Cancer Astrology Career Profile

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Cancer

June 21 - July 22

By Jane Hodges

Cancers come in one of two flavors: zany, expressive, artistic personalities and those who are thin-skinned and easily roused to anger or tears.

Top Career Programs for Cancers

What Motivates Cancer

Cancers are all about bringing home the bacon, and doing their best to assure that more is coming. Cancer, ruled by the sensitive moon, craves the illusive quality of emotional security. This sign, of course, likes financial security (who can feel emotionally secure when their wallet's empty?), but Cancerians feel the key to getting it is to create alliances based on loyalty.

These folks are motivated by protecting their loved ones and preserving hearth and home. Because their loved ones won't be in the office, getting to know Cancers at work is an unusual way to figure them out.

From the Zany to the Thin-Skinned

Symbolized by the crab, these folks have a reputation for having bleeding hearts and needy personalities. That's unfair, though. Their sensitivity and intuition are strengths once you (and they) figure out how to work with them. Cancer individuals can make excellent contributions to any work environment, but to flourish they need to trust their colleagues and have their colleagues' trust, too.

At work, Cancers are approachable but in turn keep a slight distance. They take their time getting to know people, and while they're happy to listen to your feelings about world news or the direction of the company, they may not volunteer theirs until later.

Springing for Happy Hour and Brewing the Tea

Cancer natives are astute observers of what makes others tick emotionally—this is why they are often attracted to "people-facing" careers such as human resources, counseling or front-of-house restaurant management. If they have lofty ambitions, they can be quite direct about pursuing them once they have a sense of how the "tribe" operates, and they'll begin to display their loyalty and capacity for hard work once they know who deserves impressing. But if this is a notch-on-the-resume job, they'll just as easily befriend a loyal posse, sit back and giggle at the show.

Cancer natives may appear outgoing but are not necessarily extroverted, and at work they're quite successful at hiding the feelings that, at times, can twist their stomach in knots. Their ability to speak fluently about their instincts and "gut feelings" about a situation means they're frequently tapped as competent team leaders.

Because Cancer is the sign of "the mother," these folks feel and show empathy with underlings and younger workers, and enjoy providing well-meaning human resources advice or other counseling. But when it comes to running the show, Cancers can successfully scope out the big picture on any business, run the numbers and find ways to cut corners, which serves well in supervisory careers such as restaurant management. Once they trust and befriend colleagues, they're very warm people who remember birthdays, give rides, lend hankies and spring for happy hour.

Cancer folks bring a centered energy—as well as cups of tea and a pat on the back—to any group endeavor. They give the loyalty they hope to receive.

How to spot a Cancer at work:

Cancer career manual: It Takes a Village
Color: Silver, white
Success symbol: Family photos, antique jewelry
Spare-time pursuits: Soup kitchen volunteer, mentoring kids, working on the house

Cancer in Action - The Value of Loyalty

George W. Bush exemplifies his sign's professional persona. Not only is he working in a "family business" by following his father's footsteps into the White House—a very Cancer trait—but he also organizes his work, to a large degree, around ties of loyalty.

With protection a key Cancer goal, Bush works by following strong personal ties or convictions as a guide, and he has complete confidence in his authority to "trust his feelings" and stick with his own decisions. Although some criticize him for this trait, many voters were attracted to Bush's seeming approachability and the convictions that "come from the heart."

As President, Bush's popularity ratings have declined since taking office, and many political observers claim that he has chosen to surround himself with the wrong group of loyalists—or to maintain loyalty to ideas that need serious modification. Whatever your opinion, the metaphors that appear around Bush's presidency often touch on issues of loyalty and on creating an inner circle or family of advisors, and also on his ability to speak to American people in plain English—much like former presidential contender Ross Perot.

Tony Soprano was probably a Cancer, too: As top boss of the family business, his fictional life is insular, but never lacking for drama and tests of moral character.

Leading by Intuition

So how do most Cancerians lead? Many use their intuition to tap into the cultural zeitgeist and provide services that speak to it. Nelson Mandela urges universal compassion, while entrepreneur Richard Branson made his riches operating music stores and, more recently, a discount airline to entertain younger travelers.

Then there's astronaut John Glenn, who traveled close to his ruling planet, the moon, while he toured space for NASA, bringing greater understanding about the earth's place in the cosmos and the significance of scientific research on that front. Cancers also lead through warmth and empathy, as comedians Robin Williams and Bill Cosby do.

Artistically, Cancer actors can empathize effortlessly with characters they play and offer audiences moving performances: Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Sandra Oh, Tobey Maguire and Tom Cruise are all Cancers. This sign's music has a fun but soulful quality (Louis Armstrong, Carlos Santana), or expresses pure, unfettered and chaotic emotion (Courtney Love). As philosophical writers, they express both a love of country and a need for solitude from the masses (Henry David Thoreau, Ernest Hemingway, George Orwell).

But mostly, they express their ability to protect and their hope to be protected—a metaphor current in the life of actress Lindsay Lohan, now struggling to reconcile with her estranged father while coming to terms with her own roiling emotions. A Cancer's strength comes from within, and that strength is a pleasure to any who get to enjoy its benefits.