General characteristics of Cancer
Defence - romanticism
The typical Cancerian has a sensitive nature, a person who is receptive, full of fantasy and romance, and this makes them act exclusively in accordance with the profound intuition which marks them out. An acute, subtle perceptiveness guides them and helps them meet life’s events, defend themselves and pursue their objectives, based on their characteristic flashes of inspiration. Profoundly bound to their mothers and their family of origin, their lives are anchored in memories of their infancy and the past, just as the animal that symbolises them is anchored to its rock. The subject, as a consequence, encounters significant difficulties in facing up to the present and to situations that call for dynamism, preferring in such circumstances to take refuge in the cocoon of the home, at peace and surrounded by every comfort, or else in day-dreaming and fantasy. Shaped by the Moon, the typical Cancerian is moody and tends to be restless, alternating between moments of closed-off introversion and other times when they are extrovert and full of enthusiasm. Hypersensitive and fragile, the instant they are wounded they retreat into their shells, but should they feel they are under attack, they are capable of defending themselves with surprising aggression. The sweet, sentimental and romantic nature of Cancerian ought to make them inclined towards establishing perfect emotional ties, but in reality this rarely happens because - above all if the subject is masculine - the relationship with the mother is always excessively strong and becomes the source of many conflicts with the partner. A female Cancerian, on the other hands, has the chance of complete fulfilment if she decides to accept the role of “Queen of hearth and home” - she will find total satisfaction in being a wife and mother. However, if she rebels against this traditional role, she will risk breaking up with her family and even seeing her own psychological equilibrium compromised.
Professions: housewife, interior designer, architect, artist: anything to do with childbirth, gynaecologist, obstetrician, those who give courses of instruction or assistance to mothers-to-be, those who take care of feeding and all the accessories required by newborns and infants, babies’ bottles, dummies, nappies, toys, prams; nursery teachers.
Glyph: represented by two small circles with curved extensions, placed one on top of another with the two ends facing in opposite directions. It is similar to the symbol for the Tao, composed of Yin and Yang, or a picture of two spermatozoa, whose concentric movements give rise to life.
Zodiac degrees: 90°- 120°.
Water sign: Feminine.
Moon: primary domicile.
Venus: exaltation.
Physical: Stomach, gastric juices.
Colour: silvery white
Plants: donkey’s ears, lily of the valley, iris, cucumber, pumpkin, bulrush.
translated by Nick Skidmore