On January 17th, at 5:48 p.m. CST the Moon opposes the Sun in almost 28 degrees of Cancer. This moon is a moment of revelation. Our emotions flow at high tide. Our feelings and intuitive insights offer essential guidance to inform our next steps. We arrive at the moment between the old chapter and the new. This is a necessary time to connect to what truly nourishes us and tend to what needs tending before we emerge again. This lunation brings forth the potential for deep healing in the areas of home, family, relationships, and belonging.
This Cancer full moon signifies the end of a cycle that began around July 13th, 2018. The seeds we planted at this time are now ripe and potent. We may be contemplating and coming into a new understanding of desires initiated in that cycle. It’s now time to midwife this energy into the world and nurture its journey.
The Archetype of Cancer
Cancer symbolizes the zodiac’s archetypal “mother”. Cancers have a natural capacity to provide nurturing care. They often are able to intuitively anticipate the needs of others. Cancers must find emotional reasons for living. On the path of Cancer as an archetype, we must learn to parent ourselves, recreating and defining our own relationship to mothering, home, and family.
This cycle invites us to deepen our relationship to emotional honesty. We live in a culture that values pushing forward and pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps. With the Moon opposite the Sun and Pluto in Capricorn, we must examine our conditioning around strength. Our culture often praises strength as “holding it all together” and, at times, pushing past feelings. We may reflect on our family patterns, role models, and early experiences of safety and security (or lack thereof) to find the origin story that formed our idea of strength. In your childhood home, did you feel safe enough to connect to and express what was true for you? Were your feelings validated? Were your parental figures and role models congruent in what they said and what they authentically felt? Growing up, was there emotional honesty in your home? How did that experience inform and shape you?
There is power in vulnerability. We feel drawn to and deeply connected to those who are honest and authentic. This full moon invites us to redefine what strength means to us outside of the patriarchal constructs that have been created. We will uncover strength and meaning when we are present with what we feel. We have the opportunity to heal if we can cultivate the necessary presence to be with what is arising.
Feelings are real, although they do not always appear viable until we can pinpoint the underlying, unmet need associated with a specific feeling. This lunation in the sign of Cancer invites us to identify and communicate our needs. Cancer is associated with safety and security. We have basic needs to feel accepted, loved, safe, heard. When we are not in touch with what we need, we often begin to manipulate circumstances to get the desired outcome and react by moving outside ourselves and disconnecting from our center.
Our feelings indicate if and how our needs are being met. When we feel joyful, peaceful, and connected, it means that our needs are being addressed. Negative emotions such as fear, anxiety, despair, or anger are often a signal that at least one critical need isn’t being met. During this lunation, it is crucial for us to check in with ourselves, ask for what we need, and develop this rapport to identify our needs and communicate them.
As the reported number of Covid-19 cases reaches an all-time high, this Cancer full moon advises us to rest and connect to nurturing and nourishing our cells and our soul essence. This lunation encourages us to reconnect to our soul family, and it may activate the desire to nest, heal, and protect those we care for the most. If connection is what feeds you, reach out to those who nourish and support us the most.
Cosmic Weather
This full moon occurs 20 hours before the North Node and South Node shift signs in Taurus and Scorpio. This indicates a pivotal moment where we awaken to new insights and step into new alignment, opportunities, and destiny along our path.
This full moon activates the degree of The United States’ Pluto return at 27 degrees Capricorn. This aspect has been illuminating some of the shadow dynamics that played a role in the foundation of its origin, such as slavery, white supremacy, and abuse/misuse of power in government.
In opposition to Pluto in Capricorn, there may be intensified emotional reactivity, psychological processing, and power struggles—especially as it relates to Capricorn themes such as capitalism, government, society, career, authority, and patriarchy. We may discover that our encounters with others inform us of unbalanced power dynamics. We may feel this intense pressure to change but not be ready to take action.
With the full moon in sign of sensitive Cancer, we may overreact to a perceived threat to our safety. Instead, we can let go of power dynamics, right/wrong, overreacting, and taking things personally. We pause and take a deep breath. We allow our intuitive hunches, psychic downloads, and dreams to speak synchronicity to us. A new song emerges when we pause to listen; we can tune into its melody.
Uranus stations direct in Taurus the next day, squared by Mercury retrograde in Aquarius. Unexpected events, revolts, or surprises are often associated with Uranus transits. Uranus increases our access to innovative thinking and creative solutions. The full moon helps us see our unique role and capacity to be a part of the solution and the world we wish to birth.
Collectively Uranus transiting in Taurus awakens our relationship as co-creators with the earth. To live in reverence of the earth and honor the land rather than exploit its resources. Innovative ideas for technology in the body, deepening to earth based practices, sustainability, and growing our own food are themes of this cycle.