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Continuing on our journey around the astrological wheel, we take an unusual sidestep and come across Cancer, the Crab. This feminine, Yin polarity, feeling oriented soul expresses love in a most profound way and has therefore been anointed the “Mother of the Zodiac.”
The key phrase “I Feel” is their inner mantra and represents the fourth stage of Man’s development, his deep exploration of the Heart center.
Because this sign is ruled by a satellite, the Earth’s Moon, this personality experiences the most unique reality nowhere else found among all the other Sun signs.
From Earth’s prospective, the Moon, as it travels along its astral path each month, traverses the entire three hundred and sixty degree Astrological matrix from the very first sign, Aries, to the last symbol, Pisces.
In other words, within approximately a thirty day period, the Moon moves through the entire Zodiac spending about two and a half days in each sign as it progresses.
A very popular musical work by composer Carl Orf, the “Carmina Burana,” reveals this variable quality of the Moon in its opening number’s first lyric, “O Fortuna, velet Luna, statu variabilis, semper crescis, aut decrescis.”
Translated from the Latin, the lyric relates that life’s fortune is like the Moon, changeable, ever waxing and waning.
Here is that opening moment of that exciting musical piece. I am sure you will recognize it.
As the lyric and music powerfully suggests, being governed by the Moon’s sphere of consciousness, the Cancer variably too, takes on briefly, the qualities of each individual sign, as it visits and transits through all twelve constellations. This changeable pattern reveals fundamentally how the Cancer soul desires a thorough exploration of all the colors of the Zodiac to evolve itself into a more complex being.
Attempting to develop a deep sense of the full breadth of feelings that a human is ultimately capable of experiencing, the Cancer expresses the ups and downs of life, both positive and negative, as it passes through the Moon’s light energy influenced by the spectral colors of each masculine and feminine sign.
This makes the Crab at times very positive but half the month a little crabby too. For with the Yin, pessimistic polarities being half of the Zodiac signs, for example Taurus, the Cancer can turn on a dime into a pessimistic mood that seems very different from the positive polarity of a Yang, optimistic sign, like Aries, that he or she was expressing just two days earlier.
Moody…moon. They are close in pronunciation and apply directly to the variable state that a Cancer experiences each month. They are evolving to a deeper sense of feeling awareness and therefore require this watery experience of all types of astrological traits and ways of being in order to incorporate that complexity on the soul level.
Being a Water sign brings with it great creativity. However, with a talent for dreaming, the inclination is to worry about this and that too.
For instance, if the son or daughter of a Cancer is late getting home from school, the Crab will go off in a dream of what may be happening rather than trust and wait to find out. They care so much that a pessimistic approach is common. Hence, being a worry-wart is a frequent behavior pattern. It is best if this Sun sign has a creative occupation or hobby to use up the dreamer in them all.
The Crab is very artful in its approach and nothing is more important to them than the home and family. One can be sure that a Cancer’s home will be painstakingly cleaned and tidied, and the children hugged frequently, well fed and clothed nicely.
Cardinal in action, their main quality, meaning fast in response, is their way of responding to emergency or another’s need, which displays their intrinsic protective, motherly nature.
The hermit crab loves the hidden recesses and protective four walls of the house and usually likes to position itself near a body of water, a lake, a beach or even a cement pond.
The home will be full of all those people and things that the Cancer has carefully collected over the years. One very common trait is their inability to throw something away or toss it in the trash. Hoarding and clutter can sometimes be a problem. For the loving Cancer will feel, “If I throw it in the trash, who will take care of it?”
The crab symbol as well reveals much about the true nature of this sensitive person. Seldom wishing to be in the direct spotlight or bright sun, the hermit crab would prefer to put its head in the sand or just sport a beach umbrella to block out the intense rays of the Sun. In humans, often a mental wall of protection is erected, as symbolized by the hard exoskeleton of the crustacean symbol, to shut out the prying eyes of those who seem threatening or would expose the inner meat or vulnerable feelings to the light of the world.
