The Male Cancer

It has been said by many accomplished astrologers that the most difficult sun sign for a human male to be is that of the crab or Cancer. Why? Well, it is rumored that Cancer is, in fact, the most feminine of all the astrological signs and really, if you think about it, this statement seems to hold a great deal of truth to it. In this month’s blog entry I am not seeking to vilify the Cancerian male, but it is with deep sadness and disgust that I researched a bit about the now convicted and proven killer of the UVM student Michelle Gardner-Quinn and found him to be a male Cancer. Here is a gentleman who would chloroform or etherize in some fashion his victims -- women of his choosing -- and then have sex with their near lifeless bodies. The horror of horrors is that Rooney has three children of his own! So much for the one-sided view of the sweetly nurturing and protective Cancerian. Here, instead, is literally a smothering quality within the male crab. Clearly, Rooney is a Cancer, but in a most distorted fashion.

This month’s blog entry is dedicated to the memory of Michelle (you are not forgotten!) and in it I will be taking a look at just what makes the male Cancer tick. Obviously there are plenty of solid male Cancers out there (the Dalai Lama included), but there are some also deeply flawed guys out there. Perhaps the way that this all could be examined through a question would be: Can (or how) is the father a mother?

Cancer is ruled by the cycles of the moon. The moon controls the tides of the seas and the oceans (and menstrual cycles!) and if you have ever experienced a full moon by the ocean, it is impossible not to feel the power of the cosmic energy at work here as the moon and the water are interacting in a strange night ballet. It is almost like being back in the womb. The power of the moon plus water is illusive and it is difficult to pin their exact natures.

Cancer rules the stomach and the breasts – both of these body parts are brilliantly related as well since the breasts supply our first nutrition and set the stage for all future digestive adventures. The beauty of the female stomach either pregnant or flat can’t be denied, nor can the appeal of breasts (especially with the technologically advanced Victoria Secret apparatus!). All of this information most of us know and it is easy enough to Google Pam Anderson when beginning the study of the female Cancer and to pretty much get a kind of large-chested template together, but what of the study of the male Cancer?

Here we need to embark on a completely different form of study and whether or not one is straight or gay the main point is that envisioning the male Cancer through the lens of hairy stomach and hairy flat breasts doesn’t yield the same insights as when we are studying Ms. Anderson. Instead we need to examine the male Cancer through an entirely different lens. There is a particular focus that I tend to reach for when proceeding on this journey.

I propose that all male Cancers are deeply wounded. They have to be because they contain so much of the female pain in them. I will also say that all males and females of all signs are wounded, but let’s not go there for now – that is a different story altogether.

The male Cancer is sensitive and is easily hurt -- in order to combat this he usually has to do some uber masculine stuff. A great example of the male Cancer is Sylvester Stallone. Look at his hyper-masculine body and the enormous success of the Rocky series. No one would dare question the masculinity of Sly. It is also helpful to think about his Rambo roles. The Rambo character is alienated because he feels too much and he must save his brothers still in POW camps. Someone needs to be saved! The Cancerian will be the saver. Strangely, Harrison Ford is also a Cancer and he, too, seems to be a character that often runs out to save someone or something as in the Indiana Jones series.

The Cancerian male as a warrior is a much different image from the Aries male as warrior (think Russell Crow). I think that an Aries hero will take a thrashing and be angry that his body is getting banged about and cut; he will fight harder now because he is being attacked. The Cancerian male hero will take the beatings more coolly because he is saving someone or something for a reason. This is of course the goal. The he will cuddle those that he has saved.

There can be a strange arrogance to the Cancerian male and this isn’t the arrogance of the Aries male. Now you can say pretty much anything that you want to even a Leo or an Aries male – they may yell or take a swing at you, but then the whole thing will blow over; not so for the Cancer male. He may brood at first and then begin a lengthy lecture about the wrong. The Cancerian claw will come out and grip onto you and the issue at hand and not let go and you will most certainly be lectured into the ground over and over again with the steady drip, drip of this water sign until you feel utterly disemboweled and decayed. Lesson number one when dealing with a Cancer of any gender: don’t give advice for it will not be taken well.

If we examine the current US president, we can see that he doesn’t take advice easily – yeah, he is a Cancer. Sure, he can smile sweetly when talking about Karl Rove, but don’t give him any advice about dealing with Karl Rove. Male Cancers also tend to enjoy the body in exercise and GB is supposedly an exercise freak. Also, it may be observed that the Cancerian may be able to deal with life quite well if his body is in a good place. I am not saying the male Cancerian can’t be intellectual, but generally he has to be taking care of his body first in order to have a good day. In examining this propensity, let’s examine one of my favorite authors who was both physical and heady and DARK. Can we talk about Ernest Hemingway?

A brilliant professor friend of mine said: “Hemingway was a fantastic Nobel Prize receiving novelist, but he had the ethical nature of a two year old.” I hear that. Hemingway’s eldest son seemed to claim this same fact in the documentary on Ernest produced by A&E. “When my father was with you, he would make you feel as though you were the center of the world. If he lost interest in you, then it was like you didn’t even exist.” This is another classic Cancerian quality. Since above all else Cancers feel, then it goes without saying that if they are feeling good about you then there will be much enjoyment and merriment going on. If suddenly their attention and feeling shifts to something else, well, you may find yourself out in the cold and the Cancerian doesn’t even acknowledge this! Isn’t that incredible? How can this quality go along with the idea of the Cancer wanting to nurture and to help people?

My hypothesis on this behavior comes literally from watching crabs on the beaches of Maine. They scuttle back and forth and then bury themselves in the sand. Soon they are out of the sand and searching for food and grabbing at things with their claws; perhaps they will fight with another crab while their pincers are interlocked. Soon they have buried themselves in the sand again. Can we see how this behavior has a certain pattern to it? Cancers are moody and their moods are not the light changes in temperament known to the rest of the signs. The moods of the Cancer go deep and they must be allowed to dissipate on their own. Any forcing on the part of an outside individual will result in a massive blow up of egos.

In examining a male Cancer, then, a heavy mood needs to be interpreted as a really heavy mood. What if the mood that the male is locked into at the time is that of insecurity and possessiveness? Well, the results could be disastrous for just about any female, especially if your name is Nicole Brown and the male Cancer is OJ Simpson.

The OJ trials are not much remembered anymore, but information has come out over the years that OJ the former football star was possessive, dark, and brooding within that relationship with Nicole and say what you will about the trial verdict – OJ was disturbed. The media character of OJ Simpson before the murder just seemed as sweet as apple pie. Indeed, he seemed to always be smiling and full of love. It is my opinion that under that persona was a deeply controlling man who was plagued by a myriad of insecurities and the FEELING of these insecurities ran deep indeed. It is almost easy imagining him wanting to smother a loved one to death while clinging to them with a set of heavy pincers. Overbearing nurturing seems closer to torture and murder than do many other more negative behaviors. It is unfortunate that the male Cancer is so adept at going over the top with their nurturing efforts.

Men are perhaps very unbalanced when they feel feminine care giving emotions and this goes double for the male Cancer. He can indeed feel so much that he becomes disoriented and squeezes the puppy to death.

In any event – this is all just my theorizing, but perhaps it is important to remember that America is a country that vibrates to the Cancerian pulse. Ask yourselves these two questions: How does England feel about the United States? How does France feel about the United States? Which is the correct answer? What is the real nature of the Cancerian? And how can the male Cancerian learn to avoid any and all dark flowing waters?

We all miss you Michelle! RIP