Wolf Full Moon

We had a wolf full moon on Wednesday, January 15, 2014 in 25 degrees of Cancer.  Why is it called a wolf full moon?  According to the Farmer’s Almanac, the Native Americans coined the phrase because they observed wolf packs howling hungrily outside their Indian villages in the cold January weather.  It wasn’t that cold this year on the east coast, but I have to admit that it was a beautiful moon.  I was mesmerized by its luminescence as I left my weekly meditation group shortly after 8:00 p.m.  Its radiance seemed to follow me as I walked the short distance to my home.  I literally couldn’t take my eyes off of it.  I didn’t hear any wolves howling but I did hear a dog barking as I was crossing the street and that really nailed the experience of the wolf full moon for me because of the prevalent belief that dogs are descended from wolves.

What were the themes of this rather loaded full moon in its home sign of Cancer?  It was a very emotional full moon characterized by a need to find balance between Cancerian dependence and the Capricorn need to be grown up and responsible.  Earthly family matters needed to be addressed.  This full moon reminded us how we really felt and Saturn in Scorpio trined it to support the soul’s evolution.  It was literally a time to trust your emotions and express them.  How nice of Saturn to be cutting us some slack and giving us a break with this full moon!  This full moon could also herald changes in long-term relationship patterns.  Caregivers might have discovered that they need some of the nurturing that they have long been providing in relationships.  Role reversals in relationships are a common theme. The Sun in Capricorn facilitated objectivity about who we are and what we really want. Self-awareness around relationship issues could prove to be a tricky road to navigate.  Learning to value ourselves is essential and development of self-worth is crucial if we are to get our needs met because the bottom line is that we need to believe that we are worth it.

This one really hit home for me because I have Saturn in the first house and I have always struggled with self-esteem.  The full moon in Cancer also conjuncted my Jupiter and Uranus in Cancer the 10^th house, opposed my Chiron in Capricorn in the 4^th house and squared my Neptune in Libra in the 1^st house.  I did manage to reap some benefits of the full moon in my 10^th house by obtaining some new business, but its opposition to my Chiron in the 4^th house triggered some painful memories from my childhood and made me sad about the family members that I had lost.  It’s impossible to be 59 and not have experienced the loss of family.  Of course my parents and grandparents are dead, but I lost a younger brother seven years ago and that loss still hurts. That square to Neptune also gave me some pretty intense dreams, to say the least.

I really enjoyed seeing Michael Lutin’s take on the full moon. He reminded me that that the full moon did cross over an exalted Jupiter in Cancer, but he had a photo of a dog on a dolphin’s back.  Check it out at:

http://www.michaellutin.com/

The point he was trying to make is that the dog might be suffering or too scared to accept the dolphin’s ride and jump back in the water.  We all have options even if we don’t yet recognize them.  But the photo of the dog on the dolphin triggered a memory of a particularly vivid dream that I had several years ago in which a dolphin brought me to shore.  At that time I knew that the dream was spiritually significant, but I didn’t know why.  I always thought that dolphins were friendly, helpful and cool, an impression that no doubt came from watching Flipper on TV as a child.  But I did a little research and realized that I had dreamed about a dolphin because it was guiding me through a very stressful time in my life.  These are some of the meanings I found attributed to dreaming about dolphins.

Dreams about dolphins are thought to be highly spiritual and can be viewed as a symbol of encouragement to seek spiritual guidance.

If the dreamer is riding a dolphin, this can indicate that he or she wishes to move upward in life, using the mind to its greatest capacity.

After I had that dream I really started believing in the spiritual power of dolphins and actually purchased a silver pendant with two dolphins and an amethyst between them so that I could tap into that spiritual energy whenever I needed it by wearing it close to my heart.  I wore it on a silver chain and it became one of my favorite pieces of jewelry. 

The full moon in Cancer was also sandwiched in between Mercury in Aquarius squaring the nodes of the moon on January 14^thand Mars in Libra squaring Venus in Capricorn on January 16^th.  Mercury squaring the nodes of the moon may have felt like a Mercury retrograde experience for some.  I knew it was coming, but still I was surprised when I missed connections on public transit that day.  Mars squaring Venus probably brought up relationship issues for review for many people, especially with Venus still being retrograde in Capricorn.  There even may have been some hurt feelings as a result of it.  It also lent an aura of irritability, impatience and hopefully some creativity.  Today, January 17^th, Mercury in Aquarius sextiles Uranus in Aries and I have high hopes that this aspect will facilitate alignment with our higher mind and provide inspiration.  Not a bad way to start off a long holiday weekend commemorating  Martin Luther King’s birthday, known for his “I have a Dream” speech!