The distinction between this card and some of the conventional types is that the moon is increasing on what is called the side of mercy, to the right of the observer. It has sixteen chief and sixteen secondary rays. The card represents life of the imagination apart from life of the spirit. The path between the towers is the issue into the unknown. The dog and wolf are the fears of the natural mind in the presence of that place of exit, when there is only reflected light to guide it.

The last reference is a key to another form of symbolism. The intellectual light is a reflection and beyond it is the unknown mystery which it cannot shew forth. It illuminates our animal nature, types of which are represented below--the dog, the wolf and that which comes up out of the deeps, the nameless and hideous tendency which is lower than the savage beast. It strives to attain manifestation, symbolized by crawling from the abyss of water to the land, but as a rule it sinks back whence it came. The face of the mind directs a calm gaze upon the unrest below; the dew of thought falls; the message is: Peace, be still; and it may be that there shall come a calm upon the animal nature, while the abyss beneath shall cease from giving up a form.--A.E. Waite

This card represents the state of impure horror, hidden darkness which must be passed through before light can be reborn. The Moon is, therefore, the most universal of the planets, partaking at once of the highest and the lowest. At the bottom of the card moves the Sacred Beetle, bearing the Sun through the darkness of night. Above is the evil landscape of the Moon. A stream, or path of Serum, tinged with book, flows between two barren mountains. On the hills are dark sinister towers. On the threshold stands the jackal-headed god Anubis, in double form; at his feet are the jackals waiting to devour those who have fallen by the way.--Aleister Crowley

If you look around the room right now, you will (probably!) see furniture, objects and people that are comforting in their familiarity. Everything is exactly as you expect it to be. You *know* that if you closed your eyes and then opened them, the room would still be the same. But...have you ever been in a situation where the familiar is gone, and, in its place, there is a world so bizarre and extraordinary you can't even grasp it? This is the experience of the Moon.

Most of the time we live in a tiny pocket of normality that we wrap around us like a security blanket. We turn our backs on the marvelous, mysterious universe that waits outside. From time to time we may sneak a peak with our imagination. Or venture out through fantasy or expanded awareness. Indeed we can be thrust out there unprepared through drugs, madness or intense experiences such as battle. Most often, though, we ignore it.

The Moon is the light of this realm - the world of shadow and night. Although this place is awesome, it does not have to be frightening. In the right circumstances, the Moon inspires and enchants. It holds out the promise that all we can imagine can be ours. When we are stuck in a rut, the Moon can guide us to explore the unknown and allow the unusual into our lives.

Unfortunately, though, we are mostly afraid of what the Moon has to offer, so, in readings this card often stands for our fears and anxieties - the ones that make us lie awake at night. Since we can lose our way in the moonlight, Card 18 also stands for illusions and bewilderment. We must beware of deceptions and false ideas that can lead us astray. Sometimes the Moon is a signal that you are lost and wandering aimlessly. You must find your way back to the path and your clarity of purpose.--Joan Bunning

The silvery crescent moon glows in the black night, the top of its circular form outlined by the shadowy rays of reflected light. Drops of light ("Yods" in Hebrew) rain over the countryside, signifying the descent of the life force into the material plane. The Moon's path on the Tree of Life takes it down through the psychic realm into the earthly plane. The Golden Dawn wrote that this card is connected to the soul entering the earthly body. It is now hidden and secrets abound. The two towers mark the gateway to the unknown. The Moon's faint light reflects thoughts from the subconscious and the imagination. It barely lights the which summons primitive fears dredged up from instinct and vague memories from the past. The Moon controls the tides and our deep emotions. It causes dogs to howl, influences women's reproductive systems, draws out creativity--and also madness. Instinctively, we are drawn to follow the path of the Moon, to stare at it in the night sky, to let it hypnotize and draw out our untamed imagination. -- Susan Hansson.

In Key 18, The Moon, the crustacean, symbol of Cancer, ruled by the moon, emerges from the watery depths at the beginning of the golden path of ascent. This golden path is a frequent symbol in esoterica of the spiritual Way of evolving consciousness.

. . . the eclipse shown in Key 18, where the sun has been "swallowed" by the moon . . . . .a wolf, which is an animal symbolic of the soul (or sometimes of the body), whereas the dog connotes the spirit. Sol and Luna, likewise, stand for spirit and soul respectively . . .

The moon seeks to devour her spouse in the eclipse, but he is reborn in her.

... the golden path, which commences at the abyss and rises ever higher into the peaks of the distant mountains. Above, on one of these peaks, we may assume, stands the hermit

Moonchild

IMHO

The Vision

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