dangerous. So the HPS is your inner knowledge of what that sound is—even if you've never heard it before, even if you can't put a name to it. Putting it another way: the lady isn't irrational, just inexplicable. Mysterious. She's always right, but you never know why :)

As for her "book of knowledge" that's the tarot. It's what it's all about, right? You just met a guy you really like. Should you call him? See if he wants to get coffee? Your emotions say "do it!" (Moon), and you could, like Pisces, go with that flow and just do it. But instead, you lay out a spread to find out if you should trust your feelings. In the "What does he think of me?" spot, you see 2/Cups. Secret knowledge! He likely would welcome further contact over coffee. So you can trust your emotions and call him.

The Hermit would search out information on him online, or from friends before calling. But the HPS has a short-cut. A secret path that lets you now which instincts and emotions you can trust and act on. A higher/psychic power that gives you much needed information on why you are feeling what it is you are feeling.

Yes?
 

Thirteen

The Moon says, "Hey, you're making this a bigger deal than what it is. It's not that scary."
We'll have to disagree on that. For me, the 9/Swords is the card that says that. The Moon, to me, says, "You're feeling something powerful." That may be fear and uncertainty, but it could just as easily be romance and bliss and the certainty that you're in love. The "uncertainty" of the Moon is that it's hard to know if what you're feeling is lasting and genuine, or if you're caught up in the moment. THAT is why the Sun denotes the "clear light of day" when you can see if what you experienced the night before is still around and real. Did the moonlight play a trick on you, or were you right? With the Moon, emotions are in ascendance. You feel the urge to follow them and you are absolutely certain that they are right.

But they may not be right.
I think this is beautifully written, but how can you use this interpretation in a reading?
Well, if I got the HPS, I'd tell someone that they should trust their instincts; they may not know why they are feeling what they're feeling--but there is information coming from somewhere, and it's guiding them. If I got the Moon, on the other hand, I'd tell someone that their emotions and instincts were going to be ascendent (or were currently ascendent) and that it might be a good idea to check with a trusted friend before making an impulse buy. :D

Example: From my own experience. There was a pet store near me that would fetch kittens from the shelter and put them up for adoption. I was looking for a second cat to companion the one we had. Now and then, I'd go into the store, but none of the cats seemed right. One day, I was passing by, and something said, inside of me, "Go back. Go in." If I'd been doing a reading of the day, I'd probably have gotten the HPS for that moment. I did go back. And sure enough, there she was along with her litter mates. "The one!" Now, I probably would have waited on adopting her, but the store owner was putting out all cats for adoption that day--a kind of street fair. So, emotions gripped me; instant adoration for the kitten; fear of losing her; and my imagination decided to run wild, too. It offered me dreams of the other cat loving this kitten, playing with her, sleeping with her, etc. It would work out perfectly! I felt certain.

Fully in the thrall of these emotions and dreams, I ended up bringing home a needy kitten, to the dismay of my other cat and husband. The other cat felt threatened, the poor kitten was lonely, afraid, and in shock. And my husband, who'd had no warning, was unprepared. This act of mine wasn't the act of the rational Sun. It was guided by inner knowledge (HPS) and some very primal emotions (Moon). An investigative friend (the Hermit) would have been useful, as he/she would have thought to secure the kitten (so she wouldn't be sold), yet give me time to prepare my home for her. Had I done a reading of this day and see those cards, I might have had such a friend with me and saved cats and husband a lot of worry and, yes, uncertainty.

FYI, the kitten and the other cat bonded by day three; everything calmed down, and the cats became playmates and "sisters." They are now both happy, healthy and very sweet adults. :D But that's how I'd see those cards in a reading, had I done a reading for that fateful day. ;)
 

tarot_quest

Thanks Thirteen :) So about the Moon:

Sometimes what you come back with is invaluable. Sometimes it's nonsense. And sometimes it's "too ugly or too intense" for you, to deal with. ... That's the gift/curse of the Moon. Its light, which can both guide you and trick you, brings out raw emotions and primal instincts. Rational thought goes offline, and you end up relying on those—giving into those.

