Cancer Traits & Personalities
(June 21 – July 22)
DUALITY: Feminine
TRIPLICITY (ELEMENT): Water
QUADRUPLICITY (QUALITY): Cardinal
Cancer is receptive, sensitive, and imaginative, sympathetic, kind, and emotional, and possesses an active, shrewd, and intuitive mind.
RULING PLANET: The Moon – Earth’s one satellite, which waxes and wanes and exerts a powerful magnetic influence. In astrology, the Moon governs emotions and intuitive behavior.
SYMBOL: The Crab – Possessing an impenetrable exterior covering soft flesh underneath. At the first sign of danger, it withdraws into its shell and scuttles back to the sea, where it feels safe.
GLYPH (WRITTEN SYMBOL): ♋ The pictograph represents the claws of the Crab. It is also a picture of the human breasts (a part of the anatomy that Cancer rules). In symbolic terms, the glyph is two circles of the Sun connected to two crescent moons. The moons represent Cancer’s desire to store memories and possessions; the circles tied to the moons represent force and energy expressed through emotions and imagination.
DOMINANT KEYWORD: I FEEL.
POLARITY: Capricorn:
Cancer is the sign of home and family life. Cancers seek close personal relationships and are happiest surrounded by the familiar and those whom they love. Capricorn, Cancer’s opposite sign, is the sign of reputation and public standing. Natives of Capricorn are concerned with the image they project, and they search for power and fulfillment in the outside world.
PART OF THE BODY RULED BY CANCER: The breasts and stomach – Cancers love to eat and have to fight weight gain in later years. They are also subject to digestive ailments caused by tension and emotional stress.
LUCKY DAY: Monday
LUCKY NUMBERS: 3 and 7
MAGICAL BIRTHSTONE: Pearl – Changes bad fortune into good and discord into harmony. It also brings support from influential people.
SPECIAL COLORS: Sea green and silver: The shimmering colors of the water and the moon.
CITIES: Venice, Amsterdam, New York, Algiers
COUNTRIES: Scotland, Holland, New Zealand
FLOWERS: Larkspur and Acanthus
TREES: Trees rich in sap
METAL: Silver
ANIMALS RULED BY CANCER: Those with shell coverings
DANGER: Cancer people are susceptible to accidents in the home. They are also prone to becoming victims of theft.
All About Cancer
No one has ever said Cancers are easy to understand. You may appear gentle, kind, sympathetic, and a patient listener. Then someone asks for advice, and you turn cranky, snappish, and appear to be completely indifferent to anyone’s problems but your own. You may wallow in self-pity and complain endlessly about how mistreated you are by the world. Turn another page of the calendar and suddenly you are back being helpful, solicitous, ready to do anything asked of you. More than any other sign, Cancer is a series of contradictions. You prize security above all else, yet love new adventure. You are the soul of caution but you’re also a courageous initiator who goes out of your way to push over obstacles with your driving personality.
What’s your secret? Cancer, which is ruled by the Moon and has water as its element, can be likened to the shifting tides of the oceans. Like the tides, Cancer is the sign of powerful forces moving under the surface. That surface, however, is quite difficult to penetrate, for Cancers tend to build up an elaborate array of defenses to hide their deep feelings and extreme sensitivity.
Complex, fragile, unpredictable, temperamental, the typical Cancers needs constant support and encouragement. You want desperately to be loved and approved of but resent needing approval so badly. Cancer’s big lesson is to recognize the hidden anger you carry within you and not allow this to corrode the relationships that give you the emotional support you seek. Happily, when you get what you need, you give the best you have in return. Those who make you feel secure command your undying loyalty. When you really care for someone there is nothing anyone can say about that person that will make the least bit of difference. You have a real blind spot when it comes to seeing a failing in those you love.
If you could wave a magic wand and do the one thing that would make you happier it is to crack open that Crab shell and venture out into the world of possibility. Staying enclosed emotionally and psychically keeps you fearful. Cancer’s fears are based on the fact that you have a difficult time trusting. You don’t trust others or the universe or yourself. One Cancer told me recently, “We’ve been sold a bill of goods by the stories we were told as children. There is no joy or happiness in life. Life is just plain hard.” The problem with this point of view is it leaves very little opening for any kind of abundance to flow in. It’s hard to see the kindness in loved ones or the generosity of strangers or unexpected luck in an arduous situation if one has decided from the start that it’s a dog-eat-dog world.
