Natal Moon in Cancer
In natal Astrology, the Moon represents how an individual absorbs and interacts with their environment on a subconscious and intuitive level, including their emotional nature. It is important to remember that this contrasts with the very conscious and logical analysis of the environment that are handled by the planet Mercury. The Moon represents the ways we care for and protect ourselves psychically and emotionally; it’s how we empathize with others and the things that we find comforting and safe. The Moon is also representative of the Mother, or nurturing parent, and how we subconsciously learned to address our emotional needs in early life. As such, the Moon is the natural ruler of the sign Cancer, which is assigned the activities and themes of the 4th House.
Cancer the Crab is the cardinal water sign which is feminine in polarity. Its ruling planet is the Moon, and both entities serve as the natural ruler of the 4th House of the horoscope. Keywords that differentiate the qualities of the sign of Cancer from the characteristics of the Moon are: conservative, security-conscious, sympathetic, impressionistic, moody, willful and subjective. The 4th House of the horoscope is where we establish a subjective sense of our own emotional nature after establishing our own sense of individuality, the value and substance of that individuality, and an intellectual familiarity with our immediate environment. We realize that we must come to terms with what makes us feel safe and secure from the world while still being able to be in the world with others who may or may not operate the same way we do. In this house, we become firm in what our sentiments are towards certain ideas, and we determine what we absolutely must have in order to feel that we always have a secure base from which to operate. This house serves as our foundation and represents our ties to our ancestry, which includes our immediate family and represents the point from which we differentiate from our families and come to form our own separate foundations to operate from. We can receive extra sensory ability from this house, because if we can understand our own mode of operation, we are able to see how it is reflected in others. This sensitivity and intuition have the potential to make us not only privy to things not obvious to others but also fearful of what lies within others because we are still contending with protecting ourselves, and when others present the potential to disrupt or provide threats to the security of that, we become defensive or can often be preemptively offensive. This can lead to prejudiced thinking and preemptive action that is not always logical or productive to our growth or success.
When these two energies come together, there is an easy understanding because the Moon is in its sign of domicile. This makes it particularly easy for the person with this placement to express the energy of the archetype in its purest form, for good or ill. This combined energy is also cardinal, and they both reside in the northern hemisphere of the chart which is the very subjective part of our personality. This is an energy that is focused on self-preservation and less concerned with external influence. If these were two separate energies, we could explore the idea behind how they aspect one another but since they are the same energies, they are symbolically conjunct one another. A conjunction is a neutral aspect that indicates an inability to distinguish one from the other due to them working together so well because of similar modes of operation and goals. Initially, this would appear to be a very positive and fortunate aspect, but the neutrality of this aspect reminds us that just because there is power behind the unity of two things, does not always mean that those two things are coming together to achieve things in the most productive way. This position is narrowly focused on emotional security and due to the nature of the Moon to wax and wane, the Moon in this position is easily inflamed and prone to moodiness. The emotional expression of the person with this placement will be expressed in a range that varies from dramatic and infantile to subtle and withdrawn. The emotions are felt very acutely, and their sense of peace can be disturbed by others very easily. Those close to them must take caution to be considerate while the native should attempt developing a thicker skin to the world and to not always assume that they are under attack.
The early home life, depending on the condition of the Moon and the 4th House, would have likely been perceived as an environment that was a place of sanctuary and nourishment; a place the person with this placement could always count on returning to when the reality of the outside world become too harsh. This placement does not have enough merit on its own to imply that the early home life was serene and perfect by societal standards, but rather that the person with Moon in Cancer would have learned early on the importance of having a safe space to retire to in hard times. If emotional undercurrents or tensions between other family members were commonplace in the environment, the person with this placement would have been acutely aware of them, but they were either left unaddressed by those involved or handled away from the native. These unexpressed emotions and tensions in the home may occasionally have culminated into bursts of intense emotional situations that would have upset the perception of stability for the person with this placement, which could lead to the development of either an overprotective attitude towards their home or an inclination to not express their emotions with others due to the fear of re-creating similar discontent in others. The Mother could have been the type to ensure that there was always food readily available for consumption and that the basic needs of the children always provided for. These types of mothers can be helicopter parents; Mothers that are always ready to swoop in and save the day should she feel her children are in a situation that is too much for them to handle on their own. She may have either been very caring and sensitive to the needs of her children or conversely, she may have been the emotionally restricted type that preferred to restrict expression of her own emotions for the sake of maintaining peace and comfort in the home. With Mothers of the latter type, even though her emotional nature was not overt it was still sensed by the child. It can lead to a child who feels a sense of guilt for the selfless sacrifices that the mother or nurturing parent has made to provide them with peace of mind. The Mother may have also suffered from depression or been an emotional drain on the child, regardless of how obvious this was to the naked eye. These natives, with exception to those with difficult aspects to their Moon, are the most likely to develop extremely close relationships with their mothers that last well into adulthood.
On the negative side, they are sensitive to the point of being infamous for their excessive sensitivity and moodiness which can make them prone to dramatic expressions of emotion without any apparent warning. They are protective of their personal spaces and fearful of emotional overexposure which can lead to others perceiving them as emotionally unavailable or defensive. They can tend to linger on minor transgressions for longer than necessary due to their inability to look at situations objectively instead of the limiting point of view that their habitual subjective nature provides. As friends they are the type to come across as reserved and restricted or else, they might be completely dependent on constant emotional reassurance to the point where they are exhausting to be around. At work, they can be fearful of change due to the disruption of the stability of their emotional world and can be paranoid that others are discussing them or attempting to overshadow them. They can be fearful of disapproval of their superiors and prone to overreaction to conflict with clients. In relationships, their need for solace and nurturing can become smothering to the point of not allowing you any personal space. It will be difficult for them to let go of serious transgressions within the relationship and they may be constantly suspicious of infidelity due to their paranoid nature.
On the positive side, these people are very compassionate and considerate of other people. They are very protective of those they love, always keeping an eye out for their best interests and anything that might threaten their well-being. They will take preemptive action to ensure that they remain always in a secure position, refusing to allow themselves to be subject to situations that are unstable or unpredictable. They are sensitive to their environments, which grants them with the ability to be able to intuitively respond to others in the most effective ways. They are Providers of comfort. As friends, they will always take your side in any situation because they do not want anyone under their wing to feel abandoned or alone. They will go to bat for you if others speak negatively of you or they feel your honor needs to be defended because they want to ensure that external harm does not get close enough to you to cause real damage. At work, they are motivated to perform well due to the promise of security that it offers them. They are the nurturers and the people that are always looking out for the best interests of the company because they ultimately realize that their safety relies on the security and formidability of their place of work. In relationships, they will gladly take care of domestic affairs and will generally attempt to be agreeable in order to maintain a peaceful home environment. They are sensitive to your emotions and moods to the point of proactively accommodating their fluctuations to ensure that things remain steady.
