The first Full Moon of 2018 occurs right on New Year’s Day, in the highly sensitive and emotional sign of Cancer.   Cancer is the Moon’s own sign, and it is happiest there where its sentimentality and security needs can be best expressed.  The Cancerian Full Moon asks us to open our hearts and allow ourselves to be nurtured, and to find ways where we can both give and receive in greater balance.

This Full Moon is a Supermoon (© Richard Nolle) as it is nearing the closest point to the Earth in its normal orbit(perigee).  There are two Full Moons in January 2018, and both are Supermoons.  The Cancer Supermoon can be more intense emotionally, especially for individuals who tend to be more sensitive to lunar events.  Supermoons are often harbingers of intense weather and seismic events.  (The January 31 Supermoon will be in Leo and will have a more fiery quality, especially since it’s an eclipse as well.  More on that later!)

Full Moons signify a polarity – a need to balance oppositional forces.  Here the worldly Capricorn Sun opposes the delicate sensitivity of the Cancerian Moon, urging us to not lose sight of the tender heart that nourishes us while we focus on the Things That Must Be Done that Capricorn requires.  The heart connections that we enjoy with family and friends – our tribe, whether self-selected or the one we are thrust into – provide that nurturing that we need in order to function in the world.

The polarity balance in this Full Moon is heavily weighted towards Capricorn, with Venus and Pluto in Capricorn flanking the Sun.  The presence of Venus helps to soften the businesslike nature of Capricorn and infuses it with a sensitivity to our personal connections, and Pluto adds a quality of urgency and drama.

The New Year is often a time when we begin a new way of looking at our world, and this Full Moon helps us to tie together the various threads of our lives into a fabric that will embrace us and keep us connected throughout the year.

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