3 Areas to Review at the Full Moon in Cancer

If you’ve been feeling stagnant or stuck in these early days of 2025, you’re not alone — and you’re exactly in the energy of the moment.

Today’s Full Moon in Cancer, which peaks at 5:26 PM ET at 23º59’, offers some help in illuminating the issues and dynamics that might be keeping you from moving forward with your visions and goals.

At a full moon, the Moon is directly opposite the Sun, which allows it to be fully illuminated by the Sun’s rays. A full moon is a peak experience; it’s the mid-way point of the lunar cycle, a culmination of something.

Full Moon in Cancer Dynamics

Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz said it best: There’s no place like home.

When we are in our home, we have access to the resources we need to do our best work.

The planets are no different.

The Moon’s home is in the sign of Cancer, so a full moon in Cancer means that the Moon is in its own sign, and receiving the full illumination from the Sun.

The Full Moon in Cancer is typically a time for nurturing, connecting, forging bonds, seeking belonging, and feeling into our big emotions.

All of this is true at this Full Moon, with a twist.

Full Moon Conjunct Mars Retrograde

At this Full Moon, the moon is sitting next to Mars, planet of action, aggression, and anger.

Mars in Cancer is in the sign of its fall, or “depression,” which means that it struggles to do Mars things in its natural way.

Adding to its challenge, Mars is currently retrograde, meaning that it appears to be moving backward. Mars in a place where it struggles, not moving with swift action, is not a happy Mars.

The Moon sitting next to Mars means that Mars, too, is opposite the Sun. This dynamic marks the midway point of the Mars retrograde.

As the Sun shines its light on both Moon and Mars, it illuminates what we’ve been experiencing and learning so far during this Mars retrograde adventure, which began on December 6.

Read on for 3 areas to review at this Full Moon.

3 Areas to Review at the Full Moon in Cancer

(1) How Do You Act When You Feel Threatened or Unsafe?

Cancer is a sign that seeks to nurture and create bonds. Cancer is intuitive, emotional, nurturing, and protective. In Cancer, we seek to create safety for ourselves and others.

Mars in Cancer can reveal where we feel threatened or unsafe in a more fundamental sense.

This is about deeper feelings of insecurity more-so than “fears” of taking action.

That said, this type of fear can also impact your energy and your actions.

This full moon can help you illuminate how you act — or react — when you feel threatened or unsafe. Here are three ways that can play out in the archetype of Mars energy:

(a) Defensiveness

When Mars is in Cancer, it often plays defense: the Warrior fighting to protect its land, rather than to conquer new territory.

Feelings of insecurity can also put us on the defensive, or trigger passive-aggressive behavior. Notice whether this arises for you, and in what circumstances.

(b) Anger and Grief

Mars — the red planet — can show us how we deal with anger. A Mars Retrograde can trigger feelings of grief, frustration, anger, and other reactions that arise when we feel threatened or stuck.

(c) Isolation

Mars, armed with its sword, likes to cut, sever, and slice. Ironically, sometimes when we feel threatened or stuck, we might isolate ourselves — cutting ourselves off from our friends or severing ties with people in our lives.

Reflection prompts:

• How do you act — or react, or fail to act — when you feel threatened or stuck?
• How does not feeling safe or supported impact your ability to take action?
• What triggers your anger or causes you to self-isolate?

(2) Where Are You Being Evasive or Avoidant?

Mars likes to cut to the chase, clear the path of obstacles, and charge forward — without caring about anyone else’s feelings.

Cancer is a sign where we seek to nurture connection. Cancer is also symbolized by the crab, which moves sideways: the crab is evasive, sidestepping head-on confrontation to spare feelings.

Mars in Cancer is a Mars that cannot take direct, forward action. It’s essentially a warrior trying to fight in a space that values connection and safety.

Sometimes there is value in not being confrontational: we can spare hurt feelings and emotional drama. We “keep the peace.”

But here’s the thing: any “peace” that exists by virtue of someone withholding their authentic expression isn’t a true peace. If one person is afraid to “rock the boat” through speaking authentically, then the “peace” isn’t a true peace.

Also, whatever we avoid drains our energy

Mars in Cancer can illuminate the tension between avoidance and attachment: we might fear expressing ourselves fully — especially when it comes to big emotions like anger — out of fear of being admonished for our emotions, or abandoned because of what we express.

We might fear being cut off by others if we express ourselves authentically.

Reflection Prompts:

• Where are you avoiding authentic expression in order to protect yourself or someone else?
• Where are you avoiding a confrontation in order to keep the peace?
• Where are you avoiding taking direct action?

(3) What Isn’t Working?

Our inner Mars is the part of us that takes action and get things done. It also shows us how we react when our typical approach to taking action doesn’t work or we fail to make progress.

Astrologer Kelly Surtees describes Mars as needing a project or a problem to tackle, a challenge to motivate its efforts. Mars can often have a pushing quality: a feeling of “needing to do something” — to work harder, push more, to “make something happen.”

It’s common to believe we need to work harder when we feel stalled or we believe we’re not making progress. But if what we’re doing isn’t working, then doing more of it isn’t likely to change our results.

The invitation at this mid-point in both the lunar cycle and the Mars retrograde is to notice where we are feeling stuck and evaluate what’s not working.

Reflection Prompts:

• Where are you feeling stuck in achieving results?
• Take inventory of what you’ve been doing. What is not working?
• Where might you need to change your approach, or develop new skills or techniques?

Pausing to engage in these soulful inquiries illuminates both the inner and outer patterns that keep us stuck. With this awareness, we can take steps toward meaningful change.