Happy Wolf Moon, Bliss Bunnies! Tonight’s full moon is a supermoon. This means that it’s energies are amplified, and, therefore, whatever we direct its energies toward will receive greater illumination in our lives thanks to the location of the moon at its perigee.
This full moon is also in the sign of Cancer, which is it’s ruling sign. This is the moon of home and hearth, of sweet and tender nurturing, and of illumination of the shadows where we hide any number of sins from the world and ourselves. This is a moon that encourages us to cozy up at home, indulging in those sweet hygge activities that fill our Instagram feeds this time of year. It’s a great time for feathering the nest to make it your sacred sanctuary - a place where you feel safe and nourished and loved. Emotions may be flowing a little more openly during this moon’s light, so be ready to let it go, let it flow.
The entrance of 2018 transitioned us all from a 1 Universal Year into an 11/2 Universal Year. The fact that 2018 is an 11 means that it is a Master Number Year. Master Number Years are more intense, energetically. They take the energy of the Foundational Year - 2, in this instance - and amp it up, and sometimes provide intense contrast to help create a state of tension in which we are encouraged to grow and expand toward our highest potential. Master Years can bring some significant personal transformation for us, collectively and individually.
The 11 Master Year is all about the individual and the potential inherent within the individual. It’s about independence, initiation, and ignition. It helps us to fuel the flames of our own personal advancement through creativity, innovation, and chutzpah.
The Foundational Number of 2018 is the 2. The 2 is all about union, partnering with others, and intuition. 2 Years are generally pretty slow-paced … sometimes annoyingly so … allowing us time to process all the transition and transformation that took place in the 8, 9, and 1 Years just prior. While we are letting our own dust settle, we are able to focus our attention on the plights of others, and are more equipped to make connections outside ourselves since we’re no longer crazy busy just trying to tread water during all the chaos of the recent shifts.
When the energy of the Master 11 and the Foundational 2 come together, there is tension. Serious tension. It’s neither inherently good nor bad, but it is almost always palpable. It is only during states of real tension that we are forced outside our comfort zones enough to make significant changes. This is where growth and expansion happens. This is how diamonds are made from lumps of rock. This is our time to shine, kiddos!
So, get ready for a potentially bumpy ride, but an awesome one with far-reaching end results. I imagine it kind of like that crazy scene in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom when they’re racing through the mines in those little cars with no brakes. It’s terrifying and fun and ridiculous, and really forces some creative thinking and resourceful action.
Keep in mind that the Universal Year energies are a year-long unfolding. The full moon energy is much shorter lasting only until the new moon phase in around 2 weeks. However, this full super Wolf moon is happening so close to the turn of the calendar year, that the energy presented during this phase should be a fair indicator of the general theme of the coming year. Let’s see what the cards have to share for this full moon phase.
Deck: The Dreaming Way
Date: 1 January, 2018
Time: 9:12p
Moon Phase: Full (Wolf) Moon in Cancer
Spread: Experiments In Bliss Full Moon SpreadTruncated Celtic Cross
Cards Drawn:
1. The Hermit
2. Ace Cups
3. The Fool
4. 10 Pentacles
5. The Chariot
6. 10 Wands
7. Ace Pentacles
8. 6 Cups
9. 5 Cups
Card Impressions:
Position 1: What theme(s) is coming to light under this full moon?
Position 2: What Light influences are affecting the theme(s) during this full moon phase?
Position 3: What Shadow influences are affecting the theme(s) during this full moon phase?
Position 4: What are the emotional keywords for this full moon phase?
Position 5: What would it be of benefit to release during this phase?
Position 6: What would it be beneficial to attract/draw close during this phase?
Position 7: What is the individual’s role in the manifestation of the theme(s)?
Position 8: What is the collective’s role in the manifestation of the theme(s)?
Position 9: How can the astrological sign of the current full moon influence the manifestation of the theme(s)?
General Overview:
Wow. What an interesting reading for this Wolf Moon! Heavy on the Trumps - this is a nod to that Master Year influence. Aces vs. Tens - again with the Master Year influence. And lots of Cups - that’ll be the Cancerian energy.
Thematically, this Wolf Moon is illuminating a theme of introspection, soul searching, and deep reflection. This is indicated by The Hermit in Position 1. This full moon phase is about lighting up the shadow aspects that we usually try to avoid looking at too closely. It’s time to excavate those skeletons from our closets, so to speak, and shed a little light on how they got there so we can process them and move on.
