FULL MOON IN CANCER ~ HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS
December 22, 2018: Full Moon at 0º Cancer ♋️
Season’s Greetings! On December 21, 2018 we celebrated the Solstice as the Sun moved from Sagittarius to Capricorn. Here in the northern hemisphere (where Western astrology is oriented) this is the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year.
Like all cardinal signs of the zodiac, Capricorn marks the beginning of a new season under the Sun, a new phase of leadership. Consider that our very existence on Earth depends on the light and heat from this central star. Thus we can understand more about Capricorn season, in which the Sun is distant and removed. At this time, we are left to find our own way to survive in the absence of warmth and vitality.
And yet there is a different kind of light available today as the Moon moves into her home sign of Cancer. She is positioned here as the Sun’s counterpart, receiving and reflecting his light, illuminating the dark sky, which is her domain. With the Moon in watery Cancer we experience the archetype of the mother, whose greatest power lies in the realm of emotion and instinct.
With Moon in Cancer, we are closely connected to the hearts of those around us. Notice how the Moon moves in relationship to the Earth, just as a mother accompanies her child. Humans have certain basic needs: food, water, sleep, safety, and connection. As children we have a limited ability to take care of these needs for ourselves. In our earliest years we lack the language to even express our needs. Thus a mother necessarily has an empathic energetic bond with her children so that she may sense and address their basic needs from moment to moment.
As we age, we are meant to integrate this love and care, learning to mother ourselves. Our need for this tenderness and compassion remains throughout our lives. Indeed we each have a need for a sense of safety, warmth, and love. Home is where the heart is, a place where we are welcomed in our humanity and gently held with compassion.
And yet Chiron and Mars in a T-square pattern with the Sun and Moon highlight that our humanity has not always been welcomed with love. Many of us have experienced trauma in our lives: at the hands of family or friends who were supposed to care for us, under systems of oppression that perpetuate violence, or both. These experiences can leave us feeling disconnected from a sense of home within ourselves or unsafe in connection with others.
This full moon is illuminating the wounds we are carrying in our hearts, and we are being invited to feel and integrate them so we can heal and come home to ourselves.
Neptune in a trine to Venus offers an opportunity for healing in relationships. Notice where you have been triggered recently, and what defenses you employ to avoid vulnerability and uncomfortable feelings. With Mercury and Jupiter in a square to Neptune, clear thinking may be elusive, and passions overblown. Deception, projection and interpersonal miscommunications are likely.
If you find yourself upset by an interaction, caution is advised. Before speaking your mind, check in with yourself to see whether the strength of your reaction is perhaps out of proportion to what has happened. That is a telltale sign that old wounds have been triggered.
Having our wounds touched and triggered is unpleasant but as we allow ourselves to feel we are letting the emotions move through us and healing is happening.
With Uranus in a trine to the Sun and square the lunar nodes, our lives are ripe for radical change and liberation. Make no mistake: a commitment to healing is crucial for our evolution as individuals and in the collective. If we want a world with more heart, with more connection, it starts with each of us.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
What do you need to feel safe?
How can you cultivate a sense of home in yourself even as everything is changing all around you?
What past hurts are clouding your vision? Can you bring gentleness and acceptance to those wounded parts of yourself?
Do you give yourself the same care and gentleness that you give to those you love?
What do you care about, and how do you demonstrate that care?
What are your commitments to yourself? To your loved ones? To your community?