18 The Moon

Have you discovered an unfamiliar yet beautiful new reality? Are you feeling disconnected to the values and traditions with which you were brought up? Is an alienation from the norm creeping into your life? Have you been talked into something that only last year you would have considered preposterous? Are you aimless in your goals and ambition? Has an artistically inspired streak of creativity suddenly appeared out of nowhere? All of these brooding outsider tendencies call forth The Moon card from the Tarot deck when you seek a reading to show you the way.

In the middle of the night, the Moon appears low in the sky. It is full, rays of light emanating from it, and yet, there is a contemplative face in profile taking up almost half of one side. The landscape under the Moon has a dirt path in the center leading off into the hills. There is a dog and a wolf, one on either side of the path. In the foreground there is a body of water into which the path leads. A lobster crawls up out of the sea, its front claws touching the start of the path. On the far left and right of the card at the beginning of the darkened hills are matching stone obelisk watchtowers.

Everything about this card presents two possibilities. We only see half of the surface of the Moon, and the profile of the face is only half of it. The towers match, but are on opposite sides of the card. Is the path leading to the lobster or is this crustacean merely starting the journey into wisdom … or oblivion. The dog and wolf represent our animal nature and the lobster is near the bottom of the evolutionary ladder, behind the dog and wolf, just beginning to understand that there is a path to higher consciousness. The watchtowers represent the mysteries of good and evil and how they may appear quite alike, and that we discover them as we grow walking down the path of consciousness. We grow into distinguishing good from evil. The Moon can inspire insight as easily as it signals the presence of great confusion.

Meaning in Past, Present and Future Positions

Every Tarot reading is divided into three sections: the past, the present and the future. When a card lands in a particular position, it tells your story from this time frame. If The Moon card shows up in the past position, look for a recent period of confusion to be to blame for your current strife. If you had a great inspiration and manifested it into art or expression that helped you cope, The Moon inspired you to find order amidst the chaos. You made the best of your past as you could, considering the circumstances, and can look back on those days as having been fruitful rather than a cause of anything negative.

When drawn in the present position, you may be getting so many mixed signals from the outside world that your turning to a Tarot reading is a seeking of some clarity, some answer to all the confusion. The world around you may be different and the structures that have long comforted you are suddenly absent. The temptations of alcohol, drugs, meaningless pleasure seeking, gambling and other escapes from reality are all too real. The Moon represents falling out of touch with reality. However, it also represents a chance to better yourself by not believing in the false assumptions that we all agree to within societal norms. Instead of following the path that you are told will get you somewhere (the path that has at present left you lost), The Moon signals your opportunity to create your own structures; a life from your own imagination and design.

In the future position, The Moon can be a harbinger that you will meander away from what is important in your life and follow a hobby or vocation that is a different path altogether. This could signal a coming spiritual awakening, or your joining of a small religious group. Be on guard for the vulnerability that all new converts feel as their path toward spiritual enlightenment meets with manipulative individuals. The Future position is great if you are in a creative field; this reveals that afflictions of boredom such as writer's block or attention deficits will soon be forgotten as a rush of inspiration fills you and you have a new muse to follow.

Card Combinations

A Tarot reading involves a collection of cards, not an individual card. No card is an island. Your reading will have cards influencing each other, slightly changing the respective meanings and delivering a unique message for your situation.

When The Moon is in a reading with the Strength card, both of these cards have the number 8 as their base. Strength is numbered 8 and The Moon is numbered 18. The two of these cards in a reading together propel you to fight for a vision you have of the way things should be.

When paired with The Hermit card, your isolation is causing you to lose touch with the enjoyable things concerning our day-to-day existence. When paired with The Hanged Man, your need to be in control has alienated people and left you to run your enterprise all alone.

The Moon is a good card to have in a reading with The Wheel of Fortune, as it confirms that your losing touch with reality is actually your understanding of where the world is going and you already being there. The thing that you enjoy that seems weird to everyone today will be the norm in six years. Likewise, The Chariot delivers a rousing victory to your vision of the way things could be.

When paired with The Magician or The Devil, there are manipulative or destructive people in your life who are taking advantage of you without you realizing the price you will eventually have to pay for associating with them.

The Moon card is surrounded in the deck by card number 17, The Star, and card number 19, The Sun. Either of these appearing in your reading with The Moon will make your higher consciousness a thing of valuable insight for your journey ahead as well as for those around you.