Tarot Shadow Work: Healing with the Lunar Mansions
Between Samhain and Yule I can be found wrapping up my work from the previous calendar year, letting go of the pressures of late summer and fall, and spending time in the quiet the growing cold can bring. With the passing of the Witch’s New Year, I also spend time reflecting on where I’ve been and the crossroads and intersections my life and work and curiosity has brought me to. It’s also a time of year that I try really hard to take time off and to focus on something other than work for a little while. Usually this means diving into my magickal studies (I know, I know, we could honestly argue that all that I do is related to my work), spending a lot of time in the process of making (running a business that lives much of its life online means that it can feel very intangible - that’s why making things with my hands is so helpful in keeping me grounded), and listening in and to the dark.
Having written about shadow work a few years back and incorporating it into almost all my online and in-person courses, I was feeling inspired again in this time of magickal gloaming to write some more about working with our shadows. Being of a lunar nature and using the tarot as beloved tool in my magickal and healing practice, I’m incorporating both a Moon and tarot focus into this post. It’s also a way for me to talk about the Lunar Mansions which I think are a very cool but often overlooked aspect of traditional western astrology.
The Lunar Mansions (aka the Mansions of the Moon) are one of the oldest systems of astrology showing up in multiple cultures as a way of estimating calendar and determining auspicious timing (including for spellwork, herbal remedies, and all sorts of rebellion and reconciliation). There are 28 of them and each Lunar Mansion represents the Moon in one or more signs of the zodiac (i.e. the First Mansion is in the sign of Aries while the Third Mansion is in the sign of Aries and Taurus). It takes the Moon about 2 to 2 ½ days to travel through a Mansion. While they have long been part of western astrological tradition, the Lunar Mansions are not commonly spoken about (though that is changing with an emerging appreciation of the many ways the Moon influences the birth chart) and even less understood.
image via @anniespratt
Like any part of astrology, the Lunar Mansions can be understood as simply or complexly as you like. In my own studies of the Lunar Mansions, I have written modern profiles for every one, describing the way I engage with them in astroherbology in my course The Lunar Apothecary. With the Mansions we can learn more about ourselves and our gifts through studying the Mansion we were born in, by timing our healing and spellwork to the current movements of the Moon through the Mansions, and in learning to better understand and track the ebbs and flows of our own energy.
So then how do bring the Lunar Mansions into our shadow work? When we work with the Moon in astrology we are often looking at understanding the emotional body, our instincts, and the emotional experience of our life. Considering that so much of our life is through the lens of how we feel about it, the Moon therefore reflects an expansive portion of our life back at us. I often speak of the Moon as representing our most true story about ourselves. I appreciate Stephen Arroyo’s description of the Moon from his Chart Interpretation Handbook (he’s speaking specifically to the element your Moon sign but it’s helpful in understanding the general influence of the Moon in the chart):
“The element of the Moon’s sign represents an attunement from the past that manifests automatically, a mode of feeling and being that one needs to be aware of in order to feel inwardly secure and at home with oneself.”
Arroyo touches upon a common element of healing work - we are always dealing with the past and how it’s affecting us now. Even if we’re trying to alleviate stress about future events, that stress has already been shaped by the experiences of the past (i.e. if we don’t attain a certain level of wealth by a certain age we won’t be seen as successful in our family, a story we probably started learning as a child). In addition to helping us to deal with past experiences and way they form us today, the Moon reflects back to us the unchanging truth that everything (even truth) is always changing. Who we think we are and how we feel about the world and our place in it changes. Our personal empires fall along with the empires we live in and the Moon, steady in Their changing, reflects it all.
image via @anniespratt
So, if the Sun represents our capacity for holding energy and life force, the Moon is the filter that we perceive what we experience through that inherent capacity, and our Ascendent (aka Rising Sign) is the way that we express ourselves based on all that. Put another way, if the Sun represents our inherent energy, the Moon represents our ability to know ourselves through the energy we give and receive. The Moon’s ability to help us know ourselves is one of the reasons She’s such a powerful ally in shadow work.
