Full Moon in Cancer: Soul Nourishment

The full moon in 5° of Cancer on Monday, December 26th (6:33 p.m. CST) is an energetic release. 

This cosmic energy provides a powerful opportunity to move through experiences of the past and see something in a new light. 

We acknowledge how we protect our hearts and resist the next stages of our growth, and begin to process our grief, clear dense emotional debris from the past, and attune to guidance in the present moment. 

Different pathways to nourishment awaken self-awareness and a unique paradigm of what it feels like to be at home in ourselves. 

“My body needs it—the hot baths, the care, the soft water, the perfume, the warmth. I take on the colors of the flowers, the bloom, the delicacy. It becomes me.”

Anaïs Nin

Somewhere in our timeline, our foundations and sense of home were shaken in order to be rebuilt on more stable ground. Reflecting on that time, what seeds were planted? How have we nurtured those desires? What themes are intensified? What feels like it is coming to completion? How have we grown?

Image Credit: Juan Moyano

The Archetype of Cancer

Cancer is the sign of emotional security, our early nurturing environment and its impact on our ego development. Through this sign, we learn how to develop self-intimacy and explore our willingness to be cared for. 

This sign comes alive to share and express its inner world, but only when it truly feels secure and understood.

Cancerian consciousness navigates close to the unconscious seas. Walking alongside the imaginative, intuitive and psychic waters is advantageous, yet there is chance of being swept up by the tide. 

Cancer is known for its impeccable memory. Not memory in the sense of recalling facts and details, but rather that part of you that gets transported to an event from the past and connects to how that moment in time made you feel—what the emotional impact of a particular experience was and still is. As the memory keeper of the zodiac, Cancer passes along the traditions and heritage of the family, often becoming the scribe or teacher of the heritage. Through this sign, we arrive at a more complete understanding of our family history through genealogy, sharing our ancestors’ stories and the history of the land we stand on

The Cancer/Capricorn Polarity

Cancer represents the primal nature that protects our vulnerable parts. It invites us to strengthen our emotional intelligence and instinctually attune to the needs of others. Capricorn brings our attention to our commitments, inner authority and how to build towards long-term growth. In Capricorn, we see what is practical, sustainable, and essential. 

Together, this axis connects us to a heightened conciousness of our process, how we treat ourselves, and how we parent ourselves.

We connect to the present moment so we can hear what we need.

Through our life experiences, we also learn where we need to soften, honor our limits and discover new pathways of self-worth through the art of self-care. 

These energies are important teachers to bring awareness and balance to our internal necessities and the roles we play in our society. In a culture that values self-sufficiency, assertiveness and independence, how do we open to receive the soul nourishment we need to sustain our most sacred work? We can’t climb to the highest peak or attain our highest achievements without some support, nor can we sufficiently care for others in our lives running on an empty fuel tank. 

Cancer speaks to our lineage and Capricorn our legacy. Now is the time to honor where we have come from and commit to our path of sovereignty.

“Nourishing yourself in a way that helps you blossom in the direction you want to go is attainable, and you are worth the effort.”

Deborah Day

Image Credit: Tanaphong Toochinda

Our Families Themes are Highlighted

This cycle causes us to have increased reflection of our family, our lineage and what deeply moves our hearts. We may feel a longing for belonging or discover what our desire for home feels like. This is a critical time to foster connections with those that make us feel safe. Nostalgia can be helpful to show us what we want to create more of in our lives. What versions of home and identity are we called to release so that we can nurture what truly matters in these areas?

“Asking better questions is the key to creating closeness.”

Esther Perel  

This full moon sets us free from something we have been holding onto and helps us to see our past experiences with fresh eyes. Family themes around how we were parented or our role as a parent are currently highlighted.

We see our experiences, both past and present, beyond the personal self, through our soul’s intention and how they serve our soul contract. This perspective allows us to take responsibility for what we feel and integrate it, uncovering more security within while shedding outdated behaviors that manipulate people and circumstances to maintain a sense of stability. 

We must practice compassion and gentleness, and we must honor all we feel. This will let us begin again from a more solid foundation that is also rooted in our intuition. 

The next 18 months begin a new direction of spiritual initiation where we are invited to explore different levels of emotional maturity.

