Cancer is known as the Crab for those born June 21 through
July 21st. This is an approximation because of the
irregular rotation of the earth and therefore not every
year will Cancer begin exactly on the 21st or even end on
the 21st.
When
I think of Cancer I immediately think of the great
care-taking qualities of a loving and protective parent
figure. You are basically by nature conservative and
home-loving, appreciating the nest-like quality of a safe
and comfortable home to which you can escape and retire
from the stresses of the outer world.
The
key phrase that best describes the Crab is “I feel.” That
is because your sign is intensely emotional, nurturing,
feeling based and sensitive to the needs of others. I
have always said that a Cancer will tell you that as long
as it feels right it doesn’t matter what logical convention
dictates they are going with their gut feeling. And guess,
what? They usually are right to listen to this inner voice
because many Cancers, if they will only follow their hearts
and feelings are very psychic or at least intuitive in
nature.
Deep
within the psyche of Cancers is the need to defend and
protect. When mother, family or nest is threatened,
Cancer’s instinctively respond by pinching its enemies with
its claws.
Cancer
is a feeling and emotionally based personality not an
intellectual or even an earthy realist but a sensitive
water sign that needs a container who needs to be held and
to hold others, who is very much pulled back and forth by
the gravitational field of it's ruler the Moon.
In
your personal relationships you are both of tough and soft,
often emotional and romantic to the point of
sentimentality; but in marriage, your loving is not so
sentimental but tenaciously loyal clinging tight with those
claws and god forbid if an outsider tries to take away your
family or loved ones.
When
a Cancer matches up with another Cancer you two will be
setting up a home and family affair that will last a
lifetime; Leo are certainly romantic but they like to spend
too much of your money; Virgos are a good intellectual
match but often the passion turns into a sisterly or
brotherly love; Libras will set up house with you but you
two are so different; Scorpio is your eternal lover and
playmate; Sagittarians will sizzle and then disappear;
Capricorns are your opposite sign and therefore your
marriage partner; Aquarians will cause you to think too
much about your life which is no fun in a love affair; you
and Pisces will want to travel the globe in search of
greener pastures; Aries will be hard to pin down but if you
have a common goal it could work but maybe better with
business; Taurus’s make great friendships which is an
important ingredient for any type of partnership, and
Gemini’s are best at secret or unrequited love affairs.
If
you would have an extra-marital affair, since I am sure
somewhere around the world a Cancer has been known to cheat
on their spouse, but your first loyalty remains to spouse
and family, of whom you regard yourself as the
protector. Both the Cancer man and woman love
unconditionally, giving much and asking little in return -
in fact, one of the most important lessons you have to
learn is how to receive gracefully. Those you love and
admire, can easily influence you.
Cancers
have the capacity to remember events and details well, but
this can occasionally get in your way when you allow your
past to overly influence your future. Some new experiences
are just that, new, and you won't have any past references
to prepare you or guide you.
Outwardly
you can certainly appear like the shell of a crab -
thick-skinned, uncompromising, obstinate, and moody.
But to family and friends they see a very different
character, one with a sympathetic and kindly sensitive to
other people, especially those they love.
You
are often overly imaginative and prone to fantasy,
sometimes trying to shape your lives to fit some romantic
ideal. It’s that moon influence being the reflector of
other people's light. However - you are often
fascinated by the occult and are more open to psychic
influence than the average since the moon rules the domain
of the darkness and the underworld of the occult which also
is part of the reason for your psychic abilities.
Cancers
never forget a thing and particularly with emotional events
which you can recall in detail for years afterwards.
Water signs need a container or they spill out and so you
also contain and hold everything important from souvenirs
to memories with the downside being that you don't let go
so easily early childhood traumas. You are strongly
governed by childhood memories and since you live much in
the past, a chance meeting with someone for whom you had an
unrequited love, even if you thought you had conquered the
feeling years ago, will easily arouse your emotions all
over again.
When
a Cancer is stressed out, the little crab will pull their
shell over their head and refuse to discuss things with
anyone. This is Cancer's self-protective device, and
friends and family have probably gotten used to this in
you. Water signs need regular time alone, especially in
turbulent times, so don't discount this need if you yearn
for it. Still, Cancer needs tender loving care in tough
times, so don't stay out of touch too long.
The
crab is in addition to being very nurturing and psychic is
also very creative. That is because under the rulership of
the Moon you possess the talent of a great imagination and
fantasy life. And since many Cancers are so very
domestic this creative quality you have can be seen in your
arts and craft projects around the home. Martha
Stewart must have some Cancer planets in her horoscope.
Many
Cancers do well by investing in real estate -- owning your
own home is usually important to the Crab. Overall, you are
very financially sensible. Some call you a little
stingy, but you want a nest egg for retirement. Cancers
like to keep their money in the bank, not wear it on their
backs. It’s those pinchers that cling tightly to your
money.
