Cancer is the fourth sign of the zodiac, which the Sun transits during the first month of summer, from about June 21st to about July 22nd. The symbol for this sign is The Crab; its polarity is negative; its element is water; its quality is cardinal; its cosmic ruler is the Moon; and on the human anatomy Cancer rules the breast and the stomach...
In Cancer the activity of cardinality, the emotionality of water, and the instability of the Moon combine to produce a paradoxical individual whose extreme sensitivity does not always show on the surface. Like the crab that is their symbol, Cancer people develop a tough outer shell in order to protect the vulnerability within. This shell may be their home, a place they can retreat to – full of familiar treasures they have collected to console their psyche in an alien world. It may also be a system of psychological defenses they have created in order to avoid pain.
Also like the crab, Cancers will move sideways to avoid a confrontation, but when attacked, they will hang on tenaciously. The crab will actually risk losing a claw before it releases its prey!
The Moon rules infancy and motherhood, and Cancer people – who include not only Sun-sign Cancers, but all in whose horoscopes the sign is emphasized – remain deeply connected to the early part of their lives, even though it may not have been especially tranquil. As infants they are given to inexplicable crying spurts, and they seem more subject to visceral discomfort than any other infants. Cancer children are famous for their protective attitude toward younger siblings and their worried concern for the well being of every family member, and, as they grow older, this innate maternal quality becomes more conspicuous.
Even adult Cancers are deeply connected to their mothers. They crave the total intimacy of the baby at the breast, and since no adult relationship can re-create the perfect fulfillment of those moments, they may often feel unsatisfied. They may hold on to old hurts and resentments simply out of fear of the unknown. And yet in their very sensitivity there is a great source of strength.
Once Cancer people can overcome their preoccupation with themselves – their shyness, their passivity – and can learn to master their turbulent moods, there is almost nothing they cannot accomplish. With their gifts of imagination, intuition, insight, profound retentiveness, and their ability to get in touch with their inner experience, they can reverse the tide of negativity and adversity, and turn suffering into success.
Because relationships are so important to them, Cancers in love can be both demanding and generous. They are passionate and possessive, sometimes holding on to a relationship long after it has proved unrewarding. Since Cancers like to perpetuate the mother/child bond, they often pick partners they can mother or whom they can look up to as a parent-figure, or, better yet, partners with whom they can alternate between the two roles – playing the child today and the mother tomorrow, as the mood strikes them.
Their sensitivity to others' moods is a two-edged sword, however, making them both impossibly touchy and wonderfully sympathetic. But Cancers will atone for their moodiness by their loyalty to their mates, and will make their home and family the center of their life. The kitchen is their natural domain, for they love to eat and are the best cooks in the world!...
Cancers’ most compatible signs are: Scorpio, Taurus, Pisces and Virgo; Gemini, Leo, Sagittarius and Aquarius are neutral; Aries and Libra are likely to be difficult. With Capricorn, their polar opposite and complementary sign, there is both attraction and tension. And with another Cancer there may well be too much water – and someone might drown! But in all cases the success of the relationship will depend on how the two horoscopes interact, and not on the compatibility of the Sun-signs alone...
With their acute perception, psychic ability, and profound sense of memory, those born under this cardinal water sign can succeed in many professions, but they are at their best in activities where they can express their imagination and their need to nurture.
Cancer is associated with such diverse fields as homemaking, advertising, interior decorating, antique collecting, cooking, counseling, nursing, teaching, editing, writing, and the arts. Contrary to popular opinion, Cancers can be very successful at business, for they are cautious and conservative, with keen interest in changing public tastes and trends.
The colors of Cancer are deep orange and yellow; its birthstones are the pearl and the moonstone; and its day of the week is Monday, which is ruled by the Moon.
The following are some prominent African-Americans born under the sign Cancer:
Arthur Ashe, Ed Bradley, Georg Stanford Brown, Diahann Carroll, Bill Cosby, Andre Crouch, former NYC mayor David Dinkins, Billy Eckstine, Richard Hatcher, Valerie Briscoe-Hooks, Lena Horne, Phyllis Hyman, Lisa Leslie, Carl Lewis, Nelson Mandela, Justice Thurgood Marshall, Dikembe Mutombo, Brock Peters, Della Reese, Wilma Rudolph, O.J. Simpson, Carl Stokes, Justice Clarence Thomas, Kwame Toure, and Mike Tyson...
