New Moon in Cancer: Embarking on the journey toward belonging

A new sense of hope is emerging and our perspectives are shifting this week. Today’s New Moon in Cancer is opening us up to the possibilities that can arise when we become more emotionally secure in ourselves and with others. There’s a lot going on right now and quite frankly it’s taking a toll on our nervous systems. There’s a lot of new and even unimaginable things that are becoming real and we’re doing the best we can to keep up and adapt with this rapid pace of change. This is happening within us as much as it’s happening out in the world.

This New Moon is important because it’s sitting in the sky with Jupiter at the early degrees of Cancer. This means that we’re at the beginning of an expansive journey guided by the emotional draw toward belonging and security. However, you can’t begin exploring something new when you already have a preconceived idea of what the outcome should be. A sense of trust needs to be developed, a trust that is rooted in our sincere yearning for love. When we nourish our ability to give and receive compassion, the old guard falls away and we become open to the abundant wisdom all around us. The archetypal themes of Cancer including nurturing and safety will become the salve to our overworked minds and nervous systems in this hyperactive time of change.

At a moment like this, I find it important and necessary to embrace an acceptance for where you’re currently at on your journey. It’s easier to accept our lives when things are going well, but it’s much harder to approach acceptance when things feel like they’re in the toilet. Reflecting on the things and people that provide us support in the here and now can help us reorient ourselves toward the right path forward. This moment brings us an opportunity to relax where we feel tense, live more intentionally from the heart space, and make room for more love in our lives.

Jupiter’s entrance into Cancer is beginning a new cycle that will guide us to the places that hold us, support us, and welcome us. To allow this in with more ease, we have to shed or loosen our grip on pre-existing beliefs about belonging. If you automatically rule out joining a new group because a past experience let you down, you’re actively creating a blockage that will only inhibit your expansion into a more heart-centered and love-filled space.

Jupiter’s influence wants us to move beyond the limits we place on ourselves, and that’s especially true with its current square to Saturn and Neptune in Aries. To do this, we have to open ourselves up to exploring new things out in the world and in our minds. More experience leads to more wisdom. In regards to exploring the realm of Cancer, it’s inevitable that we will experience situations that leave us feeling insecure, unsafe, and uncomfortable. Many people regard Jupiter as being the planet that blesses all that it touches, but miss the point that blessings happen through the crunchy moments as well. As Jupiter is about expanding knowledge and wisdom, we can only do so by accepting the uncomfortable experiences we face.

There is an emergent quality to this lunation — something perceived as good is making its way into the light of day. Pay attention to where you are feeling emotional support or discomfort right now. If it’s happening through different people, situations, or activities, what patterns connect these things? This is how astrology becomes an applicable tool in your life. It’s simply about connecting the dots with a common thread, understanding the pattern at play, and using it to increase your self-awareness which leads you to live with more intention.

What’s emerging is a solution to an issue you may be dealing with. Actionable and practical steps toward emotional sustainability are taking hold. Tune into the things that give you a sense of hope right now and figure out how you can work them into your goals as parts of your routine or as sources of knowledge. Sometimes hopelessness is the prevailing feeling working against us. What I’m becoming more aware of in my personal life is that when I feel hopeless, I’m typically thinking too much instead of simply doing or being. This goes back to blocking ourselves with fear and narrowing our scope of view so that new perspectives cannot enter. This is about being stuck in the past and why we can only allow growth to happen when we release preconceived ideas for what’s possible.

It’s a time of leveling up emotionally so that we can deal with this new era of life we’ve begun. Our emotions act like a compass guiding us toward belonging and this Cancer season is encouraging the flow of emotions and feelings that need to become unstuck. It’s time to look at things in a new light or from a different angle. What shifts in you when you start to believe that you can belong anywhere you go? Follow your heart through some uncharted territory and let your discoveries fill you with hope and wonder.

Take care,~Ry