Here's what to take from December's Full Cold Moon in Cancer

WORDS Mia Steiber PHOTOGRAPHY Matthew Huang PUBLISHED Tue, 29 Dec 2020 - 2:11 pm

On December 30, we welcome the last Full Moon of the 2020 calendar year, the December Cold Moon. It's a name that comes from Native American folklore. Much like the Pink Moon or the Sturgeon Moon, the December Cold Moon signals that the cold season of the Northern Hemisphere has officially set in. It's also been called the Long Night Moon by the Mohican culture because this Full Moon takes place on one of the longest nights of the year for that region.

This is the final celestial event of what has been an astrologically tumultuous year. A Halloween Blue Moon, Saturn's transit through Capricorn and the once-in-a-century Grand Conjunction are just a few of the chaotic happenings in the sky that have sent energetic shockwaves through 2020. While there have been many learnings from these, we're not exactly sad to wave goodbye to this year.

Thankfully, our final astrological event will be one that brings healing and empathy. We will greet a Full Moon on December 30, which will be at its fullest at 2:28 in the afternoon. This particular lunation falls in the sensitive sign of Cancer. As we know, Cancer is one of the most emotional signs of the zodiac. As such, our December Full Moon will bring with it Cancer's nourishing and empathetic energy - and this will be felt most deeply by those with a Water Sun sign.

Full Moons always represent a climax in energy. Where New Moons are a cleanse and a chance for renewal, Full Moons are the opposite. It is a moment where the themes of the current Moon Cycle reach a peak and any of the energetically-influenced events in your life will reach a climax or tipping point. It is also a time of illumination, where the covert is uncovered and the influences at work come to the surface. We should consider this particular lunation a form of closure, a way to bid goodbye to the year. Let it all out in this final moment and prepare yourself to welcome in the New Year with a clean slate.

Fortunately for us, we will have tender and sweet Cancer to aid us in making it through. This Full Moon will be an emotional one, but not in a sad way. It is a small reprieve, but the rest of the sky is relatively clear of warring planets facing off and challenging transits. As such, this Full Moon is emotional in a very healthy way, offering us healing energy and heightening our natural empathetic responses.

To make the most of this final lunation, lean fully into this experience. Allow the peak in sensitising energy to help you shed the anger, guilt and anxiety of the past year. And welcome in the increased empathy and understanding. If this year has taught us anything, it's that we need to be kind to each other because you never know what someone else may be going through. Water signs who are already more sensitive than the rest of the zodiac will experience these energies more intensely. But an intensified dose of understanding and healing is not exactly a bad thing in our present moment. Embrace the energy that you're given from the Full Moon and be ready to enter the next phase of our journey.