The Paradox of the New Moon in Cancer

Every new moon is a chance to begin again, and the new moon in Cancer is particularly potent. The moon rules Cancer; it is at home here, which means it can do its job with greater ease.

In Cancer, a cardinal water sign, its job is to initiate and nourish.

What we initiate here can grow — if we nourish it consistently and persistently.

This is a time to envision and initiate the next iteration of ourselves in our lives.

To do this, we must break free of limiting beliefs and behaviors, and anything else that gives us a false sense of security.

This is where the paradox of Cancer comes into play.

Anything we want to grow or build — whether a building, another person, a plant, a project — requires a solid foundation and nurturing.

This is Cancer’s realm. Cancer is the sign associated with family systems: our home, foundation, our roots. It’s waters represent the ancestral waters, the waters of conception. Cancer’s focus is on bonds: what brings us security and how to keep that security.

Our family systems — whether family of origin or chosen family — are essential for our survival. We rely on the tribe for food, shelter, and security.

The paradox is that what we think is keeping us safe might actually be what is keeping us from moving forward.

First, speaking out and pursuing our dreams can feel like a risk to the familial bonds we rely on.

Our desire to cling to security may cause us to

hold back to make other people comfortable
avoid caring for ourselves to make sure others are cared for
seek approval from the tribe before we take action toward our dreams, or even
refrain from pursuing our dreams in the first place, because we fear that doing so will distance us from the people in our lives we need most.

And yet, when we hold back, we risk betraying ourselves.

Second, the beliefs and behaviors that most often get in our way are the ones we learned from our families — whether family of origin or chosen family. These mental and emotional imprints happen early in life — they are embedded into our foundation — and we often can’t even see them.

It’s like a fish swimming in the ocean: it doesn’t know it’s in the water, because the water is the only environment its ever known.

The only way to break free of those limiting beliefs and behaviors is to get out of the ancestral waters, to create space from the systems and the voices that reinforce those beliefs and trigger those behaviors.

This can feel like a death — consider what would happen if you took a fish out of water.

And yet, if we stay in this water, we could be dragged under by the weight of this foundation.

So this is the paradox of the new moon in Cancer: to initiate and nourish the seeds of our dreams, we must be willing to break free of the beliefs, habits, behaviors, and the yearning for security that is a natural part of being human.

We can resolve this paradox by recognizing that it’s an illusion.

The truth is that nurturing ourselves is the path to nurturing others. When we stand in our truth, we encourage others to do the same. Caring about and advocating for our dreams means caring about and advocating for all those who will be impacted by our dreams.

Ultimately, true security comes when we can stand up for our dreams and speak our truth without worrying about what or who we might lose.