First Quarter Moon in Cancer ☽ Apr 12, 2019

Friday, Apr 12 at 12.06pm PST

The Sun in Aries squares the moon in Cancer. The moon will rise at noon, peak at dusk and set at midnight all over the world, no matter your time zone. The moon is waxing, gathering momentum for fullness. The moon enters Cancer on [Mar 12, staying until the afternoon of Mar 14 (the quarter moon),] then moving on to Leo for the next 60-hour round, then Virgo, and so on and so forth. The moon completes her revolution around the earth in 29 days, but since the earth is also moving around the sun, the moon completes her revolution through the zodiac in just 27.33 days. On [Mar 20] the moon enters Libra, marking the beginning of the second full moon in this constellation.

Our eyes are freshly cleared by the new moon – now what? At the first quarter, we address precisely this question of now what, where to go, what to do? The nature of this quarter moon is both emotive (Cancer) and active (Aries). Here we examine the conflict/resolution between what we intend vs. what we actually do.

Humans in positions of power – will they truly listen, or will we only witness more crude attempts at humility and understanding? The quarter moon in Cancer rejects insincerity. Our actions and responses are crucial. Sit with discomfort. Ask yourself difficult questions.

I am in the process of listening to interviews conducted by Susanna Barkataki in a summit called “Honor [Not Appropriate] Yoga” and I am loving the experience. The questions Susanna and her colleagues ask one another (and the audience) are the same ones I encourage you to ask yourself. If you, like me, are a yoga instructor – do you know the origins of yoga, or have a personal relationship to them? Are you, like me, a white practitioner of yoga? Does your practice reflect your awareness of cultural appropriation? Yogi or not – are you a person who moves through this world with real awareness? Awareness of power dynamics perpetuated by the heteronormative, white supremacist society we live in? Nowhere is this more true and visceral than it is it here in the United States. It is not enough for me to simply write these words or think these thoughts. This is only the beginning – a baseline level of understanding that should be fully expected of me. Let’s take our intentions and turn them into actions. Let’s fully embody our beliefs.

Cancer’s origin myth really needs revamping. Cancer the crab, known in ancient Greece as Karkinos, was sent to distract Hercules while he was in battle. Hercules smashed the crab with his foot and kept fighting, end of story. New version: Karkinos swam toward Hercules undetected, then leapt out of the water to pinch his nether regions. As he yelped and demanded her release, the crab calmly lectured the young warrior on systemic oppression. She extolled the values of cooperation and communication, then let him go free.

A fateful mood soaks the sky. Fortify your energetic walls, hold your head high: this quarter moon will oppose Pluto in Capricorn. The day after, the sun will also square Pluto; hard angles to Pluto bring emotional volatility. But it’s ok, earthlings, feed your heart with cats, baking and Cancer Yoga. To find your personal moon sign, click here.

Mantra:  I feel