Cancer is the sign in the zodiac, originating from the constellation of Cancer.
Its name is Latin for crab and it is commonly represented as one – some depictions of Cancer feature a lobster or crayfish.
Its symbol is ♋︎.
Cancer is the fourth sign of the zodiac, which the sun enters at the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, on approximately June 21. Those who are born from approximately June 21 to July 22 (depending upon the year) are born under Cancer. Individuals born during these dates, depending on which system of astrology they subscribe to, may be called “Cancerians”.
Cancer is the cardinal sign of the Water trigon, which is made up of Cancer, Pisces, and Scorpio.
It is one of the six negative signs, and its ruling planet is the Moon.
Cancer is a northern sign, and its opposite sign is Capricorn.
Cancerians are among the most difficult zodiacs to understand. They frequently display a stony, brittle, even impervious veneer to the world, and might look Taken away, cold, and restrained, just like the crab that symbolises their sign. However, underneath the shell is a sympathetic and empathetic soul with vast reservoirs of love and understanding. Cancerians, like crabs, are stubborn and possessive of their relationships and, making them extremely protective and devoted family and friends.
Cancer constellation is located in the Northern celestial hemisphere and spans from 90° to 120° celestial longitude.
It is a medium-sized constellation that is bordered by Gemini to the west, Lynx to the north, Leo Minor to the northeast, Leo to the east, Hydra to the south, and Canis Minor to the southwest. The three-letter abbreviation for the constellation, as adopted by the International Astronomical Union in 1922, is “Cnc”. The official constellation boundaries, as set by Belgian astronomer Eugène Delporte in 1930, are defined by a polygon of 3 main and 7 western edgework forming sides (illustrated in infobox).
It contains two stars with known planets, including 55 Cancri, which has five: one super-earth and four gas giants, one of which is in the habitable zone and as such has expected temperatures similar to Earth. At the (angular) heart of this sector of our celestial sphere is Praesepe (Messier 44), one of the closest open clusters to Earth and a popular target for amateur astronomers.
The cancer constellation is known for “the Beehive Cluster” which is a swarm of over 1,000 stars.
Cancer was first recorded by Ptolemy in the 2nd century AD in Almagest, under the Greek name Καρκίνος (Karkinos).
During the Middle Ages, the zodiacal symbol of Cancer was included in devotional books and incorporated into monumental sculptures. The depiction of Cancer as a crab is most prevalent in Mediterranean and Western European art.
In Hindu astrology, the sign of Cancer is named Karka and its Lord is Moon. Divine associations with Cancer in Renaissance astrology are Luna/Diana, both goddesses that represent the Moon, Cancer’s ruling planet.
According to Greek myth, the symbol of Cancer— often a crab is based on the Karkinos, a crab crushed under the foot of Hercules, and whose remains were placed in the sky by Hera, forming the Cancer constellation. In Roman variations of the story, it is Juno—Hera’s counterpart in Roman mythology—who places the crab in the sky. 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.”
“Cancer” is an ancient word of Indo-European origin, derived from a root meaning “to scratch.” In ancient Egypt, the sign of Cancer was conceived as a scarab beetle, while in Mesopotamia it was represented by a turtle. In each case, the animal representative of the sign was perceived as “pushing” the sun across the heavens, initiating the summer solstice.
At the summer solstice, the Sun travels the longest path through the sky, and that day therefore has the most daylight. When the summer solstice happens in the Northern Hemisphere, the North Pole is tilted about 23.4° (23°27´) toward the Sun. Because the Sun’s rays are shifted northward from the Equator by the same amount, the vertical noon rays are directly overhead at the Tropic of Cancer (23°27´ N).