A Full Wolf supermoon is on the rise, folks — peaking on Saturday, January 3, 2026, 5:03 a.m. EST at 13°01 Cancer.
This is the first full moon of 2026.
During a full moon, the sun and moon are on opposite sides of the Earth and in opposite zodiac signs or polarities.
The full moon in Cancer coincides with the sun shining in boot-strapping, belt-tightening, legacy-building Capricorn. This is the axis of foundation and ambition. In terms of archetypes, Cancer is the cosmic mother, and Capricorn is the stern, celestial father.
Cancer leads with feeling, and Capricorn with form — yet both ultimately seek security while struggling with vulnerability and issues of care/control.
Full Moon January 2026
Because full moons demand that we address what we can no longer repress, this full moon is a call to reparent ourselves with tenderness and structure, kindness, and accountability.
During the full moon, the sun, Venus, and Mars will all be pulling up their suspenders in the sign of Capricorn, making this a lunation where our true purpose (sun) is illuminated (moon), and desire (Venus), and will (Aries) join forces to support the cause.
Can dig.
Capricorn is a workhorse, or goat, as it were, so there’s a can-do, pioneer spirit to the first full moon of 2K26.
This earth-bound bootstrapping is supported, and in fact, watered, by the conjunction between the moon and Jupiter in Cancer.
Jupiter is exalted in Cancer, meaning the benefic planet of blessings and boons is at full force. This is less about blithe optimism and more about faith in the process of becoming. Capricorn is brass taxt/ROI, and Cancer is the slow growth beneath the surface. Together, and in good time, things are forming if not finalized.
Why is it called a Wolf Moon?
January’s full moon is known as the Wolf Moon, as it is believed that the howling song of these pack predators can be heard most clearly in the earliest month of the year. The wolf’s spiritual symbolism recalls lessons of autonomy, communion, and actualization.
The term “lone wolf” is a bit of a misnomer, as wolves are pack animals that strike out on their own — not because they prefer solitude but because they seek something more, somewhere beyond, to find a mate, territory, or pack of their own.
Spiritual meaning of the Wolf Moon
I encourage you to consider the nature of the wolf under the light of this moon. If you have bound yourself to a bloodline, place, relationship, story, or pattern that is limiting you in any way, you have the right and the responsibility to retreat into the company of yourself with the express purpose of finding out and firming up what you need.
The pack, home, and partner you deserve await you on the other side of this wilderness.
Zodiac signs most affected by the Full Wolf Moon in Cancer
While we’ll all feel the tidal pulls of the past and the heightened emotional frequency of the present, three signs will feel the effects of this moon most acutely. Read for your sun, moon, and rising sign.
Happy New Year and Full Moon to you, Aries!
The Wolf Moon is scratching at the door of your fourth house of homefires, family, and foundation, throwing its light on a situation or pattern that has gone on too long.
While tending to emotional infrastructure is admittedly tedious, it is necessary.
This is slow work, and neither of those words lights you up. Trust that what hurts can ultimately help, and taking yourself down to the studs is the only sure way to go forth and forward from a healthy home base.
The full moon in your sign equals maximum visibility for you, Cancer.
There’s nowhere to hide when the mirror in the sky hits your first house of the self, illuminating the peeling paint between who you are and the halfling version of yourself you’ve been hawking in what Nietzsche called “the continuous fluttering around the solitary flame of vanity.”
This full moon reminds you that wearing the mask of expectations leaves you with the kind of safety that ultimately suffocates.
With Jupiter in your sign, more than ever, you attract what you emit, so quit the bulls–t.
To begin the work of unburdening and authentication, spend time alone, practice mirror work, and let only what is true, kind, and necessary drop from the honeycomb of your mouth.
Ahoy, Capricorn!
The full moon in Cancer highlights your seventh house of trusted partnerships.
This moon will not so subtly illuminate any imbalances in your relationships realm. Ruled by Saturn, you bring an incontestable “daddy” energy to all of your relationships, taking care of business, offering advice, and emotionally crippling yourself under the unfounded belief that you must do everything on your own.
Who do you rely on? If the answer is no one, I’m willing to bet that’s more about your ability to trust than the willingness of others to help.
As a full-moon birthday gift to yourself, ask someone you love for something you need.
You can’t restore balance without loosening your albatross necktie, baby.
Rituals for the Wolf Moon
Because love — to paraphrase James Baldwin — is a growing up, learning to love the child we were includes forgiving ourselves and those who failed us.
Progress asks us to recognize that a state of blame is a state of bondage. To live the life we want, we need unconditional love (Cancer) and uncompromising boundaries (Capricorn).
My preferred exercise for this lunation is to write a list of what you needed as a child and weren’t given. See if and how you can give yourself those things in some literal or metaphorical way this year.
I highly recommend incorporating the following affirmations, courtesy of Sarah Faith Gottesdiener — author and founder of The Moon Studio — into your Full Wolf Moon in Cancer rituals.
- I stay devoted to all my rebirths.
- Every day, I become closer and closer to the person I needed when I was young.
- Every day, I become more and more the person I was never allowed to be.
- I vow to experience as much of the splendor of the world as I can before I leave it.
- I vow to let the world experience me at my most splendid.
- I want to live in a world that I love, and so, I create it.
- I love myself. I become love itself.
When is the next full moon?
The next full moon will be the Full Snow Moon in Leo — rising, shining, and mane shaking on Sunday, February 2, 2026, at 5:09 p.m. EST
Read the full article here
