Seeking the Truth with Major Arcana 18, the Moon

Major Arcana 18, the Moon, has amongst its keywords, ‘confusion’. This is apt since this card can be extremely confusing when it appears in a reading.

Recently a friend reached out to me with this question about the Moon.

I am studying the Moon today and the keywords I have are very confusing: intuition, illusion, deception, darkness, reflection, fear, subconscious, dreams, difficulty, imagination, journey, spirituality, mystery, and psychic awareness. How do I decipher this card among all these unrelated descriptions?

I think it is fair to say that the Moon is one of the deepest and most confusing cards of the tarot. Our collective relationship with this card has changed over time. Go-to interpretations seem to vary depending on each reader’s cultural background.

I blame misogyny and fear of witchcraft for some of the negativity historically associated with this card. The moon in the sky has always been associated with feminine spiritual power. What was and is feared and persecuted by some as witchcraft is practiced and celebrated by others. This easily explains the dichotomy between deception and spirituality.

The moon in the sky ‘steals’ its light from the sun. The full moon has long been associated with insanity. The words ‘lunacy’ and ‘lunatic’ have ‘luna’ as their root word.

This makes sense, too. I often say that there is a thin line between psychic and psychotic.

There is a deeper and more provocative consideration with the Moon as well. We can see the twenty-one numbered cards of the Major Arcana as three groups of seven, and the final seven as the journey toward spiritual enlightenment.

The Devil is the gatekeeper. To begin this journey, we must see ourselves as we truly are. The Tower is the first step toward releasing false foundations. The Star allows us to heal. Then we approach the Moon.

The Moon represents spiritual truth. As we walk through the moonlight, we know that things do not appear as they do in the sunlight. Walking at night is fraught with danger. The path to spiritual truth is likewise fraught. There are cults, fundamentalism, and scams. There is egotism, and spiritual bypassing. There is greed and lust for power and control. There are many ways to be trapped as we pursue the spiritual truth and knowledge that leads to enlightenment.

The Moon shows us the path, and the Moon shows us that there are dangers along the path.

As part of this search for spiritual truth, the Moon speaks of intuition. How often intuition can be subverted in favor of fear and desire!

In a reading, the Moon may speak of this deep, dark, and important journey. Yet, as with all tarot cards, the Moon may speak of more mundane things as well. The Moon may appear to tell us of simpler hidden dangers, such as a false friend, or an infestation of termites.

The Moon may encourage our psychic development. The Moon may tell us to pay attention to our dreams. The Moon may encourage us to practice magick and witchcraft. The Moon may warn us about someone’s ill intentions toward us.

The Moon may simply make note of the confusing mysteries of life. Sometimes when the Moon appears regarding a particular department of life it is an invitation to dig deeper into that department to reveal something that has been hidden. The Moon might indicate that we are confused about something, or that something will turn out differently than we imagine.

The obvious question is this. When we see the Moon in a reading, how do we know whether to encourage psychic development, call an exterminator, or deeply explore hidden aspects of our romantic relationship?

As with all tarot interpretation, context is the key. We need to look at the spread position meaning, or the question that was asked. We need to consider the surrounding cards, and our intuitive reaction to the card. The person for whom the card is drawn also provides context. For a devout Catholic, the Moon may offer a suggestion to light a candle in church and pray for a loved one. When drawn for a practice Pagan, this card may be a directive to dance naked in the moonlight. When drawn for a person who is seeking consultation regarding a career situation, the Moon may indicate confusion about career goals and direction, or a coworker or boss who is stealing credit or sabotaging projects.

It is possible, too, that the Moon will have more than one message for us. We can interpret the same card multiple times in a reading.

Tarot study is different than tarot interpretation. Tarot study teaches us, in theory, to interpret the cards. Tarot study also gives us access to the spiritual lessons inherent in the cards. Our spiritual understand of each card can be expansive. That understanding can become part of the spiritual code by which we live every day. The interpretation of a card in a reading will likely not involve all aspects of those deeper spiritual lessons.

While the possibilities for interpretation of Major Arcana 18 are vast, there is a simple thing we can remember about this card. Whenever the Moon appears, we might consider that things may not be as they seem.

When we study the Moon, we learn vital lessons about our path to spiritual understanding. We learn to avoid cheap and easy answers that pose as simple spiritual truths. We learn that we must dig to expose the depths of dark murkiness pierced by glimpses of light that spiritual growth truly is.

Tarot Mooshing

I love how quickly new expressions spring up on the internet. Such a thing happened quite spontaneously and delightfully in a recent tarot class on YouTube live.

The class was on three-card spreads. We were talking about the many ways to read three cards. I brought up that we can read them linearly, or we can ‘moosh’ their meanings together to create many messages.

