Lunar News: Full Moon in Cancer

A woman and two men (or a man and two women) cast away on a small island

Full Moon at 23° Cancer on January 13th at 3:25 PM MST

Sabian Symbol: A woman and two men (or a man and two women) cast away on a small island

What a privilege it is to be loved and taken care of, but it’s not something that is given out of pure reciprocal exchange. Taking care of another person does not grant you the right to receiving care. Nurturing is a gift to be freely given and bestowed upon those who know how to open themselves up to it. All relationships involve an exchange. Every person who seeks out companionship wants to be nurtured and will naturally reciprocate. This is simple until people’s expectations and desires around how they show care and how they want to be taken care of become entangled with another person. When there is any kind of imbalance here, relationships become difficult and littered with obstacles. Typically both parties will amend their behaviors—by conceding to the needs of their beloved, and by figuring out how to articulately ask for what they need. Both must be flexible in how they give and receive. In all human relationships we are called to understand the simple and trite—but true!—lesson: in order to receive love, we must be open to it; in order to give love, we must be open and generous. The Cancer Full Moon highlights the complicated tensions in this realm of care and nurturing and love.

Cancer is the expert caretaker; the Great Goddess; the Great Mother. It almost feels impossible for anyone to take care of Cancer the way they can take care of others. This is where the sign draws power. (However, in the messy practice of everyday life, those with prominent Cancer signatures in the chart will find this to be a contradiction, and their expert caretaking is a prominent source of exhaustion.) Cancer is thoughtful in its nurturing, able to put its keen intuition to good use by attuning itself psychically to other people to anticipate their needs. These are great attributes and we all have this capability within us to varying degrees, but the dangerous shadow to this is the temptation to expect other people respond to us in-kind. We have to ask ourselves, Am I giving my love to another person with a tacit expectation that they reciprocate in exactly the way I want or need? If I am feeling depleted and in need of care and love, am I open to it? Am I accepting of the nurturing my loved ones are giving me? When is it appropriate to ask for care from other people, and when do I need to look within and give it to myself instead?

The Cancer-Capricorn polarity this syzygy highlights is inviting us to ask ourselves these questions and consider most of all the ways in which we are blocked from receiving care, ways we reject care, or times when we expect too much from other people. The emotional turbulence is heightened because the Moon and Mars Rx are careening into a conjunction in the final degrees of Cancer. Mars Rx—which is fallen in Cancer—is causing us to feel aggravated out of a sense of tension and exhaustion. Perhaps you are feeling like you’re not getting what you need, or that your efforts are going unnoticed and it’s all pointless. Mars Rx is exerting lots of force trying to take care of everyone, but what is the point? If you’re feeling burnt out, just ask yourself this question. Overextension is at an all-time high right now and the best course of action is to give up. So much as been building since the New Moon on December 30th, there’s been a lot of doing, but there’s nothing left to do at this point. It’s the Full Moon, just give up and observe. You can start up again the next day.

Mars Rx will also be in an exact trine to Neptune in Pisces, which is also calling on us to engage in active rest and spiritual inquiry. At a time when our aggression could get the better of us, Neptune’s support comes in almost like a guru reminding us that we are properly equipped to give ourselves the tender love and care that we require. The energy of this trine comes in like a balm to ease the difficulty around the Full Moon crash out. The only danger to look out for is self-aggrandized delusions. You might feel like you could save everyone, but ought you? And, again, are your spiritual and material offerings to others motivated by the expectation that they’ll serve you in return?

While the Full Moon is driving our Unconscious toward behaviors of care that could turn destructive… the Sun in Capricorn is pulling us toward self-actualization through its trine to Uranus Rx. This is another helpful trine that will be generative in counteracting the smothering Full Moon energy by allowing us to tap into our individual creativity and innovation. Self-fulfillment could come in the form of learning new things, opening yourself up to entirely new perspectives, and trying to understand how you can fit your unique talents into the world.

On the mundane level, I expect more storm systems to be moving through the world and causing damage. Preparation and vigilance are key. Act with caution and sense as weather systems are more powerful than human effort.

