Cancer Full Moon - January 2022

Cancer Full Moon // January 18⁠, 00:48 CET

Cancer is the archetypal Mother. Domestic, caring, and gifted with an innate ability to nurture and heal. Cancer is a cardinal sign, signifying the beginning of a season. It is connected to initiation and leadership – and this Full Moon especially invites us to enquire our own self-leadership. Even more so because this full moon opposes Pluto.

Pluto speaks of power. It is the planet of taboo and transformation that invites us to dive deep into the underbelly of our shadows, fears and feelings.

A person who has the courage to meet with their shadows is a force to be reckoned with. It means we are no longer being ruled by our subconscious, but invested in the game of making the subconscious conscious. In doing so we acquire the ability to intentionally respond to life instead of aimlessly – and possibly destructively – reacting to it. Getting to know your fears and feelings intimately, learning how to work and move with them, is the road to increasing your self-leadership.

Meanwhile, Cancer sits in polarity with the cardinal earth sign Capricorn. Saturn-ruled Capricorn teaches us to be pragmatic, practical, reserved, and careful with vulnerability. This is in stark contrast with moon-ruled Cancer, whose qualities are rooted in emotion, sensitivity and intuition. When Saturn is invited into the soft and watery house of Cancer, it might not know quite what to do with all the feelings that it finds there.

This Cancer Full Moon asks us to move beyond that initial discomfort, beyond our protective barriers, and to tap into the undercurrents of our emotions and our intuition. Listen deeply. Cancer holds the energy of ancient, oceanic knowledge – let the water stream through your veins and hear its wisdom.

It asks us to take the questions that our emotions guide us to serious – and at the same time to investigate what is ours, and what is not. Be inquisitive and discerning about what drives and fears are truly yours, and which ones stem from your family, culture or collective. What stories or burdens have you taken on that are not yours to carry? Which do feel true to you, and which are meant to be let go of or transmuted?

What is it that you truly desire?

And what else might there be that your emotions inform you about? After all – emotions are information. Thoughts and feelings are not always ‘right’ and ‘true’ in the sense that they are rooted in objective reality, but they do, always, contain some kind of valuable information.

For example: imagine meeting a friend (or scrolling through the Instagram feed of a complete stranger) who shares a success story with you. All of a sudden you are met with a bout of jealousy and thoughts about how they’re surely lying, or did something immoral to get to where they are now.

Rather than wallowing in the feelings and letting them pull you down – or lashing out, internally or externally, for reasons that may be far from the truth – ask yourself: what information does the feeling of jealousy hold for you? If there something in their story that you desire for yourself? How can you make a first – and then second, and third – step into the direction of your dreams?

On the other side of that newfound clarity is presence, purpose and celebration. It is a time to celebrate our heart’s desires and the things we cherish deeply, and to invite more of that into our homes – the homes of our house, our bodies, our minds, our hearts, our relationships.

Relationships are highlighted under the energy of this Full Moon, emphasizing family matters and the connections we have with others. The question that is there for us: are our relationships (with people, planet, environment, home, workplace) what we want them to be?

What qualities do you value in your relationships? Are you yourself embodying these qualities as well?

And how do your relationships with others reflect the relationship you have with yourself? You might want to start with that – and move from there.

This Full Moon shows us that the path ahead holds prosperity if we dare to walk it with courage and an open heart. If we delve into the wisdom of our feelings – even if it’s dark down there.

It shows us the power of family and vulnerability, and of the fierce Mother protecting her kin. It speaks of the activating force behind the understanding that we are part of the whole, and that self-leadership impacts everything and everyone around us.

Full Moon Invitations:

Grounnndd. Feel your feelings. Take a look at what you need to feel safe, cared for, nourished, inspired, and free to express your emotions. Tend to your needs. Physical, mental, emotional, spiritual. Let your tears flow freely.

In the ocean of your emotions, swim to the depths and become so still that you can hear the quiet whispers of the body. Not just your own, but the body of your family – the collective body, your fellow humans and the body of the earth, for they are all your kin. Sit with the pain and the fear that might come up, for they might hold important information.

What is off-balance? What to shed? Where to go next? Let your fears become your fuel. Let anger and anxiety and anger become the ascending forces that guide your actions – not in a reactive, but in a responsive and responsible way. Connect with the Mother archetype inside of you, she who loves fiercely in the way that she protects, guides and nurtures, and let her guide you home.