June 20 (Summer Solstice) – July 22, 2016
Click here to learn about the Sun. Click here to learn about Cancer.
Disclaimer: the Sun sign is a much-celebrated yet oversimplified astrological element, usually given more significance than it deserves. Remember – you are a whole soup of planets!
Cancer is ruled by the Moon, my favorite celestial body. Every day Luna rises at a different hour and location with a different shape and color. In similar fashion, the crab morphs frequently. She is erratic, instilling a deep need for home, security and safety; nostalgic, comfortably uncomfortable; yearning for childhood; occasionally desperate, longing for release, for respite, for bliss. What seems most important is respecting our need to slow down and take care of the Self. If your first inclination is to fight when you feel a big wave coming – relax, allow the Universe to take her course. Rest and process all the information you receive through/from the heart.
The Cancer cycle is designed as a sometimes-painful-usually-magnificent trip down memory lane and getting to the root – not in a dark, intense Scorpio kind of way, more like lessons in acceptance. The crab is here to guide you down the difficult path of Self-love. Yes, it can be difficult, and this season is often one of emotional trauma.
The crab asks us to be empathic above all else. During the Cancer cycle, this objective may easily be taken to the extreme. For those who are already greatly affected by the energy of others, it is even more crucial now to maintain your bubble. Before leaving home or transitioning from one place to another, visualize a luminous white egg enveloping your body. Fortifying your field allows you to exercise empathy without taking on any anger, sadness, etc that does not belong to you. When our defenses are weak, this is when we unintentionally/unknowingly absorb negative energies. These little seeds slip by without detection and become entrenched in our own psyche. So deft are they that it becomes difficult if not impossible to sort out what’s ours and what’s not.
Cancer is romantic to her core. She surrenders to the tides of her own heart with total abandon. The qualities of the crab are severely undervalued in society. Cancer is clairvoyant, full of premonitions and mysticism. She lives fearlessly in the flow of energy all around us. Cancer is so in tune that she is often psychic, whether she realizes it or not.
This is a great time to go home and spend time with family. Even if you are unable to do so, you will likely feel pulled there anyway. Cancer draws us home not just because she likes to be in her own bed, sleep all day and eat mama’s cookin. She takes us here because she wants to remind us of who we are. By getting in touch with our roots and childhood, we return to a more complete understanding of the Self - neuroses, tendencies, wishes, everything on full display - our true nature. And when we come back to our most natural being, this informs the present moment and acts as a clarifying compass. We can more easily decide where to go.
As always, take your time and be compassionate. The crab will test us regularly and with extraordinary vigor. We have to do what aligns with who we are, even if it means a departure from what we have been so diligently establishing in life, or tears and fractured love. We fear change because it hurts, but only for a little while, my friends. So prepare for change and perhaps some heartbreak too.
We’re still practically at the beginning of the the zodiac wheel with the first rains falling on the springtime seeds of the soul’s forest floor. Air to water…a strong wind blowing in from all directions, but it’s slowing now, fading into nothing. Raindrops come, softly at first, then steadfast and unyielding. These are guiding waters. She forgives, always.
I recommend ample moongazing and preparation for a potent full moon! Celebrate with Cancer Yoga.
Mantra: I listen to my intuition