We are at the Cancer New Moon again! I love the new moons because they are perfect times to review where we are in life – and where we want to go. Below are some videos I created from my Co-Creating the Cosmos workshops – as well as questions to get you thinking about the general energies of this Cancer season. 

New Moon Cancer 2024
6:57 pm Eastern, July 5, 2024
14º23′

Tonight we have a new moon in Cancer – one of the most fertile moons for setting intentions. 

Questions to ask yourself for this time is:

• Have I done my spiritual good housekeeping to create an environment in which nourishing can take place?
• Have I found and healed the parts of myself and my culture that have experienced homelessness and exile?
• Have I given thanks to my Mother(s)?
• What part of myself do I need to feed?
• Who and/or what in my culture has been neglected and needs nourishing and protection?
• What do I want to bring to life?
• Are there people in my life who nurture and love me? Do I nurture and love anyone?
• What makes me feel home?
• What is home? Where is home?
• What do I want to grow?

12:27 pm Eastern, July 6th, 2024
23º51′ Cancer Moon Conjunct Venus

In addition to the above questions:

• How do I attract nurturing and beauty?
• What makes me feel beautiful? Who makes me feel beautiful?
• What would I like to beautify in myself, my surroundings?
• What is beautiful in my life? Have I expressed my gratitude for those people and things?
• Do I allow time and space in my life for beauty and romantic love?
• How do I want to experience beauty and romantic love?
• Do I feel valued, safe and secure in my romantic and/or creative partnerships?
• How does art make my life better?

Let these questions help you set your intentions for this lunation cycle. Be open and curious, let whatever comes to you come to you. You might be surprised.

Moon is the Nurturer

“We can measure a culture’s evolution by
whether that society nurtures and reveres its
children, its elders, the environment
and all growing things.” ~ Carolyn Casey

If you want to go further, to explore more, below are exercises that will help you explore the qualities of Cancer. 

Is there anything in your life that does not nurture you? Now is a good time to let it go.

This is especially good leading up to the exact time of the new moon tonight.

• What character defects might you have that no longer serve you? What can you invite in to its place at the time of the new moon?

Getting into the energy of the moon, embodying our emotional energy, helps us have a reference point for our emotional empathy and compassion. The task of the moon is to create life and nurture all living beings – especially those who cannot help themselves. 

Cancer is the opposite of Capricorn. Cancer’s task is to set up housekeeping in order to create an environment in which nourishing can take place. As the world feels like it is falling apart, Cancer’s energy is calling on us to build a new foundation with care – and this energy is new, and action oriented.

This is a time of honoring the Divine Feminine. This is a time of recognizing our emotional energy as sacred and wise, our intuition and synchronicities as holy guidance, and our impulse to nurture and protect all living things as evolutionary and creative.

In her book, Making the Gods Work for You: Astrological Language of the Psyche, Caroline Casey says, Cancer reminds us:

“I feel what is needed to incubate life, and I respond.” 

“What we tend will tend to us.” 

The Unseen World

One of Cancer’s qualities is the unseen world – or really, doing things for the sake of love rather than for the sake of recognition.

In a physical sense, the crab, the animal that represents Cancer, is an underwater creature, and how that a whole world is happening underneath the surface that we don’t even see unless we look for it. And yet, if we don’t pay attention to the underwater world, we might step on the crab and get pinched.

Just because we can’t see something, doesn’t mean it isn’t there! Just because we can’t see something doesn’t mean it’s not important.

Conductivity

Another property of water is that it is incredibly conductive. I wanted to explore the idea of the unseen as conductive energy – of being immersed in the unseen, and tending to the unseen by sending it life-filled, love-filled energy.

When we nurture, when we bless, when we set intentions or pray, we are doing unseen work.

Cancer says, “What we tend will tend to us.”

How did it feel to flow through the energy of love, appreciation, joy-filled music, and deepest dreams? These are all unseen things, but are definitely felt.

We have all been in the womb, experiencing the hopes and dreams of our mothers.

Coming out of this soul womb, moving through this dance – can you see how we are both the mother and the child of our realities?

Mother Your Mother before she was your Mother – Cancer is the Mother 

Time Travel Exercise: Part of what we do when we set intentions is we think about what we want in the future. The only moment that is actually real for us is right now. So the future is in our imagination, and, really, so are our memories. So we can also think about what we want, or what we wanted in the past. We can also send our intentions into the past.

Going Back in time  – Send yourself back in time, to before you were born. See your mother as a young woman. See her just before you were a spark of existence. Send her love-filled, joy-filled intentions. See yourself giving your mother a hug, send her blessings, surround her with light and love and assure her that you are grateful for your life and that life is good. Imagine sending her encouraging words. Imagine your mother having everything she needs to feel loved, safe, and nurtured. Imagine your etheric self embracing your mother and sending her love safety and nourishment. Imagine sending yourself love, safety, and nourishment. Trust that all is well.

Tree of Your Life Meditation

Wisdom of the Trees

We could not live on the Earth if there were no trees – without trees we could not breathe. Try this meditation to receive wisdom from the trees.

Meeting the Child Self

We have innate wisdom

What is the gift of/from your child self?

On setting Intentions

The video below is guidance on setting intentions. 

It also contains the meditation for Mothering your Mother before she was your Mother Meditation (from above). 

A simple ritual for Cancer New Moon Intention Setting

Write out your intentions.

Pour a glass of water. Holding the glass in your hands, read your intentions with energy and emotion. Charge the water with your intentions by sending all of that energy into the glass of water. Now, drink the water.

You may also place your intentions on an altar. Every night, place a glass of water on the intentions. In the morning, drink the water. And, or, water your plants with the intention-charged water.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I am in the throes of caregiving for my mother. Cancer is ruled by the Moon and represent the Mother – this new moon feels significant for me. I am curious how setting intentions for this lunation will feel. And how they will unfold. And even what my intentions will be – everything feels so up in the air I don’t even know what they are yet. I will take the time to answer my own questions this evening.

If you set intentions, or try any of these Cancer embodiment exercises and meditations, I would love to here how it goes! Please let me know in the comments!

Peace and love,

Holly

July 5, 2024
Cancer New Moon 14º23′
Hudson Valley, NY