Cancer’s constellation lies right in between Leo to the East and Gemini to the West. Cancer meaning ‘crab’ in Latin is also represented as one in the night sky. Although Cancer’s stars are faint it can still be seen on clear nights and makes for a fun and challenging constellation for learning to identify. Cancer is popular amongst star gazers because it is home to a cluster of stars also known as The Beehive Cluster. Cancer controls the night sky between June 21st and July 22nd.
The representations of Cancer are the pincers of the crab. Cancer is always seen as a creature in water and usually with an exoskeleton, such as a crab, lobster, and even sometimes a scorpion. This unique constellation was recognized by the ancient Greeks, Romans, Indian, Egyptians, and Hindu. Theories suggest that Cancer marked the Acadian Sun of the South because of its position in summer. However, many different origin stories have been uncovered concerning Cancer but the most commonly heard one is of myth passed down from the Greeks of antiquity.
During Hercules 12 labors he was sent on his second task with orders from King Eurystheus to kill the multi headed Hydra. It was before this that his jealous God mother Hera sent a giant crab to help the Hydra with the fight and kill Hercules. Some accounts say that the crab barely did anything to throw Hercules off of his path; rather he simply just stepped on the crab, crushing and killing it instantly. Other accounts though say that the crab grabbed him by the heel, but regardless the story goes that Hercules killed the crab with little to no effort and Hera pitying the crab and its bravery placed it among the stars to the north of Hydra forever helping it with its battle against Hercules.
The element that the Cancer crab possesses is water meaning that emotion runs deep with cancer born people. To go along with their understanding for deep emotion however, cancer’s developed a hard shell to protect them from their common sensitivity. One of the greatest attributes of Cancer born people is that they are fiercely loyal and have a knack for showing their loved ones a sense of security, but too much (which is too often with poor Cancer) this love can be smothering. Some famous Cancer born people are; Meryl Streep, Dan Aykroyd, Liv Tyler, Robin Williams, and Kevin Bacon.
Sources:
“Forecaster of Ancient Weather and Modern Light Pollution.” By Von Del Chamberlain.