Tarot of Awakening: Initiation into the Kabbalistic Western Mystery Tradition by Wall Amy

Tarot of Awakening: Initiation into the Kabbalistic Western Mystery Tradition by Wall Amy

Author:Wall, Amy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Desert Mystery Publishing
Published: 2011-07-29T16:00:00+00:00


Card XVIII. The Moon

“This is my hidden being

Behind the face of the Vast Countenance;

Therefore am I called

The BACK of the Head which is not a Head.” [1]

A large moon with a somber face gazes down upon a desolate scene. A wolf and a dog howl at the moon; a lobster-like crustacean crawls up out of a pond. A long path leads from the water’s edge to two towers before disappearing into the distant mountains. Fifteen Yods fall from the sky.

This strange card evokes thoughts of dreams and fantasies. Such things are very common on the spiritual quest—we all know people who have fallen victim to an alluring combination of imagination and wishful thinking. Examples include the belief that the aspirant was someone special in a past life; is marked for an extraordinary destiny; is frequently approached by fairies, sprites, elves or angels; etc. As Dion Fortune says, “When, however, I listen to the talk of some of those who are interested in occultism, I feel as if I had returned to the Dark Ages, so much of it is sheer credulity and superstition. Such romantic previous incarnations, such wonderful auras, such authoritative teachings received from the Masters; everything accepted without any counterchecking or attempt at verification.” [2]

The Moon gives us clues as to why these illusions persist. Our spiritual quest, symbolized by the path, moves ever onward and upward to the mountains in the distance. However, our ego (the dog and wolf) howls and strange creatures (the lobster) crawl up from our subconscious. It is the conscious ego and subconscious ideas that create psychic visions, memories of past lives, and notions of grand destinies. Overseeing all of it is our waxing and waning personality (the moon).

This card connects Netzach, the world of instincts, sensuality and emotions, with Malkuth, the physical world. As the moon exerts its unseen but powerful influence on the seas, much of what happens in Malkuth comes about as a result of the hidden action of Netzach. Similarly, what appear to be spiritual experiences are actually the work of the unseen influences of the ego and the subconscious. The card is also assigned to the Hebrew letter Kuf or Qoph. Robert Wang explains, “The meaning of Qoph is the back of the head. It is behind the head itself, which is Resh (The Sun). Thus, what is symbolized by The Moon is anterior to the bright intellectual awareness of The Sun.” [3] The home of fantasy is, in a sense, in the “back of the head,” behind the intellectual awareness of the mind.

It’s all too easy to fall under The Moon’s spell. Experiences such as dreams of angels, psychic events, stigmata and so on convey a feeling of great significance and immense personal achievement. These often become a red carpet invitation to Fantasyland. There are many, many aspirants and teachers who have allowed their spiritual experiences to turn their heads. The masters of the Western Mystery Tradition have all recognized the tendency toward excessive imagination among those who seek Initiation.



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