If attacked, the pincers of the Crab respond quickly in defensive protection, which is one of the safety features of this motherly individual. For with great feelings of love, this Water sign will pour forth their heart energies towards those who are enveloped by their loving embrace. This creature will respond immediately when threat of emotional or physical injury is near to those that they take care of and love.
What many people don’t know too is that anything created in reality has its astrological matrix which are the symbols of the energies that were instrumental in the formation. Our country, the USA, was born July 7, 1776 under the sign of Cancer. Our country is considered whether appreciated or not, the “Mother of the World,” armed with defensiveness. Our subconscious feeling on an American cultural level is to want to possess what we love in the world and then hold on to it. Once attacked though, the USA always responds quickly in protection of itself and the one it cares deeply to protect.
Also because our Cancerian sensitivity to brutal behavior is so strong, this country, being in a constant state of alert and fear, worries endlessly about the next attack. President Bush is born under the sign of Cancer too. He was a perfect reflection of the USA. His moon shaped face and wrinkled brow of worry are very common physical traits. And his unclear moonlight dreaming of his own version of reality once we were attacked is a direct mirror of this country’s rather delusional approach in the past on the world stage too.
Another example of this country’s Cancerian nature is the business of Hollywood, being the very creative, cinematic art capitol of the world. This spot is our country’s center for dreaming versions of reality unlike anywhere else on the Globe.
And too when the US has defended itself powerfully, the tendency is then to care about how we have hurt others in the attack and then go in and mother them as well, like in Iraq. This is quite a dichotomy from the standpoint of the rest of the world’s view of us. This defensive, yet loving and nurturing behavior pattern that this country often exemplifies reflects its birth placement in the sign of Cancer.
All countries have their own unique qualities that are created when they were formed. One more example is Japan which was born under the sign of Capricorn. Both controlled emotion and hard work ethic is mirrored in the sign as well as the Japanese culture.
In terms of Cancer’s qualities, one issue though that needs to be addressed and not ignored by this loving creature is to be aware of the tendency to possess people or things without ever letting go of them. The Crab’s great pincers holding on is the clear reflection of this behavior.
The USA as well holds onto bases all over the world despite the lack of need to do so like in Europe, especially Germany. To mother unceasingly does not allow for the umbilical cord to ever be severed, thus not allowing the child to stand up on its own two feet. That must be this country’s next lesson, to learn to let go when it is appropriate.
For with the pincer symbol comes the holding on too much which can also apply to their stored feelings that are harbored inside.
Which brings this analysis of this sun sign to an important point…ever wonder why the sign of Cancer has the same name as the dis-ease of Cancer?
Many esoteric materials from the spirit plain have revealed that the dis-ease of Cancer is given to the lower self from the soul in order to wake up the consciousness to its denial on the human level. If the Ego self, the mind of separation in the physical plain, which is in fear, is too determined to control the self expression to such a degree that it is stifling life, the lesson of the “I Feel” of the sign of Cancer is presented.
For without the advent of the physical manifestation of this dis-ease, the person would remain trapped in its mental control of the expression of the feminine Yin aspect of feeling and being.
It is commonly shared by those who go through the process of this dis-ease, that as a result of the healing, they learn to be more in an open expression of love and feelings, having developed too an appreciation for life than before the onslaught of the challenge. For in a state of denial, it is not possible to fully enjoy life because the Self is too preoccupied with the job of continually hiding and holding on to the feelings.
So in a simple way, one can extrapolate that if a person going through this dis-ease allows himself or herself to freely and openly express their feelings instead of continually harboring any negative emotions inside, a healing will occur on many levels both physically and spiritually.
So much in our culture inhibits the free expression of feelings which includes love. If a man is expressive, he is made fun of as being too gay. Or if a woman is sad, weepy or angry, she is accused of being too weak or bitchy.
Cultural areas of the world differ too in their allowance of the feminine to be freely laid out in the open. There are the extreme examples in the Middle East with women hidden in burkas to the more subtler versions here in America’s South, where southern hospitality and a smile frequently cover and mask the true feelings of, “When are these guests leaving so that I can have time to myself”. Or, “My mother is driving me crazy and I want her to just shut up! But I dare not scream out loud what I am feeling because the neighbors will hear.”