Ok I understand better what the Moon can bring. But there is just something that I still don't get about your answer, when asking if the Moon can bring something completely false. So let's take your example below.

So, you wake from a vivid dream, still riding on that wave of emotions and, without a second thought, call a friend at 2am saying, "I had a terrible dream about you, are you all right?" That's good if it was a real vision. Not so good if it was just a nightmare.....It's more useful and less embarrassing in the morning if we train ourselves to recognize what emotions/instincts we should trust and act on. And, thus, not have an angry friend yelling at us for waking them at 2am :D

So in this case, was the dream completely irrelevant to the situation of your friend? (let's pretend it's a true story even if it is not, just for the example). I mean, would you say that you picked up a bad vibe from your friend and amplified it in your dream (Moon card) or in this example, it was a complete false assumption right from the beginning?

I don't know if you get the nuance, but I am trying to understand this card better




And for the Hermit and HP:

The usual astrological assignments give the Hermit the sign of Virgo. And you will notice that he has a lantern to guide him through the dark. He's not relying on pure instinct (the light of the moon).

Very cool and symbolic way to phrase it! The hermit not relying on intuition/the light of the moon... I agree that this guy is quite cerebral, but I would not deny that he uses his intuition too to think and make decisions. Also, I did not know that the Moon rule Pisces, I always thought that the Moon rule Cancers.




As for her "book of knowledge" that's the tarot.

Wow I did not know this fact! :0 So in my opinion, the HP is combining her intuitive and logical sides if she reads/practice Tarot.

It's nice to learn this, thanks Thirteen :)
 

Thirteen

would you say that you picked up a bad vibe from your friend and amplified it in your dream (Moon card) or in this example, it was a complete false assumption right from the beginning?
I would say you picked up a vibe from yourself. Maybe when you were a kid some friendly relative got sick and died. The anniversary of that shows up, and you have this emotional dream, casting one of your living friends in the dying role. So, of course, you call them up when you wake. Or maybe your friend has been distant of late, and you're worried, afraid that the friendship is going to end. Again, you tap into your own emotions, and call.

I mean, yes, it's possible that your friend is in trouble in some way and you picked this up. In which case, your friend will say, "I'm not in trouble like that, but I'm glad you called." However, if the issue is with you--with some fear you have of losing this friend, then your friend will probably say, "Nothing's wrong! Go back to sleep!"

And in that case, the benefit of the Moon is that it should have you looking inward, asking "Why did I wander into that nightmare? What am I really worried about? And should I be worried about it?" The Moon can stand, after all, for paranoia, for depression and tricks we play on ourselves. It might be time to shine some light into those corners and, like the Hermit, take a deeper look at what's really going on.
I would not deny that he uses his intuition too
I said he wasn't ONLY using his intuition. Of course, he's using any and all light he's got. From moon, stars and things that glow in the dark, as well as his lantern. The HPS, however, relies only on the moon.

And you are right that Cancer is ruled by the Moon (Planet) in astrology. The Moon Card, in tarot, is ruled by Pisces. It's pretty confusing. So Ii'll explain in a separate post.
 

Thirteen

It's confusing

I did not know that the Moon rule Pisces, I always thought that the Moon rule Cancers.
You're absolutely right, in astrology, Cancer is ruled by the Moon. The old timers who decided on the astrological assignments for the majors created a lot of confusion. I'll try to explain: When you see one of the major cards, it is "ruled" astrologically by either (1) a planet, (2) a zodiac sign or (3) an element.

So, the HPS is ruled by the Moon. So, when we talk about the HPS astrologically, we talk about the astrological moon and its meanings. The Chariot is ruled by Cancer. And when discussing the Chariot, we discuss the sign of Cancer, the characteristics of that sign. The Moon card is ruled by Pisces. So the characteristics of that sign apply to the Moon card.

