Continuing the series of diving deep into each tarot card for a more in-depth understanding, we have arrived at one of my favorite tarot cards in the whole deck, the Moon. The Moon is enigmatic, a riddle within the tarot. Does it represent the wild and untamed liminal space that widens when nighttime comes? Does it represent the sub or unconscious, delving into the world of dreams?
That is what we will discuss in this blog post. We will look at the ways that I read this card, straight from my tarot key (which you can purchase in my store), and we will discuss the imagery. The imagery and symbolism of the Moon card deeply speak to the meaning of the card. This card is one that I encourage you to sit with and just see what comes forward. Your intuition, and this card are speaking.
Looking at the numerology, we are working with the number 18. From the Numerologist Pro website, which you can visit here, it says: The influence of the number 18 on the Moon card emphasizes the themes of intuition, illusion, and the subconscious. It suggests that through the exploration of the hidden aspects of the self, one can achieve greater self-awareness and transformation. The number 18 encourages the integration of intuition and inner wisdom to navigate the uncertainties and mysteries of life.
Going Within with the Moon
The Moon marks a pivotal moment, not only in the Evolution line (the third line of the Major Arcana), but also in the whole of the tarot. This card marks the shift, the reckoning within that our wild reclamation CANNOT be found outside of us. Sure, we have done a lot of work (internal work) to get to where we are at. In the first line, we achieve this by receiving guidance from the High Priestess and channeling it into the real world through the Hierophant. In the second line, we have many cards that ask for internal reflection. The Hanged Man and Hermit both ask us to sit in internal reflection, so that we may understand and integrate.
Now, in the third line, the Moon says that we are ready to go into the deepest recesses of self and reclaim our wilderness so that we may evolve. The Moon says it is time to lose ourselves in order to find ourselves once again. The first way that I read the Moon is: Something within us needs to go deeper for reflection, uncovering, and aligning with the self. When this card comes forward, it says that there is something with the deep recesses of our wild spirit that wants and needs our attention, focus, or magick. Something is stirring within the spirit that needs to be understood or felt, so that it may come through and into our lives.
After we have done the work of healing, incubating, and finding a sense of guidance with the Star, after the wreckage of the Tower, we see that the guidance is within. We nourish the body, and then the wild within the body. The Moon comes after the Star to encourage us to let go of the rational, and engage with the magick we have always carried. We have come back to the roots after Devil, Tower, and Star. The Moon brings us home.
Main invitations with Death:
1. Something within us needs to go deeper for reflection, uncovering, and aligning with the self
2. Energies, messages, and invitations coming through the unconscious, the dream space
3. Wild synergy between the waking and dream space, light and dark, science and magick
The next way that I read the Moon card is: Energies, messages, and invitations coming through the unconscious, or dream space. When the Moon card comes forward, it is time to start paying closer attention to everything! Pay attention to your dreams, signs you receive, or anything that, in the moment, seems insignificant. The Moon is pulling up things from our unconscious, dreams, or liminal space within. It is shining a silver light on things on our world, and within ourselves that wish to be heard, given meaning, or brought to the altar.
I have spent all this time (from the Fool to the Tower) talking about rewilding and finding your wild sovereignty, that sweet, sweet power within that is innate and inherent to you from the day you were born. This energy can be found in each person, and that magickal kinship to the liminal and the magickal can be felt if we take the time to drop into them. The Moon is where we are invited to let our magick out of the box.
It can feel strange. It can make us question what is real or not. The moon blends science and magick, dark and light, real and imagined. The moon is such an enigma because it pulls on the deepest parts of us, the part that transcends the body, or our waking lives. The cycles we move through are a mirror, and she reflects this truth onto us. Quoting from the Moon Book, written by Sarah Faith Gottesdiener, she writes in relation to the Moon as a mirror, “To clean the mirror is to be honest as possible, projections and delusions must be wiped away. To clean the mirror is to attempt to keep our perspectives loving and our reflections in service to our evolution.”
The last way that I read the Moon card is: Wild synergy between the waking and dream space, light and dark, science and magick. When the Moon card comes up in a reading, or in a single pull, we are asked to connect to the wild undercurrent that flows through all things. There is a reason why the Moon is said to conjure witches to the woods, and the lunacy in “normal” people to come out. The Moon takes us to the fringe. We encounter the liminal, the illogical, the cyclical, and the otherworldly.
We know the Moon affects things like the tides, and it is said that Moon cycles may be a link to supporting animal migration. A Moon cycle is 28 days, the same time length as a woman’s menstrual cycle. The gravitational pull of the Moon supports the axial tilt of the Earth, creating consistency between the seasons (another example of cycles being supported). The Moon has been our greatest collective muse, encouraging sonnets, songs, and beautiful paintings.
The Moon gives us the permission slip to play, to dream, to let loose our normal logical selves, and tap into the primal, inexplicable, and palpable energies within. She conjures our intuition and psychic knowing to come through more clearly. The Moon has been one of the greatest symbols of female divinity, a symbol that is still under threat. Her ties to women, those on the fringe, and those who face subjugation, including the natural world herself, are timeless, sacred, and cannot be understated.
