Who is a Cancer Child?  A “Cancer child” is considered to be anyone with their Sun, Moon, or Rising sign (Ascendant) in Cancer, or if multiple planets (3 or more) are in the sign of Cancer.

 

 

Your Cancer Child

 

If you are the parent or guardian of a Cancer child, you’ve probably noticed their deep sensitivity to the world around them. They tend to have a greater need to feel safe and secure both internally and externally.

 

Cancer is the Zodiac sign that is ruled by the Moon, making Cancer children easily affected by their experiences out in the world. If your child has prominent Cancer placements, their emotions are heavily influenced by and aligned with the Moon’s cycles.

 

The Moon is in frequent motion as it changes signs every couple of days. With extra support and encouragement, your Cancer child will be able to openly and fluidly express their emotions in rhythm with the Moon.

 

Cancer Child – Key Attributes

 

Cancer children are known for being sensitive and nurturing. They often have the tendency to take on very mother-like qualities, so they can be very protective of others. At the same token, Cancers have a personal need to feel safe just as much as they strive to create a reliable shelter for others. If this need isn’t met, they may respond by shutting the world out and retreating from emotional harm.

 

Cancers are also seen as loyal, caring and sympathetic. As with all Zodiac signs, there are certain qualities you’ll want to encourage, and others that you will need to help them navigate.

 

Key Challenges for Cancer Children

 

For Cancer children, sometimes their emotional energy can become overwhelming. If expressed in a way that isn’t ideal for them, it’s possible that their emotions can impact their relationship with themselves as well as those around them.  This could play out in two difficult ways: 1) having so much emotion that they’re spilling it everywhere, or 2) becoming emotionally stagnant, unable to express what they’re feeling at all. Cancer children should be encouraged to be fluid and balanced in their emotional expression, much like the Moon in its continuous movement.

 

Cancer children can also over-identify with their feelings, unable to pull themselves out of an emotional rut. It’s important for them to know they are separate from their feelings. They should absolutely still go through the process of acknowledgment and sitting with their feelings, but they must understand the difference between self and emotions.

As you’ve watched your Cancer child grow, you may have noticed that he/she has adopted different emotional behaviors. Many youngsters born under this watery sign have the tendency to engage in a process called “outpicturing”. Outpicturing is when your child identifies what emotional nourishment looks and feels like as an individual, and then projects that view onto the world and people around them in an effort to feel safe and secure. As a parent, you are more aware that isn’t always possible, or even realistic.

 

Your child, who is navigating new emotions and experiences, most likely does not. With your awareness, you can support your child in finding this nourishment within him/herself so that they do not look elsewhere