On the evening of June 29 at 4:56 pm (PT), the Moon at 8 Capricorn will reach its full phase with the Cancer Sun. At this Strawberry Moon, in the northern hemisphere there’s an abundance of fruit and vegetables in the gardens. We are at mid-summer, just past the Solstice, with the days now growing shorter.
Each Full Moon highlights the complimentary nature of an opposing pair of signs. Capricorn is the earth sign of the cardinal, forward-moving mode. Cancer is moving water, sometimes fast, like a river carrying something toward birth and beyond. Cancer is known for the qualities of emotional sensitivity and nurturance, akin to the Great Mother who knows how to tend to all of Her creatures.
Capricorn is no less a nurturing sign than Cancer. It’s just that Capricorn is more outwardly focused, wanting to build and achieve something of enduring high status. I think of the Cancer/Capricorn polarity as a parental axis involving birthing and sustaining, from babies to any creative project.
Several sky aspects will be prominent at this year’s Capricorn Full Moon. One is a t-square, as the Sun and Moon, opposite each other, each move toward a tense 90-degree square with Saturn, now in Aries. A t-square is an aspect of unavoidable pressure on the focal planet—in this case, Saturn. Something is challenging, and there’s no way around it but to integrate the themes presented by the focal planet, by its sign and, in individual charts, by the house the focal planet occupies.
Saturn, the planetary ruler of Capricorn and of this Full Moon, is the outermost of the visible planets, symbolic of boundaries, endings and all the ways one grows and matures by learning through limitation. Aries is like a ram charging out of the gate, and with Saturn traveling through Aries, for about three years, one might feel eagerly ambitious to break down barriers, and get stuff done.
Saturn is also about obligations. At the June 29 Full Moon, with Saturn under pressure from the Lights, one might feel burdened by having too many responsibilities, or that there’s a reckoning to be had over a mistake that resulted in something coming to an end.
On the other hand, Saturn in Aries under this t-square pressure might have one feeling excited about initiating (Aries) a new commitment, a new course of study, a new system for setting boundaries with others. Saturn need not be a downer!
The t-square to Saturn, at this time, dovetails auspiciously with another key feature of the June 29 Full Moon. Mercury will be “stationing,” meaning slowing down before it will change direction for a period of retrograde motion in relation to the Sun. Mercury has been traveling through the waters of Cancer since June 1 and will continue to do so until August 9. This is an unusually long time for Mercury to travel in a single sign, which it is doing because Mercury will travel in retrograde motion from June 29 until July 23. This is not a time to worry (!) but instead to slow down and proceed with more caution about scheduling, contracts, and machinery.
Mercury governs all things perceptual and communicative, such that when Mercury travels through Cancer, one’s thoughts may become more intensely emotional. A period of “Mercury retrograde” in Cancer is a boon for writers and students of Cancerian subjects such as home, family, reviewing the past, tending to babies and other creative projects.
Finally, at the June 29 Full Moon, Jupiter—the planetary force of expansion—will be in the last few minutes of its year-long travel through Cancer. This past year with Jupiter in Cancer, there has been a heightened focus in our society over who’s an American, i.e. “who really belongs here.” (Answer, in my view: everyone.)
Late on the night of June 29 and into the early hours of June 30 in the eastern U.S., Jupiter will “ingress” into Leo, our fixed fire sign. Whereas Cancer’s style is that of a reserved homebody, Leo is a rock star, thriving on blatant self-expression and an adoring audience. The coming year of Jupiter (expansion) in Leo (individual creativity) invites one to hone in on making art in ways that are one-of -a-kind and visibly “out there.”
The June 29 Full Capricorn Moon—with pressure on Saturn in Aries to work hard and achieve, and with Mercury buzzing in sensitive Cancer—sets the stage for a coming year of living bright and loud as one’s own true self.
Blessings for the Capricorn Full Moon and the coming year of Jupiter in Leo!
~ Sara
Sara R. Diamond, an astrologer based in the San Francisco Bay Area, is a life-long student and practitioner in several esoteric paths. Her style of astrology combines modern-psychological astrology with insights from traditional astrology. Sara is also an estate planning attorney. In addition, she has published four books on right-wing movements in the United States and earned her Ph.D. in Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley. You are invited to contact Sara via her website at www.SaraDiamondAstrology.com.
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