Let Your Heart Be Heard: New Moon in Cancer 2015

NASA's New Horizons mission revealed that Pluto has a heart. Acrylic painting by Jeremy Britz of Saskatoon, Canada, 2015. Visit Jeremy's Etsy shop here.

New Moon @ 23 Cancer 14'

July 15, 2015

9:24 PM Eastern

6:24 PM Pacific

I often attempt to validate and encourage those with big hearts and heightened sensitivity to honor that part of themselves—to find some sense of pride for the way they are. To move through life and maintain an open heart and empathy for a world that can be so cruel and unyielding is a great accomplishment. For most human beings, empathy is a gift, but a gift that comes with a price. The price of empathy is the inevitability of encountering overwhelming emotional pain and heartache. People will disappoint other people. People will betray those they love. This is human nature. And when we’re sensitive—when we’re open and receptive to the feelings of others and our environment, we’re more vulnerable to the pain that comes from social rejection.

Evolution designed us as social creatures. We crave acceptance and social approval. Without it, we don’t have the confidence or trust in life to move forward. When we’re abandoned or ignored by others, our bodies (via the limbic system) create a sensation equal to physical pain. It’s designed to compel us to do everything we can to gain the approval of the clan or those we love. Cancer symbolizes that part of the psyche that seeks to form deeply committed bonds of a tribal nature. That certainly fits the archetype of family, but Cancerian bonds are more than blood related. Friends can certainly take on the role of family for many. The Cancerian instinct is to protect, nurture, nourish. and heal. And Cancer feels deeply—sometimes too deeply for those it loves and cares for.

Anyone with a strong Cancerian, Lunar, or fourth house nature will understand this. They are sensitive creatures, more than other people. Of course, we all have Cancer in our horoscopes, but those particularly wired for it come into this life with the intention of cultivating and employing their sensitivity as a gift to the world and to those they find themselves closest to. While social approval is hardwired into us from birth, and deeply embedded in our DNA, it can also work to our detriment. In our complex, modern society, where individuation is honored above all else, we often find ourselves pitted against the contradictory desires of social approval and honoring our own individuality.

Also—there are those human beings that are actually devoid of empathy. Believe it or not, they exist. While a minority, they have the capacity to use our empathy against us. I often say that nobody can actually hurt you emotionally unless they consciously (or unconsciously) intend to. Most of the time, we are hurt because our projections and ideals are shattered by the reality of a situation. We finally see someone for who they really are. The pain we experience is the grieving and loss of the expectation that we projected onto that person. But we also can’t control our feelings. We can’t stop ourselves from loving someone when it happens. We’re human and we’re vulnerable to human emotions.

With Uranus square this Cancerian New Moon, you may sense the tension that exists between the desire to fit in and gain acceptance and the equally powerful desire to follow your own path and be true to yourself. Consider this a beginning point, as opposed to the culmination of a process you must master. In love type relationships, this is the hardest, especially in the beginning stages. We want so badly to be loved by the one we have fallen for—and we fall into the trap of projecting an image that isn’t who we really are. Eventually, we must face the reality that we are projecting a lie.

And yet, we’re back to the essential truth that we are social creatures. To become a part of a community requires some compromise. The tension embedded into this New Moon affords you the opportunity to find a way to fit in without losing yourself, too. That might take some trial and error, but the effort will be worth it. The problem with many revolutionary movements is that they seem to miss this essential point: that we must integrate change into the community in a gradual way if we wish to see things shift on a societal level. If we use too much force, we risk creating irreparable damage and pain. Uranian energy, especially in Aries, is forceful and dynamic—like a seething volcano. Be mindful of this potential and be gentle.

Mercury and Mars in Cancer form an opposition to Pluto in Capricorn alongside this New Moon. You may want to consider the power of authentic emotional communication—consider how that power can clarify as well as deeply hurt someone in its impact. You must be cautious here. If you use too much force you risk creating some damage, and with not enough force, and you risk leaving yourself fully unheard. When in doubt, speak from your heart. In fact, consider that this New Moon allows your heart to be heard and hopefully acknowledged. Say what you need to say, but be mindful of those denser, primal energies that may come pouring through as well. The emotional realms of Cancer, a water sign, are often choppy waters.

Find your center of balance and find the hearth within. When you find that place, and you feel safe there, you can speak from a place of authenticity and confidence. Facing the truth of ourselves and those we love can be one of the hardest things we do, but living a life of delusion can be just as painful too, especially when the walls of our imaginary world eventually come crashing down. It’s often said that to incarnate on Earth in a human body, with human feelings, is one of the most difficult tasks to undertake for any being traveling through the universe. The spectrum of human emotion is so diverse and intense, that apparently, not many choose to experience it. I don’t know if this is true, but it often feels that to simply get through life, with your heart open, is one of the greatest accomplishments in the cosmos.

Stay strong and keep on loving. 

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