La Lune XVIII (The Moon)

[Diana]

I was recently struck by something in the Moon arcanum of the Tarot of Marseilles that I think isn’t often spoken of. And this is its Duality

Not only is the Moon may be a Solar eclipse (the rays behind the Moon look like Sun rays. The Moon doesn’t give rays). So we have day and night.

Then there are the two towers. One open at the top, the other closed – one receptive, one insular. One tower with doors apparent, the other with doors concealed or missing as in the Maison Dieu XVI.

And then we have the dogs. One is standing up, with its tail in the air. It is therefore in a dominant position. And the other dog is crouching with its tail lowered – it is submissive. Perhaps one is female, the other male.

I went reading up on Dualistic Cosmology and noted this paragraph :

Many myths and creation motifs with dualistic cosmologies have been described in ethnographic and anthropological literature. These motifs conceive the world as being created, organised, or influenced by two demiurges, culture heroes, or other mythological beings, who either compete with each other or have a complementary function in creating, arranging or influencing the world. There is a huge diversity of such cosmologies. In some cases, such as among the Chukchi (an indigeneous population living in the Russian Federation), the beings collaborate rather than competing, and contribute to the creation in a coequal way. In many other instances the two beings are not of the same importance or power (sometimes, one of them is even characterized as gullible). Sometimes they can be contrasted as good versus evil. They may be often believed to be twins or at least brothers. Dualistic motifs in mythologies can be observed in all inhabited continents.

It’s the yin/yang of Chinese cosmology. In Taoism, distinctions between good and bad, along with other dichotomous moral judgments, are perceptual, not real. The arcanum of the Moon is steeped with something that is unreal – it looks more like something pertaining to a dream. That is why I think it is often interpreted as such – with imagination and mystery and the Taoist “perceptual distinctions”.

How does one deal with the duality inherent in our world ? It is present in us always. It recalls in many ways Justice VIII – which if one does the pairing of the Major Arcana – is the twin of The Moon XVIII. Balance and equilibrium. But in the Tarot, the twins, the pairs, are not identical twins. They too are opposed to each other - but together create one whole.

I will in future pay more attention to duality when I’m faced with this card.

(Oh and by the way, the dogs are NOT barking at the moon. Dog don't bark with their tongues hanging out.)

[Demon Goddess]

I am really going to enjoy your participation, Diana! The TdM is my most difficult to read deck.

I live the duality you're talking about with the Moon. This is very much my "use this energy to find psychological balance" card.

As you mention the dogs' tongues, it seems to me that the dogs are lapping up the energy of the moon.

Curious... what do you make of the crawfish?

[Diana]

TdM is not so difficult to read. It just requires a shift in perception. It's more subtle though, perhaps that is where the difficulty lies. Particularly of course the minors. But they're not as difficult as one thinks. I use elements and numbers an awful lot and it works splendidly.

I have always been frightened by the crayfish (which I think is a lobster - there are two opinions about this but I don't think it's very important). The Moon card scares me. I hate it when it comes up in a reading. That creepy crawly is sinister in my eyes. Once George Colleuil, a French author and tarologist, told me that if I look into my ancestry and my family history, I will probably come to terms with it. Very recently, less than 10 days ago, the whole family history was shoved again in my face, and it was a hugely stressful and distressful time. It's not really my history, but that of my dad and his forefathers. The background is battle fields, and exiles, and Poland and France, lost children and found children, and maybe dark secrets which for the first time I managed to get a glimpse of. And I think I have now a good picture of the mystery that surrounded my Dad's birth. Not completely accurate, but it's much clearer than before. I was shocked actually. And strangely enough, when I posted the card earlier today, I realised I was less frightened. So I think Colleuil was correct.

But what the crayfish/lobster actually represents I have no idea. I've never found an answer that satisfied me.

Yes, the dogs are indeed lapping up the energy of the moon!!

Thanks for the response!!

[Demon Goddess]

I feel embracing fear is an element to the moon card that is part of the growth cycle. The moon card seems, in practice to embody that push.

I think George was correct as well.

The lobster is interesting given your comments.

I love lobster in all its forms. I harbor no fear of them, but rather great desire for them than anything. Yum.

He just tells me I need to go to the Bahamas as soon as the pandemic ends.