Cancer: Archetype of The Lover
The word “cancer” has so much loaded meaning in our current times. The word came to us from the Greek karkino (“crab”), Latinized to cancer which we have adopted into English. The reason the disease that bears its name was given this label was due to tumors marked by enlarged veins, resembling the legs of a crab, and thus “cancer". Super unfortunate branding for those born under the sign of the crab.
Cancer is cardinal water (read more about that here), ruled by the feminine, Yin energy of The Moon - governing our emotional life, inner world, spirituality, nurturing, and subconscious - and associated with the fourth House of Home & Family. The season of Cancer begins at the Summer Solstice on June 21st. The word solstice comes from the Latin sol (sun) + stit (stopped; stationary). Due to the Earth’s orbital and orientation characteristics, for a few days around this particular point in the year, the Sun appears to stand still, or move very slowly sideways. This made the season ripe for being associated with such an animal, famous for its cautious, slow, sideways movement.
In ancient Egyptian versions of the Zodiac, turtles were used to symbolize this season. Certain Polynesian systems used sea turtles. The Babylonians used tortoises, and later crayfish, which the Greeks adapted into the crab. As you can see, all of these creatures have a lot in common. They have hard outer defenses, a need for hyper-awareness, and move very tentatively.
The glyph for the sign of Cancer - the stacked claws of a crab
Symbol for The Moon - ruler of Cancer
The crab harassing Hercules for Juno - it didn’t go that great
The Greco-Roman myth around Cancer, like so many regarding their gods, revolves around one of them banging a human and creating intense situations. Jupiter (Zeus) had fooled around with a lady and created the hero and demigod Hercules (Heracles). Jupiter’s wife, Juno (Hera) - Queen of the Gods - was not super stoked on Jupiter’s infidelity and hated Hercules. She uses her divine powers to drive Hercules mad, resulting in him killing his wife and their sons. Super bummed, he visits the Oracle of Delphi who spoke for the gods. She told Hercules that he must go and do penance, serving a Mycenaean King and doing whatever he asked. Hercules hated this, because he knew he was way better than this stupid, mortal King, but he also feared retribution from his father Zeus if he defied the Oracle. The King sends Hercules on a series of tasks. How many, you ask? They are known as the Twelve Labours of Hercules, because of course there are twelve. These astrological concepts were already laid as foundations upon which all of our mythology and legends have been built. The second of these adventures had Hercules fighting the Hydra, a multi-headed beast who would simply grow back two more heads if you cut one off. Hercules is getting his ass kicked when his nephew - who drove his chariot for him - came up with an idea to burn and cauterize the stumps with a torch after each one was lopped off. Juno is watching this and isn’t happy Hercules has turned the tables, so she sends a giant crab to fuck with him. The crab begins attacking his foot, and then, Hercules stomps on it and crushes it to death. Shit. I was rooting for the crab. Juno is really touched by the crab’s willingness to help and placed him in the sky as the constellation cancer for at least trying.
With all of that out of the way, let’s actually look at what Cancer represents in your psychological profile.
The crab harassing Hercules in his fight with the Hydra - I am actually not sure what he’s pinching in this 🤔
With Cancer, we are looking at the archetype of The Lover. No other sign feels, or responds to feelings, as strongly. Like the crab which represents it, The Lover moves through the world with powerful emotional antennae extended, constantly sensing the undercurrent of feeling all around them. As you can imagine, this leaves them feeling very vulnerable. Thus, the much needed shell of Cancer. While you might think, “Get rid of the shell, that’s only keeping you from being truly open”, or some other trope the new age has foisted upon us, this is terrible advice. Do you know what a crab without a shell is? Dinner. Delicious, yes, but also the end of the crab. The shell is absolutely necessary. If you are going to head out into a world where you feel every goddam thing, from every goddam one, you need a level of protection to guard your tender insides.
Cancer’s association with the fourth House of Home & Family is tied to its energy. This sign needs to regularly retreat into a place that makes them feel like they are at home. Think about it, they literally carry their home with them to a certain extent, able to pull themselves into their fortress of solitude, even in a crowd.
Cancer is also associated with The Mother, leading to The Lover’s nurturing acts of love, romantic memory, and sense of history. Cancer loves very deeply. So much so, it isn’t really even able to quantify it. Just like your Mom.
