the medicine of the moon.
exploring sidereal cancer season (july 16 - august 16, 2025)
the sun entered sidereal cancer on july 16, joining mercury (who is now retrograde) and becoming the ruler of the south node for the next month.
following the stages where aries call us to survive, taurus asks us to establish resources and stability, and gemini guides us to engage intellectually with our environment, cancer invites us to turn inward and engage with our emotional landscapes. cancer is the first water sign along the wheel, marking the instinctual and personal need to protect, nurture, attune, and remember. this sign moves beyond surface-level thought and sensation and dives into the vast well of ancestral and biological intelligence, and we learn about emotional safety, embodiment, belonging, and connection.
as a cardinal water sign, cancer initiates through feeling, responds intuitively, and is where our emotional body learns its first language. it’s the signs that produces the original blueprint of our nervous system, shaped through attunement with our caregivers and through the somatic experience of being held or left alone. before we are conscious of ourselves (leo), we know how the room feels. we know the atmosphere. cancer remembers, teaches us how to read the emotional field, how to self-protect, and how to reach for what soothes.
cancer is ruled by the moon, who is associated with the archetypal energies of the mother, reflector, and time keeper. the moon governs our inner tides, mood fluctuations, and highlights our unconscious, conditioned behavior that shapes how we respond through instinct. the moon shapes the raw light of the sun into something intimate, responsive, and embodied. it gives form to the solar impulse and translates radiance into memory, instinct, and emotion. where the sun expresses outwardly, the moon absorbs, reflects, and reconfigures. it notes the way we bond with life unconsciously through impressions, sensations, and vibes. so much of our emotional reality is shaped not by what we do but by what we absorb. when the moon’s qualities are developed with intention, it becomes a source of creative intelligence. the moon helps refine our sensitivity into discernment and our vulnerability into attunement and connection.
as the moon’s domicile, cancer carries the blueprint for how we transmute feeling into meaning, revealing the deeper spiritual and psychological lessons embedded within our most instinctive responses.
as the exaltation of jupiter, cancer reveals how emotional depth can be the gateway to spiritual insight and growth and how feeling can become wisdom. as the fall of mars, cancer teaches us how to strike the delicate balance of knowing when to act and respond and when to retreat, how to protect and how to defend, and how to strategize emotionally so that we move in ways that honor both instinct and intuition. as the detriment of saturn, cancer represents the difficulty of building firm structures with an abundance of feeling. discipline can easily become self-denial; however, saturn in cancer presents the opportunity to construct the emotional architecture and containers needed to hold vulnerability, strength, and tenderness simultaneously.
during this solar month, the sun in cancer is the ruler of the south node in leo, and we’re relinquishing the compulsion to emotionally perform. cancer season invites us to examine how our identities have been shaped by the emotional labor we’ve done to be loved, included, or needed. when care becomes a transactional currency, we can equate safety with self-erasure, but this season asks us to come home to ourselves by distinguishing between genuine emotional resonance from habitual response. there’s a call to reclaim the parts of ourselves that have been silenced by emotional obligation and create new emotional boundaries that honor our real needs. as the tides rise and fall, we learn that sustainable, genuine connections begins with presence that’s not rooted in performance, with ourselves and others.
major sidereal transits of cancer season
⇥ july 16 · sun enters cancer
⇥ july 18 · mercury stations retrograde
⇥ july 23 · venus square mars, sun trine saturn
⇥ july 24 · cancer new moon, sun trine neptune
⇥ july 25 · sun opposite pluto
⇥ july 26 · venus enters gemini
⇥ july 28 · mars enters virgo
⇥ july 30 · chiron stations retrograde
⇥ july 31 · sun conjunct mercury
⇥ august 1 · venus square saturn
⇥ august 9 · capricorn full moon
⇥ august 11 · mercury stations direct
⇥ august 12 · venus conjunct jupiter
minor sidereal transits of cancer season
⇥ july 18 · mercury sextile venus
⇥ july 23 · sun sextile uranus
⇥ august 1 · venus square neptune
⇥ august 8 · mars trine uranus
⇥ august 9 · mars opposite neptune
⇥ august 14 · mercury sextile mars
for the entire season: mercury in cancer, jupiter in gemini, saturn rx + neptune rx in pisces, uranus in taurus, pluto rx in capricorn, lunar nodes in aquarius (☊) and leo (☋).
medicine of the moon.
the moon is at the center of this season. each natal moon expresses emotional needs and sensitivities through their elemental nature. below you can read about each element and how cancer season may activate specific somatic responses, patterns, and opportunities.
🜂 fire moon 🜂
when water meets fire, steam rises. this season may stir up internal pressure, emotional heat, or bursts of restlessness that need somewhere to go. you might feel more easily activated or pushed toward urgency without clarity. what’s been simmering beneath the surface that’s now ready to be released? allow yourself to exhale through movement, expression, and sound.
in the body: notice areas in the body that feel tense, inflamed, or overactive/overworked. where does the pressure build when you suppress anger or urgency?
medicine: peppermint + lemon balm + skullcap to cool the system and calm the mind.
