2 January, 2018 – 02:23 UT

Discovering new ways of responding to the experience of life

The first full moon of 2018 is special, critical, complex, intense and revealing. It has the potential to give meaningful  releasing and awareness of how we respond to life, and operate the subconscious part of ourselves: as the Moon is in great proximity to the Earth (perigee), we reflect on the need to return to what represents our notion of emotional security on a personal or collective level. The Moon in Cancer expresses our self-protective instincts, the need to feel secure and care for our familial environment, our very own notion of “family” and its ties. It externalises the maternal archetype, the power of habit, what gives us a sense of emotional continuity, the relationship with our place of origin, what we call “home” and our very own “experiences”.

In this Full Moon, responsive mechanisms are fast, impulsive, and protective. The Sun from the sign of Capricorn speaks of self-will and choices that are motivated by realism, availability of resources and structures that support life. The Sun in Capricorn focuses on issues with seriousness and sense of responsibility. It honours ​form, and perceives symbolism, tracing the history of people and things as part of an evolutionary continuum. It centres the will in a mature and practical spirit while being motivated by a sense of duty. Any decision with the Sun in Capricorn has to do with what we see as viable, feasible, and judged by the rules and limitations of what this world is, in its most tangible, and accomplished form.  Moon in Cancer collects light from the Sun and aligns our need for security in an intuitive way, while attempting a reconciliation with practical decisions that must work within conditions and imperatives of reality. What has been recorded in our personal or collective subconscious as self-protection, nostalgic and caring behaviour, is externalised in its most dominant expression, as the Moon is in its domicile in Cancer.

Issues that this Full Moon highlights may revolve around “family”, the need to care for and to provide, to come in contact with memories, with our past, individually and collectively, to refer to our history, the relationship with our mother, maternal figures in our lives, our maternal responses, our connection with our place of origin, our homeland, our planet earth which nurtures all life, but also our intuition and imagination; what we instinctively perceive as rooting and sense of belonging, what nourishes, nurtures and carries what we carry as receptive beings. Our emotional reservoir of inherent experience is being activated. During the Full Moon phase we experience the peak of the current lunar cycle, the charged-up relationship between matters that demand balancing. The Full Moon chart marks a period of about two weeks that outlines the closure of the lunar cycle that began on December 18th in the sign of Sagittarius, that set a new intention in reference to new and less familiar fields of activity where we may discover, despite of any adverse conditions, new possibilities and aspects of ourselves, a new meaning. The positions and dialogue between the planets promotes a dimension of emotional response that connects personal experience  with the concept of social acceptance and the collective sphere of life. Truth, collective and personal, is our prime motivation in this current cycle, even when the effect of it is critical, penetrating or not so “easy to digest”. (Jupiter in Scorpio). If we wish to better support  life and sense of continuity, the Cancer / Capricorn polarity demands cultivation, rooting and investment of emotion and time. The power of every being, every task and every goal has to do with the care and nourishment of its roots and its source of origin. The sense of who we are and what we want is about where we come from and our subjective accumulation of experiences and not how others see us, our choices, or what is commonly perceived as “right” within our societal environment.

The chart of the Full Moon forms a Kite configuration, involving Mars and Jupiter in Scorpio (allowing some orb tolerance) and Neptune in Pisces. A Kite is a configuration that allows a significant release of energy to an otherwise self-contained Grand Trine configuration. In this case a Water Grand Trine is speaking about the existence of latent talents or abilities that depending on the environment or container that supports them can become fertile, synthesise  creative expression. The Moon in trine with Mars and Neptune cultivates and responds to inspiration, and increases sensibility in an active emotional coordination with others. The channelling of energy is finding outlet  through the Sun in proximity with Venus and Pluto in Capricorn (Earth element), offering the ground to form and actualise something. The sextiles with Mars – (Jupiter) and Neptune give opportunities to fertilize any act of creation, imagination, spirituality, compassion in any process that promotes an ideal, or enchants, illuminating the immediacy and fast response to being at one with another. Feelings and moods diffuse and merge into an energy  frequency that works coherently, with what and whom we come into contact with.

What unites, the potential for joy and pleasure may be hard to discern, clarify, or express itself within the usual context of life, as Venus is heading towards its superior  conjunction with the Sun (on January 10th) is combust, and Out of Bounds. It is more likely that we encounter the expression of enjoyment and pleasure, of people and things in alternate contexts or activities, or in connection to social happenings that carry an element of unfamiliarity. It is important to consciously inquire into this even if there are constrains or restrictions that seem obliging. The synodic cycle of Sun and Venus speaks of the way we value life, the love of life, and the possibility of joy in life. During the period that this Full Moon is active, we experience the condition of an important potentially transformative integration and the beginning of a new phase in the way we experience love and honour values, as on January the 10th, a triple conjunction of Sun-Venus-Pluto takes place at 19 degrees Capricorn. It is a cosmic moment where three cycles begin: A potential for a very radical change in relation to self-esteem, love, self-expression, sexuality, empowerment, that would provide fertile ground with the help of Jupiter and Mars in Scorpio in sextile to the tripple conjunction for promoting activities, expansion, and knowledge. In fact, Mars will activate the long term effects of Jupiter sextile Pluto aspect,  that perfects on January 16th, and will repeat twice more in 2018. (for more info on this aspect see Jupiter in Scorpio)

