Cancer at a glance
Traditional dates: June 21 – July 22
Element: Water
Modality: Cardinal
Ruling planet: Moon
Traditional Cancer themes
In Western tropical astrology, Cancer is traditionally associated with care, memory and emotional sensitivity. These are interpretive traditions, not fixed rules about everyone born under the sign.
Strengths and challenges
Astrologers commonly describe the sign’s constructive expression through care, memory and emotional sensitivity. A frequently discussed challenge is overprotection or retreating into a shell. A full interpretation depends on the rest of the natal chart.
Love, friendship and work
Sun-sign descriptions are only a starting point. Relationship readings often consider Venus, Mars, the Moon and chart-to-chart aspects; vocational readings may also consider the Midheaven, houses and Saturn.
More than a Sun sign
The Moon is traditionally associated with emotional patterns, while the Ascendant describes the sign rising on the eastern horizon at the recorded birth time. Houses and planetary aspects add further layers.
Born near a sign change?
Popular date ranges are approximate. If a birth falls close to a boundary, the exact year, time and location are needed to calculate the Sun’s position. A natal Sun occupies one sign at a particular moment, even though “cusp” is widely used as a popular description.
Astrology is a cultural and interpretive tradition and has not been scientifically validated as a method for predicting personality or future events.