Tag Archives: Cancer

Cancer Rising: The Cancer Soul

Cancer/Xochiquetzal, original artwork by Seattle artist Karen MacKenzie. See end of article for more info.

Cancer/Xochiquetzal, original artwork by Seattle artist Karen MacKenzie. See end of article for more info.

The sign of Cancer is associated with home, food, nourishment, family, nurturing, childbirth, motherhood, empathy, compassion, and emotional intelligence. Symbolised by the Crab it is also associated with the ocean, and like a crab it is associated with being near the ocean, yet living on the land.

Esoterically there are deep mysteries associated with the “quiet” sign of Cancer. Cancer is the smallest of the constellations, but that shouldn’t lead us to underestimate her power. Cancer is the cardinal water sign, and all cardinal signs are here to take the lead in some way: to pioneer, introduce enlightened ideas and new ways of being into a specific area. In the case of Cancer, that area is emotions. All water signs are about mastery of emotions, so as the cardinal water sign, Cancer is here to take the lead in terms of our personal emotional development and to lead us into a new era in the evolution of human consciousness through emotional intelligence.

Cancer: The Light Within The Form
~ The Tibetan, Esoteric Astrology

As we have seen in the previous articles in this series, our Rising sign (Ascendant) indicates awakening: how we awaken into our spiritual reality, how we awaken or are born into the world, and indeed how we awaken each day into the world. With Cancer Rising, you are really here to learn how to nourish yourself and others with your soul-light. The whole journey of the soul through the twelve zodiac signs is a story of light, building up the volume of light in our light-body, or soul, while simultaneously increasing the amount of light that can be held and processed in our physical bodies. When the soul is in Cancer there is the potential for you to become aware of your soul-light.

I build a lighted house and therein dwell.
~ The Tibetan, Esoteric Astrology

Our Rising sign indicates how we awaken into our world, into new situations, and stages of consciousness. According to the Tibetan in The Labours of Hercules: An Astrological Interpretation,” Cancer is the last of the four signs of preparation (read more about the stages of the soul’s journey in a previous post) and, as a cardinal sign, leads us into the next phase of our soul’s development. If you have Cancer Rising, you are about to leave the womb in a spiritual sense, and be born into the next phase of your soul’s development. It marks a rite of passage, where we are maturing into our Soul’s awakening.

Not only does our Rising Sign indicate awakening, but also the sign of Cancer is about birth and awakening. In Cancer, we experience the first glimmer of our soul’s presence. We begin to realize that we have a soul and are so much more than just a physical body. We awaken to a greater aspect of our being. If you have Cancer Rising, you are here to find your soul-light and, like a lighthouse keeper, keep your light lit, no matter what is going on in the world around you, even if it sometimes feels like trying to keep a candle alight in a howling gale!

The zodiac uses animal symbols to convey an impression of energetic qualities. The energy of Cancer is crab-like in many ways – for example, walking sideways! Cancerians tend to approach new situations side-on, as they feel their way forward. Rising Cancer tends to approach new people, places, and situations with caution, possibly a little trepidation, and maybe come at it sideways until they can establish a feeling of safety.

Have you ever watched crabs near the ocean? They have the ability to quickly bury themselves in the sand and hunker down to wait until the most dangerous tides have passed. We can use this symbology to understand the soul’s journey in Cancer. It is about where you place your attention. Because Cancer has the ability to attune to mass consciousness, it is too easy for Cancer to be swept away on the current tide of mass consciousness, fear, and emotional overreacting. This is where the Cancer soul needs to learn how to hunker down and ride out the tide. You do this by keeping your attention on your own light, not the tsunami of mass human emotion that is (apparently) heading your way. When you do this, you learn how to keep your soul-flame alight, and by so doing. you realize that the real key to changing the world lies in changing yourself.

Every jewel is intimately connected with all other jewels in the universe, and a change in one jewel means a change, however slight, in every other jewel.
~ Stephen Mitchell

As the sign of mass consciousness, Cancer has built-in radar, which you can send out to sense the mood and feelings of the collective. Your innate sense of connectedness with all of humanity is the source from which your deep empathy and ultimately compassion arises. This ability to feel what others are feeling is the key to understanding both the highest spiritual purpose of Cancer and the ego-based challenges at personality level.

Part of the journey for a Cancerian soul is to cultivate intuition. It isn’t easy, when you can tap into mass consciousness, to hear your own voice over and above the many. It also explains why the sign of Cancer is associated with fear and caution. If you have Cancer Rising, it is likely that you experience fear on waking each morning! This is because when you first awaken and your mind is quiet, this is the time that you are most tuned-in to the consciousness of the masses, and it is a simple fact that there is a lot of fear rippling through humanity at the moment. You are aware of it. You feel it. All cardinal signs are courageous signs of leadership. This may not be how you initially think of the sign of Cancer, but imagine the courage that is needed to stay focused on compassion in the face of a tide of human suffering and fear. On a very practical level, for someone with Cancer Rising, your first act of courage is to get out of bed in the morning in the face of all fear and to stay focused on your light throughout your day.