At the time, I wasn’t even sure that ‘moosh’ was a word, or even if that was what I was saying. I think I was combining ‘mush’ and ‘smoosh’. Later, I looked the word up. Luckily, it doesn’t seem to have any off-color meanings in the urban dictionary. Most sources see it as an alternative spelling of ‘mush’.

I knew ‘tarot mooshing’ had become a thing because people in the class were talking about it in the comments.

‘I moosh’.

‘I’m a moosher.’

‘I love to moosh.’

‘I can’t moosh.’

‘I want to learn to moosh.’

Just like that, tarot mooshing was formalized, and will now forever be a real tarot technique.

I’ve taught this technique prior to it receiving this creative name.

Now that it has a name, I would like to share a few more thoughts about it.

Tarot mooshing can be used as an adjunct to a reading in an effort to gain more information and more clarity. Tarot mooshing can also be the predominate technique by which a reading is given.

We can moosh any group of cards. When using a positioned spread, it is best to read the cards within their positions and add whatever information you can by mooshing. Sometimes I will moosh first, and then consider the individual cards within their positions. Other times I will read the individual cards in their positions first, and then look at the ways the cards can interreact with each other.

When reading a group of cards that are not arranged in a positioned spread, the mooshing technique can become even more important. If the cards were drawn to answer a specific question, each card may be considered in the context of that question. Yet, it is even more helpful to look at the cards as a group and see how their meanings combine to answer the question.

When mooshing a positioned spread, you have to let the cards come out of their positions and see how they interact with each other in groups.

In any case, this frivolously named technique involves looking at what the cards may have in common with one another, as well as ways cards may be direct opposites to one another.

When looking for similarities, look for cards of the same suit, and of the same number or rank. Look for cards with similar images. Look for cards with similar colors.

Consider the similarities you find and consider what those similarities might tell you in the context of the question, or the matter at hand.

Think about keywords that cards may have in common. Do you see more than one card that speaks of balance, for example, or of forward motion, or of communication, or of education?

Basically, the more cards you find that strengthen each other’s meanings, the more that meaning will become a central theme in your reading.

When you find opposites, consider what that may say to you. Are there opposing forces at play, or decisions to be made?

Whether or not you want to use this funny new word for this tarot technique doesn’t matter. What does matter is that we understand that when we see how the cards connect to each other, work with each other and speak to each other, our readings become more accurate, more nuanced, and more informative.

The Major Arcana in Action

In a reading, any tarot card can be anything. In other words, any card, whether Major, Minor, or Court, can give a spiritual message to ponder, a specific answer to a mundane question, or represent aspects of yourself, or another person in your life.

Very often, readers try to relegate card meanings based on the section of the deck from which the card comes. For example, wanting Court cards to always be people, wanting Minor Arcana cards to always suggest mundane action, and wanting Major Arcana cards to always give deep spiritual meaning.

In some readings, this sort of structure will play out perfectly. Yet, if we only interpret cards from the perspective of those boxes, we often miss the deeper and more helpful directives that could be available within a reading.

Tarot only has seventy-eight images with which to tell every story of human experience. Given that obvious limitation, tarot does an amazing job with this daunting task. Yet, it does a better job when we occasionally allow the cards to come out of their boxes to give us the messages we need.

Those boxes to which we assign the cards are helpful and necessary. The book of spiritual wisdom that tarot is would not function as well without its structure. Yet, just as a university professor might moonlight as a DJ, and as the local priest might play a mean game of darts, each card can do a variety of tasks, determined by the situation in which you find them. The priest won’t play darts while celebrating Mass, but might when gathered with friends over a beer on Monday evening. When you know the priest, you might know which skills he will be using, and which responsibilities he will be tending to, in which places and on which days. Tarot is much the same.

A great exercise is to take a group of tarot cards and imagine what each card might represent in a specific situation, or in answer to a certain question. Of course, in an actual divination, sometimes a card may speak in a way that it never has before and may never again. When that happens, we need to be able to justify our interpretation, as well as simply trust our intuition.

As an example of this exercise, and as a way to demonstrate how the Major Arcana cards might work as other than spiritual lessons and insights, I have challenged myself to list for each Major Arcana card a particular directive, or action step, that the card might suggest. Of course, this list is neither comprehensive nor definitive. You might come up with a completely different list and be equally correct. Give it a try!

The Fool may tell us to take a calculated risk, or to do some activity that we enjoyed in childhood.

The Magician may tell us to go to school, take a class, or study something new.

The High Priestess may suggest we meditate, or do shadow work.

The Empress may tell us to call Mom, or to remember our mother’s wisdom.

The Emperor may tell us to run for a political office, or get involved in community leadership.

The Hierophant may tell us to see a lawyer, or a doctor.

The Lovers may tell us to integrate more than one thing into a plan or project.

The Chariot may tell us to take control of something, or to travel.

Strength might tell us to get a pet, or it might remind us to hold our tongue.

