Of
Love, Equilibrium and Wisdom
Carlos
Cardoso Aveline
The Moon rules the sensitive and possessive sign of
Cancer, whose element is water and which can love as
few do
The sign of Cancer,
or Crab, starts around 22 June and expands in human beings the intensity of
emotion and personal sensibility. It stimulates the ability to fight for that
which one loves.
In this sign the soul tries to develop concentration
and firmness, and success is achieved up to a certain point.
Just like the crab, a small animal living in the
immense Ocean, the Cancer pilgrim has a shell or psychological carapace for his
protection. His inner emotional world is rather secret: he shares it with some
special beings. When someone who has access to his confidence disappoints him,
the experience is painful because there are no mechanisms of emotional defense
or safeguard.
The sign of Cancer is ruled by the Moon. This makes it
more vulnerable than could be desirable. The lunar cycle, which strongly
influences all life on Earth, lasts some four weeks and includes four phases: the
new, the waxing, the full and the waning. The vitality of Cancer-sign
persons inevitably oscillates according to the pattern of lunar cycle, and
needs to “start again” from time to time. The life of the “crab” individual is
very much a wave motion. It evolves as a constant process of waning, of dying,
of being born again, and then waxing or gaining strength until he gets to a
certain plenitude - a fullness of life - and wanes while he gets ready to be
born again.
The Constant Reorganization of Persistence
Belonging to the Water element, the soul rises and
goes down with the inevitable movement of the vital tides. The person of Cancer
sign is constant and persistent, although his or her persistence needs to be
organized again and again, as the watery scenario changes.
In the northern hemisphere, it is in the emotional
environment of Cancer that the summer attains its highest point. The “airy” and
flexible state of mind of previous weeks - which form the territory of Gemini -
is now replaced by the search for stability, by the need of intensity and warmth,
and for the pleasure of building constant circumstances in which life can
unfold in peace, as it approaches a culmination. In the Southern hemisphere,
symmetrically, the whole nature gets ready to winter, a time when that which is
of supreme importance will be preserved.
In the crab territory the experience of sacrifice constitutes
a central lesson. Caring about the other is a basic form of expressing love. The
husband cares for his wife, a woman cares for her husband, the two watch over
their children. Friends protect each other, brothers take mutually protective
actions. An individual respects trees, animals and the environment and feels
protected by them. You often fight over what you love and what you wish to defend.
There is a need for a safe haven in the face of what is immense and
unfathomable. The dream of love is seen as a supreme factor in life.
In situations when sincere love is ridiculed and loyal
friendship does not exist, the sign of Cancer can be sullen and grumpy like no
other. All you have to do is to have patience, put constructive sincerity and
true kindness on the table and see the difference: the natural goodwill that
results from the crab’s inclination to love will return to its fullness. Resentment
will seem to have never existed.
This principle applies to the three water signs -
Pisces, Cancer and Scorpio -, yet it is especially strong in the case of the
Crab.
Pisces is impersonal and tends to ignore conflicts.
Neptune, which rules the last sign of the zodiac, transmits abstract cosmic
love, which reduces one’s ability to take fights seriously. Scorpio, on the
other hand, is a sign of warriors and can derive a personal satisfaction from fierce
struggle. For Cancer persons, however, fighting is inherently unpleasant. It is
disappointing. The Moon presides over the sphere of intimate, personal and
intense love. Self-surrender is present in this dimension of life. Attachment
and dependence emerge. Separation and separativeness hurt. The need for the
other dominates, and saying farewell to the dear ones is a torture. For Cancer
persons, home can be an unconquerable kingdom, a sacred refuge, a castle and a
fortress. Crab needs a sense of quiet and safety. Although it knows how to
start over from scratch whenever life cycles change, it has a possessive care
for his present resting place.
In any sign of the zodiac, the efficiency of human
action depends on the quantity and quality of the experience gathered by the
soul in recent incarnations. With each round of the life energy across the
zodiacal cycle, some aspects are improved.
Aries inaugurates the new annual journey. Taurus, the
second sign, gives you persistence. Gemini expands the variety of forms and
attitudes. Cancer works to build trust and confidence, which will be achieved
in Leo. [1]
Under the guidance of the Moon, the Crab sign is both
motherly and fatherly. A child needs care from the mother (or a maternal figure),
and from the father, or a fatherly figure. Kind love and solid limits are
equally necessary. Capricorn, which builds structures, and Cancer, which
generates life, are opposite and complementary signs in the astrological sky. They
need each other. The influences of Saturn and the Moon make a perfect
combination.
