Full Moon at 3º Capricorn June 24 2021 12:41 pm MT
Cancer Season
Welcome to Cancer season (my personal fave as a Cancer baby—sun and rising—myself)! I spoke a bit about the season in the Summer Solstice post if you want to revisit that for more on this time.
Cancer is cardinal water—cardinal signs initiate things, begin the seasons (e.g. summer solstice, when the sun enters Cancer, is the start of summer), and tend to be periods of generation, starting new things, giving birth to new ideas.
The water element, meanwhile, carries the signature of emotions, of sensations, of all the wells of deep feeling. Cancer, then, gives birth to our sense of understanding and experiencing through emotion—hence its associations with the Mother, the mothering principle.
Thus, Cancer season is a time of nurturing and nourishing, as the seeds we planted (at the new moon and at the winter solstice) come into bloom. In particular, we have a heightened emotional awareness and response to all we have built in the last two week, the past six months, and the last two years.
It is the time to delight in what we have created, to relish the fruits of our labor. And to continue to feed and mother that which we wish to grow and mature.
It is also—like every full moon, though heightened by the summer solstice—a time to choose. To select our strongest seedlings, to release what is no longer important or useful, what no longer serves, to prune and make room in the garden, to prioritize. The recent eclipses (we just passed through an “eclipse portal” between the last full and new moon) make this release energy even more potent.
Full Strawberry Moon in Capricorn Sextile Jupiter
As is always the case with a full moon, the moon sits across the sky from the sun in the opposite side of the zodiac, staring each other down, and therefore shining the full light of the sun onto the reflective moon.
The moon rules Cancer, so it doesn’t fare well in the opposite sign, Capricorn (it’s in its fall here, a debilitated placement). Capricorn is rather dry and harsh for the watery moon. Ruled by Saturn, planet of boundaries, Capricorn is known for rational thinking, rules and structure—quite different from oceanic Cancer.
But remember, Capricorn is the sea-goat. It begins in the Cancerian waters—is born into form on this material plane—and spends its life, its existence, climbing the mountain, seeking ascent. In the soup of pop astrology and capitalism, this often gets translated (bastardized) into Capricorn’s ambition to reach the top, to climb the corporate ladder, as it were.
But in truth, Capricorn’s desire to climb is rooted not in attaining worldly ambition, but in transcending it. The climb up the mountain is not the professional ladder—but a seek for higher meaning, a spiritual quest. The peak is neither material wealth nor worldly power—but enlightenment. Nothing short of transcendence will do.
This full moon along the Cancer-Capricorn axis, then, asks us to integrate our deep emotional needs—the desires, memories, and wounds of our body, our past, our inner child, our subconscious (the Moon)—with the boundaries, systems and structures of our conscious mind and rational thought (Saturn).
And the lesson here, is that when we sublimate both our emotions and our cognitive thought to a larger spiritual purpose—it is then that we ascend, that we become and do our most important work.
And the lesson is also to select, carefully—as both the full moon and summer solstice ask us—what it is we will give our nurturance, our nourishment, our time, energy and love to.
This full moon in Capricorn, opposite the sun in Cancer, asks us to ask ourselves: How do my visions, goals and dreams—the seeds I’m planting—FEED and NOURISH my larger purpose as a spiritual being?
Do you need to reevaluate or reorient what it is you’re dreaming up and into? If so, now is a very powerful time to do it.
We do not always get to choose this, do not always get to say, “I will do this work because it’s more in line with my spiritual values.” That agency is a privilege.
But ask yourself: Where do I have the power to choose to align with my larger purpose and values? What steps, large or small, can I take now to nurture and prioritize those aspects of myself and life?
The sun sits in a trine to Jupiter in Pisces (an auspicious aspect, especially as its ruled by the benefic, Jupiter itself), while the full moon meets Jupiter in a sextile (also a lovely, supportive relationship)--this brings blessings, warmth and joviality to this lunation, and highlights the more philosophical and spiritual aspects of the Cancer-Capricorn axis I’ve mentioned.