This growth encourages us to develop our compassion and our capacity to forgive. We are able to accept something that has formerly kept us fragmented, and can reclaim more of our power and sovereignty.

This lunation invokes moods and memories. The felt sense of our history evokes profound steps towards healing, but it is essential to be cautious of where our subjectivity distorts details and facts.

Through making space for emotional honesty, we can move through long-held attachments, shed emotional baggage, and live from a heightened sense of emotional integrity.

“Pain travels through the family lines until someone is ready to heal it in themselves. By going through the agony of healing you no longer pass the poison chalice onto the generations that follow. It is incredibly important and sacred work.”

Author Unknown

Chiron Stations Direct

On the day of the full moon, Chiron turns direct at 15.5 ° of Aries, so its energy is more pronounced now. This energy is guiding us into what we most need to integrate for the next steps of our healing—either what hasn’t been fully processed yet or what surfaces now—so that it can be acknowledged, honored, and accepted. For the last six months, we have been shedding old identities, reflecting on our choices, and working through aspects of our unfinished business.

This energy provides an expanded sense of self-trust, helping us to surrender the pretense of our persona and allow our tenderness to flow. We follow sparks of inspiration, moving on instinct and accepting that what is done is done.

Chiron in Aries activates self-care, defensiveness, advocacy and victim consciousness themes. We can claim our freedom to begin again, learn through our experience, and consciously engage in life—but this time, with a renewed commitment to our authenticity to carve our unique path. We honor our sacred “no” and follow the animation in our hearts, leading us forward with our voices.

“Remember that you are from the stars and that you can return to them. 

Remember you are a sacred being of love, no matter the darkness of an earthly life. Remember you come from light and return to freedom.

Remember you are the healing of your ancestors, that you are Chiron the wounded healer. 

You heal through the compassion you give to yourself. 

Remember you are an astronaut of the soul. 

May you find solace in your travel to another star.” 

Junauda Petrus

Calling Ourselves Home

This full moon is conjunct with the dwarf planet Vesta, the goddess of the home. She teaches us how to devote ourselves to what is sacred to us so we can learn how our creative ideas bridge heaven and earth. When we connect to our spiritual light, we can be home within ourselves regardless of where we are in the world. Vesta in this full moon chart reminds us of the spark of life that moves through us when we become devoted to our spiritual path.

Image Credit: Joe Azure

We Deepen our Self-Care

This lunation shows us what is out of alignment regarding our self-nurturing and connects us to what we need to feel more replenished, nourished and secure. Emotional regulation and self-reflection are powerful tools that help us learn how to re-parent ourselves, make decisions, initiate changes and foster connections from a deep well of radical self-care.

“Clarity and decisiveness come from the willingness to slow down, to listen and look at what’s happening.”

Pema Chödrön 

Compassion is a fundamental tool that guides us into our healing and awakening. Our ability to take responsibility for how we show up for ourselves connects us to fields of grace. 

This lunation unlocks new dimensions of healing through our lineage so we can acknowledge the journeys of those who have walked before us and move their work forward. We are a living embodiment of our ancestors’ prayers and carry their stories of transformation in our blood. 

This cycle guides us into learning about the gifts they have given us so that we can understand how to provide self-care, radiate love, and cultivate fresh ways of mystical parenting in order to thrive. If we can delve into our soul nourishment, we can move beyond the wildest dreams of our previous generations.

The Invitation

This lunation guides us into introspection. We reflect on the experiences, challenges and strengths that we have gained over the last year, and we can begin to evaluate our progress. We are being asked to challenge patriarchal models of success, strength, and responsibility so that we can connect to our inner guidance.

We may feel internal pressures nudging us towards evolution. What structures and definitions have we outgrown? Our consciousness is being asked to molt. This process asks us to honor our inner rhythm, guiding us to expand beyond what is normally recognized and follow through with the feeling. When we avoid the demand to grow beyond the known self, we can stay stuck in old patterns and timelines. Molting requires us to embrace our vulnerability and our capacity to evoke the divine feminine power within us that understands instinctually how to navigate through the void. Only then can we arrive at the fertile soil that births a fresh version of ourselves and a new creative dream.

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