As the sign of emotional intelligence, part of your work in this lifetime is learning how to navigate through emotional frequencies so you don’t keep your attention on the wavelength of fear, but are able to transcend it and hold a higher emotional tone within your own being. You understand the truth of our connectedness by experiencing for yourself that the changes you make within your own being have a definite ripple-effect in the consciousness of humanity, and that you have the power to reduce fear in the world by first and foremost working on it within yourself. This process of emotional evolution through the water signs begins in Cancer (cardinal water), is consolidated in Scorpio (fixed water) and culminates in Pisces (mutable water).

Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries.  Without them humanity cannot survive.
~ HH XIV Dalai Lama

Through your own experience you begin to learn that compassion is not just an idea or a philosophy, but a real tangible energy that you can consciously flow through your own heart-center and, by doing so, you change the “flavour” in the ocean of human consciousness. The Dalai Lama has Cancer Rising and has spent a lifetime teaching, demonstrating, and transmitting compassion and unconditional love across all cultures and boundaries. This is the true nourishment that Cancer brings to the world: spiritual nourishment. When you transcend fear, you will come to know that the divine nectar of compassion, which flows through your heart, is what will truly nurture and nourish humanity on our journey of evolving consciousness.

If you have Cancer Rising, you are here to bring compassion and unconditional love into the world in ways that you possibly cannot imagine. You do this by overcoming fear and attachment, cultivating emotional intelligence, and fine-tuning your own intuition. Your spiritual home is the light that you always carry within, the whole world is your family, and you selflessly nourish others primarily through the emanation of your inner light.


Ruth

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Ruth Hadikin, Soul Astrologer

Ruth Hadikin – Soul Astrologer

To get your personal Soul Sign/Life Purpose Report (FREE with a consultation), contact Ruth via her website. You can also request a FREE mp3 download, “The Energetics of Soul Astrology.”

Karen MacKenzie is working on a series of astrology inspired paintings using goddesses from different cultures. For more information about the symbolism in this print and to view other works in her ongoing series, check out her website, Karen MacKenzie Art.

Weekly Forecast July 8: Saturn Direct, New Moon in Cancer

A Water Baby, by Herbert James Draper, 1900.

A Water Baby, by Herbert James Draper, 1900.

To anyone familiar with astrology, recent events, however shocking, make perfect sense.

A couple of days ago, I read an essay on Counterpunch by Israeli writer and peace activist Uri Avnery on the situation in Egypt. Avnery starts out by declaring the 1968 cultural revolution in Paris as the forerunner of events all over the world today. He goes on to ask, “Why now? Why in so many totally different countries? Why in Brazil, Turkey and Egypt at the same time?” He considers the possibility that it’s something in the Zeitgeist – the spirit of the age – but concludes that it’s more likely a result of instant communications via television and the social media.

It’s really too bad that academics dismiss astrology. Otherwise they’d understand the outer planetary cycles underneath the dramatic events taking place in our time, which we indeed can trace back to the Uranus-Pluto conjunction in the mid-1960s.

I’ve been thinking a lot about these outer cycles, especially as they pertain to repeating patterns in history. I’ve been working under a theory that the “apocalypse” is a lifting of the veil, and that the “veil” is the mechanism in our brains that limits our perception to this particular place in space and time (which we call “reality”). As our perception broadens to include other dimensions of reality, it’s as though the actions of our past are a legion of demons escaping from hell. I can’t think of anything happening today that doesn’t have a parallel in human history – our collective past.

At the end of his article, Avnery broadens the idea of Arab Spring and asks if there’s not a “Human Spring.” I believe there is and that we’ll see it happen over the next five to ten years. By the time Pluto enters Aquarius in 2024, the world is going to be a very different place. (Actually, he dips into Aquarius in 2023 but then turns retrograde and returns to Capricorn until January 2024.)

With so much violence and unrest in the world, it’s hard to believe that the positive aspects on the way over the next few weeks will have much of an effect, especially since they are relatively short compared with the astrological signature behind the upheavals. Not to sound like a Pollyanna, but I do believe that the approaching grand water trine heralds some strongly positive developments to counterbalance all the chaos. And while it’s true that the trine will start dissipating by late July, giving way to an even stronger conflicting configuration, I nevertheless believe that it can have some far-reaching effects, both globally and individually. That’s why it’s so important to take advantage of this short window, which also includes Monday’s New Moon in Cancer.

Before I discuss this week’s aspects, I want to mention one important factor in the chaotic events of the past week. In last week’s forecast, I mentioned that the T-square formed by the Sun, Uranus, and Pluto would provide a glimpse of events during the more energetic T-square with Jupiter in mid-August. It’s a pretty safe bet that the violence is going to escalate. However, Saturn’s station retrograde gave the past week a powerful punch that will be waning by August. Unfortunately, Saturn’s station will be felt for another week or so, as he returns direct on Monday.