Saturn Square Uranus and Opposite Mars
One of the biggest pieces of 2021’s astrology—the major structure upon which the rest of the transits are hung—is the Saturn-Uranus square. And we just had round two.
On June 15, Saturn in Capricorn made an exact square to Uranus in Taurus, marking the second of three times these planets will meet in this position this year. The first was February 17, and the third will be December 24. A square is a challenging aspect—an argument, a skirmish, between two planets (which occurs when the planets are 90º apart in the sky).
This Saturn-Uranus square is a signal of revolution.
Not that I’m predicting a revolution (though it’s arguable we’re already in the midst of one). But Saturn-Uranus indicates a clash between the old and the new: the established systems and structures (Saturn) and upheaval, innovation, and lightning change (Uranus).
It’s important to note that one is not better than the other—that while many of us may want to root for innovation and change, Uranus “triumphing” over Saturn would mean an utter loss of boundary and structure. Saturn is also time, cause and effect, karma. The idea, the ideal, is about balance and integration—not one “winning” over the other.
(Also, we want to be careful what we wish for, as a breaking of traditional systems can look like Black Lives Matter protests, but can also look like the storming of the capitol.)
This round of the square brings another bit of astrology to bear as well—Mars in Leo square to Uranus and opposing Saturn—forming a T-square. Mars is the warrior—planet of aggression, violence and will. And a T-square is, well, a square on steroids—extra tension. This will crescendo around June 30 – July 5, so expect this to be an active time for unexpected change and personal and societal upheaval or stress.
To work with these signatures proactively, consider how and where these dynamics of old vs. new, tradition vs. innovation have been playing out in your life—and how you can work to update structures in states of disuse or disrepair. If you know your chart, look at which houses contain Aquarius, Taurus and Leo, to get a deeper understanding of the areas of life being highlighted for your attention.
Mercury Retrograde Completes
All Hail Mercury retrograde coming to an end! If this one was a doozy for you, you weren’t alone. Mercury has spent over two months (May 4 – July 11) in Gemini (sign of its rulership, but/and also where the north node eclipses have been occurring all year), retrograding there from May 29 – June 22.
It stationed direct on June 22, and will exit its shadow on July 7—that means that right now it’s re-covering the ground it went back over during the retrograde. (It passes over the same territory three times during a retrograde, the first time moving forward, then going backward over the same stretch of sky [well, appearing to, it doesn’t actually move backward, just slows down in relation to earth] and then a third time as it goes forward again.)
This is a final pass to make sure we’ve revisited, reviewed and rethought everything carefully. We dot the i’s and cross all the t’s here. Our (last) chance to bring Mercury’s heightened attention to bear on this area of our life. Take what you’ve learned here, what’s been brought up for you to reconsider—and commit to your path moving forward.
In the next few weeks you’re likely to see what you’ve been working on, learning, writing, thinking, studying come to culmination or at least start moving forward much more quickly. Enjoy the fruits of all you’ve been working on.
Venus Opposes Pluto
The day before the full moon, Venus sits opposite Pluto in an opposition; this configuration doesn’t allow us to be superficial or surface in our relationships—including our relationship to our passions—but asks us to dig deep to uncover both the pain and the riches buried in the deep soil of our shared vulnerability.
Full Moon in Capricorn Ritual + Writing Prompts
As inspiration for the full moon ritual and writing prompts, I offer this poem by Mary Oliver1:
The Journey
By Mary Oliver
One day you finally knew
What you had to do, and began,
Though the voices around you
Kept shouting
Their bad advice‚
Though the whole house
Began to tremble
And you felt the old tug
At your ankles.
“Mend my life!”
Each voice cried.
But you didn’t stop.
You knew what you had to do,
Though the wind pried
With its stiff fingers
At the very foundations‚
Though their melancholy
Was terrible.
It was already late
Enough, and a wild night,
And the road full of fallen
Branches and stones.
But little by little,
As you left their voices behind,
The stars began to burn
Through the sheets of clouds,
And there was a new voice,
Which you slowly
Recognized as your own,
That kept you company
As you strode deeper and deeper
Into the world,
Determined to do
The only thing you could do‚
Determined to save
The only life you could save.
