The Moon: Guardian of Secrets

Atu XVIII has the Hebrew letter Qoph attributed to it. Qoph represents the back of the head; particularly the cerebellum which functions to maintain the body’s equilibrium. And with Pisces also attributed, the mysterious Moon becomes the gateway to rebirth and the recommencements of the cyclic process of life as Pisces ends the cycle of zodiacal signs leading to it its renewal in Aries.

Luna connects the earthly sphere of Malka with Netzach. In so doing, we have the process by which the higher life manifests in matter; descending on the Tree-of-Life. And in ascent, we have a representation of the threshold to the higher life which is guarded from profanity by such taboos as prejudices, superstition, dead tradition, and ancestral loathing. At such a point, the aspirant must surrender to the doubt-causing mysteriousness of the venomous Moon. This is the darkness to the soul before the light of the new day wherein the mind is abolished and replaced with the intoxication of the vitalizing higher life.

One has to wonder: Why is such a protection necessary? And why all the mystery? One place to start to obtain that answer is to look at Malkuth hanging pendant to the Tree-of-Life. The nature of this manifested universe is so antithetical to all the worlds above it and the maintenance of both realities on each side of the veil seem dependent on their non-interaction.