On June 21, the Sun moves from the mercurial Gemini and enters the lunar, intimate, and emotional space of Cancer. With this transition, the energies shift from being fast, joyful, and exuberant to becoming slower and more attuned to the sensory world of inner emotions.
As the Sun leaves Gemini, a sign known for its lively communication and intellectual curiosity, we transition into Cancer. Cancer is ruled by the Moon and emphasizes emotions, intuition, and a sense of security. This shift marks a change from the outward expression and mental agility of Gemini to the inward focus and emotional depth of Cancer.
What are the themes of Cancer season?
The Cancer season highlights the themes of the sign and its ruling planet: the Moon. The presence of the Sun in a lunar sign is symbolically the meeting of light and darkness, of masculine and feminine, of day and night, of the external and internal. It’s somewhat like bringing light to where calm darkness prevails, fostering the realm of dreams. This contrast invites introspection and emotional exploration, encouraging us to reconcile our outward actions and inward feelings, nurturing our deeper needs and dreams.
This phase invites us to look inward and explore our emotions. It encourages us to align our actions with our feelings and to nurture our deeper needs and dreams.
The Cancer season illuminates the deeply nurturing and protective qualities of its ruling sign, guided by the Moon. This period encourages a focus on home, family, and emotional security, highlighting the intrinsic need for comfort and care. As the Sun moves through Cancer, it brings warmth and visibility to these typically private spheres, emphasizing the importance of our roots and personal sanctuaries.
During this time, we’re invited to explore our emotional depths and strengthen our connections with loved ones. Cancer’s energy fosters an environment where the nurturing of our inner selves and those we care about becomes paramount. It is a time for emotional replenishment and to acknowledge our vulnerabilities as strength.
This season also challenges us to balance our public and private lives, ensuring that we do not neglect the emotional nourishment that sustains us. Cancer teaches us the power of intuition and the importance of listening to our inner voices, guiding us towards more authentic and compassionate living. Thus, the Cancer season serves not only as a reminder of where we come from but also nurtures the growth that enables us to protect and foster what we cherish most.
Cancerian traits in Friedrich’s nocturnal painting
Here, for the first time in our series of articles about the seasons, we associate art and astrology. The idea is to connect a painting to this season, giving it visual power and deeper meaning.
The Romantic era of Western painting perfectly symbolizes the sign of Cancer. It narrates the divine manifested in nature, the earth, and the things that surround us. It represents the emotions of the human soul, especially when contemplating nature. That’s why the painting associated with this season comes from the Romantic period and is “Man and Woman Contemplating the Moon” from 1824.
This painting by the famous Caspar David Friedrich depicts a couple contemplating the Moon during a nocturnal walk. It is not only the couple’s contemplation that is portrayed; our external gaze is also led to observe the transformation of nature’s designs in the twilight. The shapes are not reassuring, though the atmosphere is calm; they are sometimes distressing, mysterious, dark. The trees seem to come to life, and their branches appear as strange arms reaching toward the couple. Yet, the couple is focused on the Moon, contemplating its beauty and mystery. In the face of the cosmos’s grandeur, only our emotions can remind us of the finiteness of earthly existence and the infiniteness of feeling.
Contemplation, the Moon, and the ability to embrace strong emotions are all themes present in the symbolism of Cancer. Feeling emotions and letting them flow without trying to counter them are also associated with Cancer and the fourth house it represents.
The most descriptive and evident symbol is obviously the Moon, the main subject of the painting and the celestial body that dominates the sign of Cancer. The Moon is also a symbol of the maternal, just as the fourth house symbolizes family and connection with one’s roots. Although in this painting, set at night and in an outdoor environment, the sensation of home is not strongly felt, it is possible to perceive human closeness in the woman leaning on the man. Contemplating the Moon and overwhelmed by emotions of awe, the two are united, close, and share the same solitude of feeling small in the face of the vast. They are alone together.
