New Moon in Cancer

The zodiacal, living image of Cancer is the watery home of the Moon. A place of deep emotional content where we hold memories of sentimental nostalgia as well as painful wounding; lunar patterning that draws and magnetizes us into resonant relational dynamics. Within the reflection of the water streaming through the landscape of Cancer, we catch glimpses of our essential nature and the changing face of our emerging psyche. The nonlinear aspect of memories, feelings, and the kind of lunar content stored by Cancer may make evoke rumination over past memories, yet the lunar cycle that follows the New Moon in Cancer on July 9 in fact contains extraordinary potential for making new memories that will enliven our passion for life and bring sustenance to our inner sense of soulfulness. The lunation brings an opportunity for a replenishing descent into inner realms of imagination that can bring both a regenerative resourcing as well as important guidance for the next steps to take along our evolving path forward.

The New Moon in Cancer is separating from an invigorating sextile aspect with Uranus in Taurus and is applying to a flowing trine with Neptune in Pisces as well as a cathartic opposition with Pluto in Capricorn. Notably, it is the first New Moon in Cancer since 23 June 2017 to not be a solar eclipse or have to face Saturn opposing it in the opposite sign of Capricorn. Since the Cancer New Moon is in harmonious relationship with Uranus in Taurus and out of aspect with Saturn in Aquarius, we can utilize the fertile darkness of the Moon being reanimated in her home to deepen into whatever dreams of future growth, love, and livelihood have been gestating within. The Full Moon in Aquarius on July 23 that will illuminate the meaning of the forthcoming lunar cycle will be in the sign of Saturn and so can facilitate grounding into whatever tangible, practical adjustments will be necessary in the cultivation of personal visions. As a result, the more we can sink into the depth of soulful meaning during the Cancer New Moon, coming into closer contact with what we wish to create and nurture in our lives, the better we will be able to navigate through the continued collective, societal rupturing that will be erupting in correspondence with the ongoing square aspect between Saturn and Uranus.

The ongoing square aspect between Uranus in Taurus and Saturn in Aquarius is the dominant theme of our present movement, yet it is only one movement in a much larger sweep of time that will have long reaching effects over the course of the next five years. The difficulty we can witness so many people around our planet experiencing in the midst of so many radical changes, the weight of history and the collapse of longstanding sources of societal security can all feel incredibly overwhelming with no way to know for sure which way the unknown future will unfold. Yet the New Moon in Cancer invites a return to more private and personal concerns, feeling into whatever vulnerable, unconscious material is calling to be noticed within. We can monitor inner feelings to see if we are reacting based upon the crystallized remnants of past patterns, or if we are instead being open to a new vitality of emergence full of unformed potential. The more we can claim our own sense of inner authority to create what we wish to develop with our life, the better we will be able to find our way forward through a period of history that will continue to be filled with great collective volatility.

The waxing Moon will form a conjunction with Venus and Mars in Leo on July 12, a day before Venus and Mars form a conjunction on July 13. Thus the darkness of the Cancer New Moon can help us listen to whatever messages Venus has to share as she brings her previous cycle with Mars that began on 24 August 2019 to an end. The union of Mars and Venus in the week following the lunation can revitalize passions and help nurture the courage needed to pursue meaningful visions and the dreams we hold dearly. While Mars supplies the burning desire to go after what we want, protect what we cherish, and separate from what may harm us, Venus in Leo will inject the radiance of our inner desires, values, and creative potential into their union. Following sunset each night, we will be able to witness Venus and Mars coming closer and closer to one another against the backdrop of the stars. Listen for the new meaning they are bringing into your life, welcoming whatever new sources of inspiration and creativity emerge.

Notably, Venus and Mars will be carrying messages gathered from the ongoing square between Saturn and Uranus into their union. In the week before the Cancer New Moon, Venus formed an opposition with Saturn in Aquarius on July 6 and a square aspect with Uranus in Taurus on July 8, after Mars had formed the same aspects in the previous week. As a result, there likely have been both fears and anxiety as well as excitement over inspiring passions stirred up recently by Venus and Mars mixing it up with Saturn and Uranus. However, while Venus and Mars have been testing our relationship with the boundaries of Saturn as well as the liberation of Uranus, there has been stronger synergy between Venus and Mars with Uranus in Taurus. Not only was the square between Venus and Uranus mediated by Venus receiving Uranus into her earthy sign of Taurus, Venus is also antiscia Uranus from July 9 through July 11. This brings the electrifying, emancipatory influence of Uranus into direct contact with Venus. Thus the liminal borders of Saturn in Aquarius will need to make space for the vivifying desires emanating from Venus, Mars, and Uranus, finding ways to slow things down enough to make wise choices rather than impulsively throwing all caution to the wind.

