December 2023: Tarot spread for the full moon in Cancer

Plus some journaling questions, an astro-tarot forecast and an exploration of the Sabian symbol for the full moon in Cancer.

The December 2023 full moon falls in the sign of Cancer. The Cancer archetype is emotional, intuitive, nurturing and healing. It also symbolizes “home” and all the things that home represents – not just our physical home, but also our emotions, energy, body, and the spiritual hearth of our souls.

Spiritually, the Cancer archetype is one of compassion, of recognizing that people, in general, act to the best of their abilities, limited by their education, upbringing and current awareness. The Cancer archetype knows that love and forgiveness, where possible, are the best way to respond to destructive behavior – along with firm boundaries, of course.

This full moon also highlights our sense of purpose and belonging, especially relevant as we sit at the threshold of a new year. Consider the ways in which you show up for yourself and others. Consider, too, all the things, great or small, that you accomplished this year, and that you want to accomplish in the coming year. This full moon also highlights our partnerships — the people and ideas we collaborate and partner with, learn from, create with.

This is a good time to consider the various relationships, collaborators, colleagues, and mentors who are part of your life, to think about why you’re maintaining the relationships you’re in, and how these relationships can enhance your life, make them fuller, and make these relationships even better for everyone involved.

Astro-Tarot forecast for the December 2023 full moon in Cancer

To throw some more light on the December full moon astrology, let’s take a look at the astro-tarot influences of this lunation. The Cancer full moon falls in decan 1, which is represented by the Two of Cups. This is to be interpreted in conjunction with The Chariot, which is associated with Cancer.

The Two of Cups reminds me of the yin and yang, masculine and feminine, shadow and light – two seemingly opposing forces that have the potential to lead to wholeness when they are balanced. Wholeness – this is another of those words that has been overused and stripped of meaning. On one hand, we are always whole – how can we not be? – on the other, there are times when we don’t feel whole**.** We say things like “I have a hole in my heart”, “I’ve been broken open”, or “My heart has broken into a million pieces”. And yet, we are, as I like to remind myself, holey-whole.

{Note: I’m referring to the feeling state when I talk about wholeness.}

In every moment, we have the capacity to pick up the pieces and put them back together again. To shed the things that are holding us back. Sometimes on our own, at other times with the help of our friends or of people who are specially trained to help us put our pieces back together again.

The energy of this Cancer full moon can also help us to tune into our intuition more easily and to release anything that is holding us back from being our whole and true selves. As we close out this year, what are the emotions, projects, or goals that you want to release? What habits do you want to let go of? Contemplate these and use the light of the full main to release them and gain greater clarity on what you want to call in in the new year.

Jupiter is also active during this lunation, amplifying the energies that are swirling around at this time. It lends us a dose of positive energy, and reminds us to focus on the abundance and gifts that are all around us.

As this is the last full moon of the year, it is an excellent time for some gratitude, reflection, and intention setting. If you haven’t already started working on your year-end reflections, this is an excellent time to start. You can download my Visioning workbook {a gift from me to you!} and spend some time reflecting on the year gone by, choose a word of the year, and dream into the new year.

Sabian Symbol for the December 2023 full moon

The Sabian Symbol for Cancer 4 degrees is At A Railroad Crossing, A Car Races With A Train.

This symbol reminds me of Bollywood movies and train chases, usually in one of two scenarios: the hero chasing his lady love or as a fast-paced action sequence. In both cases, the crux is a chase — and that’s what this symbol reminds me of: the desire to compete with or take on society as if life were a race or something to be conquered.

There’s a need for caution here: the actor never manages to catch his lady love, and the action sequence almost always ends in a horrifying crash.

The symbol serves as a caution to slow down, to examine the risks that you may be taking in your heedless chase, and to perhaps drop the need to “win” this race. If you’re more careful, however, you can indeed come out on top.

Tarot spread for the December 2023 full moon in Cancer

Here’s a tarot spread to tap into the energy of this full moon.

1. Let go: This card represents an energy that is ready to be released at this time.

2. Call in: This card represents an energy you need to call in for the new year.

3. Blessings: This card represents a blessing or a gift for you at this time.

4. Mamma moon says: This is always an encouraging message

If you share your spreads on Instagram, please use the hashtag #moontarotstories or tag me @moderngypsy.in so we can connect with each other.

Journaling questions for the full moon in Cancer

Not a cardslinger? No problem. Here are some journaling questions for you instead.

Instead of journaling questions for this full moon, I invite you to download the Visioning workbook {or any other year-end workbook of your choice} and spend some time to reflect and plan.