XVIII. The Moon
The eighteenth card is said to allegorize the conditions of hell and is pictorially one of the most surreal in its composition. The dogs embody our human emotions, strangely compelled to the moon yet simultaneously unsettled by its great influence, barking out a warning in their fear. The appearance of the card must always be regarded as a warning, often linked with excessive imagination or pernicious influences. The human desire has ever been exploration and discovery. From this impetus are spawned pioneering technologies and inventions. Lofty ideals oft turn to nightmare however and historically our explorative endeavours have culminated in occupation and colonization. We are littering our orbit with discarded satellites and space detritus and the military use of drone technology, invasive surveillance and the weaponization of space send chills down the spine. Occult tradition regards the moon as the land of the dead which leads one to wonder what our dominion over it will herald for life as we know it on earth. If man is not affected by the moon, then he is the only thing on earth that isn’t.
‘Non valent latrare’
‘There is no need to bark’