Others
may see you as a pushover, but you are just the opposite.
You are always able to make tough, calculated business or
financial decisions when necessary. Saving to provide for
your children's education or your family's security is your
biggest goal, and winds up bringing you wealth. By taking
care of others, you help yourself.
Cancers
tend to stay in work situations long after they have
outlived their usefulness, mainly out of habit, misplaced
loyalty or fear of making the wrong decision. Your
determined devotion causes you to pour energy into
situations that have long outlived their usefulness. Learn
to move on sooner, rather than later. Your sympathetic
heart tends to give every situation the benefit of the
doubt, thus allowing you to throw good money after bad.
Cancer
governs the breasts, stomach and digestion, womb and female
reproductive organs. Cancers worry, and when they do,
their stomach feel it first. Some Cancers overeat in
an effort to find comfort from food, other Cancers
avoid food altogether when emotionally upset. The great
mother image is very strong in Cancers women and so
everything physically under the domain of childbirth; such
as the breasts and the womb can be problem areas when
Cancer women are under great stress.
You
more than any other sign have a psychic umbilical cord
still attached throughout life, whether due to the
unwillingness of your mother to let go or vice versa or
even both, especially if child and parent both share
important Cancer planets. And this can cause very
difficult issues of guilt for a Cancer child because the
child feels they should honor the mother for giving them
life while there is a powerful need to be a separate
individual that can later create some major emotional
problems and acting out.
The
first relationship in life is that with the mother.
And Cancer’s may continue to go through life needing to
reiterate the mother/child relationship because of the
psychic umbilical cord being attached. In marriage,
as an example, Cancers need to mother someone or be
mothered. And the childless Cancer may look to
friends, work associates or projects to mother. Cancer has
a need to feel needed, and when a child isn’t around,
substitutions will be found.
Cancer
is a water sign and by nature merges with others but then
you lose part of your individuality in the process.
And so it’s important for Cancers to learn detachment that
is very difficult as attested to by the pincher
claws. And this is another possible reason for your
moodiness, is that you feel and absorb everything around
yourself. Another reason for being psychic and very
protective of others but trying to carry on your backs all
these burdens that aren’t even from you half the time can
be very exhausting and hence, the emotions go in and out
like the tides creating moodiness. And then the moodiness
compels you to retreat into your shell until it feels safe
again.
One
of your best assets is your profound intuition, so use it
to find solutions. It is waiting to help you. Don't ignore
that tiny inner voice of yours that wants to be heard, no
matter what your intellect is telling you. If you are
pulled in two directions, follow instinct over
logic. If you feel that 2+2 is 5 then go with it. The
reasons usually do appear later, and should give you
confidence to continue to follow your hunches. Listen to
that inner voice because it is very strong within you and
it will serve you well.
Cancers
have a very sensual nature--more so than many of the other
signs. If a sport or exercise program "feels" good in
a physical sense, it is likely to stay a part of your
routine.
You
may love water sports, since Cancer is a water sign and you
will find being near water is akin to going to the womb.
Don't disregard the power of water for you--it works magic
on your nerves. Swim, run on the beach, sail, wind surf, or
anything water-related.
The
symbol associated with your sign is the Crab.
The
Crab is a water dweller that is well equipped with its
massive claws to defend itself and survives very well in
the 'wilds' of the underwater world in which it thrives.
The crab carries its home on its back wherever it
goes. The crab also responds to the effects of the
moon through the ever-changing tides. So, Cancers can be
moody, and sensitive to their environment. They will
withdraw into their shells when they are hurt, angry or
upset. Be careful. Don’t knock on the shell to try to
get a crab to come out because it will only dig deeper into
its protective covering. Instead, leave the crab alone and
it will soon emerge in its own good time.
Cancers,
like the sea, are hard to pin down for some are shy, timid
and withdrawn pulled tightly into their shells but others
brazenly walk the rocks and coastline and become quite
public people like George W. Bush, Bob and Elizabeth Dole,
Tom Cruise and the former Princess Diana.
The
ancient Greeks associated the Moon with the Crab and the
Greeks associated the Moon with trade, business, and the
rising and falling of the tides, which made maritime travel
and commerce possible. And Cancers at one time, and
still may be, the sign with the most millionaires because
of their business ability and those claws that can pinch
every dime. But they are the one’s laughing all the way to
the bank.
The
ancients believed that all the traits of the moon were
reflected on earth as women. The Moon reflects the
light of the Sun, represent man because man was all
powerful and so was the sun’s life force. In those days
when the patriarchal society was at its height the woman
was a possession of the man. The wife reflected the
light of the husband, she never had her own. Women were
fickle like the many phases of the moon and the cycle of
moon correlated with the menstrual cycle and the
ever-changing tides. The moon came out at night, which
represented in ancient times the dark side of life or the
hidden and mysterious part of mankind. And the fact that
women had children was one of the great mysteries of life.