Major Arcana

The Moon

At first sight, a strange, dreamlike scene. But this card deserves a much closer look.

Ted lies at the side of the great rock pool, happy and contented to be dabbling in the water. He takes the place of the domesticated dog seen in many versions of this card, representing the thoughtful and empathic aspects of the human psyche. The counterpart of the dog would be a wild wolf; here, Ted’s counterpart is a wild bear, seen indulging its animal instincts for survival by catching and eating salmon from the stream.

The decapod lobster is emerging from the pool, taking advantage of the path of opportunity that has been illuminated by the Moon, shining between two mountains representing Strength and Wisdom, the left and right pillars of the kabbalistic Tree of Life. The tentative progress of this creature represents the first venture of sea creatures onto the land, the first step in the evolution of land animals, including ourselves. As well as a pair of fish representing the zodiac sign of Pisces, the rock pool contains a number of creatures of very ancient lineage, recalling the time before that emergence. As primitive animal life starts to evolve into a new level of existence, so the inner psychic life of the human being can awaken from its primitive animal state to evolve into self-awareness, and ultimately to a true spiritual state of being.

The Moon drives cycles of behaviour. In the context of the creatures of the pool, it is a fact that a number of species of crustacean emerge at the full Moon to mate and spawn, an echo of the driving influence of the Moon in the imagery of this card.

The Moon sheds tears of blood, a reminder of the strong emotions that impel, and of necessity arise from, the emergence of conscious awareness. The individual tears resemble the Hebrew letter yod, and are arranged in the pattern of the sefirot of the kabbalistic Tree of Life, which can from one point of view be seen as a roadmap for evolution.

Divination

This card can have positive or negative aspects, or a mixture of both. Imagination, intuition, dreams, storytelling. Confusion, uncertainty, agitation, or worry arising from subconscious causes. Subtle changes in self that may go unnoticed, but need attention. Hidden enemies, danger. Struggle against the negative aspects of the inner animal nature. Conversely, it can indicate a psychic awakening, a spritual new beginning.

For experts

• Hebrew letter Qof ק
•  (Single letter: Zodiac sign Pisces ♓)
• Tree of Life Khesed to Binah

You can see these cards at their best in the finished deck of Ted’s Tarot. Buy it here.