The Moon (Tarot card)
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220549981
2008-06-20T12:00:01Z
Nathanael Bar-Aur L.
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rv - trivia piece is tangential and irrelevant to this article
{{Copyedit|date=March 2007}}
[[Image:RWS Tarot 18 Moon.jpg|thumb|150px|The Moon (XVIII)]]'''The Moon (XVIII)''' is the eighteenth [[trump card|trump]] or [[Major Arcana]] card in most traditional [[Tarot]] decks. It is used in [[Tarot card games|game playing]] as well as in [[Tarot reading|divination]].
== Symbolism ==
* Two large, foreboding [[column|pillar]]s are shown. Some see them as tombstones, others relate them to [[Karma]].
* Two wild beasts howl at the moon.
* A [[crayfish]] appears in the water.
* The Moon is "shedding the moisture of fertilizing [[dew]] in great drops" (Waite). These are numbered 15 in the Rider-Waite deck and are [[Yodh]]-shaped. On this basis, some associate this card with [[impregnation]].
===Rider-Waite specific===
* Very clearly, the figure in the moon is [[frown]]ing, reflecting displeasure.
* The waxing [[moon]] has 16 chief rays and 16 secondary rays.
* The beasts are, according to Waite's [[Pictorial Key to the Tarot|PKT]], a [[dog]] and a [[wolf]], which represent ''the fears of the natural mind''.
* The crayfish crawls from the water unto the land.
* There's a pathway into the distant, dark unknown.
== Interpretation ==
A. E. Waite was a key figure in the development of modern Tarot interpretations.<ref> Wood, 1998 </ref> However not all interpretations follow his theology. Please remember that all Tarot decks used for divination are interpreted up to personal experience and standards.
Some frequent keywords are:
*''Lack of clarity ----- Tension ----- Doubt ----- Fantasy''
*''Deception ----- Psychological conflict ----- Obscured vision''
*''Confusion ----- Illusion ----- Fear ----- Imagination ----- Worry''
*''Romanticism ----- Anxiety ----- Apprehension ----- Unrealistic ideas''
===Other meanings===
{{Inappropriate person|section|you|date=March 2008}}
This card has to do with sleep patterns this can mean both dreaming and nightmares. If one gets this card they may be going through an emotional or mental state. If they are already sick and gets this card they should make sure they're taking all of their medication. If they drink alcohol or use drugs they may cause irreparable damage.
On the other hand this card can give one visions and insight, creativity and psychic powers. In this case if one gets this card they should trust their intuition. <ref>[http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/basics/moon.shtml "The Moon" from "Thirteen's Tarot Basics" Aecletic Tarot]</ref>
== Alternative decks ==
In old Italian Tarot decks instead of the above scene there is instead an astronomer measuring the large moon above him in some way.
==References==
{{Reflist}}
* [[A. E. Waite]]'s 1910 ''Pictorial Key to the Tarot''
* Juliette Wood, Folklore 109 (1998):15-24, The Celtic Tarot and the Secret Tradition: A Study in Modern Legend Making (1998)
== External links ==
* [http://trionfi.com/tarot/cards/18-moon/ "Moon" cards from many decks and articles to "Moon" iconography]
* [http://www.tarothermit.com/moon.htm The History of the Moon Card] from The Hermitage.
* [http://www.learntarot.com/maj18.htm '''The Moon''' from ''Learning the Tarot: A Tarot Book for Beginners'' - Joan Bunning]
{{Major Arcana}}
[[Category:Tarot cards|Moon, The]]
[[es:La Luna (Tarot)]]
[[fr:La Lune]]
[[ja:月 (タロット)]]
[[pl:Księżyc (tarot)]]
[[pt:A Lua (Tarot)]]