Cancer: The Great Mother 🦀
After the awakening energy of Aries' spring bloom, the materialization of Taurus, and last month's electric curiosity sparks of Gemini, we enter the Summer Solstice through the first water sign of the zodiac, Cancer. Here, we begin to listen to our emotional bodies, strengthen our intuitive intelligence, and honor our heightened sensitivities.
It is no surprise that the glyph of Cancer depicts waters of life, where new life is formed, nurtured, and cared for. When we are in the energy of Cancer, we are surrounded by maternal goddess energy...goddesses such as Kuan Yin, Virgin Mary, Demeter, & Kali bless us with their varied forms of maternal intuition and heart connection.
One of the most precious archetypes represented by Cancer is that of The Great Mother, the one who connects us to our cosmic womb where we feel protected, held, and unconditionally loved. It is through The Great Mother where we unconsciously (and also consciously) desire to belong.
Shadows of this archetype can be expressed when we feel a need to overprotect, close off, or sometimes even cling onto others in order to keep us feeling safe in our shells. This fear is one that can lead us to a greater desire for codependent relationships and basing our realities too much on our feelings alone.
In order to work with the gifts of Cancer, it is important to look to its traditional ruler, the Moon because it connects us to the everchanging cyclical movements of the lunar cycle which influence the water in our body and our emotional world. A healthy balance for the energy of Cancer is when we are able to use emotions as a compass for intuitive intelligence, when we can allow ourselves to listen to the wisdom that is in each of our emotions, and YET not let ourselves over-identify with them as if they were the only source of truth.
It is here where we can also call upon Neptune, the Esoteric ruler of Cancer which allows us ultimately to surrender to the unknown, to trust in what is most divine, and cannot be controlled through possessiveness, anxious attachments, and safeguarding. Neptune helps us to find the divine in all things…
Through the energy of Neptune, we can build an enlightened house within our hearts and always carry that sense of oneness, mettā, and compassion for all within us at every step of our journey. After all, we all belong.
“I build a lighted house, and therein dwell”