05.07.24: New Moon in Cancer
"It's time that we began to laugh and cry and cry and laugh about it all again."
- Leonard Cohen, "So long, Marianne"
Hello, dear One,
I'm sorry this love letter comes a bit late. But it had a long journey with me.
I wrote the biggest chunk of it in Berlin in a bookshop on one of the busiest streets in Berlin, looking out of the window, listening to melancholic music by Leonard Cohen, trying to enjoy a moment of contemplation with one of my favorite cities before making my way back to my beloved Mexico. I then edited it on the 11-hour flight to Cancun and finished it just now after the hurricane had passed and the whole pueblo was 24 hours without electricity (and WiFi).
What a journey – but I promise, it's worth the wait.
A NEW MOON IN CANCER: INITIATION INTO EMOTION
This night, we have a New Moon in Cancer which is associated with emotion.
After the cardinal fire was born in Aries, it was contained into an earthy vessel in Taurus, then the intellect came in in airy Gemini and now – in Cancer, our emotions are born.
We become sensitive beings, imprinted by our early childhood experiences that throughout life resurface wanting to find healing.
It's said that life on earth is precious for a soul for one reason: The fact that as humans we can experience emotions is the reason why we can grow faster in consciousness.
That's why probably lots of souls sign up for this madness called life and incarnate on earth. I've also read in Michael Newton's books (Journey of the Soul and Destiny of the Soul) that there are souls that have a resistance towards incarnating because they're done with this human experience. Too much to deal with. I understand them very often.
What we can conclude from this is that the more we open to our emotions the more our soul can learn, grow and transform.
CANCER: A CRAB WITH AN EMOTIONAL MISSION
Remember, Cancer is the first water sign of the zodiac. It brings in the emotional charge that is our catalyst for healing.
In workshops, I've been asked where the cardinal force comes from in Cancer. Cancer is the great mother of the zodiac. So the cardinal power comes from the will to protect, to create a nest, and to take care. It's not a "I'll chop off your head“-style but rather a motherly-protective „I'll chop off your head if you come too close to my nest“-kind-of-style.
The cardinal power in Cancer comes from knowing that it's our emotions that guide our lives – not our intellect.
When I hear people say “If you only believe in something, it's going to manifest“, I raise an eyebrow. Why? As far as I've experienced, we don't manifest from the conscious but from the unconscious mind. Meaning: If you believe that you're unworthy, you can spend years imagining your dreams to come true, and still, you might experience some hardship that will invite you to work with your unconscious – and only if we integrate unconscious beliefs and bring parts of us back home that were abandoned, life becomes easier – at least that's what I believe.
C. J. Jung believed this too. This is why he dedicated such a big chunk of his life to working with the unconscious rather than with the conscious mind.
Now, talking about the distinction between the conscious and unconscious: Do you get a glimpse of why Cancer, the 4th house, and the Moon, all are connected to emotions AND the unconscious? They go together and they heal together – or should I say: they heal each other.
In cheap Astrology Cancer is often defined as the crybaby of the zodiac. And yes, when emotions get overwhelming, there is a genius nervous system response that's called tears. As long as someone cries, they are fine, I always tend to think. The problem gets bigger when tears aren't accessible.
If, on a societal level, we would get to understand that tears are an expression of a healthy nervous system, we'd probably allow them more into our everyday lives and welcome them rather than cringing or looking away when someone cries.
NEW MOONS: A MOMENT TO LOOK INWARD
As you probably know, New Moons are times of setting intentions and contemplating a new cycle that's about to come.
Since the Moon doesn't get that much sunlight on new moons, the sky is darker than usual. This darkness invites us to tend to our own inner dark spots, to look inward and dive into our own worlds.
Very often, we do that led by our intellect. We think, we write, we talk. And that's great – but in my experience the more I work with the conscious mind, the more I get bored by it.
Why? Because we contemplate intellectually about things we already know. Talking about things we already know will not necessarily bring up anything new. It's just the same soup.
With this New Moon in Cancer, why don't we try an alternative way of setting intentions? By working with the unconscious.
Now you're probably wondering: “But Karina, how can I do this?” I have some ideas that worked for me. And maybe, they can help you too:
Journal about your dreams and see what they have to say.
