“Totally different from the sun is the story that the moon has to tell”, I interjected, “The moon does not radiate, it shines, its light is mild, its metal silver. The moon opens up a world which is ambiguous as to what is reality and truth, its figures are not yet fully determined, it inhabits a sphere of phantasy, there is the indifference between wishing and fearing, there are enigmatic cues and meanings. Above all its shining is fluid and shifting. It receives, nourishes and protects. But, not to forget, ‘lunatic’ can also mean ‘crazy’ and ‘mad’.
Astrid showed an etching from the Renaissance characterizing the lunar world. “We see the dominating picture of a crab - moon ruling Cancer - and the moving water as its main motif, there are some wandering folks and migrating birds.”
“Similarly”, Juliana adds, “does Regiomontanus see it. Nothing that one wishes to have continuity and lasting imprint should be begun under the reign of the moon. One could say, while Mercury provides one with a plan and intention, with moon one acts out of a mood.”
Lorenz Jäger, ‘Die schöne Kunst, das Schicksal zu lesen’, 2009
The Sign of Cancer