Cancer is cardinal in its expression (read more about that here). It acts, initiates and gets things moving. Many people would say Cancer is “more emotional” than the other signs. I wouldn’t put it that way. All of the water signs are in touch with the emotional realm, just like the fire signs burn with passion and intensity, air signs crackle with excitement, earth signs soak in the pleasure of physical rewards and delights, the point is, there is a lot of emotion spread all over these different archetypes. However, Cancer, being the most active form of water, ruled by the psychological function that is the feminine, receptive, emotional half of the core of our personality, demonstrates these emotions more than the other signs for sure. Crying is a daily occurrence (like, multiple times a day) and it is as confusing to The Lover as it is to everyone else. Taking in so much feeling from so many sources creates a situation where it all needs to come out some how. Holding it in is dangerous. Better crying than screaming I guess.
If you need a metaphor for the quality of water Cancer represents, the tide is a perfect one. Subtle, but powerful. Very active, but hard to track. You stand in the ocean at the beach one afternoon, ankle deep, having a good old time, but before you know it, its up to your chest and you are being engulfed, pulled into the sea. That is cardinal water expressed through Cancer.
The Constellation Cancer, the crab
Cancer rules the breasts and stomach. The Mother’s nurturing energy is clearly in view here. Most people with strong Cancer influence love to cook. Or, maybe it would be better to say, they love to feed people. Cooking is necessary to get that feeling of relating to people through loving acts which is what they are really after, sensing and detecting the emotions humming around them. Whatever the method or means, The Lover loves, and it loves hard. There is a dreamy, romantic quality to this archetype, even if they are always worrying they will be rejected, able to disappear into its shell in a split second.
Here we find one of the more shadowy qualities Cancer needs to be aware of. These loving, nurturing acts, the expression of its purpose, can also be where it falls on its face. Cancer hides. They can be hanging out with you in a crowd, while the whole time they are actually hiding behind an elaborate set of defenses they have built to protect themselves. So often, the thing they hide in, is the caretaking. Doing becomes their shell, that distance they keep so they aren’t hurt, and they are hurt easily. In this state, they begin to believe that the only reason people like them is because of all the things they do, and this leads to resentment. This is the sign of history and memory. They can resent, and they can do it for the long haul. All love and softness, but also with powerful claws. The Lover must have ways to dissipate this energy when it builds up. Usually, that means alone time spent somewhere they feel completely at home and in their little bubble, cut off from the rest of everything. Nurturing the self needs to become their priority so they are once again able to get back to their mission of actively loving everyone.
The evolution of The Lover is about managing Cancer’s shell. They have to have one. There is no option to strip it away. However, The Lover is prone to build thick, elaborate blockades to keep itself safe. That is counterproductive, preventing them from giving and receiving love, which is their purpose. The goal is to manage and maintain that shell so that it is as permeable as possible, while still feeling their soft interior is protected.
You probably have some of these crabby people in your life, shifting and swaying as quickly as The Moon changes her face. It can be hard to pin them down and figure out what emotion they are experiencing at the moment. They come at you sideways, right? But when you need to feel loved, who do you head for?
This brings up a discussion about Cancer men versus Cancer women. With all of this feminine, receptive, nurturing, loving, emotional energy, men with a lot of influence from this sign can struggle to accept parts of their nature. Remember, this is not boy and girl energy we are talking about when discussing the archetypes, this is human energy and experiences. There is no him or her on the Zodiac. Just us. Don’t let TV shows from the 50’s define your view of what “real men” are like. Go watch those shows. They were angry dicks mostly. Things haven’t changed much. You can’t be sensitive and manly, right? Men born under the sign of the Moon are maybe here to challenge those ideas.
We need The Lover, just like we need the Summer. Cancer brings us both!
If your Sun, Moon, or Ascendant is in the sign of the crab, these qualities will be quite prominent in your personality. If not, the house Cancer is in, and any other planet(s) in the sign also bring their influence to different aspects and arenas of your life. However, regardless of how intensely The Lover shows up on your chart, you can be sure this archetype is a part of you. Grow and evolve it so it can be the highest form possible.
Heretically Yours 😈
