New Moon in Cancer

New Moon in Cancer, Wednesday June 29th at 3.52 am (BST)

A new moon takes place when the sun and moon are in alignment, with the moon between the earth and sun. This particular positioning – one which leaves the side of the moon that faces the earth in shadow – is called a conjunction or syzygy. This is one of the reasons we can’t see a new moon, and why it is often called a ‘dark moon’. The second reason that we can’t see a new moon is that it rises and sets around the same time as the sun; a rhythm which means that it is too close to the sun’s glare to be seen with the naked eye.

This new moon is in the cardinal water sign of Cancer: the sign it rules. It is powerfully at home here. Whenever we have a full or a new moon in Cancer, home is a key theme. The symbol of Cancer is the crab. And the crab – its own body; its own self – is its home. So, during this new moon our material homes may feel important (do we feel entirely comfortable in the physical space we have created for ourselves, for example?) but, because Cancerian energy is so highly emotional, intuitive and truth-telling, what holds more meaning for us here is an innate soul sense of home. This is both feeling at home – protected and safe – physically, emotionally and spiritually, but also having access to that place; to the core of home inside ourselves.

There’s nothing we really need to do with this energy other than just feel into it. Slow down and listen. The new moon in Cancer will provide the connection and the opening to this authentic, non-performative part of ourselves. This is about stripping back and tuning into ourselves. Into that heightened state of knowing. Into that sense of home.

The archetype associated with Cancer is the mother. Like any other archetype, there are multiple interpretations of it. These include: the personal maternal relationships we have in the world; our own inner-mother; mythological manifestations of the mother archetype and also our relationship with mother-earth (this list is not exhaustive). In his Essay Four Archetypes, C.G Jung says:

“The qualities associated with it are maternal solicitude and sympathy; the magic authority of the female; the wisdom and spiritual exaltation that transcend reason; any helpful instinct or impulse...all that cherishes and sustains, that fosters growth and fertility. The place of magical transformations and rebirth, together with the underworld and its inhabitants, are presided over by the mother.”

It’s important to note here that Jung’s is just one way of looking at the mother archetype, but the extract above is particularly pertinent to this new moon because of the way he describes – along with the nurturing, fertile and supportive qualities of the mother – the magical, alchemical and deeply spiritual attributes of this archetype. The moon also represents the feminine, and the new moon represents the unseen; the hidden. Jung’s “underworld”: a place of “magical transformations and rebirth”. This is the place we are being called to access within ourselves during this new moon.

This deep diving into the self is amplified by the conjunction between the sun and moon and Black Moon Lilith. Astronomically-speaking, Black Moon Lilith is not a celestial body but an apogee: the farthest point in the moon’s elliptical orbit from the earth. In Western astrology, she represents the wild and untamed parts of ourselves, and is often described as a divine feminine archetype (which we could also see as belonging to this mother archetype). Black Moon Lilith connects us to our primitive impulses, creativity and sexuality. Energetically, this conjunction is calling us to embrace those raw, untamed and potent parts of ourselves – parts we may have rejected or suppressed – and liberate them. Part of this process requires us to identify things we may feel shame around – recognise and name them – then release them.

This new moon in Cancer is also squaring Jupiter in Aries, eliciting a conversation between the hidden, internal world we have just been discussing and the external, in the world ‘I am’ of Aries. This aspect asks us to feel into the alignment of these two worlds. What have we outgrown? What behaviours are no longer is alignment with our true selves? What can we expand (Jupiter) into?

The Hermit crab (which is actually more closely related to certain types of lobsters than true crabs, but let’s go with the analogy anyway) do not stay in the same shell. When they outgrow a shell, they discard it and find one that fits. This Cancerian new moon is asking us to look at what no longer fits and expand beyond our comfort zone. When a Hermit crab does this, it makes itself vulnerable for a moment. This moon is inviting us to be OK with some temporary, expansive discomfiture.

How to work with the energy of this new moon? The sign of Cancer has an innate connection to the lunar tidal rhythm and to water in general. So, slowing down and tuning into our own rhythms, and to ourselves, is key. Working with water may really help us do this. This could take the form of a Wim Hof-style cold shower, a dip in the sea or a deliciously long hot bath. This is about reclaiming our power and owning our process; about embodying the divine within; about turning routine into ritual.

C.G Jung’s full essay: Four Archetypes: Mother, Rebirth, Spirit, Trickster can be found online here: https://www.sas.upenn.edu/~cavitch/pdf-library/Jung_MotherArchetype.pdf

Image credit: Jackson Hendry @actionjackson801 (Fantasy Canyon, Vernal, United States)

Lynsey Allett28 June 2022