🜃 earth moon 🜃
when water meets earths, we get mud. this season has the potential to feel emotionally due to feelings of stagnancy rising to the surface and old states of being feel difficult to shift. if you’ve been emotionally backlogged or slow moving, this transit can help soften and loosen what’s been compacted to create space for movement while honoring your need for patience. what emotions have you been carrying and what does your body need to release them? allow your movements to be gentle and sensory without force.
in the body: tension in the gut, bloating, sluggish digestion, constipation. what needs loosening inside?
medicine: dandelion + ginger + fennel to support digestion, circulation, and movement
🜁 air moon 🜁
when water meets air, it rains. thoughts become saturated with feeling and those that have been held back may spill out as tears, dreams, and streams of conscious clarity. this season can be cathartic and cleansing, especially if you’re long overdue for an emotional release and exhale that clears the fog. what do your tears communicate? allow your body to speak to you through breath and sound.
in the body: track changes in your breath and opening of your throat. notice how your body responds when you do/don’t speak your truth.
medicine: tulsi + lavender + blue vervain to ease mental tension and open the heart
🜄 water moon 🜄
when water meets water, it’s oceanic. this season heightens sensitivity and opens the emotional field. nostalgia, memories, and collective emotion can flow through you. without grounding, it’s easy to take on what’s not yours. this is the season to reaffirm your emotional and psychic boundaries, noticing what you’re available for, what you’re holding, and what needs clearing.
in the body: observe the energetic borders of your body. where do you begin and end? how is your body responding to emotional ease versus overwhelm?
medicine: rose + lemon balm + passionflower to soothe and gentle calm the emotional waters
moon compass: lunar aromatherapy collection.
as a hasta rising (vedic) & life path 9, the moon has always been special and important to me. some of the first work i shared 9 years ago centered building relationship with the moon and lunar magic. as my embodied astrology practice has grown, the simple truth that the moon is a compass continues to reveal itself to me.
shared previously, the moon (key 18) is a guiding arcana for this universal 9 year (alongside the hermit), and i’m very happy to finally share a project that honors all these cycles and phases.
the moon compass collection is an offering shaped by lunar time, memory, and embodiment. it features aromatherapy oils, mists, and incense for each of the 8 moon phases + directions, created to support emotional attunement, energetic alignment, and inner reflection.
the phases.
new moon | root · reset · seed | north
scent profile: deep · resinous · earthy
key scent notes: myrrh · spikenard · black spruce
waxing crescent | intend · awaken · focus | northeast
scent profile: crisp · herbaceous · green
key scent notes: basil · petitgrain · lavender
first quarter | act · align · move | east
scent profile: bold · spicy · bright
key scent notes: ginger · rosemary · lemon
waxing gibbous | refine · devote · prepare | southeast
scent profile: aromatic · devotional · refined
key scent notes: frankincense · bay laurel · rose
full moon | embody · express · celebrate | south
scent profile: lush · floral · luminous
key scent notes: jasmine · honeysuckle · ylang ylang
waning gibbous | integrate · reflect · receive | southwest
scent profile: herbal · grounding · soft
key scent notes: clary sage · vetiver · blue cypress
last quarter | clear · release · shift | west
scent profile: sharp · clean · activating
key scent notes: juniper · lemongrass · black pepper
waning crescent | soothe · surrender · dream | northwest
scent profile: sweet · dreamy · ethereal
key scent notes: helichrysum · blue lotus · roman chamomile
you can read full descriptions & exchange in my kofi apothecary.
want to explore more about aromatherapy? check out the making scents learning materials.
dissolution and reorientation: neptune + saturn rx
keeping with the lunar and unconscious themes, both neptune and saturn are retrograde in sidereal pisces during this season, and we’re invited to go deeper into the dreamworld and psyche. this is a season of reorientation that signal an invitation to unravel illusions, fortify boundaries, and clarify what’s real in our emotional, energetic, and spiritual lives.
this rare conjunction between neptune and saturn in pisces pulls us into the unseen terrains of personal and collective consciousness. dreams may become more vivid, disorienting, and revealing. long-held beliefs about healing, sacrifice, spiritual evolution, and responsibility may start to dissolve.
check out the archive to read about neptune and saturn in pisces.
check out the summer horoscopes for more about neptune + saturn retrograde for each sign.
dream embrace.
during neptune + saturn’s retrograde in pisces, the boundary between waking and dreaming thins, asking us to listen more deeply to what surfaces in the dark. sleep becomes essential for restoration and integration.
dream embrace is a lunar-inspired formula created to support deep, restorative sleep and dreamwork during this season (and all pisces transits tbh). this blend is created to release emotional tension, falling and staying asleep, and promoting vivid, symbolic, and lucid dreaming.
compared to easing into the astral, dream embrace is for those that are seeking to do intentional dreamwork and need stronger medicine to fall and stay asleep throughout the night. easing into the astral is for those that are wired but tired and need help decompressing the nervous system before bed.
exchange for these medicines and more in the apothecary.
brief updates.
i’m open for readings on kofi. if you’re a sidereal cancer, leo, or virgo sun, this is a great time to get your year-ahead readings (but it’s not limited to these signs).
i update my apothecary every venus day (friday) as medicines are restocked and made available. i’m fully stocked right now, with a limited quantity of incense and smoke blends especially.
i will be opening 2 new slots for custom medicine clients next friday, july 25.
may your cancer season be all you need for it to be.
thank you for reading.
I love that the moon was your first guide, too. These offerings look so yummy, as always! I have some medicine making with myrrh scheduled for the new moon and I’m excited to work with it under its ruling moon phase.