Saturn’s return direct can coincide with dramatic events, especially the destruction of infrastructure. But it can apply to societal structures as well. As I wrote last week, Saturn in Scorpio can represent structures that are rotten and ready to break down. Given the mutual reception between Saturn and Pluto, Saturn’s station feeds a blast of energy into the Uranus-Pluto square, which last week was temporarily a T-square. Nowhere was that more evident than in the ousting of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi. Mercury retrograde can account for some of the false news reports and communications difficulties among competing factions, but I attribute the overall failure to install the kind of democratic government demanded by the Egyptian people to this strange combination of Saturn in Scorpio and Pluto in Capricorn. It’s as if a new structure is torn down almost as soon as it is built.

The good news there is that there is plenty of room for experimentation. Using Egypt as an example, a popular uprising resulted in the resignation of Mubarak in February 2011 and the creation of a new government that in theory was supposed to replace a dictatorship with a democracy. It didn’t quite work out that way, and rather than waiting for elections, millions of people took to the streets declaring that the experiment had failed and that they needed to start over. Although attempts to form a new government are faltering, I see the grand trine as a ray of hope that they might succeed.

Likewise, we have a short window to find creative solutions to longstanding conflicts in our personal lives. You do need to put some effort into it, and you need to be clear about your overall goals.

Chart for New Moon in Cancer

Click on image to enlarge

Saturn returns direct just two hours before Monday’s New Moon in Cancer. You can easily see the grand water trine becoming more exact (the blue triangle), even as Jupiter approaches an exact square with Uranus and Pluto (the red triangle). I read this as a clear and straightforward message: Through conflict and breaking down what is no longer working, opportunities arise for new ways to live and interact with each other in a spirit of community and cooperation. Connecting to the natural world is part of the equation.

At the New Moon, Mercury is conjunct the Sun by two degrees (exact on Tuesday), and he’s exactly halfway through his retrograde cycle. This is often when we start feeling the retrograde the most, so do take extra care this week, especially at home. Back up your computer data, and if you’re running extra air conditioning, be sure you don’t overload the circuits. Unfortunately, I don’t have any good advice for how not to blow an emotional fuse. Be clear in your communications. To do that, you need to be clear with yourself about how you feel. If you’re confused or unsure, postpone discussions until after Mercury returns direct on July 20. That’s a long wait, so do let others know you need more time rather than just staying silent. It’s a sure bet that someone will misunderstand your silence for lack of concern or worse.

On Saturday, Mars enters Cancer and approaches conjunction with Jupiter. Although Mars isn’t at his best in the sign of the Crab, he’ll give some extra energy to the Jupiter leg of the grand trine. This is mostly good news, but I do hold out a bit of concern that the grand water trine could coincide with severe storms and flooding.

With so much upsetting news in the headlines, it may seem frivolous to pay any attention to celebrity news, but I do want to mention that we’re getting close to the birth of the first child of the William and Kate. The official due date for Baby Cambridge is July 13, but reporters already are staking out their ground and taking absurd measures to make sure they don’t miss any detail of the story. I wouldn’t assign much significance to this event if it weren’t for the extraordinary chart this child will have – a chart that all children born around this time will share. These water babies will reach maturity in the 2030s and will leave a very distinct mark on the world. Baby Cambridge likely will have a major impact on the UK government.

Lastly, I’d just like to give a quick update to those who are still waiting for reports. I have started writing again, but the going is very slow. At my best, I was able to do two reports a day. It’s now taking me two days each. I’ll try to e-mail everyone this week with an ETA. I can’t apologize enough, but there was little I could do. Even astrologers go through long transformational periods, and having some idea they’re coming doesn’t soften the impact. In the meantime, if you’d like a transit report, I’m offering a three-month forecast for $19. (Click here to go to the order page or here to see a sample for President Obama.)

Wishing you all infinite love and courage,
Aquarius, the sign of astrologyPat

Mercury, the Moon, and The Inner Journey of Virgo, Part II

Zemnya, original artwork by Seattle artist Karen MacKenzie. See end of article for more info.

In Buddhist teaching, the highest perfection is said to be the perfection of wisdom.

There is an ancient Buddhist scripture called the “Holy Heart Sutra of the Perfection of Wisdom” (often just called “The Heart Sutra” for short). This scripture tells of a conversation between the historical Buddha and one of his heart disciples, Sariputra. In this scripture the Buddha says to Sariputra:

Form is emptiness, emptiness is form
Emptiness does not differ from form,
and form does not differ from emptiness.
~ The Heart Sutra

This speaks to the deepest mysteries of Virgo, and it is important to understand what is really meant by “emptiness” in this context. It doesn’t mean “nothing,” but rather refers to space, which is “empty” of physical forms but filled with spirit, filled with love – filled with all that we value, yet cannot see or touch. It speaks to the synthesis of spirit and form that happens in Virgo.

