Moon

(18)

Pronouns: She, her

+ Enemies are concealed (wolves in sheep’s clothing); indulging in excellent sex; accepting our complications; loving ours whole selves 

– Flinging blame, shame, and deceptive cruelty; letting the subconscious come forward including desire and fears; embracing id

◊

Black women’s bodies have been used as objects and abused for centuries. Whether for desire or cruelty, we have weighed down Black women with our gaze for far too long. As a white lady artist I was worried about painting a nude Black body in this deck for this reason. Conversely, representation matters and there’s also a trend for artists to not celebrate black and brown skin in their work (or to render it very poorly). Then I found this perfect reference and I knew this was the perfect model and pose for this deck. 

The Moon also gets short shrift in tarot. It’s moody and mysterious—somehow the way it comes off to me is a bit rude and negative. 

The Moon is a poem about elegance and power.  She floats confidently. While some would say the Moon is cold and isolated, I have always felt her to be a symbol of quiet power. In this card, I made her into a bride—her spouse is the night.

In a reading this card is about embracing ourselves  and divesting ourselves of our personal hang ups. The wolves in sheep’s clothing can be real people or they can be our own bullshit, waiting to sabotage us. Be free.