Happy Birthday Cancer

Cancer - the Crab 

6/22 - 7/22

Basic Traits:

Cancers love home-life, family and domestic settings. They are traditionalists, and enjoy operating on a fundamental level. They love history, and are fascinated with the beginnings of things (heraldry, ancestry, etc.). The moon is their ruler, so they can be a bit of a contradiction and sometimes moody. However, they are conservative, so they'll be apt to hide their moods from others altogether. They have a reputation for being fickle, but they'll tell you that isn't true, and it's not. Cancers make loyal, sympathetic friends. However Cancers need alone time, and when they retreat, let them do so on their terms.

The Deeper Meaning: 

The sign of Cancer witnesses to the importance of a sense of belonging in human life. It is, more than any other, the sign of home and family, but, fortunately in view of the conditions of modern life, not necessarily home and family in a literal sense. The Cancer emphasis in your birth chart shows what you are striving for, whether consciously or not, is a sense that, whatever your circumstances, there is a place on earth, or an experience, or a group of people, or an interest, which can give you a sense of belonging, where you can feel at home and that you are a member of a family.

The sign of Cancer also witnesses to the importance of roots, or origins, of considering the present in relation to the past. Many people feel they can ignore the past, yet feel something is lacking from their lives. Cancers enrich the present by honoring its links to history.

Since Cancers have a need to feel they belong, they can be very reluctant to let go of or move on from situations that give them a sense of emotional security, and sometimes it is necessary to move on. Cancer is ruled by the Moon, and to have the Sun in the Moon's sign can indicate a reluctance to leave the realm of Mother, childhood home and family in order to undertake the solar task of becoming an individual in one's own right. This task is symbolized by the move from Cancer to the next sign Leo, which is ruled by the Sun.

Cancer is a water sign, and the psychological opposite is air, the thinking function. If you chart is lacking in planets in air, you are likely to find it difficult to view emotionally complex situations in which you may find yourself with any detachment. This can lead to compatibility issues in love relationships. You may be described as 'over-emotional' by people whose charts are dominated by the element of air - and maybe you see them as too detached! Suppose you have the Moon in Aquarius - an air sign - to complement your Cancer emphasis. You may be instinctively drawn to an ideal (an air phenomenon) that conflicts with your need to belong, and you have to perform an inner negotiation to honor both parts of your own nature.