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Cancer - "the Crab" (Karkinos in
Greek, Cancer in Latin); according
to most ancient authorities, the
crab was one of Hera's animals. This
particular crab was the crab which
was unceremoniously crushed by
Hercules in his 2nd of 12 labours.
Interestingly enough, this
constellation was also associated
with the term "the Asses' Crib" or
"the Asses' Manger." The reason for
this association is that in the
constellation of Cancer there are
two stars named "the Asses" (asini).
Most ancient sources agree on these
asses being placed in the sky by the
Greek god of wine and ecstasy,
Dionysus. However, there are several
different variations as to what
these asses were and why Dionysus
placed them in the constellation of
Cancer.
One version is that Dionysus,
Hephaestus, and the satyrs (see
Sagittarius) were riding into battle
against the "giants." They were
riding into this battle on the backs
of donkeys. The "giants" who could
not yet see the oncoming entourage,
could hear the braying of the
donkeys in the distance. For some
odd reason, the sound of the
donkeys' braying terrified the
"giants" and they fled the scene. I
suppose this means that these
donkeys were able to make asses out
of the "giants." By way of honoring
of this achievement, Dionysus
arranged for the donkeys to be
placed in sky as two stars.
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Before we get started, Sun Sign
Cancer... You and I both know we've
never seen or read a totally
satisfying description of the Zodiac
Sign Cancer. I can't begin to tell
you how many Sun Sign Cancers
complain about the how the typical
descriptions of Cancer don't fit
them. (I could take a "cheap shot"
about nagging and complaining, but I
won't go there.) Sadly, I doubt I'll
do much better in my modest attempt
to describe the energies of Cancer.
Why? Cancer is located in the
astrological element of Water. Of
the four astrological elements
(Fire, Earth, Air, and Water) -
Water is the most ancient,
primitive, and instinctual. Being
the most primal element, Water is
also the element furthest away from
rational, describable, consciousness
and thought. Thus, Water energy
tends to defy our meagre attempts at
coming up with rational explanations
and descriptions. Astrologically,
the element of water is associated
with feeling, sensitivity, and
emotion. All three Signs placed in
the element of Water (Cancer,
Scorpio, and Pisces) are rather
difficult to describe and/or measure
out their true essence. However...
Cancer, ruled by the mysterious Moon
of the night, is perhaps the Water
Sign furthest removed from "light of
day" consciousness and description.
At least that's my story (and I'm
sticking to it.).
Want to know two of the most
fascinating bits of traditional
trivia regarding the ancient
descriptions of the Zodiacal Sign
Cancer? I thought so... First -
believe it or not - none of the
ancient descriptions of Cancer
mentioned the words "mother,"
"cooking," or "cleaning" a single
time. The second bit of trivia is
that prior to being named the
constellation of Cancer, your
constellation was known as "the
Asses' Crib." What's that about?
(Actually, you can check out my
description of the Cancer
constellation to find out.)
Okay... okay... I suppose I've
stalled long enough... truth is that
I know I'm quite safe in your
thoughtful and caring hands. I never
cease to be amazed at how many of
you kind Cancer folks write in to
reassure me that I've done a pretty
good job. So I'll go ahead and give
this my best shot.
Nurturing, protective, tenacious,
emotional sensitivity, and valuing
strong traditional roots. Cancer is
the archetypal image of the bond
between mother and son (as well as
the bond between father and
daughter)... Ruled by the
ever-changing, but ever faithful
Moon - Cancer reflects the
mysterious, continual cycles of
nature... Cancer reflects the ebb
and flow of the tides - and, as
such, reflects the ebb and flow of
emotions. This varying (ebb and
flow) moods of "wild child"
Cancerians are often a puzzlement to
everyone around, including the
Cancer Sun who's having the mood.
However, from the very beginning of
time, the Moon was seen by our most
ancient ancestors as nurturing and
generous - yet [paradoxically] could
likewise be an undependable, clever,
and dangerous trickster. Ouch!
To better demonstrate this Lunar
paradox, here's a traditional
African folk tale: "Sun and Moon are
real siblings. They played clever
tricks on each other. Moon said to
Sun: we want to throw our children
into the water. The Sun agreed. When
the agreed upon time came, Moon hid
its children, searched for white
pebbles and put them in a sack. Sun,
however knew nothing about this and
really did take all of its children
and put them in a sack. So they set
out on their way and came to the
bank of a river. Moon emptied its
pebble filled sack and emptied it
into the river. Thus the Sun was
deceived and shook its children into
the river." ["Afrikanische Marchen;"
C. Meinhof] According to this folk
tale - Luna, Queen of the Heavens
[the Moon], is now always
accompanied by her children [the
stars] of the night. The Sun's
children became fish, populated the
waters, and now feed humankind.
People with the Sun in watery (i.e.
feeling) Cancer generally thrive and
flourish best when developing an
emotional relationship with their
immediate surroundings. Hard cold
logic doesn't have the chance of a
proverbial snowflake in a snowstorm
when it comes to the energies of
Cancer. This is because Cancer's
strong preference is to evaluate
everyone and everything in terms of
feelings and values. "How will I
feel if I do that?" "Will I still be
able to live with myself if I say
that?" You also tend to show your
feelings more readily than do the
other water signs (Scorpio and
Pisces) and so may feel incredibly
vulnerable because others seem to
have easy access to your emotional
life. This is part of why you may
often resort to the infamous "Crab
Sidestep" - in the attempt to hide
your highly sensitive nature from
others.