In Esoteric Astrology, the Tibetan refers to the Moon as the “Mother of All Forms.” In certain Buddhist traditions, reference is made to the “mother void” and the “son awareness.” This is referring to the karmic cycle through which physical forms arise from the “void” (or space), then awareness (of self) arises through form, and then divine awareness (soul) returns to the void (space) through synthesis, after the dissolution of form. Esoterically this is described as the synthesis of father (spirit) and mother (form) which gives rise to the birth of the child (Christ consciousness). At a higher level, the unified mother-father is simply referred to as mother. The deeper mysteries of this divine process lie within the Virgo-Pisces cycle of arising, awareness, synthesis and then resolution. This is how the deeper mystery of Virgo, symbolized by mother (spirit/form) and child (awareness), leads to the expansion of divine love.

After the Moon has done her earlier work in Cancer, creating the conditions for us to transform negative emotions into positive altruistic states such as compassion, she returns in Virgo to teach us how to flow the subtle physical energies of compassion through the subtle channels that have been created by Mercury. Again, this is a two-way street that speaks to the highest purpose of Virgo. Through the channels created by Mercury and under the conditions created by the Moon, we experience a greater expansion of divinity into physical form and come one step closer to experience our soul – that droplet of divinity which resides within each of us.

Likewise, as a result of the expansion of the human heart and a greater flow of human compassion, there is a greater experience of human potential within the divine. Heaven travels to earth, and earth meets heaven. Interestingly, the ruler of Virgo at the hierarchical level is the expansive, magnifying planet Jupiter. So we can see that the expansion of love on many levels and throughout many realms is deeply connected with the highest soul purpose of Virgo.

Virgo stands for the “womb of time’ wherein God’s plan  (the mystery and the secret of the ages)  is slowly matured and – with pain and discomfort and through struggle  and conflict – brought into manifestation at the appointed time.
~ The Tibetan, Esoteric Astrology

The Moon is a bit of an anomaly, an enigma, in astrology. Technically, she isn’t really a planet at all (for moons are not planets). Indeed H.P. Blavatsky (author of the earlier esoteric works The Secret Doctrine and Isis Unveiled), Alice Bailey (channel for The Tibetan, Author of Esoteric Astrology), and mystic Vera Stanley Alder all agree that the Moon is “dead,” having no life force or vitality of her own. Yet the magnetic pull of the Moon affects the Earth’s tides and likewise the emotions of humanity. So here we have the esoteric symbology of the Moon, something that is dead and connected to the past, yet is still tugging at us. The Moon symbolizes those aspects of our past that are no longer useful or beneficial for our spiritual progress, yet we collectively and individually (in our personal natal chart) haven’t released them yet.

The Moon thus creates conditions of human experience that are womb-like in the sense of being deep, dark, and quiet. In Virgo, she creates the conditions for “the valley of deep experience wherein secrets are discovered and eventually ‘brought to light’; [Virgo] is the place of slow, gentle and yet powerful crisis and periodic developments which take place in the dark and yet which lead to light.” (The Tibetan, Esoteric Astrology)

Esoterically, the Moon veils Vulcan (according to Esoteric Astrology, Vulcan is a hidden planet), and Vulcan is known as the blacksmith of the gods. In the alchemical fiery furnace of Vulcan, physical forms are transformed like molten lead into gold. It is this alchemical action of Vulcan that conditions the physical form to be more receptive to light and thus enables the synthesis of spirit and matter in Virgo.

The Moon/Vulcan conditions the form, while Mercury lays down a connective network of light on all levels. With this dual action of Mercury and the Moon/Vulcan, the physical human form becomes a pure and suitable vehicle for light and the subsequent birth of Christ consciousness.

This time of year, under the influence of Virgo, we all have an opportunity to deeply contemplate our life and ensure we are fully aligned with our divine purpose or vocation. If you have Sun, Moon or Rising Sign in Virgo, it is important that you be aware of your physical energy and stay grounded. You are here to radiate love into the world.


Ruth

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Ruth Hadikin, Soul Astrologer

Ruth Hadikin – Soul Astrologer

To get your personal Soul Sign/Life Purpose Report (FREE with a consultation), contact Ruth via her website. You can also request a FREE mp3 download, “The Energetics of Soul Astrology.”

About the artist: This oil painting, the sixth in the Empowered Feminine Zodiac series by Seattle artist Karen MacKenzie, features the Lithuanian harvest goddess Zemnya as the representation of Virgo. She is dressed in traditional Lithuanian embroidered clothing. For more information about the symbolism in this print and to view other works in her ongoing series, check out her website, Karen MacKenzie Art (her prints are very affordable).

Mercury, the Moon, and The Inner Journey of Virgo, Part I

Zemnya, original artwork by Seattle artist Karen MacKenzie. See end of article for more info.

