Welcome to the Cancer Full Moon! It’s the time in the lunar calendar when the light shines on home and family, roots and foundation, the past and memories. As the first water sign, Cancer reminds us of what really matters as well as our deepest emotional needs. The full moon is exact on January 6, 2023 at 6:08 pm ET at 16 degrees Cancer-Capricorn. That’s 3:08 pm Los Angeles, 11:08 pm London, 1:08 am Johannesburg on January 7, 10:08 am Sydney, and 12:08 pm Auckland.
Full moons are decision points. They put something — an event, a decision — into full view. There is a demand for action as well as a choice. They are connected to the new beginnings of the new moon two weeks before.
If Capricorn Season is all about building and constructing our material lives, which includes taking on responsibilities or reaching for a goal or ambition, then Cancer reminds us that our worldly achievements need support. They need to be nourished and fed. They also need solid roots as well as the support of home and family.
One of the things that strikes me about Cancer is how undervalued as a sign it often is. Reduced to memes about sensitivity and emotion, we miss out on the fact that Cancer is a cardinal sign — cardinal water — and it forms the base of the zodiac, holding everything up. What this teaches us is that home and family are one of the four pillars of life. Without a home, without a sense of familial connection and care, life has a hard time growing.
Of course, family is often very complicated and — how does the phrase go? — home is a four letter word. Like all signs, Cancer has a shadow, a deep well filled with the ache of the past, difficult memories, and strained or even toxic relationships with family. Under the light of a full moon, all is in full view. And with a square to Chiron in Aries, we may be feeling that ache even more.
This is a full moon that, on some level, needs emotional healing or the courage to prioritize our emotional needs. Capricorn is a wonderful sign, but it has hard edges. If we are weighed down by responsibility, how do we put things back into order? How do we take care of ourselves and receive that care from others?
I’m reminded by a Taurus friend, one who often plays counter to my Scorpio Sun and Mars square Saturn. If I’m too hard on myself or overworking myself, she reminds me to take a break and do something nurturing. My Saturn can often get stuck in the “too much to do” mode and doesn’t know how to switch off.
So, with that in mind, how do we make space during this full moon for what really matters? Find the balance between duty and TLC? Emphasize positive memories from the past and have the courage to stop reconnecting with the ones that consistently bring us down? Make time for family or those who are like family?
Nevertheless, a square to Chiron touches on a sore spot, one that runs through some of our oldest experiences and memories … and even those from past lives. (Learn more about Chiron in On Chiron, Suffering, and Knots.)
It’s important to remember that Saturn and Uranus are still in aspect to each other. And while this full moon doesn’t aspect them directly, it activates its energies of shift and transformation. We may feel or experience a few rumbles around the full moon, one that pulls yet again at the tectonic plates of our lives.
And with the Sun and Moon getting support from Uranus, we have an opportunity to break from something that is no longer supporting us.
Now that we’re in the New Year, check out my three-hour webinar, The Astrology of 2023, a review of the major transitions next year and what they mean for you. Learn more and watch a clip in the link below.