All is well that ends well. A full moon is upon us that offers comfort and closes last year’s events on a positive high. The new year, 2023, starts with a full moon in Cancer. A cardinal feminine full moon that closes a chapter, by initiating a new start in all things emotional and homely. The first full moon of 2023 is happening on 06 January, at 23:07 GMT, and it is taking place at 16 degrees and 22 minutes of Cancer. Themes of home, family and origins are illuminated, and issues around our own sense of belonging and presence are resolved. Or at least solutions, are appearing and becoming obvious out of nowhere. They are not necessarily backed up by logic and calculation, but by instinct and a sense of well-being that comes from the gut. In some way, we will feel saturated and nourished. We might not have everything, but we have what we need.
At the centre we have The Empress – the most feminine, most fertile, and almost certainly the most empowering representations of lunar qualities and states of being. In other words we are coming into our bodies. This is Cancerian, embodied power. The full moon in cancer brings about the type of well-being that is felt in ourselves and in our physical environment. It is not a concept or a lofty cause. At the same time of this full moon, planet of muscular force and god of combat is in retrograde motion. A retrograde Mars in Gemini sees our sense of movement channelled mostly towards retrospection and rethinking past actions.
Mars and Venus are working harmoniously together. Venus in a Saturn ruled sign is serious and has the support she needs to achieve her goals, and Mars is in no position to mess that up, or argue around details. On the contrary, is there helping with logistics from the immediate environment and a hands on attitude typical of Gemini. Therefore, The Empress stands with all her regalia in order. It shows we have the resources and the staying power to create from what we’ve got at hand. Our ambitions are enhanced with the Empress’s confidence because we are not being profligate and do not seek delusional outcomes. The Empress is abundant with a mature profile. She is a stable force in the real world. We do not need to look beyond our nearby tools and surrounding social circle because we have everything we need in order to care for ourselves and others. We just need to appreciate – literally and metaphorically – the value of what we possess and of what we can access. The Empress is both self caring and generous to others. The Empress is us.
Her powers are explained further by Temperance. She is pouring from one cup to another. We need to feel saturated, nourished, fulfilled, abundant in our selves before we can venture towards our goals, before helping others, before giving ourselves to others, before creating abundance for others. Temperance is reserved empowerment. This full moon, indeed, starts slow. The new year does not feel like the new year yet. There is still mulling over events, actions, feeling from earlier on. First there needs to be closure and culmination. Both Mercury and Mars are still in retrograde. Decision-making and action are looking backwards. Furthermore, Mars and Mercury, from Gemini and Capricorn, are squaring each-other. There’s no way around it, our actions do not align with our way of thinking, our goals do not match up our actions, our thoughts are conflicting, our drive is fragmented, our energy is drained. All this will go straight soon and align in a productive way.
It looks like the full moon in Cancer will help us towards this outcome through Temperance, the sense of moderation, integration and patience. Once again it is a reminder of consciously collecting our resources, gathering our forces, rather than dispersing or disregarding them. In everyday terms is a case of shopping from our wardrobe. It’s about creating delicious menus from what we have already in our fridge or what we can get from our local market. It is not about being grand or elevated, but the embodiment of being deeply fulfilled and joyful with ourselves and others. We can reorganise the furniture to create a beautiful environment to live in, we can reach out to our neighbours, old friends and relatives for conversation and inspiration. Find joy in crafts from our childhood. Look for solutions to today problems from past experiences.
The King of Swords is sitting and ruling comfortably, but keeps his sword upright. The winds of change are blowing, for better or for worse, with us or without. So whether we like it or not, change is coming our way and it will be swift and unforgiving. The mental plane will kick off with action imminently. Our intellect, rational and wordly knowledge is still there ready to take over as soon as we are ready. The King of Swords indicates the need for justice and restructuring in our lives, just as retrograde Mars and Mercury are working hard towards those goals through reviewing and retrospection. Once we’re done with the energies of the full moon in Cancer, we can move on decisively towards our most important goals in a natural way through new solutions, some times unexpectedly, in order to meet our challenges uplifted and rejuvenated, more polished and replenished.
Flavia