The Breasts and the Stomach
e The part of the body associated with Cancer is the maternal breast: a mother places her child close to her breast.
The principal qualities of Cancer are the maternal ones of protection and warmth
The breast, representing fecundity and the milk which is our first nourishment, is also associated with images of intimacy, generosity, gifts and shelter.
There are also the attributes of safety: a Cancer likes to provide protection and to be protected, to "nourish" and, at the same time, to find a shelter for his innermost feelings
The other bodily organ associated with Cancer is the stomach. It performs the digestive functions which relieve stress and often induce sleep.The maternal attributes are accompanied by dreaming, memories, and reminiscences.
These sources provide the zodiacal formula for Cancer: an estival, cardinal, aquatic, and !unar image, associated with the breasts and stomach. These symbolic qualities tend to be "pressed by:
An Unstable and Obstinate Temperament
Although Francois 11 (the husband of Mary Stuart), Mazarin, and Henry Vill were three Cancers who appear to differ greatly, each, in his own way, embodied several qualities of this sign. Francois 11, known as "the king without vices or virtues," represented the placid and indolent mode of his sign. His brother, Charles IX, who was also a Cancer, was haunted by the atrocities of the Night of Saint Bartholomew, which he had permitted. Both were sons of the domineering Catherine de Medici, and power actually lay in the hands of their mother.
Louis XIII's adviser, Mazarin, represented the attributes of this sign by pursuing policies intended to protect France from the rest of the world.
Lastly, Henry Vill displayed both the obstinacy of Cancer and its unpredictable qualities. Possibly inspired by Artemis, he was full of surprises; he defended traditions, but only those which he considered to be his own.
Among upholders of tradition, it is also appropriate to cite the deeply pious Ferdinand of Bohemia, who, in his devotion to Catholicism, persecuted the Protestants.
A Sensitive Mind
"I had feelings before I could think." Rousseau's ideals - simplicity, virtue, freedom were inspired by his feelings, instead of by discursive logic. This entirely Cancerian way of perceiving the world influenced the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of Citizens in France, and, through the Social Contract, it inspired many revolutions in other countries. The fundamental concept rested upon the principle of the natural goodness of mankind, which required protection through suitable institutions. Throughout his life, Rousseau was devoted to defending traditional concepts of freedom.
Rousseau permitted his memory to return to childhood recollections which-he sought to safeguard from the evils of civilization. In the Confessions, or in the Meditations of a Solitary Wanderer, he transmitted the echoes of his own innermost feelings.
The thought patterns of a Cancer represent thought filled with reflections, comparable to nights with a Full Moon, when lakes mirror the stars.
A Romantic Heart
This is the heart of a child seeking total devotion, as in the instance of Saint-Preux in love with Julie d'Etanges (La Nouvelle Heloise). The heart of a Cancer is not fickle: "Oh Julie, there are eternal impressions which time and the nights can never erase. The wound heals, but the scar remains."
A Cancer is a person whose heart never completely heals, and he lets the blood flow from the wounds inflicted by life.