Cancer
is the fourth sign of the zodiac. We already know that it's a watery sign. The
watery signs impart an emotional, caring nature. The lord of this sign, the moon,
is the natural indicator of one's feelings and emotions. So these words, "
feelings and emotions," have special meaning for the sign Cancer.
The
Moon's influence can be seen in other ways. The typical lunar qualities are
softness, gracefulness, and sincerity in addition to the maternal ones. And
remember that the Moon is the planet of the emotions. It is this lunar nature of
Cancer that seems to produce a person who is easy-going, romantic, caring,
meditative and gracious. In keeping with the nature of the Moon, Cancer people
are of generally of tranquil emotions; they are active on the mental platform
and have a tendency to slip into daydreaming.
The
opposite side of the coin is that when the moon is afflicted, or when turbulent
planetary combinations afflict this sign, emotions are all but tranquil. And
this situation points out a truth about all signs-
they all have positive and negative attributes. These different
attributes tend to manifest more in this way or that way in relation to the
planetary influences that come to bear on the sign. There is a natural dichotomy
in this sense and, as we go through our analysis of the zodiac, we will try to
point out to the reader just how this is so.
Cancer
is, of course, a brahminical sign. The brahmins of the Vedic era were the
professional class. What are today doctors, lawyers, teachers, advisors,
counsellors, psychologists, financial advisors, and bankers were brahmins in
Vedic society. Of course, this understanding can be a little exterior. One of
the basic ideas of being a brahmin is that one is an advise-giver. That's why
the brahmins were the priests, teachers and astrologers of their society. Active
administration was carried out by the Kshatriyas, the warrior caste. The
vaishyas ( merchant class ) were involved in business and trade while the sudra
caste dedicated itself to labor. It is just uncanny, and a tribute to Vedic
astrology, the way that Cancer naturally imparts the nature of a guide, helper,
and teacher to a person. ( Unless, of course, the planetary combinations
indicate otherwise ). Esoteric Astrology (Behari, P: 77) sums it up
nicely by saying " As a politician the Cancer-born becomes a king-maker
rather than a king; as a sportsman he is the coach rather than the player, as a
teacher he is more of a guide rather than a bully."
Cancer
reflects brahminical qualities in other ways, too. In the eighteenth chapter of Bhagavad
Gita, Krishna himself points out what some of them are. In the fourty-second
verse of that chapter, Krishna mentions the Sanskrit words sama, saucham, and
kshantir in relation to brahminical dharmas. They mean peacefulness, purity and
tolerance, respectively. And these attributes really do seem to be natural
qualities of the sign Cancer. The word soumya or " gentleness " is
often mentioned in relation to Cancer.
It's
noteworthy that the Vedic constellation Pushyami lies within this sign of the
zodiac. In Latin it is known as Cancri. Pushyami is known for imparting the
nature of a teacher or advisor to those born under it. The adi devata of
Pushyami is Brihaspati, a celestial brahmin and the teacher of the gods. This
constellation must be, to a great degree, the very source of the love that the
Cancer-born have for teaching and guiding others.
That
Cancer is a watery sign tends to make those born under it rather adaptable. This
simply makes sense because water itself is so adaptable. Water has no fixed
shape. It has no odor or color and is, in fact a transparent medium. It adapts
itself to the shape of its container. This expression of the watery essense of
Cancer has been well-described as follows: " Water is formless, colorless,
and so is Cancer. According to the society and environment in which the
individual has been placed, the basic nature is determined.... This does not
suggest them to be without likes and preferences " (Esoteric Astrology,
P: 76 ).
Of
course, there are other watery signs such as Scorpio. But Scorpio is a fixed
sign and hence rather rigid. And the lord of Scorpio is the fiery Mars. The lord
of Cancer is the soft moon. It is a moveable sign, too- all this makes it
easy-going and flexible in a way that other watery signs are not. To sum it up
in everyday words, it just seems that the Cancer-born are genuinely able to see
validity from various angles of view. It's not that they have no definition
themselves, it's just that they're so flexible.
