Potentials for rebirth: New Moon in Cancer

ENTER CANCER

As a sign, Cancer represents the archetypal mother: the intuitive bond between mother and child, their caring embrace, comforting and reassuring qualities are some of the highest qualities of the Cancerian energy. It also represents our physical home where we keep our memories. Just take a look at your house and the things you keep, you know. Cancer is also the body (where our soul lives), its widsom, intutition and instinct.

So the Cancer Moon can feel ultra personal and can be awkward for many of us because not all of our home (or body) is a safe space. And where we have Cancer in our chart is where we want to feel at home, nourished, and supported. And it also represents our messy, internal feelings, our memory of the past, and what we keep from others (or ourselves) as self-protection.

A new moon in Cancer invites us to honor our needs for care, protection, and nourishment. Diving in our desires for deep emotional and empathetic bonds, that makes us feel like family.

THIS NEW MOON

New Moon in 24˚ Cancer 56’ at 2:32 am HKT.

This new moon is packed with potential. It’s loud. The Sun and Moon in Cancer opposition to Pluto in Capricorn takes things up a notch by a thousand. You become painfully aware of what you’ve been avoiding consciously or unconsciously. We’re so used to distracting ourselves these days, it’s hard to know how we feel. But when Pluto is at your house, you would know.

So you feel activated. Or forced into dealing with a power dynamic, not by choice but by necessity because this time around, enough is enough. You have to take action because your safety is on the line.

And that’s not it. The strongest influence during this lunation is the challenging square to the Lunar Nodes, which is described by an astrologer, Reinhold Ebertin, as “a common twist of fate, shared by all humanity.” — We’re dealing with the collective karma here. It’s big. It’s hard to know now. Only time will tell how the collective fate will unfold as the Lunar Nodes continue on the signs of Aries-Libra the 18 months. But the activation of the cardinal cross is complex and overwhelming because so much energy is flooding in from all angles. We’re being pushed to plunge into crises related to personal activities, home, family, love and relationship, and professional or political commitments. Just the major dynamic of being human. No biggie.

But this new moon gets support from Neptune and Uranus. They help us connect to our spiritual and authentic selves to relieve some of the tension we feel from Pluto. It opens us up to our compassion and creative genius. It opens new paths less traveled, taking it or not is up to you.

Also on this chart:

Mercury square to Jupiter might hype up our thinking and be overly optimistic, misinterpreting the data because of exaggerated thinking — I’m the best or I’m the worst is the function of this aspect. Just let me tell you here: you’re probably in the middle. It’s easy to jump to conclusions. Take a break (like 48 hours) before you have to make an important decision. You know when we’re so activated and compulsive, the likelihood of making a wise decision is slim.

Meanwhile, Mars opposite Saturn: this has been building up since July 10, and it reaches a peak on Friday, July 21. Mars in Virgo is action with the organization: lists, structure, and details. Saturn in Pisces represents struggles to maintain boundaries, limits, or hope. It’s like treading water in an open sea with no shore in sight. How do you track progress? It seems impossible. But with this aspect, it’s less about getting fast, but perseverance. You will be surprised by how far you can go if you keep showing up.

Plus, Venus and Chiron are about to retrograde, just adding on the rawness and vulnerability in the backdrop. Everyone has been feeling this Venus retrograde so much already and it hasn’t even started. It goes retrograde on July 23. So from now until October 8, don’t make any irreversible decision like getting a tattoo.

Working with the New Moon in Cancer:

As you can see, a lot is going on. And you’re likely to be confronted by hard feelings of deep-seated shame (thanks, Pluto!) But it’s hard to sit with the unsettling shameful feelings.

So, we find ways to cope and distract ourselves which is okay too. As long as you know the reason for your distraction. But I encourage you to try sitting with them, even for just a minute because as my favorite astrologer Jessica Lanyadoo puts it: “You can’t heal what you can’t feel.” So allow your feelings to surface, and just take note. Under this new moon, you’re likely to want to act out or to solve a thing, but that’s when we’re taken out of our feelings. Sure, in some situations, you will have to do something. But most of the feeling is like realizing you have a belly button, it’s always been there, but when was the last time you pay attention? Idk. Do you have to do something about that? Probably not. But it’s part of you, and it was where you used to take nutrients. And that’s kind of cool. So, healing can happen (also, thanks Pluto!). Healing happens when we remember our wholeness.

“It's not because things are difficult that we dare not venture. It's because we dare not venture that they are difficult.” Seneca.

The symbol for Cancer is a crab. Have you seen a crab in their natural habitat? Crabs secure their homes regardless of the fluctuation in the tides, and surroundings. How can we find stability when we’re faced with ever-changing currents and emotions? The Sun and Moon together form a trine Neptune and sextile Uranus. It’s a spiritual transit to inspire us to ask — can we protect and shelter our feelings without hardening our hearts?

This is a time of major reset. A rebirth of some sort, but it isn’t what you think. It isn’t about throwing ourselves away and becoming something better. It’s making a home within ourselves, right now, just as we are.