Because of this emotional
sensitivity, the "Crab" is seldom
genuinely comfy and cosy when in a
wider and more impersonal social
setting, So you may tend to create a
small, enclosed environment (called
a home) and honour only a very few
select people by allowing them into
your sphere of influence. However,
with those powerful Crab pinchers of
yours, once you do allow someone or
something into your sphere - you
often experience great difficulty
letting go (even when you know you
ought to). This stubborn refusal of
emotionally letting go applies to
people, traditions, and possessions.
Remember that piece of kite string
you acquired thirty years ago and
squirreled away in the very back of
a dresser drawer? Yep, better hang
on to that piece of kite string. You
never know when you might need it
for something useful... That rainy
day you've been planning for? It
might end up being tomorrow. One
never knows about these things, do
they?
Your birth Sun is the hero of your
mythic journey through this
lifetime. So Let Your Light Shine!
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Regardless of whether you're a male
or female, the very first love of
your life was your mother (or if mom
was absent, then another mother
figure in your environment). The
Moon symbolizes the unconscious,
instincts, and what you need to feel
nurtured in your life. The Moon is
the "place" where we go for comfort
when scared.... and we tend to
unconsciously nurture ourselves in
much the same way our mothers
nurtured and cared for us when we
were very young children.
With the Moon in Cancer, you feel
the safest when being emotionally
nurtured and cared for or (on the
other hand) when emotionally
nurturing and taking care of others.
As a young child, you most likely
formed a strong bond with your
mother? Because of this strong bond,
you may have difficulty in breaking
away from home later in life. You
perceived Mom as being an
emotionally nurturing, caring
individual. You, however, now
recognize that mother may have at
times sought to control you with a
strong dose of emotional guilt, and
so you've discovered that this is
often one of the instinctual ways
you fall back on when attempting to
control your environment (and thus
make) your environment feel safer.
Under stress, your first instinct is
to merge and blend in with your
environment. If surrounded by
"saints," you'll be a saint. If
surrounded by "sinners," you'll be a
sinner. When things get to be a wee
bit too much, you'll most likely
want to retire to the comfort and
safety of your home.
Pamper yourself on occasion by
taking a nice long warm scented
bath. Water has a special way of
cleansing and rejuvenating your
Cancer Moon. Another excellent
stress relieving technique is having
a special time set aside each day to
be by yourself. Go ahead - throw
everyone out of your special private
room (you do have one, don't you?)
for an hour or two and then escape
into a good romantic novel or movie.
Looking for something meaningful to
do with your free time? Try
volunteering your services at a
local nursing home or at a
children's hospital. They can
certainly use the extra help, and it
will bring sense of purpose and
meaning to your life. Need to get
away on a relaxing vacation? Visit
cities and town's located on rivers,
and reserve a hotel room with a view
of the river. If you happen to be
the active type - then give yourself
a treat by going on one of those
wild white water river rafting
trips.
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Born in the Zodiacal sign of the
“Great Mother” and ruled by the
Moon, your Cancer lover (whether
male or female) is going to be
mothering something or someone. It
might be you (if you're lucky), it
might be your children, it might be
an adorable little dog, it might be
a social cause they believe in, it
might be the neighbour's kids down
the street, or it might be “all of
the above.” But trust me… Your
Cancer lover is going to be
nurturing and protecting something
(or somebody).
Cancer may attempt to hide it from
you, but Cancer is the number 1 most
sensitive and feeling member of the
Zodiacal family. That's the reason
for the notorious Crab shell.
Cancer's hard, but very thin, shell
is simply there for protection.
Because of Cancer's extreme
sensitivity, they tend to go at
things in a sideways, indirect
manner. After all, directly going
for what one wants, leaves one open
to the risk of rejection. (Cancer's
biggest emotional fear).
Your Cancer lover likes tradition,
family, baseball, apple pie, and
Chevrolet. Cancer is sentimental
about the past, so Cancer often
likes to keep old photo albums
nearby. These photo albums, more
often than not, will include
pictures of former lovers. If you’re
the jealous type, then keep
repeating to yourself: “I’m the one
she’s with now. I’m the one she’s
with now. I’m the one she’s with
now. I’m the one she’s with now.”
For your Cancer lover, the past
often feels more "real" than the
unknown future. It's important to
understand that your Cancer lover
simply feels safer and more certain
about moving into the unknown
future, when knowing and remembering
the past.
One of many goddesses associated
with the Moon was the Greek goddess,
Artemis. Artemis was a teetotal wild
child. She was the virgin goddess of
the hunt who perennially had a dog
by her side. The only male from
mythology that Artemis was ever
associated with was the great
hunter, Orion. Unfortunately,
Artemis killed Orion by utilizing
the Scorpion that later became the
Zodiacal Sign of Scorpio. One
ancient version said Artemis and
Orion were lovers, and that she
became angry and jealous when he
jilted her. Another version says
that Orion was going around boasting
that he was a greater hunter than
the goddess of the hunt, Artemis.
One version says that Orion saw
Artemis naked while she was taking a
bath in a stream. I don't know... I
think maybe Artemis was just in one
of those quickly passing,
unpredictable "moods" of hers.
Shadow: Your Cancer lover has a
memory like an elephant. In the back
of my mind, I keep thinking the sign
of Cancer was somehow once
associated with the elephant.
(However, don’t quote me on that.)
Unfortunately, there are times when
your Cancer lover’s wonderful memory
is a wee bit selective in nature.
That means Cancer remembers every
stupid, thoughtless, careless thing
you’ve done or said in the past
(remember - the past is more "real"
to Cancer, than the future). Cancer
may eventually forgive your mistakes
of the past, but they never truly
forget. And, like Mr. Rogers says,
“Can you say the word, ‘passive
aggressive paybacks?’ I thought you
could.”
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