The cry for personal power is demanding to be heard, and this full moon in Cancer teaches us exactly that. The Full Moon in Cancer on January 18 urges us to make peace with our shadows and emotions, to release our fears and anxieties in order to be reborn and transform our lives in the best way possible.
January 18, 1:48am EST brings the first full moon of 2022, the special January moon that falls at 27 degrees in the sign of Cancer, a water sign ruled by the moon itself and associated with the emotional, the intuitive, deep feelings, and family.
Unlike the last full moon of 2021, which fell in the sign of Gemini, an air sign, and was in a lucky conjunction with Jupiter, propelling us to turn the page on the chapters of our lives and manifest our deepest desires and dreams, this full moon in Cancer comes with a different energy. It brings introspection and self-compassion that centers us toward ourselves and urges us to find a degree of emotional comfort high enough to feel at home wherever we are, perhaps even within our own minds and souls.
The first full moon of 2022 (in the sign of Cancer) turns the astral magnifying glass inward
There is another particularly strong astral aspect that intensifies the energy of this full moon. Pluto, the planet of death, rebirth and transformation (in mythology, Pluto is the god of the shadow underworld), creates an opposition to the full moon, but it also meets the all-powerful Sun on the celestial vault, creating an urge to let go of the darkness and free ourselves from things that burden our soul, all the worries, anxieties, fears and traumas of the past that still occasionally haunt our present.
Also, as the full moon in Cancer creates a trine aspect with Neptune, the planet of mystery, spirituality and imagination, we may “feel” certain energies or vibrations around us, have foreboding or guiding dreams about a long-awaited solution to a problem, be highly creative and imaginative, and our spirit may interact more easily with other worlds.
These astral circumstances occurring at the beginning of the year thus push us to find the inner strength to face all of these energies and let them flow into their own empty space, so that we can find our peace and tranquility in order to be reborn and make the necessary changes and transformations in our lives. Rekindling our life forces for the long term also means taking our power back into our own hands, and not allowing other people, limiting beliefs, thoughts, bits and pieces of the past to hold us back from realizing our potential.
The cry of the wolf is within us!
It is not a mere coincidence that the full moon in January is also called the “Wolf Moon” in Native American tradition in reference to the wolves that howl at the moon during this time in the middle of the cold, dark winter. While it was originally thought that the howling of wolves in the dead of night was a sign of hunger during the long, food-deprived periods of winter, today scientists believe that such vocalizations are used by these powerful animals to demarcate their territory, to locate various members of their packs, to strengthen their “social” bonds within the pack, and to coordinate their hunting process, in a word to ensure their own and others’ survival.
Like them, our cry must be liberating, connecting us to ourselves and to each other, coordinating our movements and actions, helping us to find ourselves so that we can find others. Even if at this time we don’t focus on those light aspects of our being, the dark parts and shadows of ourselves deserve the same attention in order to evolve.
This is a perfect time to become aware of what you need for a fulfilling and successful life. It’s a good time to see what you’re missing and find truth in the things your soul yearns for. It’s about sacrifice and finding your personal truth, about discovering your purpose and how it relates to the bigger picture and society as a whole.”