Love. Ace Cups in the second position tells that Love is the Light energy affecting this theme. Well, really, it’s emotional energy in it’s raw, undiluted form. But, I believe that raw, undiluted form is Universal Love. There is a wellspring of this emotional energy that is ready to wash us clean, to slake our thirst, to help us float to the top when things get heavy. We just need to remember to reach for it.
Hubris and/or carelessness is the Shadow influence affecting this theme. The Fool (in Position 3) is heading off blindly without being mindful of the landscapes surrounding the path. Or, really, without even being mindful of the path. And/or here is a person who has painted a sunny picture of the path behind despite the fact that it was clearly fraught with at least a few challenges - check out that massive cliff! Just because The Fool isn’t looking at it, doesn’t mean it’s not there. The Shadow wants to keep the difficult and unpleasant things in the dark rather than truly looking at them and dealing with them.
10 Pentacles in Position 4 gives us the following emotional keywords for this full moon phase: abundance, greed, gossip, and arrogance. Whew! We are likely to feel an abundance of emotional expressions during this phase. We may also have a sense of greed in regards to either our material possessions/resources, or a stinginess in regard to sharing our raw emotions with others (or possibly both). We may, instead, be tempted to turn the focus toward the failures and shortcomings of others to deflect scrutiny of our own words and deeds. Or we may even feel like we are above this cosmically instigated personal clearing and emotional cleansing, creating a sense of separation between the individual and the rest of the world community. (You may recognize the 11/2 tension between self and other here.) Being aware of these keywords can help us to be more mindful of our potential re-actions to better craft our actions. It is in our response to these emotional experiences that our aptitude for growth and expansion will be known.
The Chariot in the fifth position urges us to release Control (yes, capital C) during this moon phase. The aforementioned tension is guiding us, and it might feel like are about to crash. Still, we must trust in the process. We aren’t to remove ourselves from the driver’s seat, only to loosen our grip on the reigns and stop fighting the process. We can make corrections to guide the chariot, but we musn't try to stop the horses from pulling the cart. The latter would be futile, and, at the very least would be physically and emotionally exhausting. At worst, it could significantly stunt our personal growth.
10 of Wands in Position 6 instructs us to actively start gathering our resources. Get your foundations in place. Call on your friends, family, teachers, counselors, gods, goddesses, and anyone else that might be able to help you through this process. Set up practices that will allow you to feel supported and nurtured during this emotional season. Carve out some alone time to process whatever you unearth in your darkest shadows. Whatever you do that helps you feel safe and supported would be good to do now. Make appointments. Gather pen and paper. Draw a bath. It’s up to you. Just get it ready so it’s there when you need it.
Ace of Pentacles (Position 7) reveals that the Individual’s role is to make a solitary, but deliberate, investment in her/his own material health. In this instance the material wealth is more rooted in personal survival and ‘thrival’. This is a time to look to the preceding 10 Wands, and mindfully create a personal plan for living that effectively meets our basic needs and desires. Once these root needs and desires are being met [by our own hands], we won’t feel so threatened about the idea of others doing the same. We won't be afraid of others taking what's ours because we will have already tended to ourselves. This leaves us all in a better place to look to the collective community, and to openly, joyfully, and lovingly participate in the advancement of the whole.
The Collective’s role in this theme is inextricably linked with that of the Individual. The Collective is being directed by 6 Cups to be both giving and receiving of the love and gifts that others have to offer us. It is a symbiotic relationship and the one cannot fully evolve without the other. We cannot fully open to giving to others until we have become sure that our own needs have been met.
Cancer is the astrological sign through which the moon is currently traveling. It’s extra powerful, too, as the moon rules Cancer. There is water everywhere here. Emotion and intuition and the flow of the energy of life are all bound to this Cancer/Moon relationship. These are the things that can help us manifest our internal house-cleaning. Getting quiet, looking within, yet relying on the support of others are all Cancerian influences this moon phase. Allowing ourselves to be supported by others is important, but it’s also important not to let ourselves or our others become too needy during this phase. The Crab can sometimes try to latch on to others if it feels like it’s caught in too fast a current, but it can also snap defensively at those who try to keep it from its own progress. Finding the balance may be tricky, but paying attention to our emotional responses, honoring our intuitive messages, and remembering that we are constantly experiencing the ebb and flow of the tides as we navigate Life’s paths will help guide us toward that balance. It’s a time of letting go, but also of filling up. Remember the flow, honor the flow, and all will be well.