28 Cancer on Tuesday July 21 – 3.32 am Brisbane and Monday July 20 – 6.32pm London, 1.32pm Eastern, 10.32am Pacific
This is the first Cancer New Moon since 2017 that is free of the entanglement of eclipses, and it’s like a deep inhale after resurfacing from a diving the ocean floor. This part of our chart has seen so much action in recent years, and now Mercury has finished it’s retrograde here, the light at the end of the tunnel is approaching. We’re returning to the usual joy of these New Moons in the Moon’s own sign of Cancer, with nurture, comfort and connection back on the menu.
This New Moon is happening at the end of Cancer, in the territory of the recent Pluto and Jupiter conjunction, and right opposite Saturn in Capricorn. So there’s a little way to go, but with the end in sight there’s a renewed vigour in your step and you’re able to easily plan the last steps. You know you’re not out of the tunnel quite yet, but relief is in sight and it’s almost time to drop that heavy burden you’ve been carrying. A new calm floods through and your steps strengthen as you stride towards the end. It’s time to bring a new focus to this area, to start rebuilding what was torn down, or build new connections in the space where old ones departed.
“True kinship takes a warm heart. In essence, it is about being together, deeply honestly. We talk about love, but we forget that it is something we give rather than get: a way of being”. -Ilse Crawford
A book on the Danish art of “hygge” (prounced hoo-gah) literally leapt off the shelf at me at my local library right as this Cancer season began. When I read about hygge, it’s Cancerian themes struck me, the primal nature of this sign that links to core components of being human – belonging, trust, connection, community, kinship, security, home, contentment and love. To hygge is to create an inclusive circle of warmth, to share good feelings with others in small, intimate settings. A warm fire, good company, sharing simple nourishing food and other comforts like tea and cake or a warm conversation – all so very Cancerian. Reading this book was like experiencing a warm hug, especially as I considered the possibilities such a society could create. Equality, acceptance, and humanity to name a few. I’m not surprised that Danish society is one of the happiest in the world, and has high standards of living across the spectrum.
Like the ying-yang symbol of Cancer, hygge is also about polarities, as the ebb and flow of life happens and needs change. Individual versus communal belonging, protection versus vulnerability, the future versus the past. So there are a few core ideas I’d like to reflect on for this New Moon, and I hope to invite you into the same space.
Belonging
Who do I belong to? What do I belong to? Who am I in the context of we?
I’ve opened up the importance of belonging to self in the past, and yet it is only one side of the coin. Hygge explores interiority, the idea of being an individual within a community context, that one cannot exist without the other. During the last few years, this has come up time and again, what is the individual’s right against our responsibilities to our community. Our Western society focuses so much on the individual that we tend to forget we cannot live without communal connections and the circles we belong to. COVID-19 has highlighted this even more, especially now. Are we staying at home for ourselves, or for the safety of society? When do our rights take precedence over the needs of our community?
I’d also say, be cautious of what you do belong to, and the depth of your connections. “Us versus them” is causing so much strife in the world right now, and when you take your connections to the highest levels (universe, humanity) then these issues not longer fit.
Shelter
Building shelter to creating an environment for growth is a key driver of Cancer. Like a greenhouse protects a seedling from the elements while still allowing the diffused light and warmth of the sun, think about what you’d like to shelter in the month ahead. Depending on what house Cancer falls in, you may like to explore what requires nurturing right now, or where you can pour some nourishment. Where can you create containment, to offer shelter and safety to whatever you wish to grow? Who are your safe people, the ones you find comfort and connection with?
Protection versus vulnerability
Our primal, instinctual brain (limbic) is geared to avoid pain at any cost, part of our inbuilt protection mechanisms. This keeps you in your warm home during a snowstorm, and stops you from stepping outside your comfort zone. Yet it’s in stepping out of your comfort and into your vulnerability that true growth lies. The more developed part of your brain (prefrontal cortex) recognises encourages you to reason beyond these fear-based blocks, to plan and problem solve so you can face the pain and embrace the challenges, knowing growth and development are the rewards. With this New Moon opposite Saturn, you have an opportunity to examine your fears and see if they are reasonable. Can you move beyond them? Will the pain be worth the effort? Like a rock against an ocean surge, Saturn’s discipline offers the strength and tenacity to be in a vulnerable space, to stay reasoned in the face of overwhelming emotions that threaten to pull us underneath.
If you’d like to read more about hygge (pronounced hoo-gah), here is the sweet book I discovered, but there are plenty more out there. And you can access my Cancer New Moon Magic workshop here if you’d like to work more deeply with this Moon’s gentle, sensitive energy.