Many moons ago, I met a man who had a dingo as a pet. I had the opportunity to pat and play with this wild Australian animal. Despite their reputation as ruthless hunters, it was a pleasure to interact with this beautiful creature. I mentioned that for a native animal, it seemed content to live with him as a domesticated dog. The man replied that while the dog looked content and seemed tame, he didn’t allow anyone to enter the dog’s yard after dark because “That’s when its primal instincts kick in!”
As darkness arrives and the moon appears, primitive instincts surface within the body and mind. In card 18 of the Tarot, we see a dog and a wolf looking at the moon. In the light of the full moon, even the domesticated dog feels the urge of its ancestral nature, and along with the wolf, it lets loose a mournful howl.
I like this card’s energy. It represents the illumination of the inner self. Some people fear the intensity of the subconscious, which can threaten to destabilise a ‘normal’ existence. Still, when this aspect of ourselves is exposed and acknowledged, there is greater clarity about the self, which can bring authenticity.
Some writers consider The Moon card to have meanings such as confusion and deception. They say this because they think danger lurks in the darkness of this card. But this image is all about illumination. A full moon is shown, not a dark moon. And the Yods falling to earth are blessings. The path from the waters of the unconscious to the mountain represents the journey to a higher state of awareness. This is a card of the Divine Feminine and Her mysterious ways, but a mystery doesn’t necessarily mean danger; feeling the mystery of life is one of its greatest joys! When the psyche is unleashed and allowed to explore its nature, it may seem frightening at first, but this is often because it has been repressed for so long that we rarely feel its power.
Freud said the subconscious is like a waiting room, where thoughts remain until they “succeed in attracting the eye of the conscious”. When primal forces involving sex, guilt, and fear are repressed and locked away and don’t catch the attention of the conscious mind, they fester and are ultimately projected into a person’s conscious world in unhealthy ways. Card 18 is about bringing these underlying forces into the soft light of the full moon. Blasting the troubled areas of the subconscious with a blazing sun would be too painful to bear! Like the crayfish crawling from the waters on this card, the monsters that reside deep in the unconscious must make their way forward when it is safe.
This card is about transformation, not confusion.
The Moon is the gentle awakening of disturbing thoughts and feelings that are finally allowed to creep into conscious awareness so they can be acknowledged and accepted. The Yods are the grace that falls into your heart and mind when you open yourself to the whole of your true nature. As your primal instincts make themselves known and you realise you have two sides to your nature, the tame and the wild, you can walk the path between the towers of authority and judgement and make your way to the mountaintop of enlightenment. The moon will guide you to this treasure, the wholeness of self.
In the dark of night, the primal nature of everyone and everything comes out to fight, hunt, play and love. Don’t fear it; embrace it. There is much to be gained by allowing your darkness to see the light.