Cancer season is upon us, showing up as the warm place the world can’t always be. This water sign is of a cardinal nature, which means that it is responsible for creating energy. Cancer also belongs to the first elemental cycle within the zodiac sequence: Aries, Taurus, Gemini and, of course, Cancer. These four signs oversee the initial stepping stones in our self-development. Aries is birth, Taurus is embodiment, Gemini is adaptation, and Cancer is context. Our relationship to history and family round out our positionally to the world. Cancer erects questions around heritage and belongingness, which can either shut us in or enrich our curiosity for the past. It isn’t an uncommon generalization that people with dominant Cancer placements are ‘stuck in the past.’ Of course, something like this may happen, but ultimately this platitude points to a remarkable attribute locked within Cancer’s domain. In the same respect that Cancer is concerned with its history, it is also concerned with its home. In order to be fully in ourselves, after we have arrived, embodied and adapted to our environment, we must move in and back with Cancer. It is here that we find reason to reflect on ourselves, clean our homes and replenish our altars on the full moon, which is Cancer’s ruling satellite. If your natal sun is in Cancer, now would be a good time to reflect on how to use the sun’s characteristically, bold and playful energy to branch out of your rewind. Each sign is a tool, but if we get carried away, the sign may become a condition. This is something we can’t necessarily avoid, but we can strive towards the horizontal and expansive, always. Words and illustrations by Ilana Koslov.