In ancient astrology, the zodiacal wheel began with the sign Cancer rather than Aries. For our Egyptian ancestors, birth and rebirth was connected to the flooding of the Nile, which brought crops and vegetation, and happened every year at Summer Solstice during Cancer season. This is why Cancer is considered to be the “cosmic womb of creation.”

Cancer energy speaks to how we nurture ourselves and how we desire to be nurtured. It is protective, cautious and defensive. Cancer is symbolized by the crab – a side-stepping oceanic animal that carries its exoskeleton on its exterior as armor. While Cancer is a sensitive water sign, it will fight to defend what it holds sacred and dear. When threatened or unclear, Cancer’s nature is to go within and nurture itself before re-emerging with a new path forward.

Cancerian energy represents what we care about the most, and what we are willing to come out of our shell to protect. There is a level of generosity and hospitality that makes others feel at home, nurtured and mothered. Cancer can quickly shift into emotional manipulation, smothering and over sensitivity when these gestures are not well received. There is an instinctual desire to give and see that others are nourished; which is beautiful as long as intentions are pure. With Cancerian energy, this is not always the case.

Cancerian energy can be reactive and moody. It is ruled by the Moon, which is the fastest moving planetary body in our solar system, so emotions move through Cancer just as quickly. Cancer can be manipulated by emotions to a fault, not acknowledging that what feels right and what is comfortable changes from day to day. To rely solely on its emotional instincts can leave it feeling like a tiny ship being tossed around in the ocean.

The house that Cancer rules in your chart and the house the Moon sits in your chart can clue you into where you have the highest expression of these qualities or where you need to further develop them. The planets in Cancer in your chart are being invited to embody these qualities. The Moon and Jupiter do well in Cancer; however Mars and Saturn are greatly challenged here.