The Moon: Illuminating the Shadows

The Moon is one of those cards in tarot which people have strong reactions too, either positive or negative. Some people find it confusing or unclear; and others don’t connect to the age old meaning of cycles. While I think the representation of cycles in the Moon is powerful and I believe that can be an appropriate message sometimes, I often get something different from her.

For me, the Moon is all about lifting the veil of darkness. It is about walking out into the shadowy wood and seeing what lives there. It could be an analogy for shadow work, which I feel with be very appropriate, or possibly just a message that there is something we aren’t seeing when we are facing the situation from our limited perspective. I think the Moon often asks us to change our perspective. The Hanged Man is about shifting perspective for me as well, but with the Moon it is often about changing my perspective with regards to what I’m not seeing rather than changing how I see something.

Often we find ourselves in deeply ingrained in a situation it is very difficult for us to face the fact that the way we see the situation isn’t really the way the situation is actually playing out. We experience our day to day lives through our own unique lens. Our lens is shaped by so many things, subtle and profound. It is shaped by our upbringing, our beliefs, our culture, our feelings, our experiences, what we have learned and what we haven’t. It is so easy to accept these things as TRUTH in the ultimate sense of the word, but personal truth is relative.

I’m sure you have heard the stories of people who witness a crime and they all have conflicting stories on what actually happened. Why? Because they are each viewing the even through their own lens of consciousness. So is that good news? Well, yes. Because often when we are going through something which has drawn us in entirely – a breakup, a move, leaving a job, a falling out, dealing with gossip or bad press – we lose our perspective entirely.

The truth is that most things aren’t near as bad as we thing they are, or as bad as we build them up to be in our minds. The anticipation of pain is much worse than the pain itself – the same is true for what we think others are saying about us or doing to us. Most of the time people are just too consumed in their own stuff that they don’t realize what they are doing to you or how you are feeling. We feel victimized or take things personally when they aren’t meant to be that way.

However, when we illuminate shadows we may also find specters hiding all around us. That girl we thought was our new bestie made up lies about us, our “soulmates” leave us high and dry, our dream job turns out to be empty and unfulfilling, the grass was not greener on the other side. What happens now? Well, the Moon reminds us that we have to face the truth if we are to move on. We can keep pretending that things are all sunshine and rainbows or we can stand up and say “this isn’t what I signed up for”.

The Moon leaves no room for lies, sugar coating or sweeping under the rug. The thing about the truth is it will not be ignored. It will fester and burn until it has had its day. In my experience, every time I have stood up and faced the truth – no matter how painful and uncomfortable – I have walked away wondering why I didn’t do that sooner. It is like ripping off the proverbial baindaid – you know it is going to suck, it is going to really suck, but once it is over, it’s over and you can move on. The healing journey can begin. You are free from the restriction of faking it. You are free to embrace authenticity.

You are free to be you.

Love and Light.

XOXO

#spiritual #Tarot #personaldevelopment