Full Moon at 13°1’ Cancer, 11h01 UTC, 3^rd January 2026. The Wolf Moon

When the low, wintery Sun sits in Capricorn, the Moon has the opportunity to shine brightly and powerfully in her own sign – the emotional, bubbly, (self)-protective and cautious sign of the Crab.

This Cancer Full Moon seeks belonging, its own place, its roots…

Cancer is nurturing and often shy, yet also canny in business. The Sun in Cancer kickstarts summer, it’s one of the Cardinal angles. Cardinal signs are initiators and shouldn’t be underestimated. They see opportunities and they get things up and running.

The Cancerian realm is the home, the family or the people we are close to, our ‘tribe’ – and, always, the Past. This is a nostalgic Full Moon. We’re likely to crave safe spaces, weighted blankets and hot chocolate.

As with all Full Moons, this one is the culmination of a cycle, a watershed. Here we see the tension enshrined in the juggle between work and home life, the challenge of balancing the person we are in public (Capricorn) with the person we are at home (Cancer). And, as always, we must let something go – an idea, a project, a person, a task…

Cancer/Capricorn is the ‘Axis of Incarnation’ where we step symbolically from the womb to the world. We feel the pull of the workplace, of our career. We must earn money and achieve a certain status, yet we must also strive to maintain a healthy relationship with our emotions and to nurture our inner child. This Full Moon reminds us that the world is demanding and there is work to be done, yet caring for ourselves and others in an emotional, as well as practical way, is important and necessary.

This is a back to school/work Moon. We are pulled from our cocoon and required, once again, to confront the outer world with its demands and structures.

Capricorn, of course, is ruled by Saturn, currently in Pisces. So, the Sun in this lunation, is subject to the Saturn/Neptune dyad which is completing its story and preparing for dynamic new beginnings.

This means that the Sun/Moon opposition feels like more of a watershed than usual. It may mark an ending, a ‘leaving behind’. Perhaps the ending of our brooding on what might have been, to make way for a focus on the future. A shaking down and stepping out.

The first aspect the Moon makes after leaving the Sun is an opposition to Mars in Capricorn with themes of ambition, strategic action and its aim to lay down solid foundations on which to build our dreams.

In fact, from the moment we entered January 2026, the Sun was enclosed by Venus and Mars in a triple conjunction between 12° – 15° of Capricorn. This ‘stellium’ increases in intensity over the early part of the month with the three planets closest on 8^th January when Venus and Mars are together at 18°08’ while the Sun is at 17°48’ Capricorn. At this moment, the trio are in a flowing aspect with a helpful Moon in Virgo.

This is an intensely practical combination, grounded and solution-oriented, perfect for working through issues and building strong structures.

With Mercury also in Capricorn at this time, what we think and say is consistent with how we act (Mars), what we desire (Venus), how we feel (Moon), and our most profound life-direction (Sun). Across the sky, Jupiter in Cancer suggests caution and urges us to reflect on what we really want and to remember how far we have come. 

Throughout this extended conjunction, which lasts until Venus crosses the boundary into Aquarius on 17th January, Venus and Mars will not be visible in the sky as they are hidden behind the Sun. This suggests internal processing or action behind the scenes, things happening which may not yet be in the public realm. We may well have to wait for Saturn to move into Aries in February for the green light to go ahead.

Happy New Year to everyone. Wishing you peace, health, optimism and kindness in 2026. Thanks for reading.