In proximity to Pluto, Sun brings to light obsessions, passions, drive, a tendency for control, but also an empowerment of the will and expression of the ego. An intense union occurs, that bridges the limits of the perceived with the unexplored ego; an impactful connection between the source of life and the sphere of the invisible. Are we in control of our will, how do we enforce it? It speaks about self-control, the radical transformation of life through intense experiences, the inexhaustible wealth of our talents, and the existential fears, that have to be processed internally to evolve and consciously overcome. It is a moment where we will potentially ask or realize issues that prevents us or do not allow us to live and love life; a moment that will give insight of the power we have to our disposal to claim something or someone. What is the value of social standards or stereotypes in our world. And what better outlook we gain of what is supportive and binding if we transcend those boundaries. Something comes to light, something dies and something is reborn at every synod a planet makes with Pluto.

An aspect of discovery and disclosure of data, that was not previously known acquires a sense of integration and crystallization by associating the personal with the collective, motivated by Saturn in Capricorn. Saturn is in the sign of Mars’s exaltation. Mars is in parallel with Jupiter. The symbolism personally and collectively places us in a process of alignment and clarification of the concepts of integrity, maturity and evaluation of the rightness of choice, but also to what extend we claim and act our truth.

In the chart of Full Moon there are three planets in domicile, the Moon in Cancer, Mars in Scorpio, and Saturn in Capricorn. When a planet is in it rulership sign, it expresses the issues it represents with confidence, does not need motivation, and keeps its promise. This gives autonomy, self-sufficiency and power in matters of security and care taking; strengthens instinct and intuition (Moon), desire activation and energy investment (Mars), commitment, discipline, and critical judgment (Saturn). Moon’s trine with Mars facilitates action through emotional response, defending needs, as well as assists a disengagement from situations. Mars is squaring the Moon’s Nodes which acts as a counterweight to the Kite configuration, bringing to the fore potential dilemmas about how to proceed with actions and energy investment, which may need to be clarified autonomously. It is an aspect that also helps to promote progressive actions in connection with others.

Uranus is stationing direct at 24 degrees Aries: a moment of acute tension and release of energy. The notion of freedom, disruption of established order, awakening, individuality, altruism, revolution, and overturning becomes more visible and conscious in the collective sphere. On a personal level, we may experience intense internal unrest, a need to do something subversive, and align ourselves with change. Uranus awakens and shocks, and if we are attuned with this energy  then we may feel prompted as the call to act differently, take a more alternate course of action and express our individuality is more acute. Unexpected events can disrupt our patterns of regularity, surprise or shock us. Whatever happens, it operates with the intention to awaken and liberate us to a different dimension of experience that will somewhat present some kind of release. Uranus is retrograde since August 3, 2017, and travelled the degree of its station, on April 16, 2017. This may have a more personal feel if you have natal planets placements or angular house cusps at 24 degrees Aries, and the above dates may unlock potent messages related to what may evolve.

This Super Full Moon is particularly creative and dynamic as most planets exchange data in dialogue with each other. It cultivates the ground to manage issues in resonance, to respond via intuitive or imaginative means, and promote change. We can discover the value of releasing another way to  approach experiences and stimuli in life, which can surprise  and expose precious aspects of our individuality.

In the collective sphere, the aspects highlight the need for political decision-making. Radical changes, and potential uprising or sudden events may surface. The need to find a way out in respect to social and political issues that have been lying dormant in a latent state will be evident. Matters of housing, shelter, natural resources, living conditions, national identity, real estate, national security and immigration trigger collective awareness. The cosmic atmosphere seems to reflect an engagement of the collective mood in bonding, solidarity, and creative empathy seeking release.

There is an absence of the Air element in the Full Moon chart. The focus is on action, emotion and what constitutes the material realm of life. It may be necessary to strengthen our own personal position and attitude for the next two weeks, to operate from our own centre as a point of reference. The mood for communication can be particularly intense to overcompensate for the lack of Air. The Moon in trine with Neptune disperses communication, and drives the emotional mind to respond to what captures and stimulates the imagination.

This Full Moon has a more personal feel for you:

If you are a Cancer Sun born between July 1-6, a Capricorn Sun born between December 31 –  January 4, an Aries Sun born between March 30 – April 3 and a  Libra Sun born between October 3-7, and / or if you have Ascendant and personal planets at 11 (+/ – 2) degrees of cardinal signs. It can potentially be a transformational full moon for those who have planets in Pisces, Cancer, Scorpio, or Capricorn at 10-20 degrees. You may also feel the energies of the Full Moon if you have planets or angular house cusps at 24 Aries, Libra, Capricorn, Cancer.

The influence of the full moon is active until the end of the lunar month (January 16th,2018).

I hope we all enjoy a wonderful glowing moon tonight, and as we welcome the Νew Υear to become more attentive to ways that fuel fertility and continuity in our lives by supporting decisions and relationships that foster emotional, mental, and physical balance.

© Eleni Kostika 2018

(In my analysis I give more emphasis to the applying aspects of the planets)

Photo by Melissa Askew on Unsplash