Cancer New Moon: June 28
The Sun and Moon square Jupiter in Aries at the New Moon at 7°23 Cancer at 10:52PM ET on June 28, creating a dynamic activation between our individual need for freedom and autonomy and the collective context we exist within. The Moon rules the cardinal water sign of Cancer, and presides over the tides of the ocean. The womb of life, from which all things gestated and emerged, and to which we shall all return. The ability to create life is a great power. It is one that people have long tried to control but birth is part of the great mystery. It is a process beyond anyone’s ability to fully comprehend or predict. It is no coincidence that we are in a battle to control the power of the womb during Cancer season. Our own personal freedoms and what we initiate is unfolding within the larger context of the USA Pluto return.
The USA is a Cancer Sun and turns 246 years old on July 4, 2022. This is significant because we are in the peak of our Pluto return, which is a transit that historically brings profound shifts for nation states. I wrote a lengthy treatment on Roe v Wade, the Venus retrograde cycles, and what has happened since Pluto entered Capricorn in 2008 on Patreon that you can access here. Mars in Aries is moving into a square with Pluto in Capricorn on July 1, bringing home (pun intended) the themes of the Pluto return at the Cancer New Moon. At this significant birthday for America, we’re in the process of deciding who we are and who we’re evolving into as a nation. Socially, we’ve been moving away from the Capricorn patriarchal rule of the father based on domination, but there are those who seek to take us back. The polarity of Capricorn draws us into the world of structure, laws, and authority. Pluto traps us in situations that we have to free ourselves from. Taking away people’s ability to access abortion will condemn many to death at worst, and terrible conditions of pregnancy and parenting at best. We do not have the power to choose the families we inherit, but we all have the right to choose the families we create. When the container we exist within has been corrupted, we can not thrive. Inherent in this lunation is the need to create a system in which we have the freedom of choice.
Cancer New Moon on June 28
On a personal level, the interplay of cardinal signs this Summer is creating an alchemical process between the fire of our spirit and the intimacy you truly crave. Jupiter in Aries has been encouraging us to create something new since early May. The Sun in the Moon’s home sign is concerned with getting our physical and emotional needs met. We seek security and to bond with those we care for during Cancer season. This month is a time to go where it's warm and people embrace you. Venus in Gemini is in a sextile with Jupiter at the Cancer New Moon, encouraging us to share how we feel, and get curious about other people’s experiences. Mercury in Gemini is sextiling Chiron, the wounded healer, who’s mythology is connected with early childhood abandonment.
The armor of the crab conceals the tender underbelly of our intimate selves we prefer not to reveal. We’re more in touch with the young part of us during Cancer season, which can trigger the subconscious fantasy of having the perfect homelife. Everyone needs protection and nourishment in order to thrive, both physically and emotionally. If we didn’t receive that kind of sustenance from our family of origin, it can create a deep feeling of deprivation, and a lifelong pattern around those issues. Cancer season encourages us to recognize these requirements within ourselves; to learn to differentiate between our needs and wants. We can become our own best caretakers by cradling and reparenting our inner child. Not by giving it everything it cries out for because babies are operating from instinct, and we’ve moved past that reactionary phase, but by staying curious and investigating where the deeper longing is coming from. The Sun will square Chiron on July 8, so the themes of yearning and belonging will continue next month.
The crab faces forward but moves sideways. Its strategy is not immediately clear. We can take this moment of great loss on a social justice level to grieve, mourn, feel, emote, and replenish ourselves. Then when we are ready, we can call upon the fire of Jupiter to step forward into the part we were born to play in this great unfolding. We won’t leave anyone behind. We’re all part of this human family and we all deserve the same protections and access to care. Those of us who are privileged enough to live in places where reproductive rights are protected can play our part in creating a safe harbor. A refuge for those who need it.
Cancer season invites you to let everything sink in slowly. Honor the process as it unfolds for you. Staying connected to the truth of your body will allow the wisdom to emerge when it's time to act. We will go back and we won’t give up. Something new will emerge from this cardinal moment. A different world is possible. We’re all part of birthing it into existence.