Virgo season is upon us once again, bringing with it the opportunity to focus on our true vocation, or divine purpose. Virgo is associated with purity, purification, health, healing, well-being, the Virgin Mother, mother and child, the physical human form, and divinity in form.

It is no accident that it is harvest time in the Northern Hemisphere, as Virgo is also associated with the harvesting, or results, of what was sown. This is the time of year that we realize the practical reality of reaping what we sow, and if we don’t like what we see, it gives us an opportunity to prepare the ground to plant a different crop next year.

It is the Soul purpose of Virgo to purify and prepare our physical form so that it is more receptive to light and becomes a suitable vehicle for the cultivation and gestation of the Christ consciousness that will be born in Capricorn. Whether we have planets in Virgo or not, at this time of year it is an ideal time for each of us to contemplate our divine purpose and check whether we are fully aligned with our true purpose.

Following the journey of the soul through the 12 signs of the zodiac, after the completion of the individuation process in Leo, the individual now prepares for service by ensuring that the physical vehicle is ready to receive the light. Virgo has two planetary “space-holders” (rulers) that create the conditions necessary for this crucial stage of our soul’s development: Mercury and the Moon. We explored Mercury’s role in Gemini and the Moon’s role in Cancer, and here in Virgo, both planets create different conditions, because Virgo is an Earth sign, so they are more practically and tangibly conditioning the physical form rather than feeling and thought.

Mercury creates connections and pathways for communication, or communion. Esoterically, Mercury creates the ultimate pathway to connect us with higher mind, the antahkarana or “rainbow bridge.” Although we are strictly speaking in terms of energy and energetic pathways, it is helpful to think of the analogy of mercury as liquid metal. Imagine the speed and fluidity of liquid metal as it creates tiny sparkling rivulets, then streams and then rivers, spreading and branching out wherever needed to create pathways of light.

At one end of the bridge Mercury connects with the light of the divine; at the other end of the bridge Mercury is sending roots down into physical form, enlivening and stimulating the growth of neural pathways – nature’s own communication network for consciousness – so that conscious awareness can travel deeper into physical form. This is a two-way communication. Through the activity of Mercury, consciousness “communes” with form, and form becomes awakened, aware of consciousness. As a result, somatic awareness (the felt-sense in our body) deepens in Virgo, and the fully integrated Virgo soul can feel when they are flowing pure Love through their physical work and/or actions. Using your nervous system as a medium for communion, Mercury sensitizes you to spirit, awakening you to subtler and subtler levels of energy and consciousness.

Whereas in Gemini there is still duality, a perceived separation between form and spirit, between the divine and the personality, Virgo is a sign of synthesis. So in Virgo, the action of Mercury prepares the physical form to receive. The connections made by Mercury prepare for the synthesis of spirit and form, so that ultimately there is no separation. Spirit is form and form is spirit.

This is not an easy stage of our developmental process. Part of the process involves cognitive stimulation, the stimulation of thoughts and cognitive processing, and it is this side-effect of Mercury that leads some people with Sun, Moon or Virgo Rising to feel edgy, anxious, or worry to excess. If you are experiencing this, it is because you need to ground this Mercurial energy, and that is easier said than done. Having said that, it is part of your divine purpose as a Virgo to be a kind of cosmic lightening conductor! Do whatever you need to do to connect with your heart center. It can be yoga, Reiki, or even gardening, but do whatever you need to do to feel the physical flow of energy through your heart center radiating throughout your body and down to earth. Once you have done that, your energy will become grounded into the physical, rather than having too much energy in your head!

As we saw in my previous article on Cancer, the Moon rules physical form. So it makes sense that once Mercury has created the pathways, the Moon would step into a higher role in holding the space and ensuring the conditions are ripe for spirit to be fully imbued into physical form. The sign of Virgo is associated with perfection. This leads the Virgo personality to misguidedly seek perfection in the outer world, where the Virgo soul seeks perfection of the inner world.

In Part II, we’ll go deeper into Virgo’s connection to the Moon – the “Mother of All Forms.”


Ruth

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Ruth Hadikin, Soul Astrologer

Ruth Hadikin – Soul Astrologer

To get your personal Soul Sign/Life Purpose Report (FREE with a consultation), contact Ruth via her website. You can also request a FREE mp3 download, “The Energetics of Soul Astrology.”

About the artist: This oil painting, the sixth in the Empowered Feminine Zodiac series by Seattle artist Karen MacKenzie, features the Lithuanian harvest goddess Zemnya as the representation of Virgo. She is dressed in traditional Lithuanian embroidered clothing. For more information about the symbolism in this print and to view other works in her ongoing series, check out her website, Karen MacKenzie Art (her prints are very affordable).

The Moon, Neptune, and theInner Journey of Cancer, Part II

Cancer/Xochiquetzal, original artwork by Seattle artist Karen MacKenzie. See end of article for more info.

Cancer/Xochiquetzal, original artwork by Seattle artist Karen MacKenzie. See end of article for more info.

