2007 was ushered in by a Waxing Moon in Gemini. Tomorrow, we'll have the first Full Moon of the new year in the emotional sign of Cancer.

Cancer - The 4th © 2006-2007 The Zodiac Club at deviantART

When the Moon is in Cancer it is a time of intense emotions and great sensitivity, with people responding to life through emotions rather than reason. During this very vulnerable period be cautious not to emotionally wound others or allow yourself to be wounded. The holidays can be an emotional and stressful time for people, for a multitude of reasons. This week, as all of that holiday excitement winds down, be gentle with yourself and those around you. Use Cancer's nurturing influence to do something nice for yourself or for someone for whom the holidays may have been a difficult rather than a happy time.

I'm growing increasingly fond of the way that Cafe Astrology shows us how to balance the energies of the Full Moon with those of the Sun:

On Wednesday morning, the Moon is full, as the Cancer Moon exactly opposes the Capricorn Sun. The Cancer-Capricorn polarity deals with the balance between the private life, domesticity, the need for a home base, and nurturance (represented by Cancer) versus the public life, career, reputation, and accountability (represented by Capricorn). Attachments and love are ruled by Cancer, while achievements and rewards/punishments are ruled by Capricorn. In some ways, this polarity deals with the balance between unconditional love and conditional love. The Cancer Moon encourages us to value our home base and our roots, while Capricorn persuades us to consider our sense of duty and responsibility along public lines. While Cancer may be content to be dependent, Capricorn urges us to be grown-up and responsible. Neglecting either end of the axis will surely backfire on us. Ideally, a balance should be found between the two energies, and this is what the Full Moon invites us to do. This Full Moon is about balancing our commitment to our career and families. Something has been building inside of us, and now is the time when the energy of the cosmos fairly demands that we let it out. Over the next two weeks, we will discover what this means for us. For now, we can't sit on our feelings. We need to express them.

For many people I know, something indeed has been building, glimpsed at Samhain and percolating and taking form during Scorpio's influence over the darkness between Samhain and Yule, intense and frightening at times but pointing to some major changes to come in the new year. We've been waiting for this chance to express our feelings; the energy of the first Full Moon of the year can help us to manifest the change we've been making ourselves ready for.

The January Full Moon is known as the Moon After Yule, Old Moon, and Wolf Moon. The Celts saw the January Full Moon as the Moon of Inception; the Moon of Beginning. They associated this moon with the Birch tree and used its energy for purification and protection of children.

Spellwork

The Full Moon is one of the most powerful times for magickal work. While the Moon is still in its Waxing phase, moving toward the moment of complete fullness at 8:57 am EST, it is an ideal time for magick designed for increase, calling something to you, or creating something new in your life. Any spells worked between now and tomorrow morning will enjoy particularly strong support from this Cancer Full Moon energy; the closer you get to 8:57 am the stronger the energy will be. One thing to keep in mind is that at the moment the Moon reaches its fullest point, it will turn void-of-course until it moves into Leo at 4:14 pm EST on Thursday, at which point it will be in a Waxing phase. Many witches believe that you shouldn't perform any magick while the moon is void-of-course. If you want to use the strength of the Full Moon to work decrease or banishing spells, you may want to wait until Thursday afternoon to do your work. The energy of the Full Moon will still be strong enough to aid you at that time.

With the Moon in Cancer, its ruler, lunar influences are at their strongest and are easily expressed when focused through Cancer. The Moon greatly influences the personality, the subconscious, emotions and instinctual behavior. The Moon in Cancer pinpoints need, supports growth and nurturance. Trying to find a way to word your spells in the context of Cancer's influence will help to make them stronger. One thing is certain, using Cancer's energy is an excellent way to help you intuit what it is that you truly need and to ensure that what you are working to manifest at this time is for your highest good.

Correspondences

Some common correspondences with Cancer and the January Full Moon are listed below.

For Cancer:

Ruler: Moon
Colors: silver, lavendar
Stones: beryl, moonstone, pearl

For the January Full Moon:

The energy of the January Full Moon may feel sluggish and below the surface. It is a time of beginning and conceiving. It is a good time for protection or reversing spells. Use it to conserve your own energy by working on personal problems that involve no one else. It is a good time to get the various parts of yourself to work smoothly together for the same goals.

The Full Moon is symbolized by The Mother, growth, fulfillment, sexuality, maturation, nurturing, love.

Deities: Freya, Inanna, Sarasvati, Hera, Ch'ang-O, Sinn
Nature Spirits: gnomes, brownies
Herbs: marjoram, holy thistle, nuts and cones
Colors: brilliant white, blue-violet, black
Flowers: snowdrop, crocus
Scents: musk, mimosa
Stones: garnet, onyx, jet, chrysoprase
Trees: birch
Animals: fox, coyote
Birds: pheasant, blue jay

Posted by Angela-Eloise at 12:21 PM