18 the Moon
| 18 the Moon (letter koph or qoph 100: back of the head where the soul enters body, q of qlippoth) 9+9=18 and 1+8=9, the sphere of Yesod, genitals. Path 29 from Netzach (Venus, creative world) to Malkuth (earth, material world) or vice versa. Element water. Moon in Scorpio or Pisces, dark knowledge of depths of the soul, leads to blackest depth of soul, subconscious, no words, just images. The card shows the positive and negative aspect of the moon, duality of two animals, dog and wolf- one tamed, one wild. A small crayfish crawls out of the pool, symbolizing the early stages of consciousness unfolding. |  |
Scorpion of death card, lurking in the water. A dim moonlight illuminates the path to higher consciousness.
Beyond the treshold awaits the confrontation with the repressed basic, sexual instinct, our primitive nature or battle with dark shadow in the twilight zone. Anubis, son of Set, as a jackyl of course related to death. The waning moon is the sickle of Saturn that wants sacrifice. Through giving in to the repressed desires, surrendering to a frenzy or through sacrifice, one finds and defeats one's dark nemesis, reaches total integration of all aspects of the self, fulfilling of one's destiny.
The Shadow guards the anima and has or is the key to free her. When the veil of the subconscious is lifted, one learns the dark secrets of the high priestess. It is Anubis who leads the initiate to judge Osiris. Courage is not only needed to control the fire of the solar lion, but also to confront the dark water creatures of the moon, of the mind. The Black Isis, in her ugliest and most grotesque form, must be accepted before the White Isis, in her glorious beauty and nudity, can be experienced. Associated with the crowd, the common people.
| Toth deck: The grail cup, 9 drops of blood, shaped like yods, coming from the moon. Path or stream from a gap, an abyss between two black towers, barren mountains (guarded by Anubis), mixed with blood. The dung beetle Khepri carrying the sun through darkness of the underworld, reproduction cycle of 28 days like the moon, egg cells in a ball of excrement, out of which the new beetles are born, the symbolic rebirth of Ra, the sun. the last stage of winter, darkness of midnight. |  |
Cosmic womb, the treshold of death and life, the gateway to the underworld and eventually resurrection.
Qoph--Monkey, eye of needle, back of head (cerebellum, lower more
primitive part of brain), sun on horizon, axe-head, time, condense,
knot, container, circular motion, revolving sun, to touch. qoph=zayin
+resh, zar=strange, raz=secret.
Example: poster Apocalypse Now.
