CANCER The Sign of Internal Security
The sense of Me
If Cancer could talk, what would it say?
My home is my castle. I take it with me wherever I go. I just want to
be myself and protect all the things I care about.
I'm a mirror. I can feel just what it is you need. My sensitive nature
makes me a natural as a parent and provides me with strong
emotional ties to my family. Still, I tenaciously guard my privacy.
I must have some quiet time or my mood turns sour.
My relationships can fall apart once they discover how selfish I can
be. I tend to go deep inside and disappear for a while into my own
world. I am a sweetheart when I love someone, though. I wish them
the best just as I wish it for myself and nothing makes me happier than
to show how much I care. I offer encouragement for I understand
insecurity. I want to nurture the family of humanity.
Color: Silver
Motto: "Make It Personal"
Object: A secret garden
Activity: Putting one's child into bed
Style: Receptive, introspective, and caring
Ancient symbol: The Crab
Mode/Element: Cardinal Water (Urgent emotionality)
Anatomical part: The Breasts and the Stomach
(Giving and receiving nourishment)
Famous Personalities: Princess Diana, Jacques Cousteau, Dear Abby,
Henry David Thoreau, and Mary Baker Eddy
Places in the World: The United States, Canada, Scotland and
New Zealand
As we look up at the northern sky on the summer solstice, we see the Sun reaching its highest place in the heavens. It is at its apex that the solar light appears to cross over the boundary into the segment of the sky we call Cancer, the span of the ecliptic that ranges from 90 to 119 degrees on the 360 degree zodiacal circle.
Spirituality flourishes in this sign, as pure feeling reaches its greatest fullness of expression and consciousness expands to encompass previously unimagined possibilities. Metaphysically speaking, Cancer is the most receptive to the light, which is why Jupiter and Neptune, the planets that support the maximum spiritual growth and development, are said to be exalted in this sign.
On a more mundane level, Cancer shares its most natural affinity with the Earth's Moon. Both sign and luminary are symbolic of the ability to receive and internalize energy. On a collective level, the Moon and the sign Cancer represent the changing tides of emotion that sweep the populace. Thus if Aries creates, Taurus produces and Gemini markets the product, then Cancer is the buyer.
The sign of Cancer represents the consciousness that is most in touch with the emotional climate of society and all of its shifting moods. Cancer has an instinctive sense of what the public wants and what is motivating them to want it. It knows as well that the public is fickle and what is hot today can easily turn cold tomorrow, only to have something entirely different replace it.
In the mass market place, members of the public buy whatever feeds their ego. Buying for the public then is a job that someone with parental qualities handles best.
What makes the public want what they want? Quite simply, people long to feel better about their lives. They want to feel secure and loved, protected and respected. When times are tough, they want to hold on to the belief that better days are just around the corner.
As reflectors of other people's light, Cancerians tune in to what those around them are seeking. They can walk into a room and imbibe the energy that prevails. They are intensely aware of the emotional energy in their environment. If the surrounding energy is on the upsurge, Cancer flourishes; if it is downgrading, Cancer sinks into a malaise.
The resolution for Cancerians is to establish a center of serenity within their interior landscape and overcome their tendency to fluctuate in response to external occurrences. Before this feat is accomplished, Cancerians usually put themselves through a great deal of pain. They overreact to other people's words and deeds and put themselves at the effect of life rather than operating at cause.
This is the sign associated with giving birth to new life. Birth can be the most painful event the human body can experience. Then again, it is also the most joyous.
No sign can be as self protective and defensive as Cancer. If you do something that results in their feeling hurt, they may never want to speak to you again. Fortunately, the more evolved of this sign forgive though they do not forget. They are the historians of the zodiac who seldom fail to remember anything that anybody ever said or did. Cancerians can easily enter a state of deja vu, bringing up a vivid picture of the past and reliving it over again. Thus, it takes them time to heal their feelings of being wounded. It is in the process of healing that their serious nature and their penchant for self examination enables them to take personal responsibility for their pain rather than make other people the source of it. While the complementary opposite sign, Capricorn, a consciousness oriented toward the external world, takes responsibility for its position in society, Cancer, the sign most oriented toward its internal reality, learns to assume responsibility for its reactions to society.
This is the sign that teaches us that everything that we do reflects our responsibility to ourselves.
Cancerians enjoy living in seclusion with hardly any human intervention to disrupt the flow of their inner life. They are the most introspective of all human creatures. They are capable of a consummate intimacy not only with self, but with the special few who they let into their private world. Nonetheless, as this is the sign associated with the changing moods of mass consciousness, Cancerians often wind up receiving public attention, even though they are seldom comfortable with it. It is far more natural for them to operate from the home front where they can tend to their near and dear with tender loving care and thus keep everything under their auspices.
Like their astrological symbol, the crab, these folks can seem hard on the outside, but they are inevitably soft in their interior. Thus when they feel they are running on empty, they fill their stomachs with food. Then again, there are times when they do not wish to eat at all.
Cancerians are here to learn to honor their feelings, as well as the feelings of others. These individuals eventually detach emotionally from any situation or relationship where they feel caught up in a destructive pattern. They can be the most selfless individuals, caring for and nurturing their loved ones with a depth of commitment that is unique to the role of parent (whether it is an actual role or a surrogate one.) They can also be the most selfish and make their feelings and their needs more important than anything else. Their selfishness, however, is somewhat justified for no sign is kinder or more caring once it has found emotional peace.
If it were not for this sign, then home and family and parental love would not have the significance in our lives that they do. Cancer's greatest gift is tenacity and its amazing power to sense everyone's emotional state can hold a family, an organization and a country together, as it momentarily forgets itself and caters to the immediate needs of all those needing to feel comfortable, secure and safe in their skin.
