The Moon

The Moon, #18 in the Tarot major trumps sequence, is about growth and learning as a result of adversity. The traditional meaning of this card deals more with the "lunacy" aspect of the Moon - fantasy, illusion, deception. I've never liked that interpretation and decided to go with my gut in reaction to the symbol itself. I've always seen the Moon card as somehow depressing or expressing depression, and thinking about the card in my usual Jungian perspective I came to realize that the times we're the saddest, when nothing seems to be going right and we can't see a way out, are the times when we experience the most growth and increase in psychic strength.

The perfect song for this card is Paul McCartney's "Blackbird", most definitely a song about triumphing over adversity. McCartney himself said that he wrote the song while thinking about the civil rights struggles in the US, and thinking that the time was right to eliminate racial barriers.

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise

Black bird singing in the dead of night
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see
all your life
you were only waiting for this moment to be free

Blackbird fly, Blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night.

Blackbird fly, Blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night.

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise,
You were only waiting for this moment to arise,
You were only waiting for this moment to arise.

Photo, artwork, & text © 2011 by A. Roy Hilbinger