Cancer is the fourth sign of the
zodiac, which the sun enters at the
summer solstice in the
Northern Hemisphere Those who are born from approximately June 22 to July 22 (depending upon the year) are born under Cancer.[2] Individuals born during these dates, depending on which system of astrology they subscribe to, may be called "Cancerians".[4] Cancer is a northern sign, and its opposite sign is
Capricorn.[5][6][7] Cancer is a
cardinal sign.
Water is the element associated with Cancer,[8] and, alongside
Scorpio and
Pisces, it forms the water trigon.[9] The water trigon is one of four elemental trigons in the zodiac, with the other three being fire, earth, and air.[10] When a trigon is influential, it is said to affect changes on earth.[10] Cancer is said to be the house of
Neptune and the exaltation of Jupiter, both astronomical bodies over those born under Cancer.[5][6] Its ruling planet is the
Moon.[11] Due to the negative associations of the word "Cancer" with the
disease of the same name, some astrologers refer to persons born under this sign as "moon children".[12][13]
Divine associations with Cancer in
Renaissance astrology are
Luna/
Diana, both goddesses that represent the Moon, Cancer's ruling planet.[8]
In
Hindu astrology, the sign of Cancer is named Karka and its ruler is Moon.[14]
Early history
"Cancer" is an ancient word of
Indo-European origin, derived from a root meaning "to scratch."[15] In ancient
Egypt, the sign of Cancer was conceived as a
scarab beetle, while in
Mesopotamia it was represented by a
turtle.[15] In each case, the animal representative of the sign was perceived as "pushing" the sun across the heavens, initiating the
summer solstice.[15]
Latin cancer is the generic word for '
crab'.[15] According to
Greek myth, the symbol of Cancer—often a crab, though sometimes a
lobster—is based on the
Karkinos (
Greek: "Cancer"), a crab crushed under the foot of
Heracles, and whose remains were placed in the sky by
Hera, forming the Cancer constellation.[4] In
Roman variations of the story, it is
Juno—Hera's counterpart in Roman mythology—who places the crab in the sky.[16] 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
Hydra in the Marsh of Lerna, Juno exalted it to the sky."[16]
In the arts
During the
Middle Ages, the zodiacal symbol of Cancer was included in devotional books and incorporated into monumental sculptures.[15] The depiction of Cancer as a crab is most prevalent in Mediterranean and Western European art.[15]
Cancer is figured in
Giovanni Maria Falconetto's 1517 painting, Cancer, as the guardian of the city of
Verona.[18] The Cancer symbol is also depicted in
Agostino di Duccio's sculpture View of Rimini Under the Sign of Cancer (1450).[19] In
Giorgio Vasari's
fresco, the Chamber of Fortune, Cancer is represented in the northern compartment of the ceiling, pictured by Diana, holding the moon, along with a crab.[20]
Astronomical Applications Department (2011). Multiyear Computer Interactive Almanac. 2.2.2. Washington DC: US Naval Observatory. Longitude of Sun, apparent geocentric ecliptic of date, interpolated to find time of crossing 0°, 30°....
Battistini, Matilde (2007). Astrology, Magic, and Alchemy in Art (A Guide to Imagery). J. Paul Getty Museum.
ISBN978-0-892-36907-2.