The Moon Tarot Card Meaning: Intuition, Deception & Turmoil

Key points

• Intuition and Unconscious: In tarot reading, reverse Moon card meaning may refer to intuition; dreams; emotions unconsciously manifested – might need you to listen more attentively to your inner voice or seek shadows of truth.

• Illusions and Deception: The card is telling us that the matter may be illusory – it’s not as simple or clear-cut as something else.
  
• Emotional Turmoil: The Moon tells us of emotional turmoil, a place where our fears are displayed before we find solace in insight.

The Moon Tarot Meaning

One of the most enigmatic and evocative cards in the Major Arcana is The Moon. The Moon card tells us to trust our instincts as we journey through the darkness of life by listening to an internal wisdom. The symbolism and imagery it connotes are multiple, providing hints on higher levels of our reality.

The Moon Tarot Card

The Moon card is the 18th Tarot card in the Major Arcana.

Meaning

THE MOON – Illusion, fear of the unknown, and opening up to yourself. When this card appears in a reading, it quite often signifies not everything is as it appears and real life situations lie beneath the surface.

Symbolism

The Moon → dreams/our subconscious mind + tap into our inner guidance/intuition.

Symbols and Images

The Moon card, even more so than most of the other cards, uses many symbols compared to its meanings.

• The Moon — Intuition and subconscious, mutable emotion-states.
• The Crawfish: A clawed pincer that comes from water, representing the first form of consciousness or moving toward realization.
• Path: Spiraling path leading into the mountains symbolizes moving through unfamiliar areas to higher levels of insight.
• The Towers: two towers represent the initial dwellings from man’s consciousness to its unconsciousness.

Direct Meaning of The Moon

Alluding to illusion and matters, we just might know deep down under. The Moon calls you to stand in your intuition and hear for answers from Dreamtime.

Yet it also reveals that things can be uncovered that have been concealed for some time, and maybe even unlocked secrets as well. Thus do not accept everything at face value; observe what lies beneath the skin of the situation to obtain a full extent of true understanding.

Love and Relationships

In love, The Moon card can mean emotional complexity or even a bit of confusion. If you are in a relationship, this period will unearth instances of miscommunication and misunderstanding with your partner.

It’s essential to talk openly with your partner so no confusion remains. The Moon comes to show you or your partner who may be hiding feelings, fears, and secrets.

If for some reason you are single, this card reminds us what we do in order not to get carried away, focusing on what is truly important.

Career & Finances

When reversed, The Moon in terms of career and money symbolizes deception where the conditions are not likely to alter. Your profession may remain undecided, or your conduct at the workplace.

At this point in time, you have to be cautious and not jump into anything. Don’t worry — your gut instinct will guide you if anything has the potential of being dangerous.

Investments should be tactful, and all financial transactions that take place during this time will only work if they are done above board, as the Moon suggests.

This is a time for you to read the fine print and ask all of your questions before committing to anything major!

Health and Spirituality

This Moon card appearing in health readings will generally come as a warning regarding some sort of hidden illness that needs to be attended to.

Stress and anxiety will impact your health, so look after yourself. Don’t be afraid to reach out for professional help if you are still struggling.

The Moon encourages you to go deep down into your subconscious and feel into those energies.

You may want to spend time in meditation and dreaming, as there could be some significant spiritual messages that enhance your alignment at this juncture of interest.

Reversed Tarot Card Meaning of The Moon

If the moon is turned upside down in your tarot card reading, allow for some time to uncover illusions that will be unveiled.

Reversed, this card can point to the fact that you are beginning to see things in a different light and therefore all of your fear or confusion is being lifted.

This card talks about having an open and clear mind, revealing hidden truths to the self so that you could have a better idea of what path or steps must be taken.

Love and Romance

The Reverse Moon amplifies misunderstandings, deceit, and hidden emotions, which are likely to bring things crashing down.

It offers a chance to be open with your partner about struggles and an opportunity to work toward a more honest, genuine relationship.

For singles, The Moon inverted helps pinpoint what tripped connections up prematurely and where to avoid making the same sorts of errors going forward.

Career

Moon Reversed – Something that has been unclear at work or on the money front may start to fall into place when

The Moon shows up reversed. In the workplace, there might be trends or hidden agendas emerging as openings you did not see before.

With your newfound clarity, you can now decide what career to pursue and how to manage things financially.

This is a time where you will use your intuition to move forward with a better understanding of what you are talking about and seeing.

Health + Spirituality

When you are given the Moon card in reverse, this may be a time where you are subjected to mysterious ailments that appear undiagnosable.

If you have been fighting mystery symptoms for any length of time, the question that might wrap everything up neatly and point to the ultimate cause is potentially going to be your version of an ending.