Capricorn Full Moon Ritual
This lunation is ruled by Saturn, so to honor it, we’re going to honor our boundaries. To remember that sometimes abundance comes in the form of celebrating our sacred “no.”
Cancer, ruled by the moon, is the giver, the mother, while Saturn, ruling this moon holds boundaries and limits, honors perseverance and also knowing when to say no. Allowing us to give of ourselves without losing ourselves, without spilling out and emptying, retaining something just for us, to feed us, that we may give again.
1. Create an altar with a white candle, a piece of moonstone or selenite for the moon, and black tourmaline, onyx or obsidian for Saturn. If you want to burn incense: myrrh or patchouli for Saturn, jasmine or ylang ylang for the moon.
2. Light your candle.
3. Close your eyes and feel into the edges of your body. Feel your skeleton, the muscles that wrap around it, the tendons, ligaments, fascia, connecting it all, holding everything in place. Feel your skin overlaid. And the places your skin presses against the air around you.
4. Now imagine, sense, this barrier expanding, stretching out around you, as far as it needs to go. What does it look like, what does it feel like, what is it made of? Feel it stretch and expand all the way out to reach around the room, maybe down the street, out to the whole city, perhaps the edges of the world itself, out the atmosphere… beyond. You are safe within this container, protected.
5. Now move the barrier back in, toward you. Narrow it back, to the planet, to your country, your town, your home, this room. Play with its edges. Where does it feel best, feel comfortable? Give you enough space and breath and protection, without blocking out connection and your possibilities for vulnerability.
6. Perhaps you play with the material, shape, color, solidity of the boundary. Are there holes or gaps that need to be patched or repaired? Can you do this now? Does it speak and what does it say? What does it need to contain and what does it need to hold out? Where does it need to be solid and strong? Where can it be porous? When and where can you open, at your discretion, to let in love and abundance, to share out your gifts to others?
7. Now lock this boundary into place—giving it flexibility and room to stretch, to expand or shrink, to adjust as it needs.
8. Give gratitude to your boundary, your container—and to Saturn, for helping you create the structures to hold and manage all the messy beauty of your feelings and desires, your dreams and visions, your primal fears and your most expansive possibilities.
9. When you’re ready, snuff out your candle and close your ritual space. Carry your boundary with you.
Full Strawberry Moon Journal Writing Prompt
1. Freewrite on the idea of yourself as a spiritual being, taking a trip to Earth in the flesh-suit of your body and personality.
2. What does thinking of (remembering?) yourself this way bring up for you? How does it make you feel? What does it shift or change for you?
3. With this perspective in mind, consider what you’ve brought to fruition in the past two weeks, and in the past six months since the new moon in Capricorn on January 12 2021. Make a list of where you’ve reached—and where you want to go.
4. Consider: what are five things you would most want to experience, accomplish or create—if your trajectory and goal in this life were spiritual ascent, or the re-discovery of yourself as Spirit, as Source? Write these down.
5. And then, after every full moon, with the waning, we must decide what we are ready to discard, release, compost, weed. With this shift in consciousness, what is it time to release and let go? What gets in the way of or simply doesn’t serve these larger visions for your larger self?
6. Make a list of these things. Then make a plan for what you can cut in the next two weeks, and how—and what you want to work toward releasing or changing in the next six months.
Creative Writing Prompt for the Capricorn Full Moon
Imagine you are an alien just arrived on planet Earth. What would you think of our cultural and societal structures? What would you find laughable, strange, repugnant? What would you admire? What would you want to teach the human race? (You decide how evolved and enlightened your alien-being self is—though likely more advanced considering you made it here)
Now, look at your own life through the eyes of that alien being. What do you (alien-you) think of you (human-you)? What would you advise yourself, what would you learn from your human self?
Write a scene or story where alien-you moves through our world and interacts with it. Bringing some of these ideas and lessons to bear on the scene.
1 This poem was shared by the incredible sexual wellbeing activist, Joie Waxler, in their life-affirming and erotic-expanding guest lecture in the Spark course this week.