On December 29, at 10:28 PM ET, we experience the last Full Moon of 2020, taking place at 8°53’ of the sign of Cancer, and traditionally known as the Cold Moon, as it comes with the coldest days of the calendar year in the Northern hemisphere.
Full Moons take place when the Sun and the Moon are in exact opposition to each other, and they form an angle of 180°. These celestial alignments represent the blossoming and maturation of a cycle, they shine a light on something previously unclear or uncertain, and they allow us to reap the rewards of our work.
On the current Full Cold Moon, the axis Cancer-Capricorn is being activated, and this is highlighting the importance of emotional self-knowledge and self-regulation. The planetary configuration of the moment is shining a light on unresolved family dynamics and on the parental conditioning we internalized, while emphasizing the need to find a good balance between private life, alone time, and worldly commitments.
Cancer-Capricorn: The Family Axis
Cancer and Capricorn are Cardinal signs, they begin a new season and a new phase of growth, and they are both related to our experience of family.
Cancer relates to our need for being unconditionally loved, nurtured, accepted, and understood by others on an emotional level: these themes are emphasized on this Full Moon. The archetype of Cancer correlates with our need and desire to belong to a soul family, to a clan. It is associated with our connection with our ancestors, our roots, and our more nurturing caregiver, often the mother.
On the other hand, Capricorn reflects our experience with the more authoritative caregiver, often the father. Capricorn is the sign linked with regulations, norms, and external authorities, such as governments; it corresponds to societal expectations and the conditioning we internalized from our family and culture of origin. Capricorn correlates to the need to take responsibility for our lives by finding ways to generate material security, becoming both financially and emotionally independent from our family of origin.
Full Moon in Cancer: Melancholy, Nostalgia, and Emotional Fluctuations
This Full Moon is happening in the lunar home sign: Cancer is ruled by the erratic and changeable Moon. The Moon in Astrology represents our early childhood experiences and our perception of the parental home environment, it correlates with our inner world, our instinctual and habitual emotional reaction to what happens to and around us.
Mood swings and emotional fluctuations have been linked with the Moon phases and the sign of Cancer. The Full Cold Moon can increase the intensity of our emotional experiences. Many of us may notice a general sense of melancholy and nostalgia, and a strong tendency to reflect upon the past and the old times. During these days, we may witness frequent shifts of our inner state and we may find ourselves alternating more often than usual between sadness and excitement, between a need for solitude and a need for social interactions.
Spending more time than we are used to with our family may bring us back to the past, and it may bring to light old patterns and past issues we thought we overcame long ago. For those of us who are not able to celebrate winter holidays with our family, loneliness can have a similar effect: it can be harder than usual to deal with solitude and isolation. During these strange times, it is more important than ever to nurture our inner child, to connect with our inner mother archetype, to honor our body and its needs, and to be gentle with ourselves.
Emotional Self-Knowledge and Self-Regulation
As a Yin and Water archetype, Cancer is adaptable, flexible, and changeable. Its focus is mostly directed inwards, towards one’s emotional state and the realms of feelings. Cancer is the first sign of the Zodiac through which we experience emotions, as it is the first Water sign.
For this reason, Cancer correlates to the process of emotional self-knowledge and emotional maturation. The evolutionary intention of Cancer is to access a sense of safety and security that is not dependent on any external condition and to be able to honor our feelings as they come and go without being enslaved by our emotional state.
Both Cancer and Capricorn are connected to the capacity to self-regulate. Self-regulation consists of the ability to discern when we need to take a break, to feel if when we can be more indulgent with ourselves, and to know when we need to be more disciplined and structured to fully honor our commitments and responsibilities.
Full Moon in Cancer: Celebrating our Progress and Growth
The current Full Moon follows a Total Solar Eclipse in Sagittarius, and is directly connected to the cycle that started with the potent New Moon Solar Eclipse in Cancer we experienced on the Solstice of June 20, 2020. Reflect upon the intentions you set back in June, think about what you were going through, and refer to your journal of that time if you have it.
Notice any relevant connection between then and now, honor how far you have come, celebrate your improvements, and enjoy the results of your work. In particular, reflect upon the progress you have made in your capacity to self-soothe and to navigate intense emotional states during the last six months.
To help you harness this energy Full Moon in Cancer brings we have created Full Moon printable channeled “Emotional Self-Knowledge” journal and guided meditation audio. We invite you to use these Full Moon Ritual tools: journal and meditate together with Moon Omens Soul Family. Tap here to learn more and gain access to ritual tools.
Full Moon sextile Uranus and square Chiron
Uranus in Taurus is currently in a sextile to the Moon in Cancer, and in a trine to the Sun in Capricorn. Both are harmonic aspects that support the expression of all planets involved and increase our need for freedom and adventure. The influence of Uranus reflects the possibility of unexpected opportunities and unforeseen possibilities emerging throughout the rest of the current lunar cycle. These aspects support our need to experiment and explore and allow us to get in touch with our uniqueness and originality by accessing deeper levels of inspiration and creativity.
On the other hand, the T-square between the Sun, the Moon, and Chiron in Aries can bring up a sense of urgency relative to our need to break free from and leave behind the past patterns emerging during these days. We may experience the sensation of being rejected by others because of who we are or who we have become, or we may reject our own sensitivity as we feel it is never understood or respected by others. With this aspect, it’s important to honor our timing, to avoid taking things too personally, to be gentle with both ourselves and others, and to keep in mind that healing is not a linear process.
Venus conjunct the South Node and square Neptune
On this Full Moon, Venus in Sagittarius is approaching a conjunction to the Lunar South Node, and they are both in a square angle to Neptune in Pisces: these aspects are likely to manifest in our interactions with others.
The Venus square to Neptune may reflect a tendency to see only the good side of people and to idealize them to the point of losing sight of the actual reality. The Venus-Neptune square can promote a transformation in unbalanced relationship dynamics through experiences of disillusionment that force us to face the truth and to implement change.
The Venus-South Node conjunction can be about reliving and re-experiencing past dynamics or patterns that we thought we overcame, to understand them on a deeper level. This aspect can help us become aware of the disempowering beliefs and assumptions we hold, relative to relationships and partnerships, that aren’t supporting our personal growth.
Full Moon in Cancer: Honoring Sensitivity and Releasing Self-Judgment
Sensitivity is not supported by the way society is structured and by the expectations placed on us. For example, we are supposed to be equally productive every day of the month, independently of how we feel. This has brought many of us to automatically suppress most of our emotional reality and, as a result, to be constantly out of touch with our moment-to-moment inner state. On this Full Moon in Cancer, we are encouraged to get back to our emotional body and to understand where our feelings truly come from, without judging ourselves for them.
Cancer teaches us that we must take responsibility for ourselves and our well being, that we need to feel safe and whole without depending on others. Patterns of emotional codependency and issues related to insecure attachment styles may now emerge clearly. We have the chance to work on them with awareness and to explore strategies for coping with challenges constructively.
The Full Moon in Cancer invites us to be there for ourselves, to honor our emotions, and to prioritize taking care of our inner state. Ultimately, this cosmic alignment is here to bring us back to our hearts and to remind us that we are safe to feel whatever we are feeling.
During these intense and unusual times, the Full Cold Moon in Cancer is inviting us to connect with a sense of inner safety and security, not dependent on external conditions, and rooted in the acceptance of what is present for us right now. This cosmic event encourages us to anchor to a feeling of unconditional self-love that is always available independently of circumstances.
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