Feb 20 | 2023 — The Moon
Today seems to be the Monday of Mondays: things just do not seem to be going according to plan. I feel tired and agitated like things have been rotated just enough to make them not align. I’m making little stupid mistakes, like I’m here, but not here.
When I was shuffling the cards this morning, The Moon jumped out. I was annoyed and put it back and kept shuffling. I shuffled again, but my mind nagged that I needed that Moon for today. So I pulled it back out and started to work.
The Moon: when things aren’t quite what they seem, and there’s something lying beneath the surface that needs further introspection. It’s the card of illusion, and can often be difficult to really assuage the meaning and intent without deep diving into yourself. It’s a card of shadow and light, deceit and answers, lies and truth.
Additionally, today is, astrologically, a new moon. This is the start of a period of new growth as the brightness of the moon grows night after night until it is full again on March 7. We can certainly internalize this as the end of the darkness and the beginning of new light, kind’a like how it was 50 degrees out on Saturday and is 80 today (welcome to southeast Texas), goodbye winter; hello summer.
Message of the Day: The Moon card can often seem very mystical and enchanting. It’s a beautiful image, and the moon has been used in art for thousands of years. It’s the stunning spotlight of nature, and the thing that seems to really stand out to me today about the moon is its influence on the ebb and flow of tides. Granted, it’s not the moon directly, but the moon’s gravitational energy that causes water (all water) to “bulge” on the sides closest and farthest from the moon (something called tidal force) — I had to look that up, kthnxbai.
Considering our bodies are made up of something like 60% water (more like 80% for me today as I feel bloated AF), it’s inevitable that the moon has physical effects on our bodies. A full moon, for example, decreases the amount of REM sleep a “typical” human experiences. It can affect women’s menstrual/reproductive cycles. I feel like the same thing can be said of our emotions (and in Tarot, water represents emotions and deep feelings). I mean think of all the craziness associated with the full moon: werewolves, animalistic behaviors, increased crime rates, and all kinds of weird and crazy shit (this is, after all, where the term “lunacy” comes from).
But what about the new moon? When the new moon is high in the sky, there is next to no light. Going out on a walk with the dogs is like “wtf, why is it so dark?” — but duh, it’s the new moon. Because it’s dark, it’s typically a time when we stay inside, not go out and revel and be merry and shit.
The new moon is also often associated with low energy (check!) and a restless mind (check!), and can make rest and relaxation challenging (check, check, check!). But it’s the ideal time to try to calm the mind and focus on the new beginnings associated with the new moon. Cycles and change are a common theme in Tarot, and they should be expected and welcomed as new phases to clear away the muck and drag ourselves (sometimes kicking and screaming) into the new clearing. We shed our old skin and step forth fresh, smooth, and potentially vulnerable.
So as we sit on the cusp of a new moon, The Moon invites us to take the time to sit with ourselves for a bit tonight and think about our feels and what we can do to clear away some of the complicated shit to move things forward. Don’t get caught up in the restless agitations; find peace in the darkness, and center on the promise of coming clarity.
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