We are currently still being conditioned by the Moon to awaken to our emotions and the power of our emotions – which is why emotional intelligence is such a hot topic right now and will be for many years to come.

We are all at different stages in the development of emotional intelligence and awareness. For those who may be thinking that emotional intelligence is an old topic because the term was first used back in the 1920’s, be assured that the subject will be with us for many years yet to come. At the moment, humanity is able to talk about emotional intelligence but very few can walk the talk by translating that intellectual understanding into emotional skill and competency. This is why we still have war, aggression, violence and bullying rippling through the masses, and their associated behaviors tend to leak out and peak around the time of the Full Moon. Continue reading →

The Moon, Neptune, and the Inner Journey of Cancer, Part I

Cancer/Xochiquetzal, original artwork by Seattle artist Karen MacKenzie. See end of article for more info.

Cancer/Xochiquetzal, original artwork by Seattle artist Karen MacKenzie. See end of article for more info.

Cancer is associated with home, birth, family, and our tribe, clan or nation. It is also the sign of empathy, emotional intelligence, re-birth and mass consciousness.

The mysterious sign of Cancer is one of the quietest. It is the tiniest of constellations in the Zodiac and could easily slip by without being noticed. Yet within this tiny, silent sign are held the deepest secrets of reincarnation, for Cancer is the gateway into the physical realm. The sacred marriage of matter and spirit happens through this gateway of Cancer.

In considering the planetary rulers of Cancer, it is most important to understand what we really mean by “rulership.” Continue reading →

Cancer-Capricorn: The Conscious Journey Home, Part I

July is Cancer month, and that means another fine installment of Ruth’s ongoing series on the zodiac signs according to soul astrology. ~Pat

© Cflorinc for Dreamstime.com

Where is my home? Who is my family?

The sign of Cancer is associated with home, family, the womb, birth, the Mother, the Moon, water, tides, feelings, emotions, emotional intelligence, empathy, Love and ultimately the highest Love of all: Compassion.

In our Soul’s journey through the 12 zodiac signs, Leo rules the center of the heart, but to reach the heart-center first we must pass through mysterious, watery, Cancer and the minefield of human emotions. After the “interplay of light” in Gemini, the Divine Light in form begins to stir in the minds of humanity and ripple throughout the masses, in Cancer.

The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.*

Cancerians are tuned into the masses in a way that makes them great sales people because they usually know what the customer is looking for before the customer knows himself! They are the archetypal “people person.” Wherever there are people, you will find Cancer; people matter more to them than anything else.

Cancer is motivated primarily by human need. In addition to sales, you will find Cancerians busy at work as counsellors and nurses (especially ER managers where needs are prioritised!), midwives, chefs, construction workers and home-builders. Wherever there is human need, you will find Cancerians quietly meeting it. They are able to send their Cancerian radar deep into the mass consciousness, take a measurement, and sense what is needed next for the benefit of all. The answer usually is Love. When they put their mind to it, Cancerians know how to consciously flow Love. In a Cancerian kitchen you will usually find that the biggest ingredient is Love.

This is one of the keys to understanding the deeper esoteric significance of Cancer. At its highest vibration, Cancer is about meeting the deepest human need of all, our need for Divine Love and spiritual fulfillment. So does every Cancerian we meet flow unconditional love and compassion onto the planet? Not exactly … well, at least not yet.

Because of their connectedness with mass consciousness, the prevailing fear, tribalism, and mob-consciousness can dominate the Cancer personality. Until she begins to awaken to her higher nature, Cancer can too easily become overwhelmed by fear, get lost in the crowd and end up “going with the flow” of lower consciousness.

This is because Cancer hasn’t yet cultivated the strong, healthy, ego-definition of Leo. A well-defined ego and a strong sense of one’s own individuality are needed to resist the tidal magnetic pull of the waters of lower mass consciousness. Cancer acquires this by moving towards her opposite sign Capricorn, which leads her away from the crowd and onto her own solitary path. Only then will she discover her inner voice, her intuition, and learn to listen to the one voice among the many – her own.* This eventually brings her to the reality of her inner journey, her conscious journey to her real home.

As a Cancer personality, you can tend to be a bit of a homebody, staying home where you feel safe, prioritising the needs of your home and close family, seeking refuge in your little world (your shell) and not venturing out into the big, scary, outside world. If this becomes a habit, there is the danger of being stuck in your comfort zone and not exploring your true nature. If you have a strong Cancer influence in your chart, you need to take care not to succumb to irrational fears that could debilitate you.

Your ultimate refuge is spiritual awareness and the recognition of your spiritual home, but you will not know this until you turn your attention to your Self and have the courage to embark upon your inner, conscious journey.** Keeping busy meeting the physical needs of others, being “mother” to all, is indeed a Cancerian ego trap. There comes a time when you must allow others to fend for themselves so you can walk your own path.

