The Full Moon is on the 4th of January in the zodiac sign Cancer. Bringing to fruition the seeds we planted on the 22nd of December during the Capricorn new Moon. The technical
date in the Southern hemisphere is the 5th January, but that falls during the day and as the Moon is more powerful whilst she is waxing (growing) the night of the 4th will be her fullest expression. Cancer is a Water and feminine sign ruled by the Moon. So, this full Moon will highlight emotions, intuition, sensitivity, caring, the feminine, maternal instinct and/or family. For those of you who know that you are affected by the power of the Moon this is one to take note of! At worst she may result in some mood swings and defensive responses and at best, which is what we always hope and aim for, her energy will encourage us connect with our caring, sensitive and nurturing selves. On another note it is an excellent time for gardening and especially planting and watering (as the soil will retain the water for longer than usual). Ultimately she is just to be enjoyed and admired for her spendour and enchantment on the night!
Before I move on to Jupiter let me just give a quick reminder of the difference between a planet and a star. A star like our Sun (the center of our solar system) produces and 
emanates its own light whilst planets are not light sources and are only observable to us at night due to the reflection of the Sun’s light on it. There are actually a number of planets visible in January and there are many websites, for instance EarthSky that goes into great detail about this.
How exciting to see the planet Jupiter, which is more than 10 times the diameter of earth and 300 times more in mass, glow like the brightest star above our heads here in the Southern hemisphere. This majestic planet is bigger than all the planets put together! Because we were speaking about earth’s Moon a bit earlier I’d like to mention that Jupiter has 4 large moons and 60 smaller moons. Can you imagine the havoc if we had as many Moons orbiting Earth?
Jupiter is known in astrology as the great benefic and at its best is a symbol for abundance, growth, balance, harmony, justice, honour, nobility, religiosity and spirituality. It generally enhances or expands anything it touches. Astrologically it is currently retrograde at 21° in Leo and so depending on which area of your life is ruled by the sign Leo that’s where you will mainly be experiencing Jupiter’s abundance and luck. It rules over or is the lord of the signs Pisces and Sagittarius.
So, how will you identify Jupiter when you go out to view it tonight? Firstly, it will be brighter than any star around it. It will rise in the East after 10 pm follow the same path in the sky as the Moon and be visible until dawn. I can suggest Stellarium which is a free downloadable computer (or other devices) program and a sure way to ensure that you know what you are looking at as well as track the planet throughout the night. Have FUN!
Nancy this is beautifully written and totally informative. Thank you x
Wonderful!
The thoughts that you have shared here are very well presented and appropriately informative, and quite frankly light up the opportunity of personally reflection! Well done Nancy!
Fabulous Nancy thankyou for writing so well and helping us to understand better what is going on all around us.
Loved the article and was especially touched by your last sentence about the moon as you have put into words the simplicity of what I felt that night watching her.
“Ultimately she is just to be enjoyed and admired for her splendour and enchantment on the night”
Thanks for sharing…. Now the full moon on the 5th…I can so clearly remember…I was swimming under her full bright light that night in the Indian Ocean… She surely was one to remember:)
Will reference this in my next upcoming post.