The Moon is one of the 22 Major Arcana cards in the deck, which delve into the big picture, broader themes of our soul’s journey and personal growth. They each invite us to look at our lives from the perspective of a particular energy or archetype. With The Moon, this energy is about connecting to the unknown, to the mysteries in life, to those things we sense to be true without knowing why — in other words, our intuition. No wonder it delighted the reader to see such an appropriate answer to my question!
The message that the reader brought forth was: it’s time to start getting comfortable in the moonlight. She suggested several ways to do this, including meditation, recording and contemplating my dreams, and sitting with the notion that many of my big questions will remain unanswered. Sometimes this feels unsettling, because the world looks different—and perhaps a bit scary—without the light and warmth of the sun to guide us. Our conditioning leads us to expect to understand our life in a logical, linear way, and to be able to “think” our way to the answers we seek. Of course facts and logic have value as we navigate our outer world; yet, as the reader pointed out, to truly connect with our inner wisdom, we must step into a darker realm. We must be willing to feel our way, guided by a dim illumination that will get brighter, but only if we allow time to let our eyes adjust.
As I imagined myself doing this, I remembered scenes from novels taking place in centuries past, where characters walked or rode horses for miles on a moonlit night. It occurred to me that until relatively recently, humans tuned in to the moon’s cycle because it was critical to their daily lives. As the need waned, so did our connection to it; most of us have no idea what phase the moon is in unless it happens to cross our paths. This change parallels how we’ve become less in tune with our inner wisdom in modern times, partly because it’s so easy to distract ourselves with outside input. We spend much less time contemplating in silence, walking alone in nature, or simply “being” rather than “doing” (or often, scrolling).
I loved this invitation from The Moon to change that; to go within and observe my world on a feeling level, and embrace the mystery of it all. It’s prompted me to literally follow the moon’s course, learn about its effects as taught by astrologers, and spend more time bathing in its beauty. It’s also inspired a new way to look at my internal, spiritual world as a place worth visiting, getting to know, and finding my way through. This is a work in progress, but I find the more time I spend in contemplation and meditation, the easier it is, and the more enjoyable. I never thought I’d be excited to meditate, because it often felt like restricting, controlling, or disconnecting my mind. Now that I see it as connecting to a moonlight realm that welcomes my exploration, it feels peaceful, like coming home.
Today, in an intriguing moment of divine timing, I witnessed the full moon set over the ocean. It hadn’t really occurred to me that “moonset” existed, nor did I imagine I’d see it as the sun simultaneously rose behind me. But what a beautiful thing to behold! And what a gift to contemplate this shining example of our universe’s mysteries.
Moonlight Intuition 