The Crayfish and The Moon

​It has been a long time since my last blog post.  2020 has been daunting for me as well as the rest of the world and I just have not felt compelled to write for a while.  I had an experience the other day however, that I would really love to share!  I am always telling clients that the Universe/God/Spirit/Goddess speaks to us through signs, symbols, and synchronicities but I am not sure that everyone really understands what I mean.  So here is a story of something that happened to me personally which really moved and amazed me, and I hope that it inspires you to look more closely for the messages that Spirit may be whispering to you too.  

​First, bear with me as I give you some background knowledge and a bit of a mini-Tarot lesson, along with a touch of astrology and history.  I have been researching the Qabala and the corresponding symbolism of Tarot to the Qabalistic Tree of Life for some time now.  As part of this study, I routinely do recurrent research and meditations associated with each of the Tarot Major Arcana cards in a certain order.  I tend to spend several days or weeks at a time on each card and the paired Path on the Tree of Life.  It just so happened that I came to The Moon card in my rotation of study on the day of the Jupiter/Saturn conjunction on December 21st.  This was a major astrological event and it seemed to coincide nicely with my Moon meditation work.  As I go through this process, I keep a daily journal of all my findings, thoughts, and experiences, and I noted that during this window of time there was also a full moon in Cancer on December 29th.  The timing of this was especially significant for the obvious reason that I was working with The Moon card, but also because the little crayfish crawling out of the water at the bottom of the card relates to the sign of Cancer.  The Moon card is linked specifically with the sign of Pisces, but the little crayfish has more in common with the sign of Cancer.  In astrology Cancer corresponds to the heavenly body of the Moon itself and I happen to be a Cancer, so all of this seemed to fit together for me in a significant and personal way. 

​For whatever reason, the crayfish really caught my attention in this particular round of research.  (If you work with Tarot at all you will find that the symbolism, depth and meaning of every card is never-ending. You will continue to see, notice, and learn new things each time you return to one.  It is a fascinating spiral of learning that I never tire of.)  Anyway, the crayfish was something I wanted to focus on.  I had noted in my journal that it was symbolic of the early stages of consciousness unfolding, but also represents the creative power of the highest force there is.  It is the instinctive nature and development of the physical body as it begins its journey of self-expression from the lowest organic form of cellular development.  It is the evolution of the personality that begins by seeing itself as separate from the rest of nature, as it expands into the liberation that comes from the understanding that all things are connected through the One Force that creates and sustains the Universe.  

​The crayfish symbolism here may have originally developed in one of my favorite of all places, Egypt.  The crayfish and the sign of Cancer as the crab are both associated with the scarab or dung beetle and the Egyptian Creator and Sun God Khepri.  If you look closely you can see the image of a beetle or crab-like figure in one of the ceiling reliefs at Dendera Temple in Egypt.  It represents the constellation of Cancer and it appears to be leading the march of the other zodiac signs through the sky. The Egyptians must have noticed that dung beetles lay their eggs in balls of poo (I know, not very glamorous) and then they roll them around until eventually the sun warms them and they burst forth as beetles. To the ancients this process may have appeared as though these beetles were self-created or born from the poo to become the beautiful scarabs that shine in the Sun.  The God Khepri fits into the picture as the Scarab headed man who births the morning Sun and creates the day by rolling it through the sky. This thought process flows into the symbolism of The Moon card through the crayfish who would appear to come from lowly places yet has the ability to symbolically move up in the world along the Path of evolution.

​Having given you some history and meaning behind the design of The Moon card itself I can finally explain how this all came together in one big happy hello from the Universe in the end, which I have noticed often seem to happen when I am completely submerging myself in something this way.  I had decided to finish up my work on the Path of the Moon on New Year’s Eve with a final meditation.  It seemed like the perfect thing to do to help leave 2020 behind me and begin the mysterious journey of 2021 in a more peaceful place.  During this particular meditation I saw a vision of the beautiful Moon Goddess Artemis. She told me that soon I would see something in my waking world that would convince me that the visions I see in my mind are real and not just figments of my imagination or the fantasies of my overindulgent subconscious mind.  It was a very pleasant experience and I felt like my work with this card was complete, so I was already thinking about moving on to the next Tarot card, but The Moon wasn’t quite done with me yet.

​The next day, New Year’s Day, I went for a walk at my favorite park and I took one of my Tarot decks along with me as I sometimes do.  It was a beautiful day, and I was strolling along not really thinking about anything in particular when I noticed something right in the middle of the path moving towards me.  You may have already guessed it, but yes, it was an absolutely gigantic crayfish! I was amazed at the synchronistic and rather dream-like experience of seeing the crayfish coming down the path towards me as if it were crawling out of The Moon card right before my eyes.  I have been walking in this park and along this path and many others there for literally years and years now and never, ever have I seen one there before.  Nor have I ever seen another crayfish that was as large as this one anywhere in my life.  It was practically the size of a lobster!  I stepped back and aside so I wouldn’t scare him, but he came right at me like he was on a mission.  I finally thought to take some pictures and video of him which I hope you enjoy!  (And yes, I talk to animals and all other creatures!) I realized that I had my Tarot deck with me, and I even rooted out the Moon card to take pictures of that too.  This particular deck didn’t have the image of the crayfish in it as the traditional one does, but it was still fun to take pictures of the two together.  I finally thanked him for his time and watched him crawl on his way. 

​I had headed off in the opposite direction, but I was soon stopped once again.  Now there were two more crayfish approaching!  The first one was even bigger than the original that I encountered, but his companion was the smaller size of the typical crayfish that I was used to seeing in the local creeks and streams as a kid.  The smaller one had lost one of his claws somewhere along the way (which I have yet to figure out the symbolism of) but that did not seem to be bothering him at all, so I visited with them for a few moments and took more pictures and video to share. These two seemed to have places to go so they didn’t stick around for long, but it was just so wonderful to have been blessed with a visit from not only one, but three of these special creatures that I had been researching for the past week or so.  Three is the number of the Goddess and I remembered the words of the beautiful Lady Artemis from my vision.  “Soon you will see something in your actual world that will convince you that all of this is real.”  Honestly, at the time it puzzled me because I have such a strong belief in this sort of thing, and I didn’t really feel like I needed convincing.  It made more since later because as luck would have it, a few days later some things happened in my life that hit me sort of hard and I was reminded that sometimes in those difficult moments I do fall back into old habits and question myself and my faith.  My unexpected encounter with the crayfish helped me dig deep and remember that I am never alone.  There is a much Greater and Higher Power than me that sees, loves, and encourages me and It even sends cute crayfish my way when It knows that I am in need.  And this Higher Power loves you too.  It will talk to you through Nature and in oh, so many ways if you dare to believe.  Look for the signs, pay attention to your surroundings and don’t second-guess those fabulous moments when they happen.  Remember the old saying that those who do not believe in magic will never find it.  May many blessings and much magic find its way to you in the New Year and those to come, my friends.