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Cancer<br />

with <strong>the</strong> breasts and <strong>the</strong> stomach, and people with a Cancer sun sign are prone to<br />

digestion and weight problems. The key phrase for Cancer is I feel.<br />

Cancer, like many of <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r signs of <strong>the</strong> zodiac, does not have a developed<br />

mythology. During <strong>the</strong> second labor of Hercules (it might be better termed <strong>the</strong> second<br />

feat or test), while he was struggling against <strong>the</strong> many-headed hydra, a giant crab bit him<br />

on <strong>the</strong> heel to create a diversion. Hercules, however, crushed it underfoot. This crab,<br />

Carcinus (Greek for “crayfish”), was an ally of Hera, queen mo<strong>the</strong>r of <strong>the</strong> gods, who<br />

opposed Hercules. The crab was rewarded for sacrificing loyalty when Hera promoted it<br />

to distinction as <strong>the</strong> constellation Cancer. The sign Cancer is often compared with a turtle<br />

(<strong>the</strong> symbol for Cancer in <strong>the</strong> Babylonian zodiac), and a rich source of symbolic associations<br />

for Cancer can be found in <strong>the</strong> image of <strong>the</strong> turtle, ano<strong>the</strong>r shoreline dweller.<br />

Cancerians are best known for <strong>the</strong>ir attachment to home and, like <strong>the</strong> turtle,<br />

would be happy to carry <strong>the</strong>ir house everywhere (if only <strong>the</strong>y could!). Although<br />

homebodies, <strong>the</strong>y enjoy travel if <strong>the</strong>y know <strong>the</strong>y have a secure home to which <strong>the</strong>y<br />

can always return. Like Carcinus, <strong>the</strong>y are strongly attached to <strong>the</strong>ir mo<strong>the</strong>r (or to <strong>the</strong><br />

more nurturing parent) and tend to be nurturing parents <strong>the</strong>mselves. They are highly<br />

sensitive individuals who are easily “crushed,” which is why <strong>the</strong>y have developed an<br />

emotional “shell” within which <strong>the</strong>y can retreat. They are moodier than any of <strong>the</strong><br />

o<strong>the</strong>r signs of <strong>the</strong> zodiac, and food represents emotional security to <strong>the</strong>m. Like all<br />

water signs, <strong>the</strong>y regard emotions as more real than any o<strong>the</strong>r aspect of life.<br />

The sign that <strong>the</strong> Sun was in at birth is usually <strong>the</strong> single most important influence<br />

on a native’s personality. Thus, when people say <strong>the</strong>y are a certain sign, <strong>the</strong>y are<br />

almost always referring to <strong>the</strong>ir sun sign. There is a wealth of information available on<br />

<strong>the</strong> characteristics of <strong>the</strong> zodiacal signs—so much that one <strong>book</strong> would not be able to<br />

contain it all. Sun-sign <strong>astrology</strong>, which is <strong>the</strong> kind of <strong>astrology</strong> found in newspaper<br />

columns and popular magazines, has <strong>the</strong> advantage of simplicity. But this simplicity is<br />

purchased at <strong>the</strong> price of ignoring o<strong>the</strong>r astrological influences, such as one’s Moon<br />

sign, rising sign, etc. These o<strong>the</strong>r influences can substantially modify a person’s basic<br />

sun sign traits. As a consequence, it is <strong>the</strong> rare individual who is completely typical of<br />

her or his sign. The reader should bear this caveat in mind when perusing <strong>the</strong> following<br />

series of sun sign interpretations.<br />

One traditional way in which astrologers condense information is by summarizing<br />

sign and planet traits in lists of words and short phrases called keywords or key phrases.<br />

The following Cancer key words are drawn from Manly P. Hall’s Astrological Keywords:<br />

Emotional key words: “Artistic and dreamy, maternal, kindhearted,<br />

romantic, domestic, impressionable, psychic, imaginative, serene, intuitive,<br />

restless, despondent, sometimes lazy and self-indulgent.”<br />

Mental key words: “Versatile, self-sacrificing, receptive, expresses great<br />

veneration for ancestry and precedent, thorough, persevering, cautious,<br />

reserved, brooding.”<br />

At present, <strong>the</strong>re are various <strong>astrology</strong> report programs that contain interpretations<br />

of each of <strong>the</strong> 12 sun signs. A selection of <strong>the</strong>se for Sun in Cancer has been<br />

excerpted below:<br />

[114] THE ASTROLOGY BOOK

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