Golden Tarot -- The Moon

Prism

A huge full moon hangs in the night sky. Half of it is taken up by a strong but feminine face. The eyes look Egyptian to me. She gazes down at the world below, a dreamy look on her face. She sees what's going on, but she doesn't seem overly concerned. She seems to understand the effect she has on the world below and take it in stride.

Two pillars with mythical creatures on top stand outside a rocky hill on which some trees are growing. Inside, there's a lot going on. At the top of the hill is a stag, below is a rabbit who seems to be escaping a dog, who seems somewhat frightened, as his tail is down between his legs. There is also a fawn or deer in the grass.

A lobster and a crab are at the bottom of the card, outside the gates. The fears we keep hidden during the day have become visible in the moon's light. We can no longer pretend that they don't exist. We need to look at them and understand their power over our conscious, daytime minds.
 

celticnoodle

I like this card, (love the whole deck!) but I always thought it was yet another rabbit in the grass, and not a fawn. It seems to have long ears like a rabbit, but I could be wrong.

As for the dog, I don't believe he is frightened, I think he is more of the type of dog whose tail is always down low. Like that of a greyhound or a Ibizan hound dog--both who are known as hunting dogs. And, now that I checked the little book that accompanies this deck, it is a greyhound depicted here.

I believe this Moon card in this deck is truly speaking out towards the mystical side of the moon. The lady depicted in the moon looks to me like she is meditating. the greyhound is also a dog noted for his keen sense of sight, thus relating again to the mystical moon.

The hare actually stumped me as far as being symbolic in this card, as I always just linked hares and rabbits to a birth. but, after I googled about his symbolism, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the hare is often depicted in many cultures with the moon. to quote what I found online specifically about the hare-

these animals were archetypal symbols of femininity, associated with the lunar cycle, fertility, longevity, and rebirth & In some lands, Hare is the messenger of the Great Goddess, moving by moonlight between the human world and the realm of the gods; in other lands he is a god himself, wily deceiver and sacred world creator rolled into one. hmmm. now that I think about it, a family friend who was a nurse use to always dislike the full moon, as depicted in this card. She would always be called in, because every full moon, they would have a significant increase in births as well as really crazy accident victims at the hospital, requiring extra help.

As for the stag, well, I had always known that he was a symbol of strength-but I didn't exactly know why till again, I googled his symbolic meaning-

The stag was associated with healing, for he knew which medicinal plants to take in order to shake off the hunter's arrow. The person bearing this symbol was considered impervious to weapons. I also found that the stag is also a symbol of purity and fleetness.

You mentioned the lobster or crab who are both crawling on the bottom at the card. they are both known as "lunar symbols". So, this whole card just reeks of rebirth and mystical moon symbols, I think. I do like how you describe their meaning in this card.
 

Prism

Thanks, celticnoodle. I appreciate your input, especially since my knowledge of symbols is tragically lacking. I have a list of books to buy on the subject, but I haven't gotten around to it yet.

You're probably right about the animal in the grass -- my eyesight is pretty awful.

Reading what you wrote about the all the feminine power symbols really opens this card up.

I have to admit the stag still throws me a little, but it works for me at least a little to think of him as strong and quick. I really like the moon's face in this card -- she looks so powerful.
 

celticnoodle

yes, I agree, that the face in this moon looks powerful. I think this moon card is probably the best one of any deck I've seen so far. There is something calming about it, as well as spiritual.

As for looking up symbolism--well, when I come across something I'm unsure of symbolically (sp?)---I google it! :laugh: just go to google and type in
'stag symbolism'---and then lots of info. comes available.

Gosh, I don't know how I could live w/o google! I'm on that more then I am on AT here--which is quite often, I assure you! ;)
 

Prism

I use Google all the time, too. No reason why I couldn't do it for symbols too. Thanks.
 

tarot4fun

The Moon
Prism said:
The fears we keep hidden during the day have become visible in the moon's light. We can no longer pretend that they don't exist. We need to look at them and understand their power over our conscious, daytime minds.
This is very true; now I'm going to go in the opposite direction~ :)

A couple of our cats won't go out until it is dark~ reminds me of the saying "under the cover of night".

Think about all the times we enjoyed the darkness~
When we were little it was most fun to play games with all the neighborhood kids at night~ kick the can, hide and seek, etc.
How about that first kiss after a date~
Or going out to star-gaze and lifting your arms to the moon~
Smiling back at the moon because life is good~

Being out in 'the light of the moon' can be magical at any stage of our life~

This is what I wrote in the Symbology Study~
The Golden Tarot Moon does have some seemingly unusual imagery~

The greyhound is chasing a hare; will he chase the stag too?

Reminds me of Artemis~ Goddess of the Hunt and Goddess of the Moon who chased stags and other wild animals.

In mythology, the sun and the moon chase each other.

The stag, a totem animal in Druidry, represents the element of fire. With the moon being attached to the element of water; there is a sort of competition ~ water puts out fire and fire boils water. The moon is seen as a relief from the sun even though the moon gets its light from the sun.

There is a kindly face in the moon that makes us feel protected in the night. The image of the hare is seen in the moon by some cultures.

Among many others from various cultures, some seasonal moons are called ~ Hare Moon, Stag Moon, and Hound Moon.
 

Prism

Thank you, tarot4fun.

I feel a little hesitant posting my two cents about the cards, since I don't know much about the symbols, etc., but it's really helping me get to know them when other people join in the conversation.
 

celticnoodle

oh no prism, please don't hesitate to start and to put down your thoughts! your post got me to thinking about this card, and made me pull it out and put down my thoughts. w/o you starting the thread, i would not have done so. we all learn from each other. thanks for starting this.
 

tarot4fun

Prism said:
Thank you, tarot4fun.

I feel a little hesitant posting my two cents about the cards, since I don't know much about the symbols, etc., but it's really helping me get to know them when other people join in the conversation.
So glad to have you studying the Golden with us~

We are all learning together~ :D
 

tarot4fun

Good stuff in this card~

Creepy things that come out and crawl around at night.
Things that are hidden in the corners of our psyche.
Chasing dreams, and Following fantasies.
Ideas and answers that come to us in the wee hours of the night.