Welcome to Living the Spiral, and Happy (Gregorian) New Year!
As we cross the threshold into this next chapter, we do so under a Full Moon, happening on January 3 at 2:03 am PST. This moon is known as the year’s Full Wolf Moon, which carries a long history of being associated with winter, instinct, and the quiet but persistent call of what is still alive in us beneath the cold surface.
The Wolf Moon, here in the Northern hemisphere, arrives when the land is bare, when growth is not visible, and when survival has traditionally depended on attunement rather than outward speed. This full moon is a lunation that asks us to listen carefully, to notice what we are hungry for, and to respect the wisdom of our instincts as we step forward. It reminds us that beneath the surface, life is listening. Life is orienting. And even when things look dormant, something essential is awake.
In this immediate wake of holiday celebrations and family gatherings, a good theme to consider for this full moon is parenting and re-parenting. I hope you can take some time over the next few days give yourself the care and nurturance that you know you deserve, whether you recieve/d that type of care from your literal parents and caregivers or not. Hot baths, self massage, deep rest, and having boundaries with your time- so you can do you- are the order for this moon.
The Cancer-Capricorn Axis: Two types of care
With the sun in the sign of the sea-goat and the moon is shining bright across the sky in the sign of the crab, this week’s nourishing full moon is highlighting the axis of Cancer and Capricorn.
This full moon is happening in Cancer, an energy deeply connected to home, the womb, emotional safety, and the places we return to when we need care and nurturance. Cancer holds memory and attachment. It centers on the ways we protect what is tender and meaningful to us.
Under a Cancer Moon, emotions often rise more easily to the surface. We may find ourselves more aware of our needs, more sensitive to our environment, or more reflective about where we truly feel at home.
On the Zodiac wheel, the Cancer-Capricorn axis is unified through the theme of care and nurturance. Good parenting is a mixture of both providing comfort and setting boundaries, both tending to a safe home and setting goals for the future.
In that same vein, Cancer/Capriorn is an axis of shape-shifting and versatility. Both the crab and the sea goat can live in the water and on the earth. The Crab is more local in nature, tending to the land and water of the shores, while the mythical, mermaid-esque Sea Goat covers more ground, from the bottom of the sea to the top of mountain peaks.
Capricorn is ruled by Saturn, known as Chronus or Kronos in the Greek pantheon- (the etymological root of chronological). Kronos was the god of structured time, karma, and boundaries. Until telescopes were invented, Saturn was the furthest and slowest-moving “wandering star” that people could see out in space, and so it represents the boundaries of our solar system, the boundaries of our concept of long-term time. I don’t like to attribute gender to the planets, but in the lens of traditional parenting, Saturn and Capricorn are symbolic of the father, big-daddy energy.
Cancer, on the other hand, is ruled by the moon, our closest luminary, reminding us in her daily movement of the ever-changing nature of time. The moon’s is associated with the feminine, with water, with emotionality, with the 28 day revolution around the earth syncing up with women’s 28 day menstrual cycles, and with motherhood. Because of this synchronicity, in astrology, the moon is also known to be at home (in domicile) in Cancer.
The Full Moon in Cancer is in the Gate of Provocation (39)
This moon is happening in a specific part of the sign of Cancer. In Human Design, the Zodiac correlates with the 64 hexagrams of the Ancient I’Ching, known as the 64 gates. This full moon in Cancer falls in Human Design Gate 39, known as the Gate of Provocation, evoking the image of a crab coming out of hiding and coming at you with it’s monster claw.
Don’t fret though- this name can sound harsher than the lived experience actually is. Gate 39 is about emotional pressure, feelings that gently but persistently press on places where something under the surface wants to be acknowledged.
This gate’s energy can look like restlessness, longing, or a subtle sense that something is off, even if we cannot immediately name what it is. Gate 39 has a way of bringing awareness to unmet needs and half-lived desires, especially in the realm of emotional connection and belonging.
