sun is in Cancer
time to nourish and nurture
with abundant care
Yesterday’s solstice marked the start of summer in the Northern Hemisphere and the sun’s move into the zodiac sign of Cancer.
Every zodiac sign has specific qualities and traits; as the sun moves into that sign, it pulls our focus on these parts of ourselves and our lives.
Cancer is a cardinal sign, it initiates a new season. As with the other turning points of the year — the December solstice and the two equinoxes — this moment is an ideal time to initiate new projects and set new intentions.
Cancer is about nourishing and nurturing. Cancer represents our home life and family bonds; the foundational parts of our experience that set our values and beliefs. This sign calls us back to our inner child.
Cancer speaks to the energy required to help something grow. Cancer is a water sign, representing the water that incubates life.
Water is the element associated with the emotions.
Summer is a time of tending to what’s growing. If we want to reap a harvest, we can’t just plant seeds; we must water the seeds, till the soil, and tend to the growing crops.
To grow anything we must nurture and nourish it, consistently and persistently.
The energy of summer is associated with the archetype of the mother/lover. It’s about showing up daily to do the work of tending to what is in our care.
This is a prime season to begin a new practice of daily rituals and actions.
One of the key words of Cancer season is care.
This is a season of care.
What Does it Mean to Care?
Care is a word that gets used a lot, but what does it really mean?
I like to think of CARE as a consisting of four elements, or principles, which happen to form the acronym CARE:
Connection
The first step to tending to anything or anyone is to connect. To be connected, we must be present, both to the other person and to ourselves.
When we are disconnected from ourselves we can’t connect to others, and we can’t care.
Connection requires a regulated nervous system. In fight-or-flight mode, we are trying to survive, which shuts off our ability to care for others.
Acceptance
Acceptance is about allowing what is here, without judgment or trying to change anything.
If we are judging someone then we can’t truly connect and care for them.
Respect
Respect is about honoring the other person and their process. Having the humility to acknowledge that maybe we don’t have all the answers or solutions for them.
Empathy
Empathy is the quality of feeling what someone else is feeling. Putting yourself in their shoes — as best as possible. Understanding their point of view and seeing a situation through the lens of their experience.
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