In Cancer the activity of cardinality, the emotionality of water, and the instability of the Moon combine to produce a paradoxical individual whose extreme sensitivity does not always show on the surface. Like the crab that is their symbol, Cancer people develop a tough outer shell in order to protect the vulnerability within. This shell may be their home, a place they can retreat to – full of familiar treasures they have collected to console their psyche in an alien world. It may also be a system of psychological defenses they have created in order to avoid pain.
Also like the crab, Cancers will move sideways to avoid a confrontation, but when attacked, they will hang on tenaciously. The crab will actually risk losing a claw before it releases its prey!
The Moon rules infancy and motherhood, and Cancer people – who include not only Sun-sign Cancers, but all in whose horoscopes the sign is emphasized – remain deeply connected to the early part of their lives, even though it may not have been especially tranquil. As infants they are given to inexplicable crying spurts, and they seem more subject to visceral discomfort than any other infants. Cancer children are famous for their protective attitude toward younger siblings and their worried concern for the well being of every family member, and, as they grow older, this innate maternal quality becomes more conspicuous.
Even adult Cancers are deeply connected to their mothers. They crave the total intimacy of the baby at the breast, and since no adult relationship can re-create the perfect fulfillment of those moments, they may often feel unsatisfied. They may hold on to old hurts and resentments simply out of fear of the unknown. And yet in their very sensitivity there is a great source of strength.
Once Cancer people can overcome their preoccupation with themselves – their shyness, their passivity – and can learn to master their turbulent moods, there is almost nothing they cannot accomplish. With their gifts of imagination, intuition, insight, profound retentiveness, and their ability to get in touch with their inner experience, they can reverse the tide of negativity and adversity, and turn suffering into success.
Because relationships are so important to them, Cancers in love can be both demanding and generous. They are passionate and possessive, sometimes holding on to a relationship long after it has proved unrewarding. Since Cancers like to perpetuate the mother/child bond, they often pick partners they can mother or whom they can look up to as a parent-figure, or, better yet, partners with whom they can alternate between the two roles – playing the child today and the mother tomorrow, as the mood strikes them.
Their sensitivity to others' moods is a two-edged sword, however, making them both impossibly touchy and wonderfully sympathetic. But Cancers will atone for their moodiness by their loyalty to their mates, and will make their home and family the center of their life. The kitchen is their natural domain, for they love to eat and are the best cooks in the world!...
Cancers’ most compatible signs are: Scorpio, Taurus, Pisces and Virgo; Gemini, Leo, Sagittarius and Aquarius are neutral; Aries and Libra are likely to be difficult. With Capricorn, their polar opposite and complementary sign, there is both attraction and tension. And with another Cancer there may well be too much water – and someone might drown! But in all cases the success of the relationship will depend on how the two horoscopes interact, and not on the compatibility of the Sun-signs alone...
With their acute perception, psychic ability, and profound sense of memory, those born under this cardinal water sign can succeed in many professions, but they are at their best in activities where they can express their imagination and their need to nurture.
Cancer is associated with such diverse fields as homemaking, advertising, interior decorating, antique collecting, cooking, counseling, nursing, teaching, editing, writing, and the arts. Contrary to popular opinion, Cancers can be very successful at business, for they are cautious and conservative, with keen interest in changing public tastes and trends.
The colors of Cancer are deep orange and yellow; its birthstones are the pearl and the moonstone; and its day of the week is Monday, which is ruled by the Moon.
The following are some prominent African-Americans born under the sign Cancer:
Arthur Ashe, Ed Bradley, Georg Stanford Brown, Diahann Carroll, Bill Cosby, Andre Crouch, former NYC mayor David Dinkins, Billy Eckstine, Richard Hatcher, Valerie Briscoe-Hooks, Lena Horne, Phyllis Hyman, Lisa Leslie, Carl Lewis, Nelson Mandela, Justice Thurgood Marshall, Dikembe Mutombo, Brock Peters, Della Reese, Wilma Rudolph, O.J. Simpson, Carl Stokes, Justice Clarence Thomas, Kwame Toure, and Mike Tyson...