The Astrological Meaning of the Festive Full Moon

The Astrological Meaning of the Festive Full Moon

This year, we will see a unique sight – a full moon on Christmas Day. This is the first time this has occurred since 1977, and it won’t happen again until 2034, so it’s well worth looking out for. For observers in the United Kingdom, the full moon actually occurs at 11:11am, so you won’t be able to see it until it rises at around 4:30pm, but the astrological effect will of course be immediate.

winter night

The Full Moon on Christmas Day is in the sign of Cancer – a perfect fit for the festive season. The Moon in Cancer often prompts the urge to be at home with loved ones, to show compassion and reflect on the past together – and whether you personally celebrate Christmas or not, this is an excellent season for such togetherness and reflection.

The moon is associated very strongly with emotions and unconscious habits; it also represents maternal instincts or figures, and by association the home. Merely having a full moon on Christmas Day is apt, whichever sign it appears in, because of these connections. After all, in the Christian faith it is a day of celebration for the birth of Jesus, a story in which both the maternal figure and the need to return home are prominent. In some pagan traditions, the Yule festival is the time of the rebirth of the sun, again an event with strong maternal connections.

The Moon is the ruling planet of Cancer, which is one of the water signs and thus, again, strongly connected with emotions. This means that a full moon in Cancer intensifies its effects, rather than seeing them tempered by the influences of other signs.

Finally, Cancer corresponds with the fourth house of the horoscope; this is the house of family and of childhood. The festive season is a shaper of childhoods, a marker that we remember and recall for years to come – hopefully with fondness.

Thus, with all these elements combined, the Full Moon in Cancer should serve to accentuate your Christmas; to make it a homely and cosy season.

Family celebrating Christmas dinner

However, for those less fortunate, these aspects can serve to accentuate what they are missing; yet another aspect of this full moon can assist here. With its maternal urges and emotional instincts, this full moon should be an excellent promoter of compassion, and we can easily use its drive to offer shelter to the unfortunate, to help your neighbours and promote good will to all.

If you would like to know more about how astrological aspects such as the festive Full Moon may affect you personally, you can order personalised astro reports based on your individual horoscope. You can also call me or a member of my team for readings on one of the numbers at the top of this page.

Tony Hyland
tony@tonyhyland.com