With the Full Moon in its own sign of Cancer, we celebrate the annual winter "moon's moon." At home in its watery element, the lunar orb glows softly above the Earth in all her reflected radiance. Especially in the Northern hemisphere, the bare landscape starkly illuminates the pearl luminescence of this ancient Goddess of the skies. The black branches, snowy landscape, and brilliant stars in the cold night sky etch a dramatic setting against her jewel-like beauty.
The Sun in the paternal, earth-sign of Capricorn opposite the Moon in maternal Cancer evokes the ancestral archetypes within each of us. Peering deep within the universe in our psyches, we can see reflected there our own internal Sun and Moon, Mother and Father, Masculine and Feminine. Healing the split between these polarities - both within and without - is a lifelong work.
This message is reinforced by a conjunction between Chiron and Mercury - the Wounded Healer - in Capricorn. At 12 and 14 degrees respectively, these two bodies oppose the U.S. Sun at 13 Cancer. Poised to station direct on January 22nd, Mercury's influence is even more powerfully felt. His partnership with Chiron at this Full Moon imparts a healing message to the culture-at-large, reminding us of the suffering that marks the human condition.
So this Full Moon, it is perhaps more important than ever to carve out time for quiet contemplation. As you sit on the Earth, surrounded by the moonlit sky, immerse yourself in the waters of the Cancer Great Mother. Let your soul return to its original birthplace; ebb and flow on the currents of Her bountiful being. Feel nurtured by the depths of Her love; healed by the soothing ocean of light in which your spirit swims. As your modern-day persona falls away, connect once again to your true and ancient earth-nature. Digging deep into the waters of your innermost self, you feel centered in the timeless core of your eternal being. Conscious once again of your cosmic inheritance, experience the Moon, the Sun, the Stars, and the Universe as it spins and whirls on its cosmic wheel of time.
Healed of the split that has separated your from your truest self, feel filled with the light of wholeness. Then imagine that, like the Full Moon, you are pouring this light out upon those who may be suffering. Begin by calling to mind those you know who may have lost a loved one, or who may be struggling with an illness, who are lonely or depressed, or who have lost their job. Next, staying centered in the loving consciousness of the Great Mother, extend this healing light to the city you live in; then to your country. Widen your compassion even further, imagining the entire wounded world embraced in the arms of the Goddess. Feel the scars of war, poverty, and grief healed by Her presence.
Finally, close your meditation by placing your hands over your heart, encircling within your heart your love for the planet. Then bow to the Moon, ancestral Mother of the World.
(Look for the Aquarius New Moon February 1st, 2003.)
