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Cancer Full Moon: The House Of Belonging

By Jessica Shepherd

As we turned the corners of the new year, I returned home after living in Stockholm, Sweden for four months. I am finally where I belong. Home. In Northern California where the air has an otherworldly perfume of damp peaty musk and fresh green. Home. As David Byrne of the Talking Heads once sang, “…where I want to be” And as poet David Whyte once wrote, “…where I want to love all the things it has taken me so long to learn to love.”

Returning home has made me swoony with happiness, in love with things it has taken me long to learn to love: the drafty windows that won’t entirely shut. The chickens John bought as his pet project and over the years became mine; the comfortable-for-one-but-too-soft-for-two (so the lighter person always rolls into the crack by midnight) bed; the redwood hot tub that takes the edge off the dampness that gets in our bones out here but needs vintage car level maintenance; my cramped too-tight house, full of family, energy and life and the wide-open freedom and loneliness when it’s empty.  Home’s gentle and secluded nest allows me to love things in myself I have a hard time loving in my self, my life. A safe harbor and guardian of my inner world, home makes room for life’s contradictions. Where else can the quirks, joys, emotional hiccups and sadnesses, the full range of one’s inner everything swirl together and simply be okay?

Home is belonging. We often think we own our house, that it belongs to us, but in reality our home doesn’t belong to us so much as we belong to it. For instance, here’s something I know about my cat, Obi. We can leave him at home in the hands of another caretaker, for months, and he is so happy I’m not sure he even noticed we were gone yet if we’d sent him to a pet hotel or even another family member’s house, his world would’ve ended. He belongs here, to this house. It seems if we care for and love a thing, it owns us (pet owners know this). And like any intimate relationship, the more we invest in the places, people and pets we love, the harder it is to think about ever leaving them. Belonging is not for the commitment shy.

Home is on the inside, they say, and if we feel at home in our self, we can be at home in the world wherever we are. But without a true place to anchor us, it’s impossible to know where we belong. Home is earthly, a physical dwelling place, a country, the friends and intimate partnerships we return to over and over again – the people and place we are charged to care take and care for with devotion and love. By so doing, we create the necessary sanctuary for our self, a refuge to restore our self so that we can go out into the world feeling at home in our self. The safe feeling: you belong here, no matter what we will always be here for you with open arms translates into that magical security of being permanently okay.

The Capricorn Sun’s symbol is a solitary, earthly mountain goat, symbolic for the time of year many of us are gearing up for the year’s necessary material pursuits. As a balance the Cancer Moon asks us to check in with our physical dwelling place, the people we call family and kin, and the condition of our heart. What do you need to tend or heal in your life? What people, pets and family of friends might need your love, care and support? At new year’s we did our family ritual of going round the dinner table with the “best ” and “worst thing” that happened this year. It had been a long time since we’d caught up like this, we learned a few critical things about the secret inner lives of our teenagers and are now thinking how we might better support them.

If your home is not feeling so bright, nor giving you the fulfilment of being “at home”, the planets and signs in the house of Cancer, the astrological Fourth House, say something about the type of home you need and the type of soul mate are willing to live under one roof with, let alone yoke yourself to for eternity. Jupiter/Sagittarius here? A big home and an optimistic, jolly partner. Neptune/Pisces? You need a sensitive, spiritual partner and housemate, and a meditation room at your house. Saturn/Capricorn? A stand-up, reliable partner and at least one room that’s your very own are necessary for “the temple of your adult aloneness.” When a couple is moving in together, I always look to their respective Fourth Houses for homey synergy. The Fourth House is where we find our people and place.

At this Full Moon, tend to the place and people that you return to, that cradle and hold your heart, without which all your worldly pursuits and ambitions would be empty. For Cancer, home is a verb; a tending, doing and caring, a temple flame to be renewed with devotion. Cancer Full Moon asks, In what bright home do you want to love all the things that have taken you so long to love? Are you already living in it?  There is no house like the house of belonging.

This is the bright home

In which I live

This is where

I ask

My friends

To come,

This is where I want

To love all the things

It has taken me so long to learn to love.

 

This is the temple of my adult aloneness

And I belong

To that aloneness

As I belong to my life.

 

There is no house

Like the house of belonging.

-excerpt from The House of Belonging by David Whyte

Filed under: Uncategorized

About Jessica Shepherd

Jessica Shepherd is a writer, astrologer and health coach who has studied and practiced modern astrology since 1992. She is the author of A Love Alchemist’s Notebook: Magical Secrets For Drawing Your True Love Into Your Life (Llewellyn, 2010) and the books Venus Signs: Discover Your Erotic Gifts and Secret Desires Through Astrology
(Llewellyn, 2015) and Karmic Dates and Momentary Mates: The Astrology of the Fifth House (Moonkissd, 2014). In 2018, after living in California for twenty years, she relocated to Honolulu, Hawaii with her husband, dog, and cat. Find out more about Jessica at Moonkissd (www.moonkissd.com).

