The Sun in Cancer...
The Sun in astrology symbolizes the core essence of who you are -- your individuality and sense of self. It describes what is likely to motivate you, and why. The Sun Sign describes the prime focal point within the personality structure, and is of major importance. Understanding and developing these aspects of the self will help you to develop and expand your sense of being the authentic self you truly wish to be. Understanding the house in which your Sun is found will give even greater detail.
Cancer: Cardinal Water
Ruler: The Moon
Keywords: Nurturing Enclosing Protecting Intuiting
Positive- sensitivity, emotional intelligence, nurturing, aware of others needs, psychic, family oriented, empathetic, reliable, concerned with continuity, dignity, protection.
Negative- hysterical, hyper-sensitive, overly emotional, extreme selfishness, ones needs before all else, fearful, overprotective, smothering, unable to relinquish emotional attachments, clannish.
With the Sun in the sign of Cancer, the urge is to experience connectedness to others on an emotional level, and then take action to nourish, support and protect. Cancer, as the sign most connected to family life, lends a maternal or paternal quality to those born under its’ influence. Thus, you are likely to feel deeply connected, for better or for worse, to both your family of origin, and those you consider dear to your heart. In many ways, you are likely to be invested in the world of emotion, reacting to the constant ebb and flow of your emotional undercurrents, as well as those of others around you. You can be under the sway of an ever-changing current of moods and energies as you respond to the flux of life through your sensitive feeling nature.
Cancer is a Water sign, and so, is concerned with the emotions, the intuition and the imagination. As a Cardinal sign, Cancerians need to act, and it is within the watery realm of emotions and the ties that connect us to other people that Cancerians are often most actively engaged. Thus family life is often a prime sphere of activity. The imagination is often strong in this sign and can denote creative and psychic abilities. With a powerful ability to absorb impressions and memories through the feeling nature, Cancerians can display remarkable empathy and retention. At times this can make it difficult to act decisively as you become torn by feelings of guilt, conflicting sympathies and your super-sensitivity to how others will react in a given situation. Learning to separate the self from the feeling that you need to take emotional responsibility for others’ is a key life lesson for many Cancerian individuals. Thus sign is all about emotional needs, but assuming responsibility for what is not yours, or investing yourself where you are not wanted can be a hurdle that must be overcome.
The tendency to imagine needs to be acknowledged and developed for it can become either a liability or a strength. There may be creative and artistic talents that need an outlet. Many excellent writers are born under this sign, displaying their ability to tune in to what the public wants and needs. Cancerians often have an uncanny sense of business timing, knowing when and where to act. In this domain, the ability to imagine realistic yet original outcomes is your specialty. Your knowledge of how to appeal to public tastes and emotional intelligence are your best assets. Yet if the imagination is denied, or allowed to run riot, it can lead to all sorts of toxic imaginings. As the sign most connected to the past, Cancerians can remain under the influence of past hurts and upsets well past their ‘current’ status. Reliving the past is a very Cancerian tendency. Then the imagination takes over, reacting to what happened then as if it is still happening now. This can lead to a moodiness and irrationality that is hard for you or others to bear. Using the imagination to its fullest will often mean learning to first process your emotions and then remain focussed in the present. Then you can respond to passing opportunities with uncanny precision. Cancer is a deeply sensitive sign, and learning to listen to your own rhythmic sense of timing, and your intuitive perceptions over your emotional projections, will help you find your niche in life.
Although Cancer is concerned with action, these folks often tend to act through vacillation and reflection, avoiding direct moves until external circumstances feel favourable and therefore ‘right’. They have much in common with their celestial namesake’s The Crab. On the outside, the Cancerian may appear at times tough, hardened or impenetrable, with a tenacity and ability to hold on that can be formidable. But underneath, they are often as soft and as sensitive as can be, protecting their vulnerabilities from the harshness of the outer world by bringing it all back to the security of home and hearth.
Home is the natural domain of the Cancerian individual, and you are likely to be especially connected to your domestic environment, for it is here that you are in your strength. The home is both the source of strength and the shell you must outgrow. The need to experience a warm, safe and nurturing home life is paramount, and it is imperative that you create the right kind of living circumstances to feel calm, serene and connected to other people. When a Cancerian is happy within their home, they can be the source of great nourishment and delight to their friends and family, enjoying nothing more than taking care of the one’s they love through good food, rapport and empathetic conversation. Many excellent cooks are born under this sign. Providing nourishment for others is a concrete way of taking action around their emotional needs. Cancer is connected to continuity and tradition, and it is within the family unit, of either blood or choice, that the Cancerian individual gets to foster the ties that connect and bind us by reminding us all of the loving things we share.
Yet Cancerians can at times avoid confrontation with the outside world by remaining safe within the security of their own four walls- literally their outer shell. At times like these, the famed Cancerian imagination can work against you, with your propensity to imagining the worst, and reliving past emotional hurts or upsets taking over. You then become the emotional casualty of all sorts of imagined slights and social grievances that turn into your excuse for not leaving the comforts of home. This leads to emotional disconnection from others, which is the opposite of what you truly seek. Deeply sensitive to others emotions and psychological states, you may be reacting more from the past than the present, and can end up seeming to others even more defensive, or “crabby” on the outside, which makes everything even worse. Learning to leave the safe and secure for greater growth and development is a necessary Cancerian experience, as well as a healthy way of keeping the emotions and imagination in check. On this note, Cancerians often thrive on change and new environments, reflecting the Moon quality to wax and wane as it travels through the sky. As long as you have somewhere to come back to, you are likely to need variety in your environments which will refresh your emotional and imaginative life.
With the Sun in Cancer you are gifted with extraordinary emotional and intuitive insight. This can be turned to your advantage by taking action to support and foster those you hold dear, or projects that you wish to get off the ground. As long as the tendency to attempt to assume responsibility for others emotional needs in kept in check, you are often the most caring of souls, and an uncannily prescient confidante.