The Cancerian Soul knows that the whole world is home and everyone you meet is your family: The Human Family. In order to realize this deeper spiritual truth, Cancer needs the ambition and persistance of her opposite sign Capricorn. Capricorn is the sign of ambition, and at its highest vibration, it is the sign of the “disciple” (meaning one who unwaveringly follows a spiritual path), showing us that the highest ambition of all is spiritual ambition. The highest vibration of Capricorn, the goat, teaches us how to steadily walk the path until we reach that mountaintop.

There are deep mysteries associated with the Cancer-Capricorn polarity – namely, the Great Mystery itself, the mystery of the cycle of death and rebirth. If Cancer is to discover these mysteries, she has to venture out of her shell and cultivate the spiritual ambition of her opposite sign Capricorn.

In Part 2, we look at the deeper mysteries of Cancer-Capricorn and explore why these signs are known as the “Two Great Gateways.”


Ruth

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Footnotes:
*Esoteric Astrology, The Tibetan (Master DK) as channelled through Alice Bailey

** Conscious Journey is an example of integrated Cancerian energy leading the way – pioneering new ways of introducing emotional intelligence into business and leadership, while supporting individuals on their own voyage of self-discovery. Founder Anya Sophia Mann has Sun in Cancer and Moon in Aries. I find it very interesting that she calls her work “Conscious Journey.” That would be Cancerian intuition!

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Ruth Hadikin, Soul Astrologer

Ruth Hadikin – Soul Astrologer

To get your personal Soul Sign/Life Purpose Report (FREE with a consultation), contact Ruth via her website. You can also request a FREE mp3 download, “The Energetics of Soul Astrology.”

Total Eclipse of the Moon and Summer Solstice:Is Your Heart Ready To Wake Up? (Part 2)

© Bezik for Dreamstime.com

How can you find your Soul? Go seek. Like Sagittarius, become the “seeker of truth.” Go within. Begin to meditate, and if you do so already, go deeper. Keep asking, “Who am I, really?” Keep searching for your Self. Everything you need is already within you.

If you are chasing after something outside of you, you are missing the target. You need to change your focus.

The total eclipse of the Full Moon in Sagittarius on June 15 brought us a powerful opportunity to make a 180º shift in direction, if we need to, in order to align our energies correctly for our highest and best spiritual growth.

Once we have focused on our target, the power can come through to hit where it is needed, opening us up to greater experiences of love-wisdom. On June 21, the Sun entered Cancer, the Summer Solstice, the peak of the Solar power. Summer Solstice is known as the “Triumph of Light.” It is the point in the year when the Sun’s power is at its peak and, in the Northern Hemisphere, the days are at their longest. It is a time of vitality – the life-force energy is at its strongest, and it is a time of ripening. But the harvest is yet to come.

Summer Solstice happens when the Sun enters Cancer – the sign of mass consciousness and emotional intelligence. During this ripening, we have the opportunity for our unevolved, immature emotions to ripen into Divine Compassion and Unconditional Love. For this to happen we need wisdom, clear focus, and maturity.

After using the power of Gemini-Sagittarius to focus our attention within, the first guide we will meet on our inner journey will be our own emotions. The first territory that we will have to navigate will be our own emotional “jungle.” For this reason, Cancer is also the sign of compassion. (HH Dalai Lama has Sun and Moon in Cancer and, according to some astrologers, he also has Cancer Ascendant). The Divine Intelligence, or Angel, of Cancer steps in at the perfect moment – just when we need the highest compassion of all, compassion for ourselves.

Your heart is the gateway to your Soul. No one has ever had a full Soul awakening without passing through their heart-center. In order to deal with the harsh realities of this world, unfortunately many of us close off our hearts and become hardened. From this isolated state of separation, we become numb to our own pain and that of others.

As we begin our conscious journey within to seek our very Soul, the first terrain to navigate is the path of the heart. Cancer brings feeling. When we attune to the energies of Cancer, we feel mass consciousness. Our capacity for sensing, for intuition, begins to awaken. We start to feel. We feel our connectedness, we feel our own wounds and those of others. Eventually this brings empathy and huge compassion.

We have another partial Solar Eclipse of the New Moon in Cancer on July 1 (echoing the partial Solar Eclipse we experienced on June 1 in Gemini). Solar and Lunar eclipses get our attention. They are a heads-up that something big is happening that requires our full attention. Eclipses let us know the import of these times: that major shifts are occurring and we are invited to open ourselves up to receiving the benefits being offered.

This is a time of birthing and re-birthing. During the coming months, we will have the Angel of Cancer, the Divine Feminine energy of Mother and nurturing, walking us compassionately through July into August, when the Angel of Leo will meet us and lead us into the very heart of the jungle: heart-centered awareness.

The courage of Leo will also be there when needed as we remain focused on our path. The twelve Zodiac Angels are always with us. They walk with us through these times and are available to guide us into the highest octave of each sign. So the Angel of Cancer doesn’t step aside while Leo takes over. All of our guides remain with us and can be called upon at any time, but each one steps into the lead as we pass through their territory, the very area where they are most able to give us guidance.

