Cancer Zodiac Sign

Cancer is the fourth sign in the Zodiac, ruled by the Moon, and ruling the Fourth House. Cancer symbolizes family, emotional intelligence, and healing.

The water signs correlate with human emotions, the feelings we experience in our families and with our friends, the power of intimacy, and the need for purpose in our lives. Besides the four elements (Water, Fire, Earth, and Air), the twelve signs of the Zodiac have qualities. There are three qualities in astrology: Cardinal, Fixed, and Mutable. Cancer is a Cardinal astrological sign.

Cardinal signs are the initiators. They are the pioneers and the project starters, the ones to get things moving. Cardinal energy represents beginnings, inspiration, and action. Aries marks the start of Spring, Libra marks the start of Fall, Capricorn marks the beginning of Winter, and Cancer marks the beginning of Summer.

Cancer Personality Traits

Cancer people are nurturing and supportive. They want to share emotionally and are very protective of people in need, suffering in some way, or who feel unsafe. The list below highlights fourteen Cancer traits.

14 key Cancer Traits

1. Creative

As a water sign, Cancer natives experience life through their emotions, and they let their feelings guide them. Cancerians possess a strong ability to transmute the emotions they feel into beautiful works of art. Some of the most prolific musicians and artists are Cancerians, as they possess the strength to express their emotions through an art form.

2. Big Dreamers

Cancer individuals have big dreams and goals that they want to accomplish in life. When they have their heart set on something, they are emotionally committed to achieving it. A Cancer will push through all the hardships and challenges that life throws in their way, and they will dedicate themselves to their cause no matter what.

3. Sentimental

In astrology, Cancer represents a strong connection to the home, family, and childhood experience. A Cancer’s early childhood memories are extremely important to them, and they have a sentimental attachment to anyone or anything that reminds them of their childhood and home life. Cancers never forget a dear memory, and they never let go of anything that takes them back to a memory of the past.

4. Motherly and Altruistic

Both men and women are incredibly affectionate, caring, and nurturing. Cancerians care a lot about the physical and emotional well-being of others, and they go out of their way to ensure that the people they care for are looked after and have all their needs met.

5. Family People

With Cancerians, family always comes first. Cancers are the backbone and the foundations in their family, and Cancer takes great pride in caring for and providing for their family. A Cancer’s emotional state is linked to the emotional state of their family and loved ones, and they can only truly be happy when their loved ones are happy.

6. Loyal

When Cancer commits to someone or something, it is for life. They emotionally invest themselves in their commitments, and failing and disappointing their loved ones is their worst nightmare. It can take a Cancer some time to warm up, open up to, and trust new people; but once they do, they are loyal friends or companions for life, and they will stand behind those they love through all the difficulties.

7. Protective

Cancer people are extremely brave, and they always protect those that are weaker and those that cannot protect and look after themselves. Cancer will put their happiness and well-being at risk for those they love. Cancers are incredibly protective of their homes, what they have worked for, and their loved ones. They will put up a fight and will not back down if these things are threatened.

8. “Crabby” and Moody

Cancer is symbolized by the crab. Just like the crab relies on its shell when it is faced with danger, a Cancerian can close themselves off and become very grumpy and moody when going through challenges. Cancers individuals have a habit of retreating into isolation when faced with difficulties, and they do not come out until they have processed their emotions and feel confident again.

9. Overly Emotional

Cancers let their emotions guide them through life, and due to this, they can sometimes let emotions get in the way of logic and practicality. When a Cancer becomes overly emotional, they can only see things through their clouded emotions, and they struggle to see the reality in a situation. For this reason, they can often lack an objective view of themselves, as everything is viewed through an emotional filter.

10. Old-School and Outdated

It is challenging for a Cancer to adopt new points of view and perceptions. A Cancer’s understanding of life is usually linked to how they were raised. Due to their deep emotional ties to family, Cancers prefer to live their lives according to the values they were taught when young. In a rapidly evolving and changing world, being so old school can cause problems because they will struggle to adapt to new concepts and ideas.

11. Overly Sensitive

It is challenging to be frank and direct with a Cancer since they offend easily. Cancerians often see constructive criticism as a personal attack, and this can cause them to become defensive and reactive, even when others are not trying to upset them.

12. Resentful

Cancers pour their hearts into the people and things they are passionate about, and when their love is not reciprocated, and they get taken advantage of, they can become very bitter and spiteful. A Cancer has a huge heart that gives so much, but the moment they can see that what they provide is being taken for granted, they close themselves off and stop themselves from becoming emotionally connected and invested any further.

13. Remains Focused on the Past and Holds Grudges

If a Cancer has been wronged, they cannot forget it. A Cancer can hold a grudge their entire life. It is challenging to get a Cancer to open up and forgive in some cases, as they tend to cling to the past and their past negative experiences. Cancerians are constantly reminding themselves of how things went wrong, and they hold onto their pain and heartache for years.

