Deeper Wisdom: Full Moon in Cancer 2020

Uoaei1, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Full Moon @ 08 degrees Cancer 53'

December 29, 2020

7:29 PM PST

10:29 PM EST

What is arguably the most challenging year in modern history ends with a Full Moon in tropical Cancer. Perhaps it's appropriate that the final lunation of 2020 is not necessarily an easy one. Forming a t-square with the centaur object Chiron, there is an element of tension that pushes this Full Moon to a heavier vibe. However, there is a catalyzing thrust to this lunation, bringing both climax and resolution that can generate motivation and proactivity.

Chiron's "wounded healer" mythology tends to play a role whenever it's prominent in astrological events. Chiron's square to this Full Moon is not comfortable. It stimulates greater awareness of pain, defects, and flaws--physical, emotional, or spiritual. The emotional terrain can feel especially active under any Cancerian Full Moon, but especially one triggered by Chiron where there can be an excessive focus on what hurts us rather than what's going right.

A Full Moon in Cancer magnifies issues in our intimate lives, drawing us inward despite the Full Moon's extroverted emphasis. Mercury's opposition invites contemplation of strategy and pragmatics, while the Moon in Cancer pulls us more toward matters of the heart. A conflict arises between how we feel versus how we think about a problem or issue at hand. However, this Full is fleeting as much as it is dynamic, generating a few days of movement that can free unexpressed or unacknowledged emotional and psychic content.

Often with Chiron, there's a need to look beyond the symptoms to the deeper attitudinal or perceptual problems. Sometimes it's in seeing things differently that we can finally make the appropriate shifts, and healing can begin. If or when you've exhausted all of the standard, topical methods for dealing with a problem, open your heart and mind to new possibilities. A trine to Neptune and sextile to Uranus suggests opportunities abound for freeing ourselves from perceptual traps that limit our ability to fully heal ourselves.

If you find yourself stuck alongside this Full Moon, try actively surrendering to something larger than yourself--your body's wisdom, the natural world, or a higher power (whatever that looks like for you). A tendency to overthink or dwell on a problem can actually prevent resolution, but sitting back and disengaging a bit might provide insights worth pursuing and integrating. While this Full Moon's initial thrust might not feel good at first, consider it necessary to redirect our focus and engage more with the wisdom inside and all around us.

Trust Your Heart and Push On: Lunar Eclipse in Cancer 2020

Joanna Poe from Munith, MI, USA [CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)]

January 10, 2020

11:21 AM Los Angeles

2:21 PM New York

7:21 PM London

January 11, 2020

3:21 AM Beijing

6:21 AM Sydney

January's Lunar Eclipse in tropical Cancer is the first Full Moon of 2020, and it synchronously aligns with the exacting conjunction of Saturn and Pluto. For more details on Saturn and Pluto's conjunction, check out my article here. This Full Moon will be a penumbral lunar eclipse entirely or partially visible from most of the world, excluding North and South America (except for a small eastern portion of Brazil).

Saturn and Pluto's opposition to the Full Moon is inherently a challenge. The Cancerian Full Moon amplifies emotional sensitivity and vulnerability; it invites the expression of compassion and self-love. Yet, Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn emphasize pragmatism, stoicism, and constraint. Mercury's superior conjunction with the Sun also opposes the Moon, creating the potential for hopelessness projected into the future.

The cluster of planets in Capricorn can heighten self-doubt or the dwelling on failures and shortcomings. Historically, the Saturn/Pluto cycle coincides with what Richard Tarnas termed global "conservative empowerment," which seeks to pull back or restore things to some idealized, past state of safety or purity.

Longing for the past and fearing progress is a dead-end situation where new possibilities are no longer within reach. Indeed, real-life circumstances can catalyze such a situation, but sometimes such limitations exist exclusively in the mind. Whether real or imagined, the limitations confronted with this lunation can represent a breaking point that provides the motivation to find a way out or a new path forward.

Neptune's trine to the Full Moon can tempt evasion of responsibilities or escapism, but it can also offer inspiration and a renewed vision. Uranus' station alongside this eclipse adds an expected element as well as a restlessness with stagnant circumstances. While it may be tempting to make things harder or stay in a difficult place because its comfortable, this eclipse offers a different choice where self-loathing can be replaced with self-love.

The Moon in Cancer dominates the moment, empowering the heart and generating a more lucid awareness of what matters most. Anticipate some notable domestic or emotional shifts with this lunation. And when confronted with overbearing "voices of reason" or an overtly conservative landscape, trusting spontaneity or following your heart is the more unpopular and challenging choice. While some things might appear less fruitful at the moment, trust your heart and keep pushing on. There are potentials and creative solutions, even in the midst of an immense contraction.