Comments

  1. Jessica Shepherd says

    Jan 16, 2014 at 4:49 pm

    Hi Manisha, Uranus needs plenty of freedom to do the house up as they want (purple walls and all), and an independent, progressive-minded house mate who encourages you to do your own thing. Your Libra needs the house environment to be relaxing.

    Reply
  2. Manisha says

    Jan 15, 2014 at 6:30 pm

    HI! What about fourth house Libra with Uranus in it?

    Reply
  3. David says

    Jan 14, 2014 at 3:23 pm

    Ditto, Deborah! Such a touching and endearing reflection on my sun sigh, Cancer. Those chords you strike about our people, our place, our belonging and our “temple of ” adult aloneness”, all ring deeply.
    Kudos, Jessica.
    Big phat , world class, Cancerian hug to u and ur family:)

    Reply
    • Jessica Shepherd says

      Jan 15, 2014 at 9:50 am

      Thank you David! Warm hugs to you and yours. xx, Jessica

      Reply
  4. jasta says

    Jan 14, 2014 at 4:40 am

    touching…, insightfull…, sweet…, really sweet…

    Reply
    • Jessica Shepherd says

      Jan 15, 2014 at 9:52 am

      thank you, Jasta. Full moon blessings to you! xx Jessica

      Reply
  5. Deborah says

    Jan 13, 2014 at 7:28 pm

    The most beautiful tapestry of Cancer I have ever felt <3
    Excellent….But Most of All, Thank You, Jessica.

    Reply
    • Jessica Shepherd says

      Jan 15, 2014 at 9:52 am

      Deborah, you flatter me :). Thank you for, after reading this, making my morning brighter. full moon love to you! xx Jessica

      Reply

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The Moon is in its
Full Phase

in the
Sign of Capricorn


Today's Lunar Aspects (Greenwich Mean Time)
(subtract: PST -8 hours, PDT -7 hours, EST -5 hours, EDT -4 hours)

  • Moon square Neptune, 10:55pm  May 15 2025
  • Moon trine Mercury, 5:29pm  May 16 2025
  • Moon square Venus, 5:45pm  May 16 2025

Venus is currently
The Morning Star

in the sign of Aries


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Astrologers use a variety of house systems, or methods of dividing up the sky into twelve sections. I use the Porphyry house system; another popular house system is Placidus (this is the default on https://astro.com). If the chart I send you looks different from what you are used to seeing, then likely a system other than Porphyry was used. Whole signs, Equal House, Regiomantus, and Campanus are examples of other systems. If you find all of this confusing, do not worry. It is likely not critical to your report.

m  Conjunction:  Like peas in a pod, planets in conjunction tend to come from the same place. They act together, but it’s also hard to tell them apart. This aspect can increase talent, focus, and intensity (“two are better than one”). Or one planet can disappear as the other dominates. Their connection feels so natural, it’s easy to think everyone blends these planetary energies just as you do—but mostly, they don’t!.

p  Sextile:  Planets in sextile are compatible, though without any fireworks. This aspect doesn’t demand your attention. It quietly presents an opportunity. You can join these archetypal forces. Donna Cunningham has called this the “Oh, that!” aspect, because that’s generally what her clients say when she describes their benefits.  To get the most from sextiles you need to actively work them.

q  Square:  Squares are wild and wonderful—but difficult too. The power struggle between these planets was likely defined in your youth, when they were impossibly challenging. People are usually aware of their squares. They force the issues that make you to grow. And that’s their gift. They ensure you learn your lessons. When you rise to the occasion, they bless you with energy, action, and success.

r  Trine:  Michael Munkasey has dubbed this the “goddess aspect” because it’s so lovely. Identifying talents you may have perfected in a previous life, trines can bring you joy. There’s a nice flow of energy between planets in trine. They support and reinforce each another. But without any struggle, you might take them for granted—neither using nor developing their gifts. An unattended trine can sometimes trick you into negative behaviors.

t  Inconjunct/Quincunx:  Your quincunx planets are innately incompatible. Bringing them into harmonious expression requires constant adjustments. This can be stressful, also motivating. You’ve got to keep changing your process, opinions or attitude—which promotes highly creative solutions.

u  Opposition:  They say opposites attract—and planets in opposition are never far from each other, though they’re constantly bickering. You may be triggered into awareness of this aspect by other people who seem to resist or undermine you.  An opposition can make you feel uncertain, insecure, or discontent, until you can accept and see yourself in both energies. Typically people find it easier to identify with one side and project the other onto unsuspecting others in the outer world.

First House: Personality, physical body, beginnings. Includes the Ascendant and rules physical appearance, the image you project to others, your general outlook on life, how you start things; may describe your role in your family system, often guides your first impression of immediate environment.

Second House: Money and personal finances, sense of self-worth and basic values, personal possessions, talents.

Third House: Communication, thoughts, language skills like writing and speaking, early schooling, siblings and neighbors, short trips, coming and going around town.