This
adaptable nature of the Cancer person is also pointed out by the fact that many
species of crabs camouflage themselves by reflecting the color of their
surroundings like chameleons. This phenomena takes on meaning when we consider
that the symbol of Cancer is the crab.
The
crab symbol tells us a lot about the nature of the Cancer-born personality.
Crabs are shy and sensitive and, other things notwithstanding, so are Cancer
people. If one no more than approaches a crab, it goes skittering away to burrow
in the sand. So Cancers are sensitive.
This
is different than, for example, a Leo ascendent. Leo the lion struts royally
through the jungle. They are bold and straightforward. On the other hand, a crab
never moves in a straight line. It always moves cautiously backwards, and even
then off to an angle. This shy, sensitive and even cautious nature of a crab is
distinctly manifested in those born under Cancer, the sign of the crab.
The
feminine nature of Cancer merits some attention. Esoteric Astrology
states that the " female principle " functions as a vehicle of male
projection. He goes on to affirm that " The Cancer-born would be found to
play the role of vehicle and, as such, these people would surrender themselves
to the circumstances and let events mold them. They do not wish to generally
exert their own influence. Rather, they want to be influenced by the
circumstances " (P: 76 ). This trait is very true of the Cancer personality
and if one wishes to acquire a deep understanding of this sign, this trait will
have to be recognized and observed.
The
danger is that if the Cancer-born sits back in a reactive mode the opportunity
to go out and be a mover of events may pass by. So often it seems that the
Cancer personality will wait for things to happen, as if awaiting a sign from
God or the like. The rabbit would do better to at least run rather than closing
its eyes and freezing at the sight of the hunter-
the Cancer-born may take a lesson from this analogy. Unless otherwise
energized by the planets, the Cancer people just don't have the tendency to go
out impose themselves as a person born under a fiery sign would, or to go out
and generate things like a person born under a masculine sign.
A
comparison with Scorpio, another feminine, watery sign, is instructive. The
passiveness is much truer in the case of Cancer than in Scorpio. This is
probably due to the fixed nature of Scorpio, as we have already pointed out. It
would also be due to the the hot and resistent nature of Scorpio imparted by its
lord, the fiery Mars.
The
typical marriage karma of the Cancer born is also worth noting. In more than one
ancient text, it is noted that they tend to be unhappy and even unlucky in
regards to marriage. This tendency arises from the fact that Saturn owns the
house of marriage from Cancer. Saturn is a planet of a very different nature
than the lord of Cancer, the Moon. While the Moon is a soft and sensitive planet,
Saturn is hard, rigid, constrictive, and generally negative. The influence of
Saturn over this important factor, indicative of marriage and partnerships,
tends to color relationships in this way.
It
is a feeling of suffocation brought on by Saturn that makes the Cancer person
skittish about marriage. Deep inside, they feel threatened or imprisoned by
marriage; they are ready to bolt and run even though they spend a long time
being married. This is one eason they tend to marry late in life. Also, Saturn
is the planet of time and delay, so his influence over the marriage house
accounts for this, combined with the workings of the skittish Cancer mind.
Speaking
of the workings of the Cancer ascendent's mind, they react to marriage on a
mental platform in another way. Typically, they allow their sensitivity to get
out of hand. This occurs pretty much in proportion to how threatened they feel.
They make mountains out of mole hills and, in one way or another, invent reasons
to run away from the chains of marriage, just as the crab leaves its home in the
water to hide away in the sand. The mental breakdown can be so acute that Bepin
Behari goes as far as to say that, as marriage partners, Cancer people "
are often suitable subjects for a careful psychological analysis."
It is safe to say that the places which correspond to Cancer are watery places, specifically places where crustaceans dwell. Marshes, sandy river banks, bays, canals and reservoirs all correspond to Cancer. Rice fields are indicated by Cancer, which should make sense to the reader, because they are watery. Places of clay soil are characterized by Cancer. It is interesting to note that Dr. Raman, in Hindu Predictive Astrology, notes that the country Holland corresponds to Cancer ( Raman, P: 268 ). Holland is a country of canals and much of its land mass is sandy because it has been recovered from the sea. Places where psychology is practiced, where milk is somehow or other prominent, and nurseries for newborns also correspond to Cancer.