The return to the experience of the sublime, an important element of the Romanticism period, is ultimately the expression of the need to reconnect with the ancestral need for spirituality and the soul’s infiniteness. In Romanticism, emotions regain importance and act as a bridge between man and nature, between man and God. There is hope that emotions are proof of the existence of a soul that goes beyond the body and its functions.
This is also the meaning of the fourth house and Cancer. This is the most intimate zone of the astrological circle and is the place where we express and investigate our deepest, most intimate, and most unconscious feelings. It is also the place of dreams. Although dreams will be investigated more precisely during Surrealism and after the artistic avant-gardes of the early twentieth century, Romanticism also opens the doors to the dream dimension. In this painting, where the atmosphere is on the edge between reality and unreality, are we really in a nocturnal forest or are we in the dream of one of the two figures?
Cancer Season’s Horoscope
Unveiling the horoscope – explore the distinct impact that the Cancer Season phase is poised to exert on individual zodiac signs.
Aries (21 March – 20 April)
Aries, Cancer season is your time to step back, look inward, and reconnect with your emotional world and your need to feel connected to your roots. Seek refuge in memories, in the moments of the past, and take care of those still-open wounds, or simply honor the times that have shaped you into who you are today.
This is an ideal period for introspection, allowing you to nurture your inner self and heal. By revisiting your past, you gain the strength and wisdom to face the future with renewed vigor and understanding. Embrace this nurturing phase to solidify your emotional foundation, which will support your fiery and dynamic nature as you continue to forge ahead.
Taurus (22 April – 30 May)
Taurus, Cancer season softens your words, lowers the tone of your voice, and guides you in expressing your feelings, emotions, and values. This is the perfect time to forge meaningful connections that can aid in understanding your emotional nature.
During this period, you are encouraged to open up and share more deeply with those around you, promoting greater emotional intimacy. Embrace this gentle push to reveal your softer side, which can sometimes be overshadowed by your strong and steadfast demeanor. Let the nurturing influence of Cancer season help you cultivate relationships that enrich your soul and provide a comforting sense of security and belonging.
Gemini (21 May – 21 June)
Gemini, Cancer season invites you to infuse emotions and truth into the material aspects of your life and in the way you build and design your physical world. As you connect with your values, you will discover new perspectives for creating abundance by utilizing your inner poetry.
This period encourages you to integrate your intellectual pursuits with your emotional insights, blending rational thought with heartfelt expression. By aligning your mental agility with your emotional depths, you can enhance your creative output and find more fulfilling ways to manifest your ideas into reality. Embrace this time to deeply explore what truly matters to you, and let it guide you in shaping a more resonant and richly textured environment.
Cancer (22 June – 23 July)
Cancer, it’s your season and a new cycle begins, just as your desire to reconnect with yourself does. This is a time to rediscover your sense of self and move towards achieving your values while nurturing your needs. It’s the right moment to let go of what holds you back and dedicate yourself to what truly makes you feel good.
This season encourages you to prioritize self-care and emotional well-being, allowing you to clear away any emotional clutter that may be clouding your vision. Embrace the opportunity to strengthen your emotional foundations and make space for growth and healing. This period of introspection and renewal can empower you to align more closely with your deepest desires and to cultivate a life that genuinely reflects who you are.
Leo (23 July – 23 August)
Leo, Cancer season marks the final phase of your solar cycle. It’s time to reconnect with the silence of your mind and seek to establish a sincere and profound dialogue with yourself. It’s the right moment to tend to your wounds and commit to healing so that you can rise stronger than before.
This period invites introspection and emotional processing, encouraging you to explore the deeper, often overlooked aspects of your psyche. Use this time to nurture your inner self, address unresolved emotions, and prepare for renewal. By acknowledging and healing your vulnerabilities, you set the stage for a powerful resurgence, ready to embrace your Leo vibrancy with renewed strength and clarity as your new solar year approaches.
Virgo (24 August – 22 September)
Virgo, Cancer season gently guides you towards the construction of a shared project, where connecting with others and understanding their needs becomes the primary emotion. This is the perfect time to build something that can make a difference and foster a sense of welcome and inclusion.
