Currently, Cancer is represented by the crab, but in ancient times, in Greece, it was symbolized by a tortoise. Both have hard shells and soft interiors, just like the natives of the sign.
The fact that the tortoise represents Cancer, for the Greeks, is due to the rulership of the sign being of the god Hermes at the time.
Soon after being born, Hermes left home and saw a tortoise, and used its bark to build the lyre, a musical instrument, which he later passed on to Apollo. Hermes was a mischievous and very intelligent god. And Cancers are often very intelligent and insightful.
Currently, Cancer is ruled by the Moon, which has several phases, with each phase represented by a goddess, showing the phases that the Cancer/Cancer goes through and their psychic gifts.
For the Greeks, the Moon ruled commerce, business, floods and ebbs of the tides. Remembering that Hermes was considered a moon god and ruled commerce as well. Cancerians are also skilled traders, and can be stingy and greedy.
So we see in Cancer both the feminine (Moon) and the masculine (Hermes) aspects. Therefore, for Carl Jung, this is the most complex sign of the zodiac.
Comments