This full moon is in Capricorn, opposing the sun in Cancer, and is all about integration. Capricorn, represented by the mythical sea goat, possesses a unique and profound connection to the depths of understanding. With its fish tail and goat body, the sea goat symbolises a transformative journey from one state to another; a symbolism that holds the key to comprehending Capricorn's essence. While Capricorn is associated with the element of earth, the sea goat's representation encompasses both water and earth, signifying the emergence of profound emotional and material realms. 

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This new moon in Gemini, characterised by the air sign’s intellectual agility and curiosity, is an active and imaginative kind of energy. On the one hand, this is about logical reasoning and analysis. But it is also very much about daydreaming and fantasy, and the relationship these creative processes have with our external realities. When we daydream, the mind has the freedom to wander and create its own narratives, unbound by external constraints or immediate reality. This imaginative function taps into the realms of fantasy, creativity, and visualisation; enabling us to mentally construct and explore scenarios that go far beyond the confines of our current lived reality. 

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The new moon is often referred to as the dark moon. A blank canvas of blackness onto which we paint our intentions, dreams and desires. This new moon in Taurus is a little different. For the days preceding and following it, we will be able to see “Da Vincis’s glow” or “earthshine” at its most intense. Earthshine is a natural phenomenon that occurs during the phase of the new moon when sunlight reflects off the earth's surface and illuminates the dark portion of the moon. Although Leonardo da Vinci didn’t discover earthshine, he was the first to decode its cause; providing one of the earliest recorded descriptions of earthshine in his notebooks.

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The penumbral shadow is much fainter than the umbra - the innermost, dark, centre portion of the earth's shadow - so the effects of this type of eclipse are less obvious. There is a subtle but profound mystery to a penumbral eclipse, both visually and energetically. This is going to be potent and tender. Potent in terms of the opportunity it is giving us to cleanse (Scorpio is a fixed water sign) and tender in terms of how it could make us feel, and how we should treat ourselves during this time (with tenderness). 

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Eclipses are all about out of the ordinary alignment and can only occur when the moon is perfectly lined-up to intersect the ‘ecliptic’: the sun’s path through our daytime sky and the plane of earth’s orbit of the sun. The reason eclipses don't happen every month is because the moon's orbit is tilted; it is 5º relative to the earth's orbit around the sun. This means that most of the time, the moon passes above or below the earth's shadow and the sun and does not cross the ecliptic plane. The alignment necessary for an eclipse only happens during a narrow window of time, when the moon is close enough to one of its nodes (astronomical nodes are the two points in the moon's orbit where it crosses the ecliptic plan) and it is either a new moon or a full moon. This means that, for a solar eclipse to occur, the moon must be at the right position relative to the sun and the earth, and for a lunar eclipse to occur, the moon must be at the right position relative to the earth and the sun.  

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The Pink Moon is named after pink phlox wildflowers, which bloom around the time of April’s full moon in North America, in the early spring. Other Native North American names for this moon are the Breaking Ice Moon and The Moon of the Red Grass Appearing. These names refer to the spring thaw and the sprouting of new growth that happens at this time of year. The winter is over and new life – represented by the return of vibrant colours – is here.  

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Our world is made up of different layers of multiform rhythms and pulses. From our heartbeat to sunrise and sunset to the shifting seasons, our lives on this planet depend on these temporal sequences. Our very existence is entwined within them. The cycle of the moon – starting with the new moon and culminating in the full – has always had significance for us. Many spiritual traditions and faiths use the lunisolar calendar, which measures time according to the phase of the moon and the time of the solar year. And, in terms of agriculture, biodynamic farming considers lunar and astrological influences on soil and plant development.  

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Full moons are the climax of the lunar cycle. During a full moon we see the sun’s illumination of the entire day side of the moon. And on earth, we experience a peak moment of light and power. Our oceans swell and recede with more variation during the full and new moon – when the earth, moon, and sun are lined up or, put another way, when sun and moon are aligned on opposite sides of the earth – because lunar and solar tides reinforce each other (the sun's gravitational gradient across the earth is significant but less so than the moon’s). In astrology, we express this interaction between the sun and moon as an opposition (these celestial bodies oppose each other from either side of the earth). This is why a full moon is always in the opposite sign from the sun.  

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This new moon in Pisces is the second of two super new moons in 2023. The technical term for a supermoon is ‘perigee-syzygy of the Earth-Moon-Sun system’ and is used when the moon is less than 223,694 miles from the earth. The term ‘perigee’ describes the point in the moon’s orbit when it is closest to the earth and ‘syzygy’ is the straight-line configuration of three celestial bodies. Supermoons exert a greater gravitational pull on the earth, which causes higher tides. We also see the greatest variation between high and low tide at new and full moon time. Supermoons, whether new or full, affect the ebb and flow of our seas. They are explicitly watery. 