While Mercury and Jupiter are not forming as pivotal of aspects as Venus and Mars during the Cancer New Moon, their movement during the forthcoming lunar cycle will also be important to pay attention to. Mercury in Gemini has now moved beyond his retrograde shadow zone, finished his third and final square aspect with Neptune, and is moving fast as a Morning Star. Mercury will finally leave his airy home of Gemini that he has occupied since May 3 on July 11, two days after the New Moon in Cancer. After entering Cancer, Mercury will complete a flowing trine aspect with Jupiter in Pisces on July 12 that will bring a boost of underlying vision to support the new desires of creativity emanating from the union of Venus and Mars. Once in Cancer, Mercury will begin applying to a visionary sextile aspect with Uranus in Taurus that he will complete on July 20 a few days before the Full Moon in Aquarius. As a result, Mercury will be in a supportive position to help us make progress on whatever dreams we nurture during the New Moon in Cancer.

The New Moon is in the exaltation of Jupiter and initiates us into the final lunar cycle in which we can enjoy the presence of Jupiter in its oceanic home of Pisces until the very end of 2021. Following the Full Moon in Aquarius on July 23, Jupiter will move backwards into Aquarius on July 28 where he will return to address whatever issues we have been dealing with related to the transit of Saturn in Aquarius. Make space to reflect upon whatever new visions of growth have entered your life since Jupiter entered Pisces on May 13 and however Jupiter has been inspiring you to expand your vision beyond what you thought was previously possible to create with your life. While Jupiter’s return to Aquarius may call us to fine tune plans, problem solve and make necessary adjustments, whatever treasure Jupiter in Pisces has brought you into contact within the depth of its oceanic expanse deserve to be protected and cultivated. Once Jupiter returns to Pisces at the end of the year we will have renewed potential to bring them into fuller manifestation.

Cancer 2 Decan

The New Moon in Cancer is in the second decan of Cancer associated with the Three of Cups illustrated above by Pamela Colman Smith. The merry image of dancing women evokes the three graces and signifies harmonious collaborations of inspired thought and creativity.  Austin Coppock in his book on the decans 36 Faces ascribed the image of “a walled garden in which something precious is kept” to this face, adding an element not obvious from the above image:  the need of protection and nurturance in order to create an incubating space that can bring forth joy, beauty, and abundance.  With the New Moon in Cancer occurring in this decan just before Venus and Mars initiate a new cycle together, we will want to consider whatever we have been letting in as well as keeping out from our life with the barriers we have erected to protect whatever is most important to us. It’s likely we will need to restructure and renegotiate boundaries in order to cultivate the inner process of creativity and intimacy we desire. It will also be helpful to find ways of finding joy with others similar to the image of the Three of Cups as a way of navigating through the societal, collective rupturing that will be continuing to accelerate.

In comparison, the Hellenistic text Liber Hermetis, “Book of Hermes,” described the image of the second face of Cancer as having the body of a vulture with the face of the great goddess Isis wearing a crown. In part we can imagine how this image connects with the brilliantly bright fixed star Sirius which was associated with Isis and heralded the flooding of the Nile, as well as the significance of vulture goddesses within Egyptian cosmology. Vultures connect the upper wold with the underworld through the eating of the dead, and in the story of Isis searching for her dismembered lover and twin Osiris she also transformed into a Kite, a raptor which is also known to feed on the dead. Yet vital to the story of Isis and Osiris is the courageous passion of Isis to not only relentlessly search for her true love, but to bring it back from the dead through her magical reanimation. Similarly, we may use the space around the Cancer New Moon to notice what is passing away from our life and how the death of old issues or patterns may feed and nourish the new growth to come.

As we connect with the desires we wish to devote ourselves to as Venus and Mars unite in the days following the Cancer New Moon, we also will need to become aware of what sort of protective boundaries and containers will need to be created, strengthened, and developed in order to facilitate fruitful collaborations and exchanges. The cathartic experiences we may experience within the forthcoming lunar cycle hold the potential to break us free from ways in which we have become stagnant, releasing us from old patterns and initiating new ones in the process. Allow the essential heart of your true desires to guide your way forward step by step, even if there is uncertainty over how things will or could develop.

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References

Coppock, Austin. (2014). 36 Faces: The History, Astrology and Magic of the Decans. Three Hands Press.