Cancer The Crab, itself an evocative if perhaps counter-intuitive symbol for this softest of signs, brings to mind the clear division between protection, safety and comfort and utter vulnerability. Cancer represents the motivation to safety, to consolidation. The feeling of being home, of having a base, a place to grow and nurture your core is at the heart of Cancer. Ruled by the Moon, Cancer emphasizes in its energy the same soulful, intuitive emotional centeredness that the Moon also indicates. As preoccupied as we all can be with survival, it can come as a surprise to some of us that the universe could have set aside this part of existence the dedicated solely to the care and feeding of our emotional life, but part of the beauty of astrology is that, yes, it has. Existence is not just competition and struggle; it is also childhood and being nurtured. It is extra comforting to feel in the warm embrace of our mother echoes the universal Hug. Cancer reminds us that the invisible world of feeling is real, and when love quietly shines on us, we grow.

Cancer is the Cardinal Water sign. That it comes fourth in the procession should not detract from its necessity as the mother of all life. It is from the water that we are all born, whether from the amniotic fluid or the dreamy world of sleep, we emerge with a haunting memory of the realm we have left. The evolutionary challenge for Cancer is to be able to give the world of feeling its due, but then to let God's creations venture forth, to leave the nest of safety and engage with the dangerous adventures that make up the Quest which is each human soul's birthright.

Myth Fighting the Hydra is hard enough. For each head of the monster you defeat, a seemingly endless number of similarly dangerous maws are simultaneously trying to spell your doom and and your Quest. Making the matter worse, Hercules had to contend with a giant crab attempting to snap at his heels while he fought. This myth calls to mind the dark side of the Mother, the sabotaging dynamic which, through subterfuge and mixed emotional signaling, seeks to keep her charges by her side even as she consciously extols their charms and talents and praises their first steps out into the world. Achilles' mother Thetis didn’t want him going to fight the Trojan war and tried to hide him among the women. Odysseus would not allow it. People with lots of Cancer in their chart can be among the most nurturing and comforting people you will ever be around. But we cannot forget that the purpose for which we are resting, the reason we have been saving our strength, is ultimately to use it.

Hand of Fate: Cancer must venture out onto the land eventually, and trust that God would not overwhelm them with emotions if He had any other choice. To feel the great depths which touch infinity and not to break, to hold the human vessel together through the perpetual storm—that is Cancer’s quest.