When we begin to work with the Lunar Mansions, we bring in story and nuance to help us in our path of self-discovery. Bringing the tarot with us through the Mansions - as a tool of telling stories about ourselves and our pasts, presents, and futures - allows us to have a collection of meaning rich symbolism in which to connect with the feeling rich domain of the Moon. Since we are working with our shadows, I’m focusing on the energy of the Dark of the Moon (the period of time just before the New Moon when the Moon is not visible in the sky) in each of the Lunar Mansions. During the Dark of the Moon, no longer is light reflected and refracted from the Sun and instead we are left in the dark with ourselves. While there are many questions we might ask ourselves in each of the Lunar Mansions, I have focused on ones that connect with the deep, sometimes challenging, often liberating energy of the Dark Moon.
Below I have created below are 28 prompts - one for each of the Lunar Mansions - to help us explore our shadows by the light of the Moon. You can use them in a variety of ways, including:
Pull a card for the Lunar Mansion you were born in. To find out what Lunar Mansion you were born in take a look at your birth chart. Find the sign that your Moon is in along with the degree and minute (it’ll look like 4 Aries 23 or Aries 4°23’) and find out where that falls below.
Practice 28 days of lunar shadow work. For 28 consecutive days or nights, pull a card for each of the Mansions. Bonus if you correspond your 28 day journey with the Moon moving into each Mansion (i.e. starting on the day of the month when the Moon will be in the First Mansion).
Add a Lunar Mansion card to any spread you cast. If you’ve cast a spread and feel like there are underlying emotional energies that you want more insight on, pull a Lunar Mansion card and answer the corresponding prompt. You can either use a prompt for the current Lunar Mansion at the time you’ve cast your spread or for the Lunar Mansion the querent was born in.
Read through the whole list and see what resonates with you to discover the sign you might want to work with. If you’re feeling the description and prompt of the Fourth Mansion you might consider adding more Taurean rituals and remedies into your life.
What follows are my prompts for each Lunar Mansion along with the astrological boundaries of each Mansion, a poetic description of my modern interpretation of each Mansion, and a prompt in the form of a question. Remember, since we are focused on shadow work, the prompts are centered on some of the more challenging aspects of the Lunar Mansions.
The First Mansion - 0°00” Aries to 12°51” Aries
The Fiery Expression of Destruction + Creation
What needs to break or be released in order for something new to be created?
The Second Mansion - 12°51” Aries to 25°42” Aries
The Courageous Reconciliation
What am I afraid to reconcile within myself? Within my world?
The Third Mansion - 25°42” Aries to 8°34” Taurus
The Abundance of the Waking World
What abundance in my life have I neglected being grateful for?
The Fourth Mansion - 8°34” Taurus to 21°25” Taurus
The Upheaval of Inheritance
What have I inherited (from ancestors, culture, peers, etc.) that I no longer need or want?
The Fifth Mansion - 21°25” Taurus to 4°17” Gemini
The Mirror of Expression
What is being reflected back to me in my relationships that I’m ignoring?
The Sixth Mansion - 4°17” Gemini to 17°8” Gemini
The Head Remembering the Body
What idea or vision of mine needs grounding in the physical world?
The Seventh Mansion - 17°8” Gemini to 0°0” Cancer
The Prayer for Alignment
How do I ask for enough?
The Eighth Mansion - 0°0” Cancer to 15°51” Cancer
The Compassionate Dismantler
What needs dismantling? What is the most compassionate path of its destruction?
The Ninth Mansion - 12°51” Cancer to 25°42” Cancer
The Covering
What in my life do I close my eyes to because I fear it?
The Tenth Mansion - 25°42” Cancer to 8°34” Leo
The Rebuilding of Strength
How do I rebalance after times of struggle?
The Eleventh Mansion - 8°34” Leo to 21°25” Leo
The Lion Emerges
Where am I practicing power-over others instead of power-with in my life?