Even with all the great potential available, it is still possible for us to miss the point! This is the message of Sagittarius, the Archer. We have to choose where we place our attention, choose the target, and focus our Divine energy. It all boils down to this: will we place our attention on all the fear-based distractions of the outer world, or will we develop the skill, capacity and compassion to hold our attention steadily on our inner world and walk the compassionate path of love-wisdom through these challenging times?

Will you hold your focus steady, like the Archer, until June 2012 and experience a Cosmic Heart Opening? Or will you allow yourself to be distracted and miss? The choice is yours.


Ruth

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Ruth Hadikin, Soul Astrologer
Ruth Hadikin – Soul Astrologer

To get your personal Soul Sign/Life Purpose Report (FREE with a consultation), contact Ruth via her website. You can also request a FREE mp3 download, “The Energetics of Soul Astrology.”

Ask Real Astrologers: How Will the T-Square Affect My Sign?

Looking for AnswersAs the cardinal T-square approaches its peak, I’m receiving many questions from readers wanting to know how it’s going to affect them personally.

How will the grand cross, August 6th timeframe, affect my astrological sign and therefore me? ~ Stephanie, Manhattan, Kansas.

Can you give your insight about what the current planetary transits mean to me? I also know a little about astrology. I am a Cancer with Mercury in Cancer as well. I have three planets in Libra and, not to mention, I am an Aries Rising. My life is in total mess right now. I lost my job, and my relationship with my parents and family is in chaos. I am in huge debt. Even my love life is in total huge question.
~ Ann, United Arab Emirates

Stephanie, you are a Virgo, but you didn’t supply a birth time, so we don’t know what sign is on your Ascendant. This makes it impossible to know what houses in your natal chart are being affected by the cardinal T-square, which briefly will become a grand cross on August 6, when the Moon is in Cancer.

Still, I thought your question was worth taking, because it allows me to explain a few things about Sun sign astrology and why knowing your birth time can change chart interpretations considerably.

First, there is no way to say that “all Virgos” will be affected the same way by the T-square/grand cross. Although many popular horoscopes make predictions by Sun sign, the degree of your Sun is very important. Early Virgos will not be affected in the same way as late Virgos.

In your case, you have the Sun in the early degrees of Virgo, so on Aug. 6, the Moon-Pluto opposition actually will be quite nicely positioned relative to your Virgo Sun, and this could turn out to be advantageous for you. It’s a great time to make positive changes in your life, and if you are facing serious challenges, you should be able to summon the strength, motivation, and resources to push through them.

With a birth time, we not only would have the house positions of the planets, but we would know what other planets and key chart points were being activated by the T-square. Then it would be possible to determine which areas of your life are most affected and where you could apply your efforts to make the best use of this cosmic wind to your back.

Ann, you have six planets and all four chart angles in cardinal signs, so one might think you would be getting slammed on all sides by this planetary configuration.

However, as I pointed out to Stephanie, degree counts. As it turns out, your chart angles are in the later degrees of the cardinal signs and so will not be activated by this T-square, and the only planet you have in the early degrees of the cardinals signs, where the T-square is taking place, is Mercury at 0 degrees Cancer.

That’s plenty difficult enough, though. It means that all of the T-square planets are in conflict with your natal Mercury, which rules communications and some social interactions. When Pluto is opposite Mercury, we can get into situations in which we try to subtly or not-so-subtly pressure others into thinking as we do. Naturally, this meets with resistance, and it can be severe enough that relationships break down entirely.

As with most Pluto transits, it is necessary to learn detachment and to relinquish control over others. In some cases, the tables are turned, and we feel constantly pressured to think like someone else. If this is what you’re facing, then you have no choice but to stand up for yourself and not give in, but it sure can wear you down.

Saturn square Mercury is in some ways even more troublesome, as you tend not to be able to communicate very well, and then you end up feeling lonely, isolated, and unloved. It’s probably not true, but that’s how you feel, and for Cancer, feeling is believing.

Aside from the T-square, it’s important to note that you are approaching your first Saturn return, which everyone experiences around 28 or 29 years old. If you have been moving in the right direction in life, this milestone transit can be validating. If you’re off course or on the wrong track entirely, everything in your life can break down at this time, and you might meet severe hardship and locked doors everywhere you turn. It’s all important information to tell you that you need to follow another path toward fulfillment of your life’s purpose.

My first Saturn return was hell; I experienced all of the issues you list and then some. But it made me realize that I had to make significant changes in my life. Once I did that, many doors opened for me. I truly hope this will be the case for you, too.

Thank you both for writing. Wishing you much love and courage.
Aquarius, the sign of astrologyPat

Got a quick question? Click here to contact Ask Real Astrologers. You must use this form to contact me, or I won’t get your question. I do read all of your questions, although I am sorry that I can’t answer them all. If you need immediate guidance or in-depth advice, please contact me for a private consultation. THANKS!