Full Moon in Cancer

There’s a very special Full Moon on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in 2015. Full Moons are always an opposition between the Sun and Moon. The Sun is only a few degrees into Capricorn, and the Full Moon is at 3° Cancer.

Any Full Moon that occurs from December 21 to January 20 is in Cancer, the sign ruled by the Moon. Cancer is a cardinal sign associated with the element of water. People born under this sign have the capacity to be energetic and enjoy travelling (the crab wears its home on its back). Just as the Moon visits her home once a month, people with strong Cancerian influences at birth often have jobs or lifestyles that involve a lot of travel and movement.

Some astrology guides suggest that Cancer is the most domestic sign. While it is true that Cancers love their families (people), people born under Taurus love their homes the most (property). Cancerians fare best when they have a solid personal foundation of relationships at home and at work. Water signs enjoy having a wide range of acquaintances and friends. A surprising number of people with a Cancer Sun or Cancer Ascendant work in real estate or home security businesses. The cardinal nature of the sign also inspires plenty of Cancer natives to start their own businesses or obtain jobs where they can work independently.

Security and stability are Cancerian themes. This merges strong emotional bonds with a comfortable lifestyle that’s resistant to external upheavals. Ancient astrologers associated the Moon with intellect and personality. 19^th and 20^th century psychological astrologers shifted the Moon’s meaning to emotions, dreams, the subconscious, the mother and women. Most cultural mythologies regard the Moon as a female deity, although a few personified it a male consort to Mother Earth. The Moon’s influence is so strong that there’s a technique of using the Moon as an alternate ascendant. In Hindu astrology this is called “Chandra Lagna.” The Moon is almost always associated with the High Priestess card in the tarot. This card is linked with wisdom, hidden knowledge, intuitive abilities, and the ebb and flow of events. It symbolizes the three “N’s” – nuns, nurses, and nannies; care-taking roles historically occupied by single women.

The Full Moon in Cancer rarely coincides so precisely with the Christmas holiday, but it always symbolizes what humans focus on during this season – family, feasting, home, and revitalized emotional bonds. It signals the start of the winter season when people are mostly indoors working on quiet projects.

The planetary aspects that accompany this Full Moon add to the positive energy. Mercury, Venus and Jupiter are tied together by a trine and two sextiles. These are good, abundance-giving planets with good exchange-facilitating aspects. The planets are in Capricorn, Scorpio, and Virgo (respectively), earth and water signs. This combination enhances emotional and material benefits that are increased by the Full Moon’s energy. Water signs promote a good flow from person to person, while earth signs represent physical and material goods that include foodstuffs, material items, or money.

Christmas 2015 has the potential to be a superb holiday, an orgy of eating, drinking and gift exchanges. Everyone benefits from this fine combination of planetary activity. People born under water and earth signs may feel the emotional peak of the Cancerian Full Moon more keenly. Fire and air sign people will tend to experience this Full Moon as a high point of social activity, traveling, and interpersonal exchanges through conversations, messages, calls, and visits.