Fourth House: Your home, psychological foundations and roots, family, parents, domestic life, instinctive behavior, ancestry, your connection with the past, sense of security, domestic life, real estate. conditions at the end of life.

Fifth House: Children, creativity, romance; pleasure, entertainment, self-expression; all forms of “play”, speculation, gambling, and attitude towards taking risks; hobbies, attitude towards romance, lovers as opposed to partners, attitude towards having fun.

Sixth House: Work and job (as opposed to career), daily life, attitude towards service and coworkers, helpfulness, pets, attitude towards routine and organization, how you refine and perfect your skills.

Seventh House: Partnerships, one-to-one relationships, marriage, the first marriage, the “significant other”, business partnerships, competitors, open enemies, lawyers, mediators, counselors, contracts, negotiations, agreements. clients/the public.

Eighth House: Transformations and crisis, your ability to meet and rebound from crisis and change, sexuality; sex, death and rebirth, rituals and personal growth, your partner’s resources, addictions, psychology, other people’s money, taxes, divorce/alimony, inheritance.

Ninth House: Attitude toward expanding horizons, religious beliefs and personal philosophy, higher education, long-distance travel, morals, foreign languages and cultures, personal truths, publishing, commerce, advertising, your sense of adventure.

Tenth House: Career and profession, your contribution to society, social status, public reputation, material success, how you carve out a public identity for yourself; attitude toward authority figures, parents, caregivers, bosses, governments, attitude towards responsibility, desire for achievement.

Eleventh House: Friends, groups, organizations; hopes, wishes, aspirations, personal goals; your philanthropic attitude, concern for the collective, humanity; like tenth, can bring recognition and honors for fulfilling hopes and dreams.

Twelfth House: What’s hidden beneath the surface, karmic dustbin, limiting childhood/past-life messages, self-undoing, hidden enemies, hidden weaknesses, dreams, secret affairs, lost items, hospitals and prisons, hidden strengths, spiritual studies and soul growth.

A  Sun: Our vitality and magnetism; self-identity, ego.
Roles: The Self, the Hero, the Performer, the King.

B  Moon: Intuition, emotion, nurture.
Roles: The Mother, the High Priestess, the Child.

C  Mercury: Mind; physical dexterity and mental agility.
Roles: The Thinker, the Communicator, the Student, the Trickster, the Merchant, the Thief.

D  Venus: Our capacity for pleasure, receptivity, creativity, and social connection. Also indicates our relationships, self esteem, and financial abundance.
Roles: The Lover, the Seductress, the Artist.

E  Mars: Desire, initiative, anger.
Roles: The Protector, the Athlete, the Warrior.

F  Jupiter: Luck, opportunity, expansion, higher learning, religion.
Roles: The Scholar, the Gypsy, the Traveler, the Monk, the Professor.

G  Saturn: Hard work, commitment, focus, inadequacy, leadership, suffering, loss.
Roles: The Task Master, the Grim Reaper, the Wise Old Man, the Builder, the Cynic, the Boss.

H  Uranus: Change, breakthroughs, upsets, discoveries.
Roles: The Revolutionary, the Humanitarian, the Visionary, the Snob.

I  Neptune: Imagination, spirituality, idealism, addictions, deception, compassion.
Roles: The Artist, the Romantic, the Guru, the Addict, the Martyr, the Victim.

J  Pluto: Transformation, power, psychological dynamics, helplessness.
Roles: The Terrorist, the Detective, the Psychotherapist, the Dictator, shady people.

a  Aries: Pioneering, competitive, selfish, impatient, courageous, reckless, independent, dynamic, domineering, “Me first!”

b  Taurus: Patient, stable, lazy, dependable, practical, sensual, stubborn, artistic, possessive, greedy, gentle, loyal.

c  Gemini: Intelligent, curious, adaptable, quick-witted, restless, clever, scatterbrained, lacking follow-through.

d  Cancer: Nourishing, intuitive, protective, moody, sensitive, maternal, domestic, childish, cautious, creative.

e  Leo: Proud, dignified, vain, expressive, romantic, generous, childish, overbearing, self-assured, creative.

f  Virgo: Perfection-seeking, practical, methodical, petty, critical, studious, discriminating, cautious, never satisfied.

g  Libra: Charming, sociable, peace-loving, refined, diplomatic, artistic, indecisive, apathetic, easily deterred.

h  Scorpio: Passionate, secretive, penetrating, resourceful, suspicious, manipulative, jealous, sarcastic, intolerant, determined, aware.

i  Sagittarius: Freedom-loving, philosophical, optimistic, enthusiastic, careless, impatient, talkative, a know-it-all, broadminded, athletic, honest.

j  Capricorn: Serious, responsible, practical, hardworking, stubborn, brooding, inhibited, status-conscious, domineering, unforgiving.

k  Aquarius: Progressive, individualistic, unpredictable, cold, intellectual, artistic, eccentric, shy, impersonal, scientific.

l  Pisces: Compassionate, intuitive, ungrounded, romantic, impractical, self-sacrificing, seductive, musical, artistic.