We have our first full moon of the year on January 17, a Wolf Moon as the Native Americans call it. The story dictates that wolves were found outside of their villages on these cold, snowy winter nights. Wolves howling at the moon is folklore, based on the simple fact that wolves hunt at night. Bela Lugosi won’t be biting us anytime soon. Although we could all use a firm bludgeoning with a silver-headed cane in order to knock some sense into us every now and then.
This particular full moon is coinciding with both Mercury and Venus in retrograde, which gives us a bit of a guidance. Mercury, the planet of communication, specifically directs our attention to unfinished business. He will remain in this position until February 3, so this is maybe not the best time to make any difficult decisions, at least not without poring over it with a fine-toothed comb. Venus, the Goddess of Love, rules our values and pleasures, the things that bring us joy and make us feel happy in this life. She will be in retrograde until January 29, giving us plenty of time to release anything that is no longer serving us.
What Will Be Will Be
The corresponding New Moon in Cancer occurred on July 9, 2021. New moons are the best time to set intentions, which I love because they are way less stressful than, say, goals. Intentions hold more grace and compassion for the inevitable mistakes we will make. As I keep having to remind myself, failures aren’t bad. Failures don’t make you a failure, even though our culture likes to drill that nonsense into our heads. They are merely opportunities to learn and to grow as people. I can’t tell you much of the information from the tests that I aced in school, but I can tell you about every time I fucked one up. I committed those defeats to memory, so I wouldn’t have to wade through those perilous ocean tides again.
Even a man who is pure in heart, and says his prayers by night; May become a wolf when the wolfsbane blooms and the autumn moon is bright.
During this new moon I was a sobbing, emotional train wreck. I can fully admit that. Cancer is a water sign after all, and my cup runneth over. New moons give us the opportunity to reflect and to plan for our future goals, while also allowing for the prioritization of self-care. These are the moments that invite us into learning how to love ourselves, so that we can then begin to live from our hearts. This process asks us to include all the parts of us that do, in fact, belong. Somewhere along the training we forget, or more likely it is taught out of us. We conform to fit into a standard that we don’t even agree with. This type of disconnection only leads us to getting caught up in one of the four major trauma responses, or into a life of addiction and codependent behaviors.
I pulled Gebo, the rune of partnership, which makes perfect sense for me at this juncture. The accuracy seems almost laughable. “For the path of Partnership can lead you to the realization of a still greater union – union with the Higher Self, union with the Divine.” (Ralph Blum, The Book of Runes) This rune has nothing to do with other people, and more accurately speaks to the relationship that you hold with yourself.
The Wheel of Fortune, the tarot card I pulled during the new moon, represents the cycle of life. It reminds us that we are always in the middle of some sort of transitory phase, whether we are aware of it or not. Accept what is happening and adapt. That’s all we can do really, for the tides of destiny are in a constant back and forth motion, much like to ocean waves. We can’t as humans keep pushing forward without taking the space to rest, and breathe, and maybe be a teensy but grateful for how far we have come on the individual level. Today I’m not crying. What a wonderful turn of events!
I Am Whatever You Say I Am
New moons allow us to plant the seeds of opportunity so they can begin to germinate. Full moons encourage us to look at anything that needs to be released so that the new aspects of our selves can blossom into this new form, ultimately offering its brightness out into the world that so desperately needs something to light us up. Sometimes we need to take a step back in order to see the bigger picture of what is really going on in the world around us. Some parts of our lives may need a bit of redirection, while other parts may simply need to melt away. Not everything is necessary to move forward.
Cancer is ruled by the Chariot card, which flanks the end of Line One of the tarot, the “I am” line. This is the toddler in all of us who is learning their place in this world, what is okay and what isn’t okay. As much as I don’t want a crotch goblin of my own, I will be the first to admit that I am taking active steps to learn how to caretake for one particular bambina. The inner child, sometimes more accurately described as the critic inside my head, is and will remain an only child. Okay, unless you count the fur babies.
Let’s take this opportunity to really sink into the fact that we were put on this planet to do one thing, and this is to develop a magical relationship with yourself, one that is deep and intimate. This is a powerful time to place yourself in the center stage of your own life, because let’s face it, no one else is going to do that for you. People are going to judge us no matter what choices we make in this life, so we may as well opt for the one that brings us a little bit of joy. Besides if I constantly do everything that I should be doing, when would I ever have the time to do the things that I want to do?
Mad love, Jenna