In the Gene Keys, Gate 39 carries the theme of provocation, but not in the way we often think of it. This is not about stirring conflict for attention or reaction. It is about applying just enough pressure to awaken spirit. In its shadow expression, this energy can feel like irritation, emotional restlessness, or a sense that nothing quite satisfies. We may feel blocked or frustrated without knowing exactly why. But as this energy matures, it reveals its gift of dynamism. Dynamism is life force that has found movement again. It is the moment when stagnation gives way to honest feeling, and when emotional truth begins to flow.
“The provocation of Gate 39 is not random resistance in life but life’s invitation to clear what is blocked so we can move with greater purpose and freedom.” - Ashley Mosaic
In the I’Ching, this gate is called “obstruction”, and references a time when progress slows so that we can feel what has been avoided. Obstruction is not a mistake. It is a sacred pause that redirects energy toward inner liberation. When we stop resisting the discomfort, Gate 39 opens a path toward freedom that is rooted in authenticity rather than escape.
“The 39th Gift is all about unlocking freedom, at all levels. … they know how to release stagnant energy through a system.” — Richard Rudd, 64 Ways
On this full moon in Cancer, ask yourself: where am I seeking safety, and is it truly nourishing me or helping me get free? Am I staying somewhere because it feels familiar, or because it genuinely supports my growth and well-being?
This moon, as with all full moons, does not demand answers right away. It simply invites honest reflection.
The Sun, Mars & Venus in the Capricorn Gate of the Fighter (Gate 38)
Across the sky, this Cancer Moon is in opposition to a powerful grouping of planets in Capricorn. The Sun, Mars, and Venus are all here together, moving through Gate 38, known as the Gate of the Fighter.
Gate 38 is often misunderstood as a gate of constant struggle, but the Gene Keys reveal something far more nuanced. At the shadow level, this energy can manifest as fighting against life, pushing through obstacles without clarity, or engaging in battles that drain our vitality. There is effort, but little meaning. As this frequency matures, it transforms into perseverance. Perseverance is not about forcing outcomes. It is about sustained devotion to what matters deeply.
In the I’Ching, this gate speaks to opposition, to the necessity of standing one’s ground in the face of resistance, not through aggression, but through inner alignment. The highest expression of Gate 38 is honor. Honor arises when we know what we are here to serve, and we give our energy to that purpose with integrity. This gate teaches that not all challenges are equal, and that dignity is born when we choose our struggles consciously, guided by values rather than reaction.
Gate 38 is not about fighting for the sake of struggle. It is about finding meaning through commitment. It asks us to consider what challenges are worth our time and energy, and which ones quietly drain us without giving anything back.
Capricorn brings a grounded, steady quality to this question. It is concerned with responsibility, integrity, and long-term effort. Mars adds motivation and determination. Venus helps us clarify what we value and what we are willing to invest in. And the Sun shines a light on purpose.
This side of the sky is asking us to grow up in a gentle but firm way. To choose carefully. To build slowly. To devote ourselves to what actually matters.
The opposition between Cancer and Capricorn creates a conversation between feeling and structure, between emotional truth and practical commitment. One side says, this is what I feel and what I need. The other says, this is what I am willing to work for and sustain over time.
Neither is wrong. Both are necessary.
Venus and Mars Cazimis: January 7th & 9th
As this week unfolds, there is another subtle but meaningful shift taking place alongside the Full Wolf Moon. After the Sun, Venus, and Mars move together through Gate 38, the Gate of The Fighter, they all enter Gate 54, and it is here that both Venus and Mars meet the Sun in cazimi. If you’re not aware what that rad word means, a cazimi is a rare moment when a planet moves into conjunction with the very heart of the Sun, becoming briefly purified and clarified. A cazimi marks the precise midpoint of a planet’s cycle with the Sun, a moment of conjunction where a planet’s themes are reset and illuminated from the inside out, as if it’s sitting on the Sun’s Throne.
