- Dates
- 21 June to 22 July
- Symbol
- ♋ the Crab
- Element
- Water
- Modality
- Cardinal
- Ruler
- Moon
What the Cancer sign means
Cancer, the Crab, is the fourth sign of the zodiac and the archetype of the protector: water by element, cardinal by mode, and ruled by Moon. In astrology, someone is "a Cancer" when the Sun was in Cancer at their birth, roughly 21 June to 22 July. Those cusp dates shift by a day some years, so if you were born near the edge, only your actual chart settles it.
The Cancer temperament
Water signs run on feeling, memory, and an instinct for what runs beneath the surface. As a cardinal sign, it initiates: it is happiest starting things and setting a direction. Put together, Cancer tends towards protecting what it loves, moving by feeling and memory more than by argument, and like every sign it holds both a gift and its shadow. Vela reads none of this as a verdict on who you are, only as a lens for noticing.
If Cancer is your Sun sign, where do you recognise the protector in yourself, and where is it a costume you have outgrown?
Read Cancer in depth
Your sign is one of three placements that matter most. Read Cancer as a Sun sign, your Cancer Moon, and your Cancer rising, see the personal planets in Cancer (Venus, Mars), read today's Cancer horoscope, or explore Cancer compatibility.
Frequently asked
What are the Cancer dates?
The Sun is in Cancer from about 21 June to 22 July each year. The cusp dates move by a day some years, so if you were born near the edge, casting your chart is the only way to be sure.
What element and ruler is Cancer?
Cancer is water by element and cardinal by mode, ruled by Moon.
Is astrology a prediction?
Not in Vela's hands. Your sign is a lens for reflection, a way of noticing patterns in yourself, never a forecast of what you must do or become.