July Forecast
Aries: At the start of the month, travel or a lot of time in the great outdoors is probably uppermost in your thoughts. As the days go by however, you may feel you want to put down stakes instead and nest for a while, or if you are still out and about, you may be unusually introspective. You seldom hesitate, yet somehow your current situation has taken on a special significance and you are being especially careful. Maybe someone in your life right now has something to do with that. If so, invite them over for a heart to heart. It could turn out to be just the connection you have been seeking.
Taurus: You are exceptionally sensitive and perceptive this month. What seemed puzzling before is becoming clearer, which is not to say that you are thrilled with the outcome. Why not look at the situation with new eyes and see how perfect the lessons are? In past years, you may have expected too much of the world and too little of yourself. Now you are at a place where you realize it is up to you to transform every part of your life that falls short of your standard. The issue is that sometimes you block that power by doubting that you have it. Rest assured you do and come back stronger than ever to turn around any aspect of your existence that is less than satisfying. Do not settle for less when you can accomplish so much more if you continue to work at it.
Gemini: Even a Gemini at times gets tired of flitting about and that is where you are at this month. Just like Aries, you are in an atypical space. Weary of promoting your agenda, you seem sapped of the energy that lets you live by your wits. At present, you prefer to be ensconced in the domestic sphere while someone else handles the correspondence and takes care of all the details. You may need to calm your fragile nervous systems. It has been quite a ride so far. There is probably going to be a shift in your career direction right around the corner. Take this advice and let it happen organically. Sometimes you try to push the river only to experience the river pushing back.
Cancer: You might think that around your birthday, you would find yourself on easy street. Life can be beautiful but that does not mean it is easy. Sometimes when it is not easy; it is impossible. Why keep knocking on a door that will not open? As long as you are not concerned about finances, this could well be a marvelous month. Focus on your health, your service to the world and getting yourself in the best shape you have ever been. Do a retreat, hang out in a spa, go on a diet and see the new you unfold before your very eyes. Yes this takes self-discipline. While sometimes you find that willpower is hard to muster, at other times it comes naturally to you. Make this time be one of those other times.
Leo: So far this year, life has often failed to meet your expectations. There has been some improvement perhaps but not nearly enough for your sign, which always expects the best. Now you are beginning to see and to feel that there are higher forces at work and it is not a question of what you expect, but what is expected of you. If you see the writing on the wall and then read between the lines, the message is sure to pop up. What is the message? After all you have been through this year, a level of success greater than anything you have ever known is ready to be claimed. Are you prepared for prime time because prime time is gearing up for you?
Virgo: This month you may be thinking in larger than life terms. Then all of a sudden you catch yourself and realize that you prefer cutting things down to size. Still you cannot ignore the force stirring deep inside and firing up your creative impulses. Have you forgotten who you are? Hardly! Only now, you seem imbued with a magic touch and it is as if your wish is the universe's command. Of course you tend to be a skeptic and probably do not believe in any of this, in which case none of it will come true. Remember, believing is seeing.
Libra: You may be daydreaming about things that were never meant to be or are simply inappropriate for both you and the universe. Meanwhile the opportunity that genuinely calls you lies straight ahead. Your financial picture can improve considerably this month if you head toward your destiny instead of taking tangent paths that turn into dead ends. You have been living so much of your life vicariously. It is time to step into your skin and do what you told the home office you would do before you came here. You do not need anyone's permission. Go out there and create it all by yourself. Once they see you in motion, others are sure to join in.
Scorpio: You are on a roll. Most of the people you are dealing with seem willing to yield to your wishes if only you apply some diplomacy. This is a time when success in your endeavors seems inevitable though it depends on your individual chart to determine how close you are. What really makes the difference this month is actually the opposite of being close. The further away you go from the murky details of your current passage and the further out you go into the highlands of spiritual consciousness, the more mundane success is likely to knock on your door. It is a paradox but then life often works out in mysterious ways and no one is capable of getting to the bottom of a mystery more than you.
Sagittarius: You are especially popular in your professional activities this month. Venus, the principle of attraction, is high in your sky (your tenth house-the house of worldly success.) The world wants to see you in action, so spend as much time cultivating your public image as possible. Focus on something that really matters to you as your restless spirit is even more restless than usual. Nonetheless, you do have cosmic support to reach the finish line. Saturn moving through your solar ninth house can motivate you to promote your current agenda in ways that count while Mars going through your solar sixth in Taurus will provide you with the momentum to complete the job
Capricorn: You are especially responsive to other people this month and what they say and do affects you more than is customary. It might be a good idea to take a break. If you have someone special in your life, go on a holiday to some romantic hideaway. It will help to have someone else at your side as you check inside to see if the life you are creating is truly what you want. You cannot be out conquering the world all the time. This is the time to put the world on hold and bring your most personal issues to the forefront. Allow someone to get closer than ever and not just in a physical way. Let them touch your soul.
Aquarius: You are more yourself, whoever that is, when the energy is evenly distributed among many. In one-on-one encounters, the possibility always exists that someone will get too close and impose energy and information upon you that feels like control. That is when you either head toward the nearest exit or when you start displaying your overtly rebellious qualities in their presence. What you may be failing to realize is that most of the people you rebel against are not attached to what they are saying. They are simply messengers. Why not listen graciously and take in their feedback because right now the truth you have called in is coming through the mouths of just about everyone you contact.
Pisces: You can hardly believe your good fortune. You have always believed we live in a magical universe, only now you absolutely know it. How can you convey the miracles you see to a world up in arms and skeptical about the innate goodness of the universe? How can you bring about changes so that the current human population lets go of its cynicism and moves into a more loving space? It’s a challenging task but you are up to it for no sign understands what love is more than you. You have learned how to accept what others cannot. To forgive and allow is truly divine. God bless.
