The last full moon of 2023 arrives at 7:33 pm EST on Dec 26 in 4 degrees Cancer. The Sun in Capricorn shines a light on the past, stirring up emotions related to our sense of emotional security, as conditioned by society, our experiences and upbringing.
This energy illuminates the polarity between Cancer and Capricorn, asking us to find the balance between home and career, between our inner world and outer world, and to understand how the past shapes the foundations we build in our lives and build our personal legacy. In a harmonious aspect to Saturn & Jupiter, this energy has the potential to reveal the fruits of your labour, bringing about spiritual & material abundance. At the same time, some tension from Aries in Chiron draws out our core wounding related to the inner child and our ability to feel secure within the self, while Mercury retrograde, Mars & Neptune add a lack of clarity on what it means to live by our personal philosophies & beliefs. As this lunation draws 2023 to a close, this is a time to look at our achievements this year, perhaps redefining our idea of success and celebrating just how far we've come - breaking cycles & making our own way in this world.
Those with prominent cardinal energy around 4 degrees (Aries, Libra, Cancer, Capricorn) will feel this most. Find out if this is you by signing up to the Lunar Alchemy Collective, where you’ll get full access to this article and instructions on pulling up your chart & learning how the energy is affecting you.
Lessons in Capricorn vs Cancer Polarity
Most pop astrology will have you believe that Capricorns are obsessed with status, driven by ego and material gains, but this largely has to do with our society largely being constructed on patriarchal principles that hyper-focus on earthly achievements which Capricorns tend to be gifted at (possessions, accolades, status). Yes, less evolved Capricorn energy can be driven primarily by status & ego - because the sea goat’s job is to climb the highest peaks, BUT what is often missed is that it’s also its job to swim the deepest seas.
Just like any other pair of opposing signs, the highest expression of Capricorn energy only comes from being in touch with the highest expression of its opposite but complementary sign, Cancer (and vice versa). Represented by the crab, moving with the tides - Cancer is also able to traverse the realm of water & earth. In its shadow expression, the crab can be moody, being easily thrown about by emotional waves, retreating into its shell at any sign of discomfort. But in its high expression, the crab knows its greatest form of security, whether on land or in water - comes from the fact that it is its own home. By being rooted in its own self, and able to ride the highs & lows of the tide through intimate connection to its intuition, it can take whatever life throws at it.
When these two archetypes are in balance, this is where the highest expression of sea goat & crab energy arises - from becoming intimate with the water (emotion) AND earth (physical resources) elements. From being balanced in our relationship to this duality, we are able to detach from achieving solely for ego desires (material gains, status, etc), and create a legacy fueled by intuition, emotional intelligence and nurturing that will carry through generations.
The Capricorn and Cancer axis draw focus to our ancestral roots, conditioning, family and childhood experience - and how the past therefore creates the foundation for our future & our impact in the world. This lunation seeks balance between finding security within and seeking it outside of ourselves, and to understand how that shapes our ability to feel grounded through the growing pains required to step into our legacy. The right balance of the light aspects of Cancer and Capricorn allow us to develop emotional security within ourselves (Cancer), so that we are able to build foundations in our lives that support our evolution out in the world (Capricorn).