One final quote from Gottesdiener and the Moon Book. “The Moon is a love letter to our wildness. It’s a reminder of our resilience in the face of subjugation. It’s a promise to recognize the power inherent in the collective feminine.”
Symbolism and Imagery of the Moon Card
Let’s look at the images of the Moon from across my deck. I encourage you to pull out your own Moon cards, if you own any tarot decks, and see what you see in yours. If not, take a look at my decks. There may be one that speaks to you. If so, let me know which one!
- The Tarot of Dragons (first image): A typical depiction of the Moon. We see the two pillars, representing the binary (some literature says the two pillars stand for severity and mercy). The crab emerges from the emotional and the unconscious, symbolizing the ability to move between realms of knowing. The tiger and housecat further represent the binary between domesticity and wildness.
- Guardian of the Night Tarot: The Coyote, a trickster, walks and exists between the worlds of city and nature. Tricksters walk between the world of the conventional and the world of the unorthodox
- The Mystical Dream Tarot: Shows the unseen but enormous power the Moon holds over the physical world, like our oceans. If she can do that with such a huge body of water, think of the pull she has on our internal waters, dreams, intuition, emotions, and magick.
- Grimalkin’s Curious Cat Tarot: The domestic housecat looks up at the Moon and sees the wild cheetah in the reflection, conjuring that deep stirring within. However, some of the pulls must be met with reason and the light of day (the Sun).
- Crow Tarot: This image shows the need to sit in the reflection of the Moon as a way to the internal, and to reflect on our shadow emotions so we can release the wild crow that is caged.
- The Bird King Tarot: The Hare sits inside the fairy ring. The world of the fae is magickal, but quite dangerous. The Hare will need to keep her wits about her, but also allow the Moon to illuminate the enchanting world she lives in.
- Hocus Pocus Tarot: Mary Sanderson bewitches the children. Her sensibility and ability to track the children are often dismissed by her sister’s. Trust your own power, even when others doubt you.
- Spirit Animal Tarot: Rabbit leads us to another world, one where knowledge, play, and magick run wild. Just like popping out of the Magician’s hat, the Rabbit encourages a soft power, and a leap of faith into trust.
- Shadowscapes Tarot: A woman pulls her mask off among the fae, the fairy ring, and birds. She holds her heart in her hand. In this world, the world of the facades and witchcraft, a deep truth can be found within.
- Herbcrafter’s Tarot: Datura has been used to induce an altered state by many in witchcraft and folklore. However, the flower is also toxic and can lead to serious and permanent damage. This plant encourages us to explore the power of myth, ritual, symbol, history, folklore, and oral traditions that are associated with the Moon.
- The Wild Unknown: The Moon rises between two great trees. An invitation to go deeper into the wild unknown within you.
- Dark Wood Tarot: The Moon has pulled forward a fully formed wild woman from the unconscious and mysterious depths of the world. The time is ripe for you to birth your own raw wilderness from the depths and let that discovery take you on a journey towards new possibilities.
- Nightmare Before Christmas Tarot: Jack’s lament in the graveyard is both true and false. Halloween has become stale, but that doesn’t mean he is right as Santa. Let the Moon hold you as you explore inner and external truths.
- Ostara Tarot: Let the shadows play and embrace their untamed nature, but do not be consumed by their energy, or by the energies of your darkest fantasies or fear. We need healthy exploration, not complete abandonment of ourselves.
- Hush Tarot: Reminiscent of the all-seeing eye, the Moon watches over us as we engage the mysteries of the world. The raven carries these mysteries and messages between here and the Otherworld, as does the Moon.
The Moon
She is the doe-eyed mother.
Bearing what seems too heavy to hold,
yet she endures season after season, shuffling between
softness and fury. She stitches the falling light
into netted silver so that the salmon know when
too soon becomes not soon enough.
She weaves water and women into swooning,
luring the wild dogs to come and announce this land
godless. Even those weary of their own loads soothe
the hearts inside their curved shells, an echo
that everything is circular. We can all bring the sound
her lover makes in his frothed current to our ears.
He is the only one who truly knows what gravity
means. Just when I feel like I’ve pocketed a sense
of understanding, she brings it back to the beginning,
ringing the bell of my unconscious appetite
so that I may never be hungry of fantasy or dream.
All she asks of me is this: to measure time
in the shape of an open mouth, to take in all there is.
Ashlie McDiarmid
Hello there! I hope you liked this blog post. As a tarot and oracle reader, my goal with my blogs is to offer you content, resources, and access to the tools that have transformed my life.
I believe that your own intuition is the deepest form of knowing, but here in my little corner of the internet, I share insights based in intuition and instinct. I share my love for nature, witchcraft, and the wild spirit.
- If your spirit is at home in wild places
- If you feel the need to claim your autonomy as ritual
- If you want to more deeply trust your own intuition
- If you want resources or connections to tarot, oracle, witchcraft, and wild sovereignty, then welcome!
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