The New Moon in Cancer, Conjunct Jupiter, is exact in the wee hours of the morning on the West Coast, at 3:31am PDT. This lunation features some of the most expansive and luscious energy the cosmos has to offer. And yet, this is also the lunar cycle during which Uranus will shift into Gemini, adding more fuel to the already raging fires on the planet. We are being nudged, if not propelled, into new directions under this New Moon, thanks to a powerful Finger of God (Yod) configuration at its heart. Still, our approach to this Cancer New Moon must be rooted in expansion, hope, possibility, and even confidence on the personal level. Dig into the deepest desires of your heart and set intentions for what you want to create, with Jupiter, the Great Expander, amplifying it all.
Cancer is the archetype of home, family, self-care, preparation, restoration, and the very principle of birth, an existential consciousness. The Universe birthed itself and formed solar systems. Our solar system birthed the Earth, the Earth birthed us, and we, in turn, birth our lives over and over again as we continuously reinvent ourselves. Every New Moon in Cancer offers an opportunity for personal rebirth, a chance to create ourselves anew from the most intimate layers of our humanity. But this one hits differently, thanks to the exact Conjunction with Jupiter, who has just entered Cancer, the sign of his exaltation. This makes everything bigger and better. We set intentions now with joyful, hopeful, confident energy, a thread in the larger tapestry of this moment that is rich with abundance and promise.
But of course, we don’t experience anything in a vacuum. The pop astrologers are already calling this the most amazing New Moon for manifestation ever, but that’s only a slim slice of the full story. I’ve long tolerated pop astrology from an annoyed distance, watching it reduce profound teachings into bite-sized content in service of clicks. But these days, it feels irresponsible, and dangerous. So please, take what you see on social media with a grain of salt. Most of it is never the whole picture. People often experience my work as accurate because I include everything that’s happening, and I talk about how a transit feels, rather than pretending to predict outcomes. Okay… lecture over.
What’s missing from the clickbait narrative is that this New Moon is holding an exact Inconjunct with Pluto, the Lord of the Underworld. If Pluto governs our shadow and fears, then this New Moon also requires a direct visit to those frightened, disempowered places within. Pluto is our power center. Yes, this lunation promises tremendous potential, but only if you’re willing to face your fears and take your power back, rather than project it outward and battle it in others. This is the undercurrent in the New Moon chart that reflects the growing tension and potential for war and violence in the collective. And yet, we must still live our daily lives, care for ourselves, and love the people around us. No one escapes the need to grapple with the shadow during this cycle, especially once Uranus moves into Gemini.
This New Moon is also forming an exact Sextile with Mars, which is a personal blessing. Mars rules the body in motion, and his recent retrograde brought him back into Cancer from Leo so we could embody more of Cancer’s care, rest, and preparation, key elements of powerful creation in the outer world. Now in Virgo, Mars brings productivity and the practical know-how to make things happen, thanks to Mercury’s rulership of Virgo. But Virgo is also co-ruled by Chiron, who offers not just healing, but access to mystery. We’ve never been more equipped to work with unseen forces and expand our personal power through spiritual practice. A Sextile is the most productive geometry in astrology, so the message is clear: set bold, expansive intentions, but be ready to do the work. Nothing comes for free these days; effort is required.
And here’s the thing about that. When you put the Sextile between Mars and the Sun/Moon/Jupiter together with Pluto on the other side of the sky, they form a long, narrow triangle known as a Finger of God, or Finger of Fate, if you’re not into the G-word. The Yod is a navigational structure. Picture a ship adjusting its course, tacking side to side to catch the wind. Each small adjustment brings it closer to its destination. This New Moon is like that: set your intention boldly, then do the work (Mars), and Pluto will provide the transformation necessary to shift your course just enough to catch the wind and sail toward your future.
Mars’ beloved Venus is also participating in this New Moon by forming an easy Opposition to the Nodes. Venus, in her ruling sign of Taurus, has been teaching us how to lead with the heart and bring new things into form, especially after her passage through the zodiac’s birth canal (30° Pisces to 0° Aries). Now she’s Trining the South Node, helping us release the past with ease, while her Sextile to the North Node shows that the real work lies in carving a new path, led by love.
Now we arrive at the true challenge of this New Moon and the cycle ahead. The Sun, Moon, and Jupiter are all Squaring both Saturn and Neptune in Aries. Neptune in Aries is firing us up with movements tied to belief and ideology, while Saturn’s presence in Aries reminds us that his lessons include the theme of war. At the personal level, the Square to Saturn speaks to the friction between responsibility and expansion. Jupiter offers bounty, but Saturn reminds us we must earn it, and there may be real tension between your goals and the demands of the external world. The Square to Neptune adds confusion, uncertainty, and a sense of not knowing what to do next.
The collective experience is telling a bigger story. Uranus changes signs on July 7th, just three days before the Full Moon in Cancer, and lands directly on the Cancer stelium in the natal chart of the United States. The U.S. is a Cancer country, born as a willing mother to the world’s lost and displaced peoples. Jupiter in Cancer amplifies this ideal, and the U.S. is currently in its Jupiter return, a chance to reconnect with that original spirit of care. But the Pluto return of the US chart (2022) revealed the depth of hypocrisy in how that care has been (or hasn’t been) practiced. With the Uranus return also being activated this cycle, we revisit the 80-year pattern of war that has shaped our national history. Make no mistake, we are in another Civil War. The hot summer I’ve been warning about begins now with this New Moon, and I urge my fellow Americans to be mindful and stay safe over the holiday weekend just ahead.
If that sounds like fearmongering, I invite you to pull your head out of the sand. You can’t sit this one out. Spiritual folks holding only love and light without engaging the collective shadow are not in right relationship with this moment. I’ve never taken public stances like this before, but those days are over. We’re in an extinction-level power grab as the Patriarchy crumbles, and we each have a role in activating the necessary change.
This is a moment to remember: the world is in chaos, but our daily lives continue, relentlessly. In past years, I would’ve focused only on the personal themes of this New Moon: home, family, self-care, and sweet manifestation. But this year, we must also set intentions to care for the world we are helping to rebirth, in true Cancer fashion. Have at it.