The Twelfth Mansion - 21°25” Leo to 4°17” Virgo
The Embattled
Where have I given up my power and created conflict instead?
The Thirteenth Mansion - 4°17” Virgo to 17°8” Virgo
The Relief of Desire
What true desire have you denied yourself?
The Fourteenth Mansion - 17°8” Virgo to 0°0” Libra
The Discernment
What false desire have you chosen?
The Fifteenth Mansion - 0°0” Libra to 12°51” Libra
The Sacred Contract
What have you learned that needs to be offered back to the world?
The Sixteenth Mansion - 12°51” Libra to 25°42” Libra
The Reassessment of Worth
How do you undervalue yourself? How to do you undervalue others?
The Seventeenth Mansion - 25°42” Libra to 8°34” Scorpio
The Taming of the Trickster
Where have you given up seeking justice?
The Eighteenth Mansion - 8°34” Scorpio to 21°25” Scorpio
The Unguarded Heart
Do I fear my own power?
The Nineteenth Mansion - 21°25” Scorpio to 4°17” Sagittarius
The Bringing of Blood
There is a season for growth, for harvest, and decay - what needs to be allowed to return to earth?
The Twentieth Mansion - 4°17” Sagittarius to 17°8” Sagittarius
The Animal Self
How can you embrace your animal needs for your welfare?
The Twenty-First Mansion - 17°8” Sagittarius to 0°0 Capricorn
The Two-Faced Traveler
What are my warning signs of burnout?
The Twenty-Second Mansion - 0°0 Capricorn to 12°51” Capricorn
The Liberating Message
What swift change am I craving?
The Twenty-Third Mansion - 12°51” Capricorn to 25°42” Capricorn
The Undoing of Resistance
What do I suppress instead of choose?
The Twenty-Fourth Mansion - 25°42” Capricorn to 8°34” Aquarius
The Cocoon of Serenity
When and where in my life have I denied myself nourishment?
The Twenty-Fifth Mansion - 8°34” Aquarius to 21°25” Aquarius
The Emerging Forest
What part of my inner world do I overfocus on?
The Twenty-Sixth Mansion - 21°25” Aquarius to 4°17” Pisces
The Devotion of Love
Do I desire myself?
The Twenty-Seventh Mansion - 4°17” Pisces to 17°8” Pisces
The Empathy of Intersections
Where am I least mindful of my impact in my personal life? On a larger societal and environmental scale?
The Twenty-Eighth Mansion - 17°8” Pisces to 0°0 Aries
The Rest After Harvest
Where do I get caught up in comparing myself to others?
About halfway through writing this post I paused and thought, “Maybe I should be starting with New Moon energy or even Full Moon energy? Aren’t I asking my readers to dive into the deep end by beginning with Dark Moon shadow work?” Perhaps I am - butI also trust your ability to discern whether or not such work is right for you at this time in your life. I also wonder if I give off the impression that I’m constantly scrabbling around in the murk, chasing down every shadow, up til 3 AM conjuring my personal demons while swaddled in clothes of black. Very much not so. I see shadow work as the necessary, if at times unpleasant or tedious work, process of being able to live the vast majority of my life not facing my most tender and challenging places.
Finally, some of you might be wondering if there is a website or app that tracks the Lunar Mansions. If you have an iPhone you’re in luck (see below), but the rest of us have to get creative. The website of Peter Stockinger has a Lunar Mansion ephemeris that is updated a few times a year. Peter's site has a number of primary resources for the Lunar Mansions including this great resource of all of the different names and transliterations for the mansions. Lunarium is another great resource and the one I used to recommend to everyone, but it’s currently being rebuilt and will hopefully continue to provide information of the Lunar Mansions (though if you have an iPhone you can download the iLuna app which still tracks the Lunar Mansions - the same app for android does not have Lunar Mansion tracking).
I wish you steadiness and insight on your journey with your shadows.
