Cancer (astrology): Difference between revisions

Cancer is the fourth sign of the [[zodiac]], which the sun enters at the [[June solstice|summer solstice]] in the [[Northern Hemisphere]], on approximately June 21.<ref name=oxford/> Those who are born from approximately June 21{{sfn|Spiller|McCoy|1988|pages=419–426}}22 to July 22 (depending upon the year) are born under Cancer.<ref name=britannica>{{cite web|title=Cancer|url=httphttps://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/92226/Cancer|website=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|access-date=February 26, 2021|date=2021}}</ref> Individuals born during these dates, depending on which system of astrology they subscribe to, may be called "Cancerians".<ref name=oxford>{{cite web|url=https://www.lexico.com/definition/cancer|title=Cancer: Meaning of Cancer|work=Oxford Dictionaries|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|url-status=livedead|archive-url=httphttps://archive.today/MF7Xy20200427224730/https://www.lexico.com/definition/cancer|archive-date=April 27, 2020|access-date=April 28, 2020}}</ref> Cancer is a northern sign, and its opposite sign is [[Capricorn (astrology)|Capricorn]].<ref name=Smith /><ref name=Lilly>{{harvnb|Lilly|1835|pages=14, 60}}</ref>{{Sfn|Simmonite|1896|p=17}} Cancer is a [[Cardinal sign (astrology)|cardinal sign]].

Water is the element associated with Cancer,{{sfn|Cheney|2007|p=54}} and, alongside [[Scorpio (astrology)|Scorpio]] and [[Pisces (astrology)|Pisces]], it forms the water trigon.<ref name="Hinckley">{{harvnb|Allen|1899|p=107}}</ref> The water trigon is one of four elemental trigons in the zodiac, with the other three being fire, earth, and air.{{sfn|Harkness|1999|p=70}} When a trigon is influential, it is said to affect changes on earth.{{sfn|Harkness|1999|p=70}} Cancer is said to be the house of [[Neptune]] and the exaltation of Jupiter, both astronomical bodies over those born under Cancer.<ref name="Smith">{{harvnb|Smith|1828|p=64}}</ref><ref name=Lilly /> Its ruling planet is the [[Planets in astrology#Moon|Moon]].{{sfn|Cheney|2007|pages=54–55}} Due to the negative associations of the word "Cancer" with the [[cancer|disease of the same name]], some astrologers refer to persons born under this sign as "moon children".{{sfn|Merriam|1991|p=83}}{{sfn|Algeo|Butcher|2014|p=238}}

"Cancer" is an ancient word of [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]] origin, derived from a root meaning "to scratch."<ref name=ima>{{cite web|work=The Index of Medieval Art|publisher=[[Princeton University]]|date=June 21, 2016|title=June's Zodiac Sign and "Lobster-Like" Crabs|author=Savage, Jessica|url=https://ima.princeton.edu/2016/06/21/junes-zodiac-sign-lobster-like-crabs/|archive-url=httphttps://archive.today/jDvm020200427233542/https://ima.princeton.edu/2016/06/21/junes-zodiac-sign-lobster-like-crabs/|archive-date=April 27, 2020|access-date=April 28, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> In ancient [[Egypt]], the sign of Cancer was conceived as a [[Scarabaeidae|scarab beetle]], while in [[Mesopotamia]] it was represented by a [[turtle]].<ref name=ima/> In each case, the animal representative of the sign was perceived as "pushing" the sun across the heavens, initiating the [[summer solstice]].<ref name=ima/>

Latin ''{{Lang|la|cancer''}} is the generic word for '[[crab]]'.<ref name=ima/> According to [[Greek mythology|Greek myth]], the symbol of Cancer—often a crab, though sometimes a [[lobster]]—is based on the [[Karkinos]] ([[Greek language|Greek]]: "Cancer"), a crab crushed under the foot of [[HerculesHeracles]], and whose remains were placed in the sky by [[Hera]], forming the Cancer constellation.<ref name=oxford/> In [[Roman mythology|Roman]] variations of the story, it is [[Juno (mythology)|Juno]]—Hera's counterpart in Roman mythology—who places the crab in the sky.{{sfn|Allen|1899|p=107}} Naturalist [[Richard Hinckley Allen]], in 1899, deemed Cancer the "most inconspicuous figure in the zodiac," adding that its mythology "apologizes for its being there by the story that when the Crab was crushed by Hercules, for pinching his toes during a contest with the [[Lernaean Hydra|Hydra]] in the Marsh of Lerna, Juno exalted it to the sky."{{sfn|Allen|1899|p=107}}

{{quoteblockquote|text=Thereafterward a light among them brightened,<br />So that, if Cancer one such crystal had,<br />Winter would have a month of one sole day.|sign=Dante Alighieri, ''Paradiso''{{Sfn|Allen|1899|p=109}}}}

|File:Supplément turc. 242, fol. 14v - Osman, Cancer 1582 crop.png|Supplément turc. 242, fol. 14v - Osman, Cancer cac. 1582

|File:De Grey Hours f.6.r Cancer.jpg|In ''Llyfr Llyfr Oriau 'De Grey'' (''[[De Grey Hours]]''), cac. 1390

|File:Jordaens - Cancer.jpg|In [[Jacob Jordaens]]'s ''Les Signes du Zodiaque'', cac. 1640

*{{cite book|last1=Cheney|first1=Liana|author-link = Liana Cheney|year=2007|title=Giorgio Vasari's Teachers: Sacred & Profane Art|publisher=Peter Lang|location=New York City, New York|isbn= 978-0-820-48813-4}}

{{Ref endRefend}}

* [httphttps://iconographic.warburg.sas.ac.uk/category/vpc/VPC_search/subcats.php?cat_1=9&cat_2=71&cat_3=32&cat_4=41&cat_5=45-taxonomy-017062 Warburg Institute Iconographic Database (overca 300360 medieval and early modern images of Cancer)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160324064714/http://warburg.sas.ac.uk/vpc/VPC_search/subcats.php?cat_1=9&cat_2=71&cat_3=32&cat_4=41&cat_5=45 |date=March 24, 2016 }}