Cancer Personality Traits

Cancer (June 21 - July 22)

A safe inner world helps this water sign thrive .

The Gemini found us making friends, but after a busy day of chatting we have to go home. Cancer, the first water sign of the zodiac, is associated with the home kingdom, particularly with maternal energy.

But this is not to be taken literally - in fact, not all Cancer are household bodies. The crab (celestial icon of Cancer) carries its home on its back, and a Cancer`s main sanctuary is internal. The emotional world of a Cancer is sacred, so this sign is very careful with his heart.

For Cancers to thrive, these sensitive creatures must build security and protection from the inside. When Cancer`s emotional infrastructure is stable, these crabs are happy to get out of their shells and have some fun in the sun. At the end of the day, Cancers love nothing more than to let go and have fun.

Astrologer and women`s empowerment coach Natalia Benson agrees there`s a lot to love about those born between June 21 and July 22. "Cancer is a very interesting, complex sign," she says. "Cancers are protective, nurturing, and very emotionally intelligent. They have a strong intuition and are really good at making money and building it, because they are so focused on security." And since Cancer is ruled by the moon, the sign is prone to experiencing lots of emotional highs and lows. "The moon represents our emotional, intimate nature, and it changes signs every one-and-a-half to two days," says Benson, whose new Astrology Empowerment Class Series kicks off on July 16. "If your ruling planetary body was shifting zodiac signs every other day, you`d probably be moody too." This lunar link also means Cancers are deeply affected by their moon signs.

When I was in junior high and obsessed with reading my horoscope in Sassy magazine (RIP), I always secretly wished that I hadn`t been born a Cancer. Every zodiac sign has its requisite shadow traits, but I felt Cancer especially had a lacking reputation; Cancers are known for being moody homebodies with a hard shell—and who wants to hang out with that girl? (Cancer literally translates to "crab" in Latin.) But as I`ve learned more about astrology, I`ve made peace with my Cancer traits, because I know there`s so much more to the sign than its few unflattering stereotypes suggest.