Right about now, you're probably saying: "This is stupid! The astrological Moon should rule the Moon card. Like the astrological Sun rules the Sun card." Or you might be saying, "This is stupid! The Moon card should be ruled by Cancer which is ruled by the Moon." All I can tell you is that the 19th century tarot scholars had their reasons for assigning Pisces to the Moon card. And there have been discussions about it here and in other forums. You can search for those discussions, or you can ask about the it in the "Tarot History and Development" form OR the "Rider-Waite-Smith" forum. Because I'm not enough of a historian/scholar to know why the Moon card got Pisces. The experts on those forums can explain it better.

All you have to understand, at this point, is that the Moon card in tarot is NOT connected to Cancer or the astrological Moon. It is connected to Pisces. :|
 

tarot_quest

All you have to understand, at this point, is that the Moon card in tarot is NOT connected to Cancer or the astrological Moon. It is connected to Pisces. :|

Ok I indeed got confused, thanks for the clarification!

Also, I really got a better understanding of the Moon card with your posts, I appreciate ;)
 

christinab253

As someone who's been intimate friends with this card for some time I'll add my thoughts. The moon we all peer at in the sky is lovely indeed. Even the idea that the Moon tarot card alludes to fey side of life is rather enchanting. But if I'm being honest here this card chronically shows up when I'm about to be broadsided by some massive emotional turmoil that's not easy to get a handle on.

Instability? Not for me. What it usually means is some kind of rite of passage that I have to pass through in order to make sense of something in my life. The Moon tarot card is usually followed by some series of events which are entirely unpleasant in the moment but does reveal insight about my life and how to heal an issue. A big learning curve is what The Moon usually foretells for me in tarot.

My experience on the Moon is kinda similar to Absynthe's. I had the Moon come up rx for me at a time when all became clear to me, whereas previously my judgment had been clouded. I had not been in full possession of the facts but an event happened that revealed to me what I hadn't been seeing. I think it was rx as the energy of the Moon card was waning which finally allowed me see the truth and move past my enchantment. It was almost like a swords moment of clarity and slicing through the previous Moon-like confusion. It was actually a great relief for me.
 

Thirteen

Addendum: What the Moon is about vs. What we think it should be about

I have a very positive association with the card. The Moon lights up the dark.
Hey there. So, I've been doing further research on the Moon thanks to this thread, and have a clearer idea as to why there is a discrepancy between the usual definitions of this card vs. how you (and so many other readers) see it. The issue is simply that the card is called "The Moon" and what pops to mind when you hear that? Usually a full, beautiful moon, right? The kind of moon that gives all of us positive feelings; a spring moon that song writers create lullabies about, a silvery-blue, summer moon we walk under on romantic evenings, a fantastic harvest moon that is just magic. That's what we think when we hear "Moon." And to be fair, a lot of decks feature such moons for their Moon card.

The Moon, however, has four phases. Waxing, Full, Waning and Dark. The first three symbolize the triple goddess, and are usually associated with the HPS—who is astrological the Moon. She is maiden (Artemis/Diana), she is mother (virgin mother—Isis) and she is crone (that veil behind her being the more mysterious and magical side). In short, SHE is all the good things you associate with the Moon. She lights your way through the dark, she maintains stability between day and night (her position between the pillars). Etc. So, when you think "The Moon" you should think "High Priestess."

The Moon card is actually the fourth phase. So, imagine not that early time of night when the full moon looks so peaceful in the sky, when you hang with friends, and have a lovely evening; think, instead, of waking up at some late hour of the night. You're all alone. You look out, and there is only that dark moon. A starry sky, and a big, dark circle which blocks a certain portion of those stars. Does "instability" start to make sense? The Moon card's hebrew letter means "back of the head"—which is what you can't see, only sense. The subconscious. The instincts that drive you or make you jump. The dark moon swims across the sky like a fish through deep waters. At best, you can sense it passing overhead, feel its pull and influence. But you can't see it. It doesn't illuminate the night. It makes the night darker, more unknown, more uncertain.