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As the orbital positions of the moon around the earth, and the earth around the sun, shift gradually over a synodic, or lunar, month, the moonlight we see here on earth changes. The waxing and waning of the moon’s light is described by four major phases: new moon, first quarter, full moon and last quarter. The moon doesn’t shine, it reflects the light of the sun. And a full moon occurs when 100% of the moon's face is lit by sunlight. This happens when the sun and the moon are totally aligned on opposite sides of the earth. The climax of the lunar cycle – and indeed all its phases – is a beautiful illustration of the relationship between the sun and the moon, and how it affects what we see and experience on earth. 

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A new moon is the beginning of the lunar cycle. This initial phase is often called the dark moon as it is invisible to us on earth. The absence of the moon’s light in the sky means it is the best time to see other celestial objects, such as planets and meteor shower. Deep sky objects, such as star clusters, nebulae and galaxies also become more visible to us. The absence of lunar light here is revelatory, allowing us to see deeper and, energetically speaking, it is an opportunity to go deeper. 

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Full moons are a climax of energy and light. They represent a time of powerful illumination – where the hidden comes into the light – and release. This full moon in Cancer coincides with Epiphany: one of the oldest festival days of the Christian church. Epiphany marks the first manifestation of Jesus to the Gentiles, represented by the Magi. A divine reveal. The word epiphany, of course, means a moment of sudden and great revelation or realisation. And this is what our first full moon of the calendar year is; a potent, revelatory moon. A sacred check in, which is full of wisdom and nurture.  

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The distance between the earth and the moon varies because the moon’s orbit is an ellipse, as opposed to a circle. A lunar perigee is the term that describes the moment when the moon is closest to the earth and, when it is at its farthest from us, it is called a lunar apogee. When the perigee happens around a full or new moon, we call it a supermoon. A full supermoon looks bigger and brighter. And supermoons – both full and new – cause king tides, which are especially high spring tides, where water levels become much higher; often causing flooding.  

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December’s full Moon is often called by its traditional Mohawk name: the Cold Moon. In China, it is known as Dōngyuè, or Winter Moon. Rising on one of the longest nights of the year – the closest full moon to the winter solstice – it is also called the Long Night Moon by the Mohicans. In the Northern Hemisphere, this December full moon occurs at a moment of peak cold and dark; its light feeling all the more precious because of this.

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New moons are the start of the lunar cycle. They are pure potential. The beginning of a journey. A time to imagine, and reimagine, our lives. This new moon in Sagittarius comes at the end of a very intense eclipse season in Scorpio. A very introspective, internal time – Scorpio represents the underworld – where we may have felt supercharged with challenging emotions. This new moon is a salve to that energy. It is optimistic and visionary, but also safe and soft. It is a moon to dream of what is to come and to reflect on how far we’ve come and all we have achieved. It is also a moon that is explicitly about story-telling.

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Eclipses always happen in solar/lunar pairs (more rarely, three eclipses can take place in a season). Solar eclipses happen on a new moon and lunar eclipses happen on a full moon. The second eclipse of this Scorpio season is a full lunar eclipse in Taurus happening on November 11th. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to view the eclipse in the UK – it will be visible in USA, Canada, South America, Australia and much of Asia – but we will experience its powerful energy.

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With this new moon in Scorpio begins our second eclipse season of the year. Eclipse season is an approximate 35-day period where at least two (and possibly three) eclipses will take place. Typically, there are two eclipses in one eclipse season, and two eclipse seasons in one calendar year. This means we generally have at least four eclipses per year. Eclipse seasons repeat in approximately six month cycles.

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In the Northern Hemisphere, the Harvest Moon is the name given to the full moon that falls closest to the Autumnal Equinox. For several evenings in a row on and around the Harvest Moon, moonrise will happen soon after sunset, which results in an abundance of bright moonlight early in the evening. This was a source of additional light to farmers and workers harvesting crops grown in the summer. Harvest is the last phase in the growth cycle, and full moons are the last phase of the lunar cycle. This full moon is in Pisces, which is the last sign of the zodiac. This is a moment that represents maturation transmuting into dissolution. Of nothing more to do, other than be. Mystical and psychedelic in flavour, this full moon illuminates and melts notions of ‘the self’ as something separate - from others, from the world and from the universe.

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