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The first full Moon of 2023 greets us in the waters of Cancer. Full Moons provide a catalyst for us to feel—and feel deeply. They create storms in our world with their whirlwind of frequencies. They bring a certain intensity that can stir up emotions often buried deep below the surface of our beings. Once the storm clears, so do old feelings and past regrets. The full Moon allows us to rewrite our stories and clear the way for new truths to emerge.
The full Moon on January 6th, 2023, amplifies what already exists. Whatever emotions we already have in our fields, the full Moon exaggerates them. If we are holding on to anger or sadness, the full Moon causes us to feel those emotions to a greater degree by briefly shining a light on them so you can transform them and yourself. The full Moon also amplifies happiness and gratitude.
As you feel these emotions on the full Moon, remember they are temporary. The Moon briefly shines a light on them so you can transform them as well as yourself. It’s up to you to take this opportunity to create the changes in your life that your energy craves and to appreciate and acknowledge the gifts you have been given. The gifts of each full Moon, though, don’t always come easily.
What the full Moon in Cancer means for you
Cancer is the sign of the great Mother and teaches us to mother ourselves. Cancer assures us that just because our feelings sometimes seem to make no sense, they are still valid. They still affect us deeply, and they still can teach us something about ourselves. How we feel in a given situation can give us answers more quickly and accurately than any thought process or algorithm.
This process starts with sitting with your feelings and having a conversation with them. What do they need? What do you need to feel supported? One key piece about working with Cancer’s energy is to have the confidence to ask for what you need. Often, we fear asking for what we need from ourselves or others because we don’t expect to receive it.
We have been taught in many ways to ignore our feelings and our needs. We have been taught to settle. We simply accept what life hands us or what others give us. This Moon is a time to stand up and ask for what you need to feel supported, held, and seen.
If you could make one emotion your home, which one would it be? Cancer is the sign of the home. It reminds us that our home takes many forms. It can be a physical shelter, but it can also be a vibration we live within each day. It can be—and is—a feeling. We always know when something, or someone, feels like home. It feels right to the heart. It feels aligned with the soul. And it feels supportive. It answers one of our needs and lets us feel seen and held.
With this full Moon, there is also an air of new beginnings, which typically belongs to a new Moon. Think about your intentions for the new year. How do you want to feel this year? Remember, Cancer is all about feeling. Cancer is not a logical sign. It does not care about lists of pros and cons. It has no use for thought exercises. It highlights our feelings, which sometimes make no sense at all—and that’s okay.
By sitting and honoring your emotions, you open the doorway for your intuition. As you ask your heart what it needs or ask yourself what feels like home, your intuition will answer. Intuition is a feeling. It’s not from the logical side of our beings. When we suppress emotions, we suppress our intuition. When we give our feelings space, we give our intuition space to be heard. Once you provide your intuition a pathway to be heard, it can guide you in making any decision.
Once you feel in touch with your emotions, needs, and intuition, focus on what you need to release this Moon to help you stay in this place. What blocks you from feeling? What distracts you from your true needs? And what suppresses and causes you to ignore your intuition? Also, what makes you feel unsupported in your life? Commit to releasing the things, energies, and even people who do not support your needs or emotions. Commit to releasing anything that doesn’t feel like home to your whole being.
Some of the release work on the Cancer full Moon can feel like tough love. This is where the archetypal mother pattern can come into play. We may not want to release or say goodbye to some of these energies, but we know we need to in order to thrive. We can often become addicted to things that aren’t good for our growth or soul development. Distractions can take many forms, and they can bring us immediate relief from an aching heart.
Cancer’s energy teaches us that it’s always best for our evolution to address our feelings instead of running from them. That’s not always easy, though. Nor is releasing the things that help us avoid that. It’s also not easy to let go of unsupportive things in our lives. We are creatures of habit and often choose the familiar road because it is comfortable. It’s important to distinguish between what feels familiar and what feels like home. They are not always the same.
This full Moon is a gentle reminder to ask yourself what you need this year and to be ready for an honest answer.
The full Moon in Cancer and the Sun in Capricorn
The Cancer full Moon greets us in the midst of Capricorn season, bringing both of these energies into our lives on this day. Cancer and Capricorn oppose each other in the sky and bring up many conflicting energies within our own vibration. These energies do share some similarities, though, that can help us make decisions that put our hearts first while aligning us with our soul’s mission.
Cancer rules the fourth house of the home and governs all things related to our subjective world. We also find our intimate connections in the fourth house, including those with our family and soul family. It is here that we find our long-term commitments and bonds—the kind that cannot be severed without resulting in trauma. The most exemplary commitment of this type is the mother-infant bond. This connection is lifelong and often does not feel like a choice. The same goes for the sibling bond.
Then there is the type of familial bonds that are a choice. These are friends who become family because we develop strong attachments. These are people we share our inner world with and trust enough to reveal our deeper selves. This is a best friend who feels like a sister, or a mentor who takes on the role of a father figure. This is our soul family. Cancer rules all of these connections and teaches us about commitments on this level—the lifelong level.
Capricorn rules the tenth house, which governs our commitments to the outside world. This is where we find our careers, our life’s work, and our reputation. It’s often what we present to the world from the inner self. It’s what we let people who are not our family see.
