cancer ♋

June 22nd - July 22nd

mythology

Cancer is the 4th sign of the zodiac, represented by the Greeks as a Crab. It is the enormous creature which the goddess Hera sent from the swamp against Herakles during his battle with the Lernaean Hydra, his second labour. The crab nipped his foot and he stamped on it, crushing it beneath his heel, whereupon Hera set it in the zodiac as one of the twelve signs. The story is a strange echo of that involving the other zodiacal creature with claws - Scorpio. The Greek year began in Cancer, on the new moon after the Summer Solstice, and the story is of each new year following on the heels of the old.

astronomy

Cancer the Crab is a Winter Constellation, and can be best viewed in the night sky during the month of February. It is a very faint constellation of the zodiac that is shaped like a crab. Cancer is seen along the ecliptic and is located between Leo and Gemini. At the center of the crab's shell is a huge open cluster, the Beehive cluster, also known as Praesepe (M44). The open cluster M67 is nearby. The brightest star in Cancer is Acubens (meaning claw); the second-brightest is Al Tarf (meaning tip).

astrology

Mode: Cardinal
Element: Water
Ruler: Moon
Exaltation: Jupiter

Birthstone: Amber, Chalcedony, Ruby
Body Part: Breasts, Stomach
Color: Orange Yellow
Day: Monday
Metal: Silver
Perfume: Onycha
Plant: Lotus
Animal: Crab, Turtle, Sphinx

Qualities: Dualistic. Instinctual mind. Facile intelligence. Dexterity. Mimicry.

See a tee with the constellation of cancer...