All these mental judgments get in the way of the internal feminine nature which is the complexity and joy of being Human. To be in a state of mentally controlling all that and only thinking in a male, Yang approach is cold and unloving to the Self as most of our pop cultures icons encourage. “Stay cool man” says it all. Nothing could be more unbalanced and unhelpful to the growth of spirit.
Paradoxically at times too, in order to alter for the better an unhealthy or unchanging relationship or situation, one must “vibrate heartlessness to let Heart in,” as described in the enlightened “Right Use of Will” series of books. The rage must be valued and expressed so as to wake up the other person’s unconscious awareness or to simply free up the individual expressing the lower vibrational emotions which destroy the Self if held internally in abundance.
So the advice for anyone going through this transformative dis-ease is to feel deeply, like the sign of Cancer teaches us, and, most importantly, to then let it all hang out, to not judge the feelings in any way.
The challenge of this dis-ease is certainly there to push one into these expressions. To resist that is not the answer. Too be unbending, rigid, strong and cope is not the answer too. Expression is needed to love the Self in order to transcend the dis-ease using the force of Will to burn away the cancer.
For the emotions and feelings are the truth about how one is experiencing life. They need to be brought to the surface and hung out in the sunlight to dry instead of being held internally, swimming around in a watery illusion and seen only in the unclear light of the Moon.
Losing control of all the emotional stuff that the Crab holds in its embrace will lighten up and free the physical and emotional body of the mental torture caused by negative judgment of the feelings by the Mind.
The astrological sign of Cancer too will often not want to really express its most unpleasant feelings because it loves others so deeply and does not want to hurt. But to only love others and not value and love oneself to let it express itself and run free can often be the mental trap of a loving, giving person.
For by expressing our inner truth, we bring light to others even in the midst of an ugly fight or argument. It clears the air and helps both evolve into understanding. It is only Ego fear which talks us out of sharing that truth daily.
“I don’t want to hurt my parents feelings,” or, “They are too old to learn,” are just fearful mental excuses and do not apply. For the soul, until the moment of passing into spirit and even beyond, desperately wants to learn more about being human. For that is why the soul incarnated, to feel its feelings of denial in the deepest, most physical way in order to release the darkest of them and evolve to higher consciousness and light.
Denial slows down our vibrational level. Releasing old feelings and emotion raises that vibratory rate up and therefore rejuvenates the body and soul with the resulting higher frequency of energy. Notice how when one is in fear, the body energy level lessens and one feels tired. When one is trusting life, in love and in joy and also allowing self expression, the physical energy is abundant and the possibilities are endless.
Fear is in the way of this process. It is fear, the negative polarity, that slows the spinning of our chakras, the many energy centers of the body, ultimately causing some form of dis-ease.
Words of advice and encouragement for this Sun sign are to let go of the past through self expression rather than harbor those negative feelings which are held within their emotional body. Otherwise, grudge bearing for old injuries will be the result and their bag of stored feelings gets heavier and more complex, and in time, extremely difficult to sort out.
And too with the creative feminine energy so developed in them, the Crab needs to avoid dreaming thoughts of fear, sidestepping truth and reality. Instead, they need to use that innate creative power that they possess to plow forward with more positive, “heartistic” pursuits rather than creating versions of reality that are not actually present.
For fear is an illusion of the mind and therefore never occurs. The challenges in life that we inevitably face are always lovingly presented to evolve the Self, so there is never a reason to be in fear.
For all of the signs of the Zodiac though, there is but one great lesson that the Cancer soul reveals for us all to learn. And that is to love, and simply to express love for love’s sake, expecting nothing in return for the continual care given to those who are important to us. The Cancer Crab is a heartfelt example of the courageous spirit who takes the often untrodden, vulnerable, “Road Less Traveled,” the inevitable path in time for all human spirits, an incredible journey of self exploration which leads directly to the center of the Heart of the Universe.
End transmission.