Involution

as a means, not a goal

​

 

One of my favorite incitation and enigma

is the subject of the Moon in all its sway.

In the Farrago Spiritum Tarot,

self published by my friend Raven Zingaro

and me,

the Moon, tarot card number 18 "LUNA"

is depicted rich in archetypal figures and 

symbolics.

Since all life and living

moves in great duality,

with Tarot we can uncloak

the deeper significance

and associations of the lunar & lunatic effigy.

 

 

​

​

The Moon 

influences the life of human being and every living creature from plant to water to rock to earth. The moon affects earth and our whole planet itself. Interestingly enough, the Moon has a cycle that repeats itself about every 18 years. The archetypal figure which the moon embodies is the ever-changing mirror of the sun, and a symbol of the unconscious mind. The method of projecting light makes the moon an omen of subtlety, clarity, and reflection.

Where the sun will boldly fire off its glow upon a given philosophical subject, the moon softly swathes our thoughts - illumining our psyche in a cushy glow that is more open to the hidden and esoteric questions.

From its perch in the night sky, the moon represents secrets and mysteries that may not be understood, or even recognized. 

Only through confrontation with the dark side and entering the underworld,

we explore the depths of our soul.

Though everybody likes to equate the moon with the cryptic and the mystical, rarely someone really enjoys the look into their own chasm,

where sometimes the unvarnished and crude truth is not too comfortable.

It is the Moon that tends to educe what we generally ignore, refuse to see,

or even deny.

That is why its shadow, the lunatic side involves themes like Illusion, hysteria, fear, rejection of reality, denial, escapism and delusion. 

(Moon in Scorpio as the dark knowledge of

the depths of soul)

However, the step to self-reflection has to be taken, for without facing up to darkness, we will never see the light.

And the light we receive from the moon can grant us wisdom, maturity and deepest self-realization.

​

​

​

​

​
 

Zodiac Sign:

Pisces, the astrological sign for this

card expresses the dual aspect. The left hand fish

indicates the direction of involution and the right

hand fish point to the direction of evolution,

or the way out of the cycle.

Tree of life:

It is the 29th path that connects Malkuth and Netzach.

Attributed to this path is the 18th arcanum titled the Moon.

The astrological symbol Pisces, a feminine water sign ruled by Neptun, is influencing this path. The towers depicted on either side of the path, represent the two pillars of the Tree Of Life, and the path between is the need to balance

active and passive forces which, upon the path of the moon, creates a two-way pull. It is the path of intuition and imagination. The path of the Moon leads to Malkuth. The virtue given to Malkuth is discrimination, a virtue essential to the traveller along the path of the Moon.

​

Element: 
Neshamah is represented by the cups in Tarot and refers to the element of water and to the World of Briah, which in the Kabbalah is the World of Creation. Neshamah, the higher level of spiritual consciousness, is governed by emotional aspects, rather than by rational ones and is often referred to as the 'breath of God', and it's said that it only can be fully recognized through mystical discipline. 

The element of water symbolized as cups (the vessel that holds water) are associated with emotions,  feelings, moods and the psychic essence (world of Briah).

Number: 18 

The number 18, in kaballistic numerology, is significant for emotions, secrets,

lies, selfishness, destruction, accidents, difficulties, sickness, and danger.

If we reduce 18, it becomes 9, a number of initiation. On the path of the moon it is initiation by water. Number 9 takes us back to the realm of the Hermit, that solitary archetype, who advises a journey within, in order to discover our true nature.

​

Chakra:

Third Eye (Ajna) Chakra transcends time. It is located in the brain, at the brow, above the base of the nose.

The gift of this chakra is seeing - both inner and outer worlds.

The energy of this chakra allows us to experience clear thought as well as gifts of spiritual contemplation and self reflection: we can internalize the outer world and with symbolic language we can externalize the inner world.

Ajna allows us to access our inner guidance that comes from the depths of our being. It allows us to cut through illusion and to access deeper truths - to see beyond the mind.

The "way of the third eye" is seeing everything as it is from a point of "witness" or "observer", or from simply being mindful - moment by moment. It means examining self-limiting ideas and developing wisdom that comes from a perspective that transcends the duality of good or bad, black or white. This Sixth chakra is holistic in nature. When this chakra is fully activated, both hemispheres of the brain function in synchrony. The right hemisphere's creativity and synthetic thinking is integrated and balanced with left hemisphere's logical and analytical thinking.

The Third Eye is not only the seat of wisdom, but also a seat of conscience. This is where you not only see what is going on, but you also know what it means. This is where your sense of justice and your ethics originate.

When your third eye is open, you not only see but you also understand.

​

The Scarab:
Among shamanic societies, there are series of myths relating the creation of world to beetles. In some indiginous tribes from the Chaco, a big scarab named Aksak modeled man and woman from clay. Thus, the scarab, who shapes dung into balls, is identified as potter; an identification that we also find in Old Egypt.

In a myth told by pre-Aryan people from India and South-East Asia, a primeval diver and maker of the world is a beetle, that plunges down to the bottom of original liquid chaos, managing to grab and bring back to the surface some amount of matter to form the terrestrial world.

This myth probably combines two different sorts of beetles: a Dytiscid, whose name recalls his ability to plunge (from Greek dytiscos “diver”), and a scarab, grabbing and pushing his dung ball.

Among the Sumatran Toba, a big beetle brings a ball of matter from the sky to form the world.

In this tarot card, the symbiosis of the opposites and the dual aspect of all life, is depicted by the scarab: a solar creator which is retaining the moon in the lunar ecliptic night sky.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​