Anchor Within | A Wolf Full Moon in Cancer

How do we endure without yielding? I believe the answers lie within.

The Full Moon in Cancer on January 13th shines as a beacon for emotional care and connection. Cancer, a cardinal water sign, the 4th sign of the zodiac, carries the archetype of the crab—an intricate dance of vulnerability and resilience. With its hard shell yet tender insides, Cancer reminds us that protection and sensitivity coexist. Ruled by the Moon itself, this sign embodies home, sanctuary, and the ever-changing tides of our raw emotions. Our relationships with home can be complex, riddled with trauma, and more complicated than we like. When will we shake off the haze and see it? This Earth, our one wild, aching home, threads through every breath we take. Our lives, our fragile human stories, are bound to her fate—love her, or lose it all.

This Cancer Full Moon invites us to create spaces of emotional safety for ourselves and others amidst external chaos, anchoring in the rhythms of nature and community. Our bodies, like the Earth, hold the capacity for regeneration. In this season of winter, can we create pockets of rest enough to mend this fractured world? By tending to our inner landscapes and honoring the lessons of destruction and renewal, we align with the cycles that sustain life. We can turn within.

As the world grapples with the weight of climate disaster, war, and displacement, this Cancer Moon whispers a question: When homes crumble and the Earth trembles, how do we anchor ourselves within? Cancer teaches that sanctuary is not merely a place but a practice—a way of cultivating safety amidst chaos. How can we navigate the dense energies being thrown our way? In a fuller expression of our emotional, vulnerable and raw selves so that we can be a bridge into the new. It will require we anchor ourselves, return to our roots, reach into our depths to find the courage, the heart for what comes next.

A Tarot Compass: Death, Ace of Cups, and Knight of Cups

For this Full Moon, I used the Tarot to offer guidance pulling three cards: Death, Ace of Cups, and Knight of Cups. Together, they chart a path of transformation, renewal, and heart-centered action.

The Death card, often misunderstood, speaks not of endings alone but of composting—letting go so new life can emerge. Winter holds the wisdom of death, where what no longer serves is laid to rest, nurturing fertile ground for the future. What beliefs, patterns, or fears are you ready to release under this moon? In the darkness of winter, the seeds of rebirth are already stirring.

The Ace of Cups overflows with emotional renewal, a reminder that deep healing begins when we clear away what clogs the heart’s waters. Biddy Tarot reminds us that "the biggest blocks we face often have emotional roots we’ve avoided." This card invites you to open to love, creativity, and intuition, trusting the wisdom of your emotional tides.

The Knight of Cups is a dreamer and a poet, guided by beauty and the heart’s truth. He asks: Can you move through the world led by love rather than fear? In a society often driven by urgency and scarcity, this is radical. But to live heart-centered requires creating space—space to listen, space to feel, space to simply be. This is the work of Cancer: tending the hearth within.

Knight of Cups, Ace of Cups and Death speaks to the renewal beneath.

The Archetypal Energy of Cancer: A Cosmic Call to Nurture

Cancer’s energy is deeply tied to the archetype of the Great Mother, the nurturer who provides safety, warmth, and unconditional love. Yet this archetype, when aligned with the Cancer Full Moon, expands beyond personal care. This energetic portal invites us into revolutionary mothering our communities and the Earth itself. In the face of climate upheaval and collective grief, this nurturing energy becomes a balm. How can we weave threads of care, reciprocity, and resilience into the fabric of our lives and relationships?

Astrologically, this Full Moon forms a dynamic tension with Pluto in Capricorn, highlighting themes of power, transformation, and the structures that sustain us. Capricorn builds; Cancer nurtures. Together, they ask: How do we create foundations rooted in care, not control? The opposition between these energies mirrors the tension between the external and the internal, the seen and the unseen, the public and the private. Balance lies in honoring both—building a world that feels like home.

The Wolf Moon: Hunger, Community, and Resilience

January’s Wolf Moon carries the haunting call of deep winter—an hour of scarcity, survival, and stark beauty. Wolves, known for their loyalty to their pack and cooperative spirit, remind us that strength lies in connection. As they howl under this moon, we too are invited to voice our truths and seek our packs. In a culture that often glorifies individualism, the Wolf Moon calls us back into the folds of fierce collective care.

Moonlight, Wolf by American Painter Frederic Remington, circa 1909.

This moon’s illumination invites us to confront the shadows we’ve avoided. What truths are hiding in your emotional depths? What have you suppressed to survive? What could we built if we admit to ourself what is breaking? Our emotions exist to tell us our own story if we have the courage to hold their capacity. Cancer’s watery energy offers the courage to feel deeply, knowing that even the dense emotions are part of the healing process. Like the Earth, under this Full Moon, we too can be furious and burning with rage.

“Kindness eases change.
Love quiets fear.
And a sweet and powerful
Positive obsession
Blunts pain,
Diverts rage,
And engages each of us
In the greatest,
The most intense
Of our chosen struggles.”

― Octavia E. Butler

Inward Inquiry : Root Work and Reflection

Calibrate the inside. Root work is the unseen labor of growth—the tending to foundations that sustain us. Reflect on what roots you deeply: your values, relationships, or practices. Journal and reflect on questions connected to home, your ancestry, safety, and community:

What does home mean to me?

What nourishes my emotional well-being?

How can I create sanctuary in my daily life?

What can I release to make space to welcome what I need?

How can you honor your personal "roots," such as ancestry, traditions, or foundational values?

Where in your life do you feel rooted and secure?

For paid subscribers, there are expanded questions for reflection and inquiry below, new mantras for each astrological sign and simple somatic rituals for this full moon.