It has spiritual overtones, a new insight or awareness, and the opening of intuitive knowing. Moreover, a connection to your spiritual practices can bring you closer to self and more peace in following all metaphysical things.

Celebrate this awakening and let it be the spark of transformation and healing.

The Moon Card in Other Tarot Spreads

Summary Of The Moon card is No. 18 of the Major Arcana, and this magical number symbolizes intuition, illusion, plus matters that creep out coming from subconscious minds.

The Moon rules subconscious or unconscious awareness, addressing what goes unseen and can be intimidating as well as deceptive.

It could mean finding integrity, confusion, fear occupying space out-of-view, illusion versus elucidation.

The Moon — Symbolism and Imagery

The Moon is quite a rich card with lots of imagery, hidden symbols, and meanings, so this one you want to pay attention to above all others (at least in my opinion). Most images that depict the deity show a crescent moon and full moon.

It illuminates a terrain, two towers, one lane of travel, and water, as well as three figures. If this card centralizes in the spread, you might perceive a house-shadow on that enormous moon; otherwise, it stands out against hectares-then miles.

Moon in astrology

The moon is considered the greatest caretaker of hunches, dreams, and all objects that have a slight corner in our subconscious minds. As a symbol, it inspires the same mysteries in life as what remains unseen or untold.

This is so because the moon does not generate light of its own; hence there are no in-between observations or knowledge outcomes. It may symbolize deception, illusion, or the necessity to see beyond what one sees into its true nature.

The Dogs/Wolves

The dog or wolf can be seen (depending on your deck choice), yet both represent our bestial nature. The dog is our desire to be wild that has finally been tamed, while the wolf represents its wildest form.

Wolves howling at the moon signal a call to remember our humanity. They bear stronger relationships with loyalty and protection, or the primal instincts of the hunt, pack life, and survival.

Collectively, they both point out that refraining from our propensity should be cautiously conducted in an inclusive manner rather than a warring draft for the rights to stand!

The Crawfish/Crayfish

The release of the craw or cray into water symbolizes your unconscious mind, reinforcing that we can see this as the earliest part of a trip.

In tarot, water often symbolizes emotions and the unconscious. The crawfish speaks of an inner journey, which penetrates a depth that is usually concealed from public gaze — the dark side.

It reminds us that this is the only path to both grow and learn.

The Path

The path spirals around and onto snow-capped mountain ranges on the horizon.

It is the path that bends towards love, not a straight shot of salvation.

This path, with its glowing light symbolism and eradication of darkness or shadows, sows the seeds in thinking one can find clarity — enlightenment — but only if they possess enough patience and fortitude.

Summary Table

What is the Moon As A Person?

Astrologically Speaking

The Moon card is associated with Pisces – the sign of water and intuition, emotions, and dreams. These are all favorable traits for the Moon card, which is cardinal in nature.

It raises questions about what appears to be real and whether it is actually an illusion, or when discerning hidden motives and intuition.

The Moon exalts illusion, psychic receptivity, and dreams (Neptune), thus embodying the enigma of all things Piscean.

Pisces represents dual personalities, depicted by two fish hanging in opposite directions, symbolizing reality (natural human perception) and fantasy.

Numerological Importance: The Moon Card in a numerological reading corresponds with the number 18, which stands for security and intimacy of family.

Decomposed to 9, it represents finality, responsibility, and mastery. In some traditions, 9 is seen as a number that relates to spiritual ascension and the end of an equal cycle.

This aligns perfectly with The Moon’s exploration into the shadowy realms of the subconscious, where hidden truths are revealed, leading towards external enlightenment.

Symbolism and Imagery: The Moon card often depicts a full moon hanging over the landscape, with two towers in the distance and a path winding into dark woods.

These aspects signify the importance of self-confidence and the ebb and flow of life.

It features a dog and a traditional wolf howling at the moon, illustrating the tension between civilization and our more primal selves, emphasizing the need to align heart (instincts) with head (rational mind).

An Esoteric Review

Cultural References In Mythology? The Moon, being a card of varying and considerable readings in the tarot, is considered as one that holds deviance out from traditional divinations for those seeking it.

The influence of this card is mostly surrounding things we will never see, making it being called… you guess right: the quintessential realm of dreamt reality-induced confusion and delusion.

Because this is a two-faced card, we traditionally read it as ‘things are not always what they seem’, and also an invitation to listen openly & honestly to our own instincts (rather than simply swallowing the warped dogmatic moral position that church or state happens).

I began with the text, mining it for these mythic and cultural details.

Mythological Stories

The Moon also has some very rich mythology. The moon is closely linked to the divine feminine and everything related to it: that which is nocturnal, secretive out of eye-sight. Some best stories on moon mythology, Let’s know more about the major 3 of them:

• Artemis/Diana: In Roman called as Diana, the goddess of hunting and also the moon. She is the wilder, more primal side of life and associated with independence and intuition.
  