An Enduring Base for Peace
Many of the failures we see in the present
civilization are related to the lack of a healthy day-to-day coexistence between
children and a stable father figure, who gives them strength. The widespread
phenomenon of “absent father” must be overcome if civilization is to heal
itself. The priorities of the crab are home, family, sacrifice and the struggle
for what you love. Besides mothers and fathers, it offers profound inspiration to
each child, uncle, aunt, brother, sister, every couple in love and all sincere
friends.
What is in emotional life the greatest source of peace
and common sense?
Combining sensitivity and austerity constitutes an
indispensable paradox. An intelligent balance between them guarantees one’s well-being.
In the daily life of the individual who was born under
the sign of Cancer, contact with eternal wisdom opens the door to stability.
The same occurs to everyone yearly, once the Sun is in the crab’s territory,
until about July 22nd. Conscious unity with your own immortal soul allows you
to walk on solid ground and to know where your feet are. Antahkarana, the ladder
to heaven or the bridge to the infinite ocean, is present in your own
consciousness. It is kept safe and preserved by the pilgrim’s sincerity with
himself and with others, and expands when there is a wide view of life. [2]
Anna Maria Costa Ribeiro writes:
“Cancer is the sea, the origin of all things, the
matrix, the primordial conditions of existence which need to be protected in
order to be preserved. It is the avatar and the psychic manifestation. ”
In the astrological chart of Helena Blavatsky, the
Ascendant is in Cancer, which means that the personality and acting style of
the founder of the modern esoteric movement were largely of this sign.
Blavatsky’s great capacity to love and protect others was shown through a
lifetime work caused by a feeling of universal compassion. She defended and
preserved the future of humanity.
Anna Costa Ribeiro explains:
“Like the animal [crab], the sign of Cancer prefers to
make lateral movements in situations or in regressive action, because it knows
that it is fragile - although it is persistent in its silent, reserved style.
It protects itself and others and is therefore jealous, possessive and
absorbing. It is afraid of what may happen if something changes or if it loses
the safety of its shelter.” [3]
The shelter and safety of the spiritual pilgrim are
situated in his higher self, his immortal soul, Atma-Buddhi, the monad.
Firmness for Water Spirits
Vital energies make the soul of natural world.
As Stephen Arroyo discusses the relationship of signs
to elements, he quotes Paracelsus, a forerunner of Blavatsky. The nature
spirits that correspond to the element Water are the undines, and they can be disciplined through the practice of serene
firmness.
Arroyo clarifies:
“Hence, we can learn that watery people [people of Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces] need to be firm with themselves and
also that firmness is often the best way to deal with this type of person,
especially when their emotions are out of control.” [4]
The Earth signs are natural allies to the signs of
Water.
And one must remember that the alchemy of divine
knowledge is mainly internal. Every human being has the twelve zodiacal signs
and the four elements in his own essential nature, for in the moment he was
born he was surrounded by the entire solar system and the various
constellations.
The Highest Bliss
The energy of the Crab brings us the lesson of
parental love and personal sacrifice as sources of happiness.
In the Cancer region of the zodiacal wheel the soul
sees a basic fact: that the supreme bliss is in making the ones we love happy. An
experienced soul works for the good of all. Discipline is not a naturally
strong point for life under the sign of the crab, yet in this department, as in
every other, success is in trying once and again. It is by patient efforts made
with the right intention that one learns. If one does the best he can, great learning
takes place.
For humanity and the Earth to renew and purify themselves,
Cancer’s emotional sensitivity must be associated with the immutable strength
of universal ethical principles, and with the ability to put aside personal
attachment.
When this happens, the magical richness of the aquatic
universe of the crab can flow like a blessing that makes the whole world be
born again in peace every day; and makes it easier for the pilgrim to tread the
uphill path toward eternal wisdom while his horizon constantly widens.
NOTES:
[1] See the articles “The Lesson of the Sun in Pisces”,
“The Lesson of the Sun in Aries”,
“The Lesson of the Sun in Taurus”
and “The Lesson of the Sun in Gemini”.
[2] A study about the different levels of human action
and perception is presented in “The Seven Principles of Consciousness”.
The connection between mortal soul and spiritual
soul is discussed in the article “Antahkarana, the Bridge to Sky”.
[3] From the book “Conhecimento da
Astrologia”, Anna Maria Costa Ribeiro, Novo Milênio Editora, 1996, Rio de
Janeiro, 733 pp., ver p. 65.
[4] From “Astrology, Psychology and the Four
Elements”, by Stephen Arroyo, M.A. The subtitle of the volume is “An Energy
Approach to Astrology & Its Use in the Counseling Arts”. CRCS Publications,
California, EUA, 191 pp., 1975, p. 107.
The article “The
Lesson of the Sun in Cancer” was published on the associated websites on 20
July 2020.
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Read more on the
dialogue between the sky and the earth:
* “The Magic of the Moon”; and
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