Do you know what the expression “entre chien et loup” or “between a dog and a wolf” means?
It is a French description for twilight – either dusk or dawn – when the half light turns everything monochromatic and you can’t tell the difference between the wild and the tame. I’ve always loved this as one of the main significances of the Tarot Moon card.
I learned the term long ago from tarot creator, Brian Williams, and it recently came up as the episode title of a Kdrama, “Mad Dog”, about corporate abuses. And it turns out there’s another Kdrama I haven’t seen with this expression as its title.
As explained in an art exhibit on this theme, it refers to being unable to distinguish “between friend and foe, between known and unknown…. We cannot always know whether we are safe or threatened. We might feel deceived by our eyes and question if we truly know what we think we know. We can feel caught somewhere between comfort and fear, between what is real and unreal.” https://www.loftartists.org/archives/entre-chien-et-loup
This is definitely one of the major meanings of the Moon card, which can refer to everything from dreams to lunacy but especially the confusion over distinguishing between the two.
But it is not all bad, according to Melissa Burley, for whom this can be the hypnogogic state between dream and waking: “a special moment that occurs every day of your life when the veil between your conscious and unconscious mind becomes thinner. A magical moment when you are able to access a bottomless fountain of creative potential.” It’s those crossover moments “when great transformation is possible”. Read what else she has to say: https://www.magzter.com/…/The-Hour-Between-Dog-And-Wolf
With the GD Hebrew letter correspondence to Qoph – the back of the head, brain’s limbic system and monkey – I’ve had the thought that the Moon card could mark an ability to actually change our DNA. Like the path that emerges from the pool of the unconscious we can evolve to metaphorically ‘higher’ levels of consciousness by affecting the unconscious. “The Qof is the only letter which extends below the line of the other letters, indicating descent into the lower world, but also the ability to ascend from there.” https://gabrielelevy.com/pages/the-letter-qof
What are your thoughts on this perspective?
Mary K. Greer has made tarot her life work. Check here for reports of goings-on in the world of tarot and cartomancy, articles on the history and practice of tarot, and materials on other cartomancy decks. Sorry, I no longer write reviews. Contact me
Mary K. Greer's Tarot Blog 
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September 17, 2021 at 3:22 pm
Mary K. Greer tells us about the Moon card | James Ricklef's Tarot Blog
[…] Read this great article here. […]
September 19, 2021 at 3:24 pm
Flavio Augusto Vieira Cardoso
Geralmente as pessoas , consulentes, surgem com comentários do tipo: eu senti que deveria ter feito tal coisa. Na verdade não era pra ter feito, deu errado, mas eles vem com aquela certeza de algo. Bem haver com essa lua, as vezes não saber se é intuição ou a emoção conduzindo o processo. Grande beijo!!
September 21, 2021 at 9:01 pm
skysunjess
Profoundly insightful Mary!
October 17, 2021 at 12:11 pm
D.F.
The moon has always been my favorite card in the tarot. What are the odds that the first time I go to your webpage that is the card you are discussing and adding much to my knowledge. Thank you so very much!
November 5, 2021 at 9:19 am
William Max Miller
The Moon card ushers us into the Twilight Zone! As Rod Serling would say, you unlock this card with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension.
November 9, 2021 at 4:58 pm
yes or no
I am always fascinated with the moon card! thanks for opening up an in-depth explanation of the art that opens up some of the meaning that I didn’t know.
December 31, 2021 at 11:29 pm
audreyframpton
This makes so much sense to me as I have always thought of the moon card as a shadow self. It’s our darker self being reflected back at us so we can see what we need to work on, specifically how we deal with and process emotions. For this we have to dive into those feelings and descend into the darkness with the goal of rising out of the darkness having learned something poignant about ourselves.
January 7, 2022 at 7:50 am
Ellen Gilbert
I had a dream a couple of nights ago in which I was with a small group of people who were taking care of a small creature. When we handled it, it was a small catlike, furry creature, sweet and rather cuddly, but its true form was amphibious, rather like a turtle without a shell, very cold and unappealing. It preferred its warm, fuzzy form, but it needed to be in its muddy, watery environment (which we had set up for it on a long table). I was trying to explain to it the need for it to survive was to return to its watery environment at least part of the time.
I woke up mystified by this dream. Later in the day I stumbled across this blog post and it began to make quite a bit more sense to me! I, too, must return to the environment of the unconscious from time to time, like the crayfish in the Moon card, so that I can bring back to waking consciousness (where the warm, fuzzy creatures dwell) my insights and emotional processes that maybe are not so very warm and fuzzy but are full of depth and meaning and can enrich my waking consciousness and my relationships with others.
February 18, 2022 at 8:24 am
hackerwitch
Now I understand better why people frequently accuse me o lunacy… I try to make people around me understand that the most sensible course of action is to suspect everyone is a foe, that there is no clear-cut anything, that all day and night are, are different hues of shade.
I’m not paranoid, I’m a lunatic and I’m having a blast! You all should abandon your certainties and come dance by the pond!
March 20, 2022 at 11:08 pm
yes no answer
Great info and added to my list of knowledge. I know that this is a great tarot card since the beginning of my tarot reading journey.
June 10, 2022 at 9:08 am
Tarot Moon as Feelings for Present or Ex-Partner in Love Tarot Card Readings
[…] The towers are symbols of fears and ridiculous fantasies, and illusions. The dog and the wolf are our instincts because wolves instinctively howl at the moon. Also, our instincts can wake up and make themselves felt and it will not work to ignore them. Mary K. Greer in her blog gave a good explanation of what “between a dog and a wolf” means, read here https://marykgreer.com/2021/09/17/the-moon-card-between-a-dog-and-a-wolf/ […]