Dive into a deep meditation and see which images come up.
Let your unconscious run wild with active imagination*.
Move your body, indulge in some exhausting exercise, and then lie down and feel what's there.
Be open to synchronicities and see what the unconscious wants to tell you with them.
Do a little ceremony your own way around a topic that's bothering you and hand it to the divine.
*C.S. Lewis once wrote, “Reason is the organ of truth, but imagination is the organ of meaning“.
Another innovative thinker, Rudolf Steiner recommended accessing imaginative consciousness through meditative contemplations of texts, objects, or images. Imaginative thinking he believed to be an important part of a path leading from rational consciousness toward spiritual experience.
CANCER: THE ARCHETYPE OF HOME
Isn't it ironic that Cancer is the archetype of Home, Roots, Family, and the Unconscious? Somehow, they all seem to belong together. Maybe that's why when we heal our own trauma, we heal our ancestors with it. It's all connected.
Our childhood normally forms how we experience life, how we attach to others, and stores the unhealed stuff that was too hard to feel in the unconscious. Those locked-up memories then hunt us at night through nightmares for example. The psyche is creative and will find ways to bring up unintegrated parts.
No wonder Jung once said: “Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.”
When Cancer is present, like these days when the Moon is in its natural domicile, it's an invitation to connect to this bunch of archetypes: The Mother, The Home, The Root, The Unconscious, The Tribe, and The Intuition.
It's a good time to ask what home means to you. Something external? Something internal? What do you associate with the archetype of the mother? How do you relate to your ancestors? What do you consider your roots? How do you foster the connection to your unconscious? And what role do emotions play in your life? Running away from them? Turning towards them? Numbing them?
One of my teachers at the Jung Institute once said: „The Unconscious is an entity we can go into a relationship with. It feels when we're welcoming it and when we're blocking it. So if you want to work with it, invite it in and let it know that you are open to its messages.“ This could be a first step.
QUESTIONS THE NEW MOON IN CANCER WOULD ASK:
If you have personal planets (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus or Mars) in Cancer, you probably feel a stronger impact these days.
If the New Moon could speak to you from the heaven, it would ask the following questions:
What's your intuition telling you these days that you're ignoring?
Do you make an effort to create space to feel or are you trying to keep yourself busy to avoid it?
Where do you overprotect others?
In what area is it time to take responsibility for your emotions?
How do you cope in times of emotional overwhelm?
How do you cherish the ones closest to you?
VENUS IN CANCER: NOURISHING OUR PLEASURE
With Venus currently residing in Cancer close to this New Moon, we are invited to tend to our pleasure.
Spending time near or in water can be a good idea. Consciously taking a shower (I mean, how often do we auto-pilot when showering?) or a hot bath for example. Lightening some candles. Listening to heart-warming music. Cooking a yummy meal. Just being very kind to ourselves and making space for introspection rather than seeking answers in the outside world.
If Venus in Cancer could speak, she'd say: „My dear child, all your senses deserve to be nourished. Let yourself taste with all your body and soul.“
WHATEVER YOU CAN'T GET RID OF, MAKE IT YOUR CREATIVE OFFERING
In his book „The Untethered Soul“ Michael A. Singer writes extensively about emotions: “Do not let anything that happens in life be important enough that you're willing to close your heart over it. When your heart starts to close, just say, 'No. I'm not going to close. I'm going to relax. I'm going to let this situation take place and be there with it.' Honor and respect the situation, and deal with it. By all means deal with it. Do the best you can. But deal with it with openness.”
These past two months in Berlin I realized how much I've grown the capacity to feel. And with it, I realized how much love and care I am surrounded by. How much my friends love and care about me.
But, at the same time, the pain and sadness that lived in my heart these months was as deep. So, what do I do with this pain, I am wondering? Will I close my heart again to not feel it? Or will I keep my heart open?
In her book „Bittersweet“, Susan Cain gave me an answer: „Whatever pain you can't get rid of, make it your creative offering.“
So here's my attempt to offer my sorrow to the altar of life, holding my aching heart in both hands, allowing you to see it. Hoping it will alchemize the pain into hope someday.
With Cancerian greetings,
Karina
** header graphic from GIPHY.com