The Hermit might instruct patience, or that we should be working toward advanced education.

The Wheel of Fortune might ask us to break hurtful patterns. It might also suggest taking a gamble.

Justice reminds us to do the right thing. It also can tell us to seek legal advice.

The Hanged Man may advise against any action, and instead suggest a time of waiting. The Hanged Man can also suggest devoting to a yoga practice, or, if needed, a Twelve-Step program.

Death can ask us to consider taking a serious step or making a significant change in life.

Temperance may instruct us to create art, or to cook.

The Devil may tell us to seriously commit to something.

The Tower may ask us to radically examine our current belief system.

The Star may ask us to seek healing of body, mind, or spirit.

The Moon may tell us to do dreamwork.

The Sun may suggest a relocation to a place with year-round warm weather.

Judgment may tell us to advertise a business or to communicate more clearly.

The World may ask us to look at the larger picture. It might also suggest an international trip, or to share our skills with a worldwide demographic.

Advice for Tarot Readers: Embrace the Blank Space

Recently a student and I were discussing ways to begin a tarot reading. I’m not talking about invocation or creating sacred space. I’m talking about the very first thing you say to your querent after you begin the divination.

Some of us begin divination looking at only one card. Others prefer to take in an entire spread before speaking. Regardless of reading style, we all must begin the reading somewhere.

When musing about professional tarot reading, one of the things that always strikes me is that our job is impossible to prepare for. Sure, we can rest, we can shuffle, we can put on a pretty dress. Yet there is never anything to prepare us for what might come up in a reading, and we should never try to anticipate how a reading will go.

Regardless of what we know about the cards, despite how psychic we may be, at the beginning of every reading we know nothing, and we have to say something.

Some readers simply begin with a description of the first card laid out and proceed in a card-by-card fashion. Some clients prefer this method, and sometimes the cards that appear in the spread beg to be read that way.

While card-by-card reading isn’t my favorite technique, I firmly believe that every reader should be able to give a great card-by-card reading. The benefit of the card-by-card technique is you always start with the first card, so you always have a clue about what your opening line will be.

The first sentence in an oracular session is important, I think. That first statement can put the client at ease or make your client more nervous. That first sentence can strengthen the energetic connection between you and your client or cause the client to resist connecting with you.

The reason I don’t love card-by-card reading is that it limits what my opening line will be. My favorite way to open a reading, and the way that feels most authentic to me, is to lay out the opening spread and take in the cards, and the energy, for a moment.

This can be a terrifying moment, because it is an unpredictable blank space that we are under pressure to fill. Yet this is also a moment full of magick, and full of promise.

If we can embrace that blank space without fear and open ourselves to the Universal wisdom that flows through the cards, and through us, we will find the best way to open the reading, every time.

Sometimes I begin with a laundry list of things I see going on, in no order of importance. Sometimes there is a specific department of life that seems amiss. Sometimes there is a general energy that comes off the spread, and that is where I start.

I think the important points are these. First, the way we begin a reading affects the energy of the entire session. Second, we need to have in our toolbox a variety of techniques for opening a reading. Third, there is immense pressure in those first moments to say the thing that will create the best energy for the reading to proceed. We do that best when we welcome the scary blank space and trust our intuition and the cards to fill that blank space with wisdom.

Neither Good nor Bad

 It's really easy to categorize each tarot card as either "bad" or "good." That is, a good card is one you are happy to get in a reading; a bad card is one you would prefer not to see.

Even Eden Gray, the mother of the concept of the Fool's Journey and much of our modern exoteric philosophy of tarot, referred to specific cards as "good" and "bad."

It's true that most of us would rather see the Star than the Ten of Swords in our reading. But it is important to temper our enthusiasm for pretty images and our repulsion from scary images with our understanding that each card is important and necessary and that each card brings information.

So much of how we interpret cards in a reading should depend on the question. In tarot classes I often ask everyone to ask the same question of tarot and pull one card. New students often have a difficult time interpreting the card in the context of the question.

When we use a tarot spread we interpret the cards not only in the context of the focus, question or position but also in the context of the surrounding cards.

So how can context affect our interpretations? Let's use the example of the two cards mentioned earlier, the Star and the Ten of Swords.

Typically, the Star is about hope, healing, enlightenment and fulfillment. But if the question is about a potential love relationship the Star might indicate a great sexual connection. If the question is about someone's personality the Star may indicate a "diva" quality - a person who wants immediate gratification.

The Ten of Swords usually refers to a difficult situation. But it can also be a positive card in that it can indicate the end of a difficult period. It can also indicate that one has found the strength to acknowledge and leave a difficult situation.

Some tarot cards are prettier than others. Some inherently carry a more hopeful message. But it is the nature of the question and the surrounding cards that will determine the nature of the message each card delivers.