Hi, my loves,
Happy Full Moon in Cancer! This full moon occurs during that liminal space between the major holidays and the new year, very late on January 2nd or very early in the morning on January 3rd, depending on your location. Some folks may have maintained a regular daily schedule, while others may have taken time off for family, spiritual services, and to reset before another 365 days around the sun. Wherever you find yourself at this time of year, the full moon in Cancer always invites us to go within and nurture ourselves. This energy inspires us to spend time with those we care about, to mother or be mothered, and to establish security for ourselves and those we care for.
This full moon makes a conjunction with retrograding Jupiter in Cancer, which has been exposing our relationship towards care, nurturing, creation, and security. Old patterns and stories around our self-worth, instilled in us by our families and society, may have been activated as the world turned towards holidays that focus on spending time with loved ones and family. This can be an emotionally complicated time. Conflicting and polarizing experiences, memories, and desires spring to the forefront of our awareness during this time. One can be completely alone and content or experiencing intense moments of loneliness. Another may be perfectly happy surrounded by a bustling group of people or feel completely isolated even as they are amongst those closest to them. This is a complicated time because our thoughts and emotions can shift quickly, eliciting a deluge of physical responses throughout the body.
Astrologically, Cancer is the second cardinal sign after Aries. Aries is that raw instinct that drives us to survive. As babies, initially, we are completely at the mercy of our caretakers, which means we must do everything within our power to get them to do what is necessary for us to survive, but this does not always lead to us receiving what is needed for us to thrive. Epigenetics studies find that ” stressful conditions that are experienced by parents can influence the offspring’s vulnerability to many pathological conditions, including psychopathologies—primarily related to a disruption in stress response mechanisms (NIH, 2018). It has been suggested that the impact of that stressful condition can extend up to eight generations, although this current article states that the exact number is still undetermined.
Let’s not just throw the word stress around. Let’s provide a better definition so we can fully understand its impact. Stress has been categorized into several types based on the activity, longevity, and impact. Acute stress is an event that inflicts stress upon a subject for a short period of time before it is removed. Chronic stress is defined as exposure to a recurring stressor for extended periods of time. Early childhood stress is associated with trauma experienced early in life. The types of trauma include, but are not limited to, physical, sexual, or emotional abuse or neglect, violence within the home, or a hostile social environment, i.e., bullying (NIH, 2023). Traumatic stress is defined as a form of stress experienced by a rapid, sudden loss of resources, such as job loss, a natural disaster, accident, war, assault, death, or any other number of catastrophes.
Thus, at our births, we are at our most vulnerable. We are already impacted by our epigenetics, but the stress experienced in early childhood also plays a role in our understanding of safety, security, and forming healthy attachments. When the astrological baton is passed to Cancer, this is a time to examine all of these subject areas to determine our current state of well-being and needs. We also know that any astrological event involving Cancer activates squares to Aries and Libra energy and an opposition to Capricorn. Thus, it is vital to understand our modes of survival and early experiences established by Aries, our relationship to our ancestors, society, and caregivers in Cancer, and how this is reflected in our conceptualization of how relationships and connections bring us balance in Libra.
The full moon in Cancer always occurs during Capricorn season. The moon’s current position in relation to the sun creates the visual effect of a full moon. Therefore, subjects related to Capricorn are further heightened during this time. Capricorn is the last cardinal sign in the Western Zodiac. It closes out our cardinal elements representing Earth. Capricorn is represented by the sea-goat Capricornus, an animal that has a fish tail and the upper torso of a goat. This signifies Capricorn’s major subject areas, which center around uncovering our capacity to establish our energy in the material world. The sea-goat can not only swim to the deepest depths, but also climb to the highest of heights. Capricorn shows us that we can exist in polarizing environments and circumstances by bringing these two seemingly oppositional forces together within us.
When this energy is activated through a Cancer opposition, we look at what exists within us that has been influenced by our ancestors, roots, birth circumstances, and childhood. It is here that we discover the foundation of our current view of our ability to complete Capricorn’s goal of reaching our highest expression of the depths of our soul through a physical manifestation within the world. Because while the goat may help us navigate that rocky path up the mountain of life, we will also find ourselves meeting Capricorn’s shadow- an attachment to commitments that do not serve us or were defined by others. Essentially, we must be willing to ask ourselves, Am I climbing the right mountain? Or have I become so attached to this ideal (which would have been determined by where our Sagittarius energy falls in our birth chart and the effect of the prior season), that I am unable to see that I am wasting my energy or work on this feat? The shadow of Capricorn has many symptoms that warn us of its presence, which include a feeling of debt, imprisonment, addiction, loss of choice, and desire to exert control.
- What role have our ancestors and early life experiences played in developing our responses to stress and change?
- Are you able to identify when you need to take a step back to receive care and nurturing?
- Can you allow yourself to question whether you are working towards creating a material representation of your greatness? Or are you going through the motions?
Based on a connection between the mind, body, and our emotions, we create schemas or maps of responses to the world around us to keep us safe. These responses that may have kept us alive when we were children, teenagers, young adults, and even as adults in adverse environments such as an abusive relationship, unhealthy workplace, or dangerous socio-political environment, will continue to be activated even when we are no longer in danger. It is vital to obtain the psychological, environmental, somatic, and spiritual support to identify what has occurred, where we need help, and the tools for healing. You can find several resources from The Bliss Institute HERE.
Several major astrological events are occurring in January in the signs of Capricorn and Aquarius. I’ll be sharing more about those in the next few blog posts. This is an excellent time to be honest and brave. It is never too late to change direction and shift your energy output or work towards that which will reveal a manifestation of your highest potential and inner greatness.
You are worthy, loved, and so capable.
With love,
Kamilah Rose