This is the gate often associated with ambition, but in its deeper sense, it speaks to aspiration, to the inner pull toward growth that feels purposeful rather than driven. In the Gene Keys, Gate 54 moves from the shadow of greed into the gift of aspiration and, at its highest expression, ascension. It reminds us that wanting more is not inherently wrong, but that our longing needs orientation in order to become nourishing.
In the I’Ching, Gate 54 corresponds to Hexagram 54, The Marrying Maiden, formed by the trigrams Thunder over Lake. Thunder brings movement and awakening, while lake is about receptivity and quiet joy. Together, they describe advancement through right relationship and timing, not through force or self-assertion. Growth happens here because something is ready, not because it is being pushed.
“When ambition is no longer driven by the need for validation or security, it transforms into aspiration, a quiet inner fire that lifts consciousness upward.”
— Richard Rudd, Gene Key 54
With Venus and Mars passing through the heart of the Sun in this gate, our values and our actions are gently recalibrated. Venus softens our sense of what truly matters, while Mars refines how we direct our energy. These cazimis invite us to notice the difference between ambition that is fueled by pressure and aspiration that arises naturally from alignment. They help us feel where effort can become devotion, and where striving can give way to steadier commitment.
Venus asks what truly matters. Mars asks what we are willing to move for. Aspiration begins when those answers match. May your desires be clear, your actions steady, and your ambition shaped into aspiration.
Starting the New Year with Clarity and Aspiration
All of this unfolds within the larger Cancer–Capricorn polarity activated by the full moon. On one side, Cancer invites us to listen to our emotional truth, to notice what feels tender, stirred, or in need of care. On the other, Capricorn asks us to consider what we are willing to build over time, what responsibilities we are ready to hold, and which commitments deserve our energy.
Both Cancer and Capricorn are signs that erupt, begin, start things, and take initiative, whether in an earthy form or watery way. Capricorn season begins with the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, the coldest time of year where we must look ahead and plan for the long term, relying on the systems and structures of storing fruits of the harvest. Capricorn’s initiative is strategic, forward looking, the Saturn/Chronus version of time. Cancer season begins with the Summer Solstice, the hottest and sunniest time of year when we must ‘make hay while the sun shines’, a time where it is beneficial and necessary pay attention to the moments as they pass by, the lunar version of time.
On this Cancer Full moon, with the light of the Sea-Goat Sun shining on the Cancer Moon in the opposite side of the sky, take a momentary break from the plans, goals, structures, and ideas of this season’s Saturnian, chronological-focused time. of year Although the over-culture encourages taking this week between Christmas and New Years to think about resolutions and how we should better ourselves for the future, I’d take advantage of Cancer’s lunar message, and find beauty in the now. Think of this moon as a momentary reminder of summer solstice, and go about as if it were a sunny, long July day spent tending to the ripened fruits in your lush garden, the warm evening breezes.
On full moons, we can always find beauty in opposites, and this one is no different. Dare to mother and father and parent yourself and your loved ones with the boundaries and the comforts that you long for.
As you step into this year, you are invited to listen closely to what has been stirred, to feel what wants to grow, and to move forward with care and intention. Let this moment help you begin by aligning your inner emotional aspirations with the outer world’s realities, and using that alignment to standing in the fullness of where you already are.
Until next time,
Alison
P.S. Follow me on Instagram @hearthandspiral, or visit my new website to view my offerings at hearthandspiral.com.
Join me for a Capricorn Season Workshop & Breathwork Journey on January 7th!
Each month I do a transmission on Zoom about the Zodiac season we’re in, followed by a 45-minute breathwork journey to embody the energies and archetypes of the season. This month’s theme is the determination and resolve of Capricorn- come breathe in the new year!
Click here for tickets, or here for a free pass if you’re a member of Embody the Revolution (paid subscriber on Substack)! You can also become a paid subscriber to get access to a free event every month, along with a 40 + page guidebook for each season.
And as always, thanks for your support, hearts, shares and comments! Every little bit of engagement helps me continue this labor of love and reach more people. xox!
