Mark Your Calendar…
The next Full Moons in Cancer occur on:
- January 10, 2020, at 19º (also a penumbral eclipse)
- December 30, 2020, 1t 8º
The Moon is Cancer’s ruling planet. This means that she belongs here, and when full in her home sign, her energy is wildly enhanced (the Cancer folk among us know exactly what I mean!) But beyond this, this Lunation is going to be really special. And there are a handful of reasons for this:
Full Moon, Full Circle
If you can pull your gaze back, right to the very beginning of the year, you’ll remember that the first Full Moon of 2018 was also in Cancer. January 12th saw a supermoon, a bold, bright statement of magnetism and strong, intuitive, feminine light codes, just like this one. You could almost see the year as a perfect lunar journey around the zodiac, bookended by the Moon at home.
Extremes of Solstice Light
Occurring just a day after the solstice (on Dec 21) the energy around the globe at this time is already elevated. Light and dark are at their extremes: in the northern hemisphere we’ve just passed through the shortest day, and in the southern, daylight hours have just passed the longest of the whole year. These tipping points on the seasonal wheel are powerful. Meaningful. And not just symbolically – the effects on the world, of the actions we take at these times, are very often amplified. So here, the Full Moon is riding on an already cresting wave.
The Cancer/Capricorn Axis
This Full Moon opens up a series of lunations, all occurring on the axis over the next year and a half. In simple astrology terms, the pattern of eclipses what we’re just entering into will sit on the Cancer/Capricorn axis until mid-2020, so the themes that these two signs hold together, within their polarising partnership will be taking center stage for us all until then. Capricorn at the South Node (signifying our collective past, and karmic lessons) is all about structure, tradition and patriarchal systems. Cancer at the North Node (signifying our collective future, and highest potential) is about family, home, the senses and feminine flow. How society steers itself through the next 17 months will be flavored, very much, by these two signs.
The Critical Degree
There’s another reason this is Moon is significant. It’s the second of five, to sit at just 0º of its sign – the critical degree. 0º is where powerful, extraordinary new beginnings occur. It’s where innovation and ground-breaking originality is born.
Madonna has her natal Venus – planet of female beauty, at 0º of Leo – the sign of the performer. And she’s certainly taken more than a few risks when it comes to breaking boundaries in both of these arenas! Ayrton Senna, the Brazilian racing car driver who won three Formula One championships in his lifetime had his natal Sun at 0º of Aries, the most fool-hardy and high-octane of all the signs. And not one to ever go slow.
This Moon is a Threshold.
This critical degree takes people to extremes. It’s the cutting edge. And here, the Moon sits full, at 0º of Cancer. Her own threshold. She’s here because she’s asking us to reinvent some part of our lives, some part touched by the energy of the sign of the Crab.
So here we sit, at a collection of extremes, holding the invitation to do and be something very different from before. Many pendulums are swinging, and a handful of them have bundled together into this place, this time, where we are now, poised to act.
The Astrology of the Crab
Symbolized by the crab – a creature with a hard shell, soft center and land-and-ocean-dwelling ways – the sign of Cancer also bridges elemental worlds. It feels deeply, is sensitive, intuitive and the most empathic of all signs. But it must also bring these qualities into the real world, the physical world we see around us, and express them through what it does. People with Cancer energy in their charts are often supreme nurturers, very maternal and seem to have a sixth sense when it comes to how others are feeling and what they need to thrive.
This sign’s energy is highly feminine (not to be confused with “female” – both men and woman can hold feminine energy). It is emotional, flowing, receptive, emotionally strong, insightful, connective, and relational.
Cancer also concerns family and the bonds we share with others. This Moon can pull us closer to our kin, or push us apart. Issues that lie within family dynamics will often hit the spotlight under a Cancer Full Moon, especially this near to Christmas, when we’re all gathering together, sharing much more space and time with each other than we usually would.
But Cancer’s power flows beyond the family we sit around the table with.
To truly use the healing energy of this Moon, it may be necessary to look and feel deeper into the past – to your ancestral lines and the patterns, trauma, and pain that lies there. If we are to rise into the collective potential that the North Node promises, we’ll have to root down deep.
A Bathing Ritual for the Full Moon in Cancer
This Moon brings a powerful opportunity to begin the work. Don’t expect a transformation straight away, instead get your foundations – your home, your haven, your shell – strong and clear. The Moon’s presence, here in Cancer, creates the perfect time for a cleansing, full-body water ritual.
The simple full moon ritual seems straightforward enough, but don’t confuse it with something less than sacred. Water is a potent ally here – infusing it with your intention will create a powerful experience.
What to Do:
- First, clean your bathroom! If time is short, just make sure the tub is sparkling clean. And don’t skip this – it IS a vital first of the whole ritual.
- Make sure you have a clean fluffy towel close by, and perhaps put some soothing music on low.
- Smudge the space. Use white sage, Palo Santo or another incense and ensure the smoke infuses the whole space, especially getting into any corners or forgotten spaces.
- Turn down the lights and set up candles and crystals around the edges (safely!). Ideally, use white candles for purification, and crystals such as quartz, amethyst, selenite (be sure not to put this in the water), moonstone and pearl.
- Run your water. As you do, see if you can start to connect to the water on an energetic level. Close your eyes and listen to it stream from the taps. Feel how the energy of the room dampens and softens. This is the Spirit of water!
- Add salts and a few drops of essential oils. Epsom or magnesium salts are excellent tools for soothing the nervous system, but you could also add Himalayan or simple sea salts. Lavender, spruce, bergamot, geranium, and palmarosa are great essential oil choices for release and surrender.
- Climb into your sacred bath. Sink in, close your eyes and let yourself be held by the water. As soft and flowing as it is, water is strong – it can hold and ground you like the Earth does, so allow yourself to feel supported.
- Set intentions for release. As you soak, meditate on any negativity you’re holding onto, especially around your family, roots and bonds with other people. Set an intention to let it all go. You could say something simple like “I release all negativity which is held in my heart”.
- Rinse and be reborn! When you feel clean and complete, rinse your body and imagine the water taking away all of the negativity that was held within. As you step out of the bath, feel lighter clearer in body, mind and spirit!
- Dry yourself and get dressed in clean clothes (or pyjamas!) with the candles still burning – re-clothing is still a part of your ritual. Then blow out the candles safely, and rinse out the tub.
After the ritual:
Sometimes rituals of release like this can actually call in opportunities for you to fully demonstrate the release of these things in physical, manifested life. So in the next few days as the Moon is waning, you could find you’re being triggered (hello Christmas!) especially if your intentions during the ritual involved relationships. This is normal – the ritual is manifesting. So honor the universal energies at play here, and do not reinvigorate the negativity you released in the bath!
Continue to let it go.
Remember, our work in these Cancer/Capricorn realms is only just beginning.
Let us know how your Full Moon ritual goes – are you feeling the energy of this powerful time? Do you have planets in Cancer in your chart? Or at any of the critical degrees? Comment below!
And wishing you a blessed Full Moon.
