The dark dark night does not leave us blind. The Moon is the essence of hope and longing. Her light is the desire to prevail, to mourn and love, to glow within the vast reaches of the cosmos. To live in dark times, to shine no matter how bleak. This is the power of the Moon.
When I created the Creatures of the Moon Oracle Deck, I decided to commune with the Moon in a deeper way. One aspect of witchcraft and the Goddess that I love is how prominent the Moon is in power; both as a symbol of the Goddess, and as an energetic catalyst for spellwork.
While I had personally been working with the Moon in a loose way (a secret lover?) I wanted to get to know her better. If I was going to devote a full side of my deck to her, so I had to know what she wanted to say.
I combed the Witches Bible, and my Raven Grimassi Books. I talked to High Priestesses. I searched for anything I could related to the Moon’s phases, and there wasn’t much out there (the Many Moons workbook series came out shortly within my own Creatures of the Moon release!).
Mainly, I was wanting to know about the Maiden, Mother, Crone aspects of the Moon. Ya know, the good ‘ol Triple Goddess (Triple Moon) most of know.
What I found in my search were the traditional answers. The Maiden is the energy of growth, youth, and learning and she is the waxing Moon. The Mother is the full moon and the aspect of fertility. Crone is the waning Moon, the aspect of death, wisdom, and change.
But what did this mean for the cycle of the Moon as a whole? And how many days did each aspect apply? If the Mother aspect was the day before during, and after full Moon, what about the Moon days following before we reach Crone (New Moon)? There were some gaps in days and Moon energy in everything I read about the Moon.
After some serious thought and laying out my thirty Moon cards (I test and work through concepts before getting all finalized), I saw the number 3. 30 cards. Three faces of the Goddess. Roughly 10 cards and Moon days each.
So, I created a divination system for the Moon that allowed the Goddess to be equal in all of her 28.5 – 30 days.
This means, in working with the Moon – both in my cards, and in real time – the cycle can provide distinct aspects of energy and divinatory meaning.
Waxing Days 1-10 are the The Maiden. They are the child at birth, but advances to teen and young adult in the first third of the cycle.
Waxing Day 11 – Waning 4 are the Mother. This is the young woman who advances to wisdom and some level of mastery in the second part of the cycle.
Waning Days 5 – 14 are the Crone. She is the ultimate master, the teacher, the one leading us into the unknown in the last part of the cycle.
So, during the Maiden phase of the Moon, we should be aware of what our inner child is showing us. The energy of the Moon implores us to test, learn, make mistakes, and grow. The Mother encourages bringing out, more concretely, our creations into the world. The Crone phase and period is where we rest, withdraw, and reflect on what we’ve done as we prepare for the next phase.
In working with the Moon-side of my Creatures of the Moon Deck, we can draw cards to see which aspects of the Goddess are most prominent in our lives now. The Moon becomes our teacher.
Note: Did you notice the New Moon is missing? She is the Enchantress aspect of the Goddess! If you haven’t yet, get the Creatures of the Moon Deck and Book to learn more: https://www.rebeccaschoenecker.com/shop/divination-tools/creatures-of-the-moon-oracle-deck/
Here is a reading based on the Triple Goddess that is from my Creatures of the Moon Deck and Book. You can use this deck, or tarot cards for this reading. If you use tarot cards for the reading, my suggestion is to shuffle your deck, and once you cut the cards, place (and read) tarot cards 1-4 as shown in the below directions.
P.S. This post reflects years of research. Please share, but make sure to reference me! Blessed Be.