Yet most contradictory of all is the fact you’re such a nurturer who gives unselfishly to anyone who needs you. Your greatest impact is in human relationships; you have an instinct for making others feel cared for and understood. Among your most endearing traits is your loyalty.
You tend to be a worrier and a silent brooder. People may pour out their hearts to you, but the flow never goes in the other direction. You are cautious about revealing too much of yourself; you guard your secrets well.
If offended, you do not strike back directly. Your method of retaliation is to sulk, and it is often very effective. The technique is somewhat like being whipped to death by a dozen strands of boiled spaghetti.
Cancer’s symbol, the Crab, has a hard outer shell that protects soft, vulnerable flesh underneath. The same is true of Cancers, who are often crusty, gruff, and grumpy, but possess a proverbial heart of gold. Beneath your tough exterior you are a sentimental softie who will make any sacrifice for someone in need. If someone asks for a favor, your first reaction will probably be no, but the final answer is always yes. You should be judged not by what you say but by what you do.
You are possessive. Anyone who becomes part of your life will never again be entirely free. You try to stay in touch with friends, ex-lovers, former spouses, business associates, persons you knew as children. Cancer is the cosmic collector—if you let anyone go out of your life, it is unwillingly and never completely. This reflects your preoccupation with the past. An aura of nostalgia dwells about you; the events and people of bygone years continue to inhabit your memory and usually grow dearer to you as time goes by. You are devoted to family and home and continue to believe in the old-fashioned idea that marriage is forever—even if the events of your own life contradict this.
It is hard to deceive you, for you can spot the tiniest nuances of behavior. In fact, you are almost psychic in your intuitions. A photographic memory added to intense powers of observation makes you extremely canny about divining other people’s inner motivations.
Cancers are crablike in their indirect approach to an intended target. Observe a crab moving on a beach and you will notice its strange sidewise movement toward a goal. People born under the sign of the Crab never take the direct approach. You step to one side, then step to the other side, and sometimes go completely around. But you get where you intend to go.
If channeled in the right direction, your enormous sensitivity can be a great source of strength. Once you overcome your shyness and touchiness and master your turbulent emotions, your intellect and imagination enable you to become a success in almost anything you undertake. You have the ability to dig into your own inner life and turn creativity into practical ideas. Contrary to the impression you often give, you can be shrewd and canny in business. Cautious, conservative in your approach, you possess an antenna that quickly gauges public taste and opinion and senses new trends in the making. You’re also an on-the-mark judge of people. You are artistic and creative, and have formidable intellectual talents. This instinct for business combined with imagination is magical for acquiring financial security, and Cancer is called a “money sign” because of its ability to attract wealth.
Cancer people hold on to money as tenaciously as they do to everything that belongs to them. To you money spells security, yet no matter how much wealth you accumulate you never feel really secure. That is true of your emotional security also. A Cancer never gets enough love and approval; you always need more. It is very easy to fall in love with this loyal, devoted, affectionate, and protective Moon-child.
The Inner Cancer
On the surface you’re the picture of calm and strength, but underneath you tend to feel insecure and inadequate. You are positive that other people know what they’re doing while you’re just winging it. You also imagine the worst outcome to a scenario, never the best. You are a very emotional person; you are constantly feeling. Hearing a song on the radio makes you feel sentimental, and a particular scent, flower, or picture can jar your memory. You are also extraordinarily in sync with other people’s feelings. In fact, you get almost as involved in your friends’ problems as you do in your own. When you’re close to someone, you believe you are supposed to help that person. Harmony is important to you—any kind of conflict or quarrel leaves you feeling depressed. However, you’re definitely not wishy-washy; you have the courage of your convictions and the strength to stick up for what you think is right. You don’t welcome change, and are hesitant about going ahead with something untried, yet this doesn’t stop you from doing what has to be done.
How Others See You
Those in your circle think of you as a den mother— the one who tries to fix other people’s problems and make sure everyone is happy. They like your concern for their well-being and cherish your wise counsel. But why, even if they follow your advice, do they keep it a secret from you? Because they think you’re controlling and don’t want to be a puppet on your string. They also think you’re moody. One minute you seem to care about them, and the next you’re crabby and to be avoided at all costs. In your career, you’re viewed as someone who can quickly spot an opportunity for financial gain.