The Moon as Intentions: To Do Something, Without Knowing What

Written by Chaya the Medium.

The Moon as intentions is a plan the person cannot see clearly themselves. Here is what I would read in it, upright and reversed, and why it is not the deception people fear.

If you want the short answer, I would read the Moon as intentions that are unclear, including to the person who has them. In an intentions position the card suggests the person's plans toward you are tangled with fear, projection and things they have not faced, and that they genuinely do not know what they intend. It is not a card of deception by default. It is a card of fog.

This is the path between the two towers under the watching moon. The person intends to walk it. They cannot see where it goes, and they are frightened of the dog and the wolf.

The Moon upright as intentions

Tina Gong's the Moon guide at Labyrinthos associates the upright card with illusion, fear, anxiety, the subconscious and intuition. When the card lands in a position that asks what someone intends toward you, I read those meanings as the shape of their plan rather than as a promise about what they will do. Feelings and intentions are different questions; the Moon as feelings covers the first, and this page covers the second. The Major Arcana overview at Biddy Tarot is a useful second reference.

Upright, I read the Moon as a person whose intentions toward you are mixed with things that are not about you: old wounds, anxieties, a situation they cannot see clearly. They may intend to approach and be frightened by it. They may intend to withdraw and not know why. The confusion is real and it is theirs.

What I would not read into it is a hidden plan against you, which is the common leap. The Moon can describe someone concealing an intention. More often it describes someone lost in their own fog, and that is a different problem with a different remedy.

What the card does not tell you

The card does not confirm the person is lying, that they intend harm, or that the confusion is permanent. No card lets a reader see another person's plans. What a card can do is describe the kind of intention that fits the person's behaviour, and give you something to check against what they actually do.

The Moon reversed as intentions

Reversed, the Moon as intentions describes the fog clearing or deepening: a person starting to see what they intend toward you, which can lead toward you or away, or one whose fear has taken over and whose plans have become erratic. If the person's behaviour has got more confusing, read the second.

In your own question, ask whether the person has become clearer with you lately, for better or worse, or more confusing. A reversed card as intentions is a prompt to compare what is said with what is done, not a diagnosis of bad faith.

The Moon as an ex's intentions

Asked about an ex, the Moon as intentions can suggest their plans about you are unresolved and tangled with how it ended. That is not an intention to return. It is a sign the story is not finished in their head, which can keep someone away as easily as draw them back. My guide to asking a psychic whether an ex will come back explains what a reading can and cannot say about that question.

The Moon as a new person's intentions

For someone new, this card asks for patience and honesty. They intend something and cannot see it clearly yet, possibly because of what they bring from before. Pressing for definition thickens the fog. Being clear yourself thins it.

What their intentions look like in action

Look for mixed signals that are not cruel: warmth then distance, interest then silence, a person arguing with themselves. A Moon intention looks like confusion rather than coldness. If it looks like manipulation, that is the Seven of Swords, not this.

What to record before drawing again

Keep three short notes: the question you asked, the specific mixed signals you have seen, and how long you are willing to stand on a path that stays dark. The third note protects you.

For comparison, the High Priestess as intentions and the Star as intentions describe different intentions. The the Moon card meaning page covers the card in full, and the Moon as a person and the Moon as a yes or no cover the other questions people most often ask of it. For a personal interpretation, my guide to a love psychic reading online explains how I work, and the three-card tarot listing and customer reviews are worth reading before deciding whether to order.