Capricorn teaches us to find our lifelong passion or mission and commit ourselves to it. This commitment can change, though. It’s also a choice. We can experiment with different careers or hobbies throughout our lives. We can try on various ways to present ourselves to the world. Capricorn reminds us that we each have a mission this lifetime, and that it may not feel like a choice. It often nags at us until we find some way to express it and fulfill it.
How we fulfill this mission, though, can change. It is fluid and can cause us to start new careers or change commitments until we find the right fit for the soul. Once we’ve found the thing that gives purpose and meaning to life, we tend to make a lifelong commitment to it. We give it the precious connection known inherently to the Fourth house.
How to navigate the full Moon in Cancer
In working with this full Moon in Cancer, look at your commitments and responsibilities. This Moon is an opportunity to release the lower frequencies and, along with them, those commitments that no longer serve you.
The low side of Cancer can show up in our lives in a variety of ways. The lower frequencies of Cancer cause us to forget about our commitments to ourselves. Instead of prioritizing self-care, we put other people and things at the top of our to-do lists. We don’t hold space for our own soul replenishment.
By ignoring ourselves, we also ignore our emotions. We forget to listen to our hearts and instead look for answers outside ourselves. We may start feeling anger or resentment toward people in our lives because we don’t have time to take care of ourselves. We may also look to others for guidance when our intuition holds the answer if we would just give ourselves space to listen to it.
The lower vibrations of Cancer can also cause us to overplan our lives or even overschedule ourselves. There is a certain anxiety that comes with this low side that causes us to fill up all of our free time, leaving no room to just be. We constantly deplete our energy, not leaving any pathway to restoration and nourishment.
The low side of Capricorn can also include a lot of overplanning and a full calendar. This lower frequency causes us to prioritize things like success, fame, and external acknowledgment over fulfilling our soul’s mission. We may ignore signs or messages from ourselves in search of what we think is power in this world.
The low side of Capricorn fools us into thinking power comes from others and is given to us after we achieve something. Real power, though, comes from our internal world. It is generated when we listen to ourselves, let our hearts open, and walk boldly on the path of the soul.
The lower frequencies of both Cancer and Capricorn feel like burnout on every level. They show up as emotional, physical, and mental burnout. These lower vibrations cause us to feel depleted and lose enjoyment in things that once brought us life. They make us resent our lives and the choices that brought us here. They also make us emotionally numb or, conversely, too emotional. One day we may feel overwhelmed by emotion, not knowing where the feelings are coming from, while another day, we may feel nothing at all.
This full Moon is an opportunity to restore your spirit and heal any burnout caused by the lower vibrations of Cancer and Capricorn. Much of this healing comes down to deciding your priorities and commitments. Cancer’s energy in its highest side teaches you to prioritize yourself and your emotions. It asks you to commit your energy to your healing, heart, and soul growth. Align with the water energy of this Moon to replenish yourself and remember your responsibility to yourself.
Capricorn in its highest energy teaches you to prioritize things that feed your soul’s mission. This shows up as commitments to projects, people, and tasks that align with your purpose this lifetime. They may not pay the most or give the societal standard of success, but they feel aligned with the reason you are here this lifetime. Finding these things can take time and experimentation, but when you do find them, they will feel like home. Open yourself to the notion that your career can feel like home. Your daily tasks and engagements can feel like home. Your to-do list can bring you back to yourself if it is aligned with who you are.
When you live your life at the highest vibration of Capricorn and Cancer, everything you do feels replenishing and gives you energy. This includes your work, your time away, your relationships, and all of your commitments. Your work-life balance becomes an integrated space where everything you do feeds your heart and soul. There is space to hear your emotions and time to align with work that feels like your soul’s mission. Your life energizes and excites you. Most importantly, your intuition is front and center in your consciousness, leading the way.
You have the power to decide what and who enters your space. Align with this full Moon to curate your home frequency and the energies that get to influence you. Invite in those that give you what you need, and limit those that do not support you in feeling the way you want to feel. You may need to make some challenging choices, but the Moon is here to help you. Feel the possibility of living a life that embodies the higher sides of Capricorn and Cancer.
Your invitation
Emotions and intuition are especially heightened on this full Moon, and it can feel like a roller coaster as we ride the waves of energy it brings. It’s important to give yourself space and time to feel. Gift yourself moments of silence when you can process and allow your feelings to come up. It can be easy to ignore or suppress your emotions. Now, though, is the time to settle your energy, honor yourself, and give yourself the attention you deserve.
Throughout this full Moon, challenge yourself to say goodbye to energies no longer serving you and to what doesn’t feel like home. Decide what to release and instead say yes to what makes you feel held and supported. Sit with yourself this Moon and let it replenish you, and then let it excite you about the possibility of a life you love unfolding this next year. A life that feels like home in every way.
Learn more about the full Moon, including additional astrological insights and journaling prompts, in the Cancer Full Moon Workbook, from which the above is excerpted.
About our contributor
Jill Wintersteen is the founder of Spirit Daughter, a lifestyle brand devoted to helping you live your best life through understanding the energy of the Universe. She also writes workbooks on each full Moon as well as other astrological events. Follow her on Instagram @spiritdaughter.
This content was originally published here.
