In the novel, the moon is a symbol of the space between two worlds. Whenever characters make important choices, whenever they experience a life changing event, and whenever they are made to ruminate on the important events in their lives, they stand beneath the moon. The moon is a light in a dark sky, a bright pale object amid the darkness. It contains the various dichotomies explored in the novel symbolizing change, choice, and progression from one place or state of mind to another. When Woland arrives in Moscow, he does so with a plan to assess and change the city. His profound influence on the lives of the people he encounters means that many of his interactions take place beneath the moon, symbolizing the change from the old to the new and the strange place between two worlds Woland and his retinue occupy.

Faced with such profoundly life changing events and choices, the characters come to view the moon as a symbol of everything they do not know. The novel was written when the moon was still a distant and unexplored celestial body. Occupying a place in the night sky, the moon represented a place beyond human comprehension.