14. Clingy

Once a Cancer forms an emotional connection with a person, they cannot let go of that person. Even when a Cancer is stuck in a toxic relationship, they will stay in a bad situation because they have invested themselves emotionally. A Cancer will put themselves through a significant amount of heartbreak and pain due to initial emotional investment; therefore, they struggle to accept when it is time to let go.

10 STARS WITH THE CANCER SIGN

Tom Hanks

Tom Cruise

Sylvester Stallone

Robin Williams

Meryl Streep

Margot Robbie

Kristen Bell

Eva Green

Benedict Cumberbatch

Ariana Grande

 

The Cancer Woman

Cancer women are often the archetype of the mother. Even so, they are also sensual and intensely sexual partners with those they choose to love. This is a woman confident about her sensuality when she is in love, but can be completely closed off when she is not.

Rarely yielding to any excess, she knows how to maintain balance and stability in her life. On the emotional side, Cancer women feel intensely but are discreet with their emotions around strangers. They are rather reserved and want to preserve their privacy. They are particularly cautious in their choices and decisions.

This is a woman who knows how to be attentive and generous to her loved ones, but especially to her family. For her, all relationships must be based on mutual exchange, and especially on sharing. What drives her, above all, is the feeling of having pleased her loved ones by giving the best of herself.

Like all the water signs, she overflows with imagination. Creation through her body, with children, or through art exemplifies this energy in her life. She can get her creative energy out into the world because she is a serious and persistent woman, with a keen sense of organization.

The Cancer Man

The male Cancer is renowned for his wisdom. He will make the effort to be well-educated, polite, courteous, and respectful. Cancer works hard to make the right decisions and fully assumes his responsibilities and obligations. He wants to be sure to fill the protector role in his family and among his friends and co-workers.

He assumes that it is imperative to know where he comes from and be aware of everything he has been through before making his next steps or important decisions. This connection to the past provides him with the foundation to act with confidence and get himself through difficult times.

Cancer men often function as the emotional leader of any group, whether he is the actual leader or not. They tend to be more sensitive and compassionate as men than any other sign, apart from Pisces. For this reason, they inspire almost fanatical loyalty from people who follow or interact with them.

Because they have Cardinal qualities, they can also be extremely demanding. Even if they try to avoid conflicting relationships as much as they can, this does not prevent them from acting out emotionally when something does not suit them. This kind of behavior sometimes leads them to be passive-aggressive or manipulative.

The Cancer Child

Cancer children prefer to spend time with their family: parents, grandparents, and siblings. They need plenty of emotional support and guidance while they are growing up. Any time they transgress or need correcting, it should be done with compassion and “gentle firmness”. Make sure they know the relationship is unharmed and will remain intact even if someone is disappointed or upset. The Cancer child will not be able to move on until emotional balance and positivity is restored for everyone involved.

The best rule of thumb for learning is to make sure the relationships with their teachers are emotionally satisfying and positive. If the parent must get involved, it will be important to understand how the child feels in any given situation. They can be successful when doing tasks with other children or adults that allow them to “be part of something”.

The Cancer Parent

The Cancer parent prefers to be fully attuned to the emotions of his or her child. If the situation calls for dealing with a crisis, the Cancer parent will jump right in and look for a compassionate, nurturing, and healing solution. The parent will expect emotional responsibility from their children, properly developed at each stage of life. These are the parents that can become helicopter parents, so concerned with the well-being of their children that they rarely “rest” even after the child becomes an adult.

In Friendship

As far as friends are concerned, Cancer will have an inner circle and spread out from there. The first friendships are within the family. So, the closest friendships are the ones that become the extended family. Cancer devotes tremendous energy to the people they care about. And so, others, almost always come to them for help instead of the other way around. If you need a shoulder to cry on, this is the friend you want around.

In Love

Cancer loves to flirt, but only if there is a chance for something serious. If there is no long-term possibility, the flirting door is tightly shut! They are in love for the long haul and bring tremendous intensity to their intimate partnership. One of the most desirable signs to have as a partner, they will go to any lengths for the one they love. People should never underestimate this dedication. Since they know their value, they expect to be pursued, and can be hard to get. Nothing worthwhile comes easy; they know they are worthwhile, which is why they are not easy.

At Work

People born under the star sign of Cancer like to take care of other people. That’s why natives generally work as healers, caretakers, and nurturers in whatever work they do or business they join. They have the ability to concentrate intensely and work tirelessly; they can easily become the “glue” that holds an organization together.

While it is part of traditional astrology to suggest some jobs are Cancer jobs and other jobs belong to other signs, that concept is outdated. Essentially, any sign can do any job, whether the person is a hairdresser, surgeon, stay-at-home parent, fighter pilot, and on and on. Ideally, the person doing the job needs to be able to do the work in alignment with his or her sign. Cancer prefers emotional involvement and compassion while working toward an important shared goal in their career.