I'll add here that your personal feelings and interpretation of this card are, of course, all up to you. But those other definitions, the ones that didn't make sense to you, are not so wrong as you think. It's hard for an artist to present that dark moon rather than a full moon, and most would rather show the full and beautiful one. But such images, the same as we get in our minds when we hear "the Moon" create this discrepancy between what we imagine the card should be about, and the interpretations that appear in books. And yes, tarot deck creators are at fault both for calling the card "the moon" and using pretty images. It's hardly your fault—the fault of any of us, if a pretty full moon image makes us think of a quiet, serene evening rather than a scary night.
 

tarot_quest

Hey there. So, I've been doing further research on the Moon thanks to this thread, and have a clearer idea as to why there is a discrepancy between the usual definitions of this card vs. how you (and so many other readers) see it.

I thought about it too and I have a slightly different view that merges your opinion at the same time. If we apply your concept of the filtered and unfiltered stuff (filtered with HP and unfiltered with the Moon), I think that I understand why some people always associate a positive meaning to the Moon.

As you said Thirteen, the Moon brings up everything: the real, the false, our fears, everything...! So it could be that the people who pulled the Moon card and got a nice outcome (e.g. getting into a nice relationship, having a creative spark, better intuition,...) got the most tangible and nice thing that the Moon could offer them. Again, like your analogy of a bag that contains everything, these people got the nice surprise in the bag.

Who knows, maybe they will do another reading and get the other phase of the moon (like the dark one?) and see their fears related to a particular questions.

....the HPS—who is astrological the Moon. She is maiden (Artemis/Diana), she is mother (virgin mother—Isis) and she is crone (that veil behind her being the more mysterious and magical side).

Sorry if I stick on this, but I find it cool that you reported the HP as the Virgin mother-Isis! That's the very first impression that I got of this card, she looks like a religious lady. Very well organized and practical :p
 

Thirteen

Isis rocks

So it could be that the people who pulled the Moon card and got a nice outcome
Absolutely. As I said in my very first post here, there are negatives and positives to all the cards. All I was doing in that explanation was trying to help others understand why so many books have the moon as scary rather than beautiful. But even a dark, black-out night can offer benefits depending on who you are and what you're after. This is still a card of creativity and magic and powerful feelings (I'll be posting a separate thread on Pisces and the Moon). And those can create positive outcomes.
Virgin mother-Isis! That's the very first impression that I got of this card, she looks like a religious lady. Very well organized and practical :p
You say that like it's a bad thing ;) In the myth of Isis, her husband, Osiris, is cut to pieces. She "organizes" every little piece of him back together so she can send him to the underworld properly (where he can live again, and be a king of that realm). She also manages to magically get herself pregnant by him before saying goodbye. I don't think, by the way, that this is "practical" seeing that it leads to her having to fight off Set who wants to kill the baby.

It is a very emotional act: the last she'll have of her great love with Osiris is that posthumous child. Not something a simply practical lady would do. Vengeful perhaps (Set killed her husband). Also spiritual (religious ladies are spiritual, aren't they?).

Isis is also the goddess of magic; in fact, she's often viewed as the most magically powerful of all the Egyptian gods. And she doesn't hold back when it comes to defending herself and her unborn child. All though the story, she goes toe-to-toe with the bad guy, out magic-ing him at every step. So, unlike some religious stories of pregnant goddesses, she is not a passive receptacle. She is a brave, determined, and very powerful heroine. She is the one who does all the work to create Horus in her womb, and then keeps him safe in that womb till he can be born, avenge his father's death, and take his place among the gods.

Isis rocks, and if that's the HPS...then I think she's a little more than just organized and practical :D