Even though the Moon is waning, we are headed into one of the most active times of the year with major energetic shifts and tense power plays.

January 14: Venus square Jupiter Rx

Today is a day where we are feeling overindulgent. Be careful of overspending while shopping, overeating, imbibing too much, or engaging in substance abuse—you will likely feel a temptation to indulge these things out of a blissful state, but the hangover will be brutal tomorrow. Instead, use the social invigoration to be proactive in relationships and friendships. Find inspiration from your collaborative partners and support one another in expanding your creative practices. The markets will likely get a small rally today, but don’t hold for too long as there will be a sharp downward reversal a few days later.

January 18: Venus conjunct Saturn

And here is that downward market trend bottoming out. In our personal lives, today is going to feel a little brutal, aloof, and cold, but as long as you’re not looking for affection or any kind of comforting reassurance, you’ll feel okay. It’s a perfect day for being pragmatic in your relationships, however. Even though we might be craving affection and connection, make the most of your solitude and evaluate your commitments. Be honest with yourself about which ones you want to renew and maintain and what ties should be broken.

January 19: Sun ingress into Aquarius

This solar ingress initiates a season of implementing change. New Year’s resolutions are becoming habits and new ways of being are discovered during this time. The Sun co-present with Pluto now is highlight the decades-long transit that will re-define our societal structures. We’ll be finding a new rhythm in our networks and systems that construct our reality. In particular, every time the Sun is in Aquarius over the next 22 years, the theme will be discovering how to function as an individual within a larger network.

January 20: Sun conjunct Pluto

This transit is dramatic if not entirely explosive. Upheaval and violence are aimed at sources of power, or even emblems of power (I.E. the figureheads who we think hold the power, but who are just symbols). The Sun conjunct Pluto calls to our understanding who or what actually directs the forces that guide our daily lives. A lot of delineations around Pluto in Aquarius going around are talking about who to fight against as if there are certain individuals who hold power over us collectively. Pluto in Aquarius is an exploration of decentralization, however, and the forces exerting control over us are more complex than individual interests and actions. If your goal is to fight back against what you think is one central source of evil and oppression, you’re going to find that what you are trying to dismantle is not an individual at all, but a whole system. This is a significant day for the United States as it is Inauguration Day. I expect the loudest group to show up on the world stage at this time will be the opposition to Donald Trump.

Power struggles abound today, but we must remember: true evolution of power and true change come from a motivation external to the ego; anything motivated by ego is bound to fail.

January 23: Mercury opposing Mars Rx

Be cautious about getting into arguments today. We might feel like telling everyone exactly what’s on our mind, but this will likely come across as needlessly aggressive. Additionally, if you are feeling a hostile vibe from the people around you, check in with yourself. Have you been putting out subtle signals of resentment? If you ask for the truth, be ready for them to be harsh, but do not retaliate today. Do not give in to impulsive urges to lash out in anger. Also… be careful with knives in the kitchen today.

January 25: Venus trine Mars Rx

This is a perfect day to practice sincerity in directness when you’re in the process of relating to others. This applies to conflicts going down in your personal relationships, or even as you navigate a long line at the Post Office (or something). This transit reminds us that we do not live in a solipsistic vacuum, but we exist amongst one another and we are all cooperating on this path of life. Everyone gets what they need and most can get what they want when they are direct in working together. This comes from being confident and assertive in your requests, without being abrasive.

January 27: Mercury ingress into Aquarius

For the next few weeks we are being challenged to think and communicate outside the box. This is a particularly insightful time with ideas coming through about, you guessed it, networks and systems! If there was ever a time for an analytic approach to all aspects of your life, this is it.

January 28: Mercury conjunct Pluto

Going along with the Mercury ingress, this immediate conjunction to Pluto heightens this desire to be logical and thorough in our daily lives. If you are going to lead with your head more than your heart at this time, take care when communicating with people—don’t be too harsh. This is a good reminder that words have weight and we all must take responsibility for what we say. Even if we “didn’t mean it that way,” sometimes people will take our words beyond their meaning. Small conflicts like this are nice because they give us a chance to work things out at a deeper level and we expand the breadth of our connections.