The Full Moon in Cancer is the first Full Moon of 2023. Regular subscribers will know that I prepare a Full Moon report every month (two if necessary) and this year I’ve decided to keep on doing so, but I’m also going to turn my attentions to the New Moons too – so later this month expect the first of the New Moon reports to drop.
A new year always feels like a fresh start and it’s a great opportunity to leave behind some old baggage and renew your goals and ambitions. I suspect many of you will have made a number New Year Resolutions – and some of them may have fallen by the wayside already. The problem is, sometimes old habits are harder to break than the baubles on the Xmas tree that you may have taken down today.
However, a lunation (of either kind) is a great opportunity for a re-set. This Full Moon in particular may reveal the most simple of truths; abandon any preconceived ideas about the road ahead – it may take you to an unexpected destination. So, pay attention to your feelings and if you sense you need to take another route, then do so.
Full Moon in Cancer: The Essentials
Full Moons represent a culmination; things often come to a head around the time of this kind of lunation – and with this Full Moon being in Cancer, the sign of its rulership, it’s likely to signal a significant start to the year. However, when we speak of ‘events’ we really need to pay attention to the nature of this lunation sign, as a Full Moon in Cancer is likely to bring up some issues that may be sensitive in nature, or difficult to address.
Cancer energy is emotional and retentive. It works at an instinctive and inner level rather than exploding out into the world like the New Year’s fireworks. That’s not to say that there are never ‘scenes’ with Cancer; the events you experience around this time may cause an outburst because of emotional pressures that have built up over time – but you may just as easily get ‘a feel’ for something or have a hunch about something – or someone. An event doesn’t have to be ‘out there’ in order for it to register.
Cancer is a sign that hates to let go. So, if you have attachments or habits that you cling onto because they represent something that you were comfortable with in the past – but they may be inappropriate to the present – it may be time to review those attachments, particularly if you’re beginning to feel uncomfortable with them. Habit is no excuse for complacency – so if you’re planning to avoid dealing with something that you’re emotionally uncomfortable with – be prepared for outer events to mirror your internal misgivings.
Of course, if you find yourself having to deal with a load of typically Cancer behaviours such as irritability, moodiness, passive aggression, unreasonable demands and manipulation – it’s a sign that something has to change. And, by the way, it doesn’t matter if you’re the person behaving like this – or whether you’re on the receiving end – something has to give. As usual, those of you with planets or points in aspect to the lunation may feel the impact most – but don’t rule anything out with the Moon in Cancer.
Full Moon in Cancer: The Chart
At first glance, this looks like a fairly simple chart as the Full Moon in Cancer appears to have no ‘difficult’ aspects. The Sun-Moon opposition is what we astrologers call an ‘easy one’ as it’s only two aspects are an opposition to the Moon from Mercury and a sextile from the Moon to Uranus in Taurus. So, although this is an emotional Full Moon in Cancer, there’s some grounding in there, but don’t assume things are going to be as solid or secure as we would like them to be.
And this is why. I’ll repeat what I said a moment ago – the Full Moon in Cancer is sextile Uranus, and Uranus in Taurus has been doing a great job of causing ‘earthquakes’ of all kinds for the past few years. Also, Mercury is still retrograde in Capricorn – and is makes a trine to Uranus. So, there are a compact and simple set of aspects connected to this lunation, but they are not without a few complex astrological issues.
Full Moon in Cancer: The Aspects
Let’s unravel those apparently simple aspects that are being lit up by the Full Moon in Cancer… And I’ll begin with the opposition to Mercury retrograde.
Full Moon Opposite Mercury Retrograde
The Full Moon in Cancer is shining directly on Mercury retrograde in Capricorn, so this implies that the events that unfold now will have been building up during the course of Mercury’s retrograde period. If there have been difficulties in communicating, negotiating or getting your head around certain issues – perhaps because they tend to provoke an emotional reaction – those types of situation may come to a head now.
This Mercury retrograde in Capricorn is focusing attention on things that matter; reliability, responsibility, duty, hard work, authority – all of these typically Capricorn issues will have been talking (or thinking) issues over the past few weeks. If you – or someone close to you – hasn’t been making a full contribution then this could be the time when such grievances are aired. You may not be able to agree on matters of priority – particularly in connection to homes, families and domestic matters. However, there will be no doubt that a disciplined approach will be the most beneficial one to take – even if that’s hard to achieve right now.
The ‘to-do’ list may be growing – and will continue to do so until you devise an orderly or realistic plan of action to deal with your obligations. Leave the emotional stuff out of it. Of course, there is a wider application to this too; I have been struck by how the current furore over the ‘House Speaker’ (Moon/Mercury) in the USA fits the dynamics of both Mercury retrograde in Capricorn (Government) and this particular Full Moon in Cancer (emotions). Will things come to a head? We’ll know soon enough.
Full Moon Sextile Uranus
A sextile may often be thought of as an easy aspect, but Uranus is always a difficult and unpredictable planet – regardless of the aspects made to it. A sextile opens the door – but with any open door, you can either close it or walk through. The choice is yours. In aspect with the Moon, Uranus is always unnerving; reactions and responses may differ markedly from what you (and we) have come to expect as normal.
So, this makes it difficult to judge how any event or situation is going to unfold. Only one thing seems certain; to make progress (Uranus) may mean re-thinking or re-visiting the things you thought you had in place. There may be a resistance to doing so – that’s only natural – but there is an opportunity out there to revitalise the things that matter to you – especially your home and family life. It’s time to work out what really matters to you. What makes you feel good, secure, needed – and able to put your life on an even keel.
Most of all, however, this lunation is about addressing your deepest needs – and being able to relate to them at a very real and material level. If you have to upset a few people, or do things differently to the way that you’re used to – or you expected to – that’s fine. It’s easier to walk through the door – even if you don’t know what’s on the other side – than have it slam shut in your face. The choice is yours.
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© Sara Shipman 2023
Picture credit: Image by Robson Machado from Pixabay
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