• Selene/Luna: Selene or Luna, in Roman language — Titan goddess who personifies the moon. Once we think of her, she is powering through the night sky, cloaked in misty cloud leading from beneath a feathered helm and running with silver ribbons.
  
• Hecate: Another moon goddess of Greek mythology, the powerful figure is connected to magic along with witchcraft. She is the veiled, secretive queen of the moon phases.

Cultural Symbolism The Moon card, and indeed the moon itself in this deck, have lots of cultural significance across a huge range of societies:

In Chinese culture, it is honored at their Thanksgiving (Moon Festival) which celebrates goddess Chang’e and her rabbit on the moon. This indicates a return to family relations and balance, and renewal of life itself.

Native American Culture:

Many tribes view the moon as a powerful symbol of fertility and change. Lunar phases and their significance for timekeeping or agriculture have been around forever.

The moon in Western astrology:

The Moon is the ruler for Cancer and this sign stands over our feelings, instincts, or what we really feel in a final source. It rules inside of us: our fundamental needs, demands, and desires.

THE MOON PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS + MEDITATIONS

The Moon in Tarot/Intuition → Trusting Dreams/Hunches/Timing | Medical Astrology

The Moon card usually appears when something is vague and illusory. Combatting that sense of confusion and emotionality can come with knowing how it is relevant to your daily life.

In more day-to-day affairs, The Moon calls you to trust your gut and avoid trickery in any form. This indicates one to gaze upon his dreams and subconscious. This card is a cautionary play to remember your shadow and see what needs doing.

Meditation

Meditation with The Moon card will teach you how to take the road inwards and discover hidden truths. Here are some ways you can start:

1. Visualization: Close your eyes and picture the Moon card. Imagine yourself walking under the moonlight and letting her energy follow you. Be aware of what you feel and think when they arise.
2. Deep Breathing: Sit in a comfortable position, and take deep breaths. Take a deep breath and inhale the light of moonbeams, as you exhale release your confusion or fear.
3. Guided Meditation: Your theme is around intuition and inward exploration, so find a moon-based guided meditation.

Journaling Prompts

Journaling is a powerful tool to work with The Moon card. Play some of these out here:

1. What fears or doubts keep bubbling to the surface in your life? Am I truly helping people?
2. How do I trust myself and follow what my gut is telling me?
3. What is a dream/nightmare you had recently and how it translates to your awake life? What aspects of my unconscious am I prepared to acknowledge into consciousness?

Daily Draw Practices

The Moon card is very useful when drawn in your daily draw because it can bring to light some new thoughts and insights. How to avail this:

In the morning, just pull a card and sit with it.

What To Do When The Moon Is Full

• Record Your Dreams for That Night.
• Be Timeless.
• Stay Connected all Day.
• Always be suspicious, though: if in doubt leave it out.
• Come into The Moon energy and delve down to the behavior behind your behavior.

So we have an engagement with The Moon card, as spoken about often when performing any one of these and to continue our work on intuitive ability so that you are able to have a greater insight into what lies within.

Misconceptions and Traps

Well, no – the Moon tarot card is often misunderstood or gets a bad rep.

The Moon – Deception, lies or secret foes. Illusions can mean confusion on this card but also represents intuition and the subconscious.

This can also be a trap and will make The Moon appear as an omen. In fact, it inspires one to dig deeper into one’s innermost soul and rely on his or her gut.

Misunderstandings about the Moon tarot card arise because

It can easily be read as iconography (in the dog and wolf guarding a moonlit path, for example).

The dog represents the tamed wild because of course within you is a wolf (primal instincts); after all, we humans are not as civilized as dogs, so perfection exists only in balance between our two natures.

It may seem as if one has read the symbols but they stopped reading them and instead just interpreted them on a surface level rather than going deep into what that card means.

Another misinterpretation is that The Moon should be considered a card of nothing but bad feelings (such as fear and anxiety). That, at one level, is an expression of these feelings and on another, shows the powerlessness hidden beneath our ways dream-born but intuition-driven.

When to Avoid Fear Based Readings

To avoid fear based readings it is necessary for one to be open about The Moon and delve into the many layers of what this card can mean. In addition to concerns involving possible deceit and dread, note the following beneficial aspects.

• Your Intuition: Represented by the moon, in your chart that reflects internally what you feel deep inside of yourself. Dreams manifest their own message, so always make sure to decipher them.

Pointing out these parts makes for a fair and more educational reading that allows the querent superiority rather than scaring them.

The Table Of Symbolism

This makes interpreting The Moon easier and reading the card easier in general. Raina also alerts us once again not to forget that The Moon does not just mean fear and illusion, but a card of self-Realization as well.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)