This period emphasizes your natural tendency towards service and support, urging you to engage more deeply with community or team efforts. By integrating your meticulous attention to detail with a heartfelt desire to care for others, you can create environments that not only solve practical problems but also heal and unite. Embrace this opportunity to collaborate and innovate in ways that enrich both your life and the lives of those around you, building lasting bonds and meaningful change.
Libra (23 September – 23 October)
Libra, Cancer season brings emotions and creativity into your projects and work. It’s the right time to rediscover a desire for emotional expression in what you do, reconnecting with your personal goals and the reasons behind your actions. This period encourages you to infuse your natural aesthetic and balance-seeking qualities with a deeper emotional resonance, allowing you to create more meaningful and impactful work.
Embrace this opportunity to align your career or creative pursuits with your inner values, enhancing your professional satisfaction and personal fulfillment. By integrating your heart with your endeavors, you can achieve not only success but also a greater sense of purpose and connection in your activities.
Scorpio (23 October – 23 November)
Scorpio, Cancer season invites you to journey through the labyrinth of your heart, to explore emotions you have denied, and to rediscover feelings you had forgotten. This is the perfect time to engage in activities that break you out of your routine and awaken a new sense of self-awareness and understanding.
This period emphasizes deep emotional healing and encourages you to confront the shadows within. By embracing vulnerability and confronting your inner truths, you can achieve profound personal growth. Allow yourself to be drawn into introspection and emotional exploration, finding renewal and strength in the authenticity of your experiences and feelings.
Sagittarius (23 November – 21 December)
Sagittarius, Cancer season shines a light on that part of you that feels the need to transform and reconnect with your instincts. This is the right time to embrace the irrational within you and let it guide you in the right direction. Transformation can be intimidating, but shedding your old skin is what allows you to rediscover your roots.
This period is about embracing the emotional depths that you often overlook in your quest for adventure and knowledge. Allow yourself to dive into your feelings, explore your inner needs, and accept the emotional nourishment that this season offers. By doing so, you can achieve a more profound understanding of yourself and emerge renewed, ready to pursue your journey with a clearer sense of purpose and connection.
Capricorn (22 December – 20 January)
Capricorn, Cancer season marks the midpoint of your solar cycle, activating the shadow aspects of your personality. This is your time to engage with the people in your life, those you love and even those with whom you have unresolved issues. Genuine expression and sharing of values will take you on a journey to explore the concepts of bonding, home, and interconnectedness.
Here, you will rediscover a sense of belonging that seemed lost. This period encourages you to open up emotionally and allow your softer, more vulnerable side to show. By doing so, you can strengthen your relationships and build a support network that reflects your true values and provides a foundation of trust and mutual respect. Embrace this opportunity for emotional growth and deeper connection, and you may find a renewed sense of security and contentment in your personal life.
Aquarius (21 January – 19 February)
Aquarius, Cancer season gently guides you on a path of reconnecting with your mind and thoughts. This is the perfect time to focus on establishing healthy habits that facilitate a connection with your emotional side, bringing unexpected resources to light.
This period encourages you to slow down and reflect on your inner emotional landscape, perhaps something you often overlook in pursuit of intellectual and social pursuits. By integrating your thoughts with your feelings, you can achieve a more balanced perspective and uncover deep insights about yourself. Embrace this opportunity to nurture your emotional intelligence, which can enrich your relationships and enhance your problem-solving abilities in all areas of life.
Pisces (20 February – 20 March)
Pisces, Cancer season brings emotionality and dreams into your life and the way you express your vitality. This is the ideal time to create, build, and express your art, starting from what you feel rather than what you want. This period amplifies your innate sensitivity and imagination, encouraging you to channel these into your creative endeavors.
Embrace the fluidity of your emotions; let them guide your artistic expressions in ways that resonate deeply with your soul. This is a powerful time for you to connect with your intuitive powers and manifest your innermost dreams into reality. Use this emotionally charged season to explore the depths of your creativity and allow your authentic voice to be heard.
