♋
Cancer
Jun 21 – Jul 22 · Water · Cardinal · ruled by Moon
Protective, intuitive and deeply loyal — the keeper of home and memory.
Cancer quick facts
- Dates
- Jun 21 – Jul 22
- Symbol
- ♋ The Crab
- Element
- Water
- Modality
- Cardinal
- Ruling planet
- Moon
- Opposite sign
- Capricorn
- Natural house
- Fourth house
- Keywords
- nurturing, intuitive, protective, moody
Cancer personality
Cancer is the cardinal water sign, ruled by the Moon, and it begins the summer solstice. It is the sign of home, family, memory and emotional safety — both creating it for others and needing it for itself.
Like the crab, Cancer has a hard shell and a soft interior. They can seem reserved at first, but once you're inside their circle, their care is fierce and practical. Cancer people are highly attuned to mood, often sensing what someone needs before it's said. Their emotions move in tides, and they tend to remember both kindnesses and hurts for a long time.
Cancer strengths
- Emotional intelligence and intuition
- Fierce loyalty to their people
- Creating warmth and belonging
- Long memory for what matters to others
Cancer challenges
- Moodiness that others can't predict
- Withdrawing instead of saying what's wrong
- Holding onto old hurts
- Over-caretaking at their own expense
Cancer in love
Cancer seeks a partner who feels like home. They show love by nurturing — feeding, remembering, planning — and they need to feel emotionally safe before they fully open up. Cancer is deeply committed and often thinks in terms of family and the long future. The growth area is directness: naming needs out loud instead of hoping a partner will intuit them.
Cancer at work
Cancer excels in work that cares for people or protects something: healthcare, education, hospitality, real estate, HR, family businesses. They are intensely loyal employees and protective managers. A cold or cutthroat culture drains them; a team that feels like a family brings out their best.
Careers that suit Cancer: Nursing and healthcare · Teaching and childcare · Hospitality · Real estate · Counseling and social work
Cancer as a friend
Cancer friends are the ones who remember your birthday, your mother's name and what you were worried about last month. They prefer a few close, long-term friendships and will mother the group without being asked.
How Cancer grows
Cancer grows by learning that their own needs deserve the same care they give everyone else, and that vulnerability spoken plainly is safer than vulnerability hidden in a shell.
Cancer compatibility
How Cancer pairs with every sign, by element and modality.
- ♉Taurus88%
- ♋Cancer88%
- ♍Virgo88%
- ♏Scorpio85%
- ♓Pisces85%
- ♑Capricorn76%
- ♊Gemini58%
- ♒Aquarius58%
- ♎Libra46%
- ♌Leo45%
- ♐Sagittarius45%
- ♈Aries33%
Not a textbook Cancer?
Your Sun sign is one planet of ten. Your Moon, Rising and the rest of your chart explain the parts of you this page doesn't.
Cast my chart — freeOther placements in Cancer
Your Sun isn't the only planet that can be in Cancer. Here's what Cancer means for the rest of the chart.
Cancer FAQ
What are the Cancer dates?
Cancer season runs Jun 21 – Jul 22. The exact start and end can shift by a day from year to year, because the moment the Sun enters each sign changes. If you were born on a cusp, your birth chart — which uses your exact time and place — settles which sign your Sun is in.
What is Cancer's ruling planet?
Cancer is ruled by Moon. A sign's ruler colors how it expresses itself, so the condition of Moon in your own chart says a lot about how your Cancer energy plays out.
What element and modality is Cancer?
Cancer is a cardinal water sign. Water signs feel first and explain later. They read moods, remember everything, and bond deeply. Cardinal signs open each season — they initiate, lead and set things in motion.
Who is Cancer most compatible with?
By element and modality, Cancer's most natural matches are Taurus, Virgo and Scorpio. Sun-sign compatibility is only a starting point, though — comparing two full birth charts (synastry) shows where the real chemistry and friction are.
What is the opposite sign of Cancer?
Capricorn sits directly across the zodiac from Cancer. Opposite signs share a theme from different angles, which is why they often attract — and why each holds qualities the other is learning.