AUTHOR’S NOTE: I intend to perform a New Moon reading promptly for every month in which I remember to do so, but I don’t always succeed; so here is my slightly-delayed personal Lunar Month forecast for the cycle that began with the New Moon on October 14, 2023.

I’m using the latest version of this spread that employs Major Arcana cards to identify background themes rather than to predict significant events in their own right. The premise is that, when a trump card turns up in the draw, a second card will be pulled to show the pragmatic side of the 3-or-4-day period in question, with the initial trump card signifying the atmosphere or climate in which the action will transpire. This spread uses astrologer Dane Rudhyar’s 8-phase “Lunation Cycle” model in which each sub-phase lasts roughly 3.5 days.

The lunar phase transitions for the month are as follows; all dates are approximate based on the percentage of the lunar disk that is visible:

New Moon (0% Visible): October 14
Waxing Crescent Moon (25% Visible): October 18
First Quarter (50% Visible): October 21
Waxing Gibbous Moon (75% Visible): October 24
Full Moon (100% Visible): October 28
Disseminating Moon/Waning Gibbous (75% Visible): November 2
Last Quarter (50% Visible): November 5
Balsamic Moon/Waning Crescent (25% Visible): November 8

The first half of the month appears to be fairly benign. All of the cards are binary Minor Arcana, which usually portends an uneventful interlude of stability and harmony, although the 4 of Wands reversed shows this “comfort zone” beginning to wear thin about two weeks into the lunar month. The muted color palette of the first three cards captures this nicely, while the stark contrasts of the 4 of Wands suggest what Aleister Crowley called “the seeds of disorder” (or at least, in this case, the earmarks of frustration at the mild kickoff to the series).

On the Full Moon, the Ace of Cups could deliver an exhilarating burst of passion or pleasure to banish the nagging irritation of the preceding 4 of Wands reversed, which suggested something left undone (as in “completion forestalled” or “perfection denied”). The Ace of Cups sets that discomfort aside to indulge in an orgy of Full-Moon enthusiasm.

Building on the wave of emotion, the Fool at the Disseminating/Waning Gibbous phase produces an “anything goes” environment that offers the inducement and freedom to run with that uplifting impulse. However, the underlying practical aspect is represented by the Wheel of Fortune reversed, implying the threat of a “rough landing.” The anticipated reward may not justify the risk involved if change runs unchecked.

The Last Quarter brings in the burdensome 10 of Wands reversed, echoing the misadventure of the reversed Wheel of Fortune (both are Fire cards numbered “10” that denote the end of a cycle). Between the two, it looks like the initiative will run out of gas.

The 2 of Swords reversed at the Waning Crescent advises pulling in my horns after the “crash-and-burn” scenario that led up to it. Crowley suggests the “calm regulation” of Moon in Libra for this card, while Liber T proposes “strength arising from adversity;” personally, I’m partial to Swinburne’s memorable phrase “pleasure with pain for leaven” (although with the reversal pain may be in the ascendance, conveying more pessimism than optimism).

In summary, I have been contemplating a potentially enjoyable undertaking but I have no feel for its likelihood of success. It’s pretty much a shot in the dark, so the Fool is an entirely appropriate background theme for the situation. The two reversed “Tens” do not bode well for a favorable outcome (although perhaps an exhausting one), and the 2 of Swords reversed suggests running home to the next New Moon with my tail between my legs. I see it as a card of impasse when upright; reversed it’s almost certain to represent “stalled negotiations.” On the other hand, its binary nature may just restore the complaisance of the early going after an excursion into “foolishness;” perhaps, like Omar Khayyam, I will just “come out by the same Door where in I went.”

Postscripts:

Although many Golden Dawn and Thoth enthusiasts shun the use of reversals in favor of Elemental Dignities, I believe they serve a different purpose than EDs so I typically use them in my work. Three-part dignities don’t perform that well with even-numbered spreads anyway.

I neglected to show it in the graphic, but the “monthly signature” card for this lunar period (derived by “Theosophical” addition and reduction from the date of the New Moon) is the Emperor. By “casting out nines” it is Death, which is both my “birth card” and the Ascending sign of my natal horoscope. As the saying goes, “wheels within wheels.”