The waxing moon is about to reach her maximal brilliance for this zodiacal season. She will become full of the Sun’s light into the warm, empathic, nurtering sign of Cancer, while her consort the Sun opposes her in the dour, disciplined, pramgatic sign of Capricorn.
Whenever a Full moon occurs, a flood of energy comes to a head in the skies. The themes, lessons, and emotional timbre reaches a climax. At the same time, a great tension arises between our needs and our wants, our desires and our circumstances, our conscious and our unconscious.
Because the full Moon starts the waning season, her placement indicates circumstances and behaviors in our lives that we often need to release. As she wanes and separates from the opposition to the Sun, so too should we wane and separate from the things in our lives that do not serve us.
Cancer is ruled by the Moon, the mother of the zodiac, giving Cancer extremely strong lunar themes of compassion, care, and material support for the goals and intentions of our spirits. Whereas the Sun rules the noetic light of our higher selves and the intentions they carry, the Moon rules all the physical support structures that help the soul get where its going - from the environment and general context to the spirit’s physical vessel.
Being ruled by the mother of the zodiac, Cancer’s impulse is to take care of our needs, make us feel loved, and nourish us however possible. Cancer’s aim is to have what you need and feel materially and emotionally safe and suppported.
The Sun, however, is in the sign of Capricorn. This sign is associated with asceticism, duty, and hard work. Instead of easily receiving what you need, you must learn to do without.
This full moon occurs during the Sun’s journey through Capricorn, which creates many opportunities to begin forming long-last, grounded change to our lives that will bring in the kind of world we would like to inhabit. We can create long-lasting change in our lives that sets us up to live the kind of life we are striving for. At the same time, it can bring some of the harshest lessons of the season - especially for people in the norther hemisphere living in the dead of winter.
At the full moon, we are called to release attachments to people and things that get in the way of living the kind of life we actually want to be living. We all have habits, behaviors, people, etc. that we use for emotional nourishment and fulfilment. They make us feel safe, okay, loved, and taken care of. There is nothing inherently wrong with the things that we use to make ourselves feel this way.
But sometimes the things that we use for emotional safety and nourishment actually keep us from living out our purpose, fulfilling our mission, and completing the work that we came here for. Ultimately, they inhibit our total flourishing, because we become so preoccupied with feeling safe and getting whatever we want that we avoid engaging in more difficult activities that will ultiamtely make us truly happy.
In the end, we can become attached and addicted, and we live a miserable life that superficially should be enjoyable. We settle for instant satisfaction and behaviors that are nourishing on the surface, but pale in comparison to the beauty of a life that can only be built through hard work and dedication.
Use this full moon period to release attachments to comforts and safety blankets that ultimately keep you from achieving what you want and building the kind of life for yourself that you dream of.
What is it that will make you truly happy? What must you do to truly achieve the life of your dreams? What attitudes and habits keep you from achieving this life?
And for those reading this for whom loss of possessions and comfort is not an abstraction or happening through choice: is it possible that, on the other side of this loss, there will be greater freedom, and greater connection what you actually want out of life, as you rebuild your material kingdom out of the ashes of what you have lost? Is there any part of you that may feel less weighed down?
Green Calcite is a specific for addiction withdrawal symptoms. Leopardskin Jasper works on addictions to more yang addictions such as caffeine and alcohol, and amethyst on more yin, numbing substances.
Let go of those safety blankets that you know you have outgrown. Don’t walk around with crutches after your body has healed. Don’t succumb to the numbness of a sterilized, pain-free existence. Create space for the divine energies of the heavens to fill your life with other things that are far more meaningful.
If you do, you will find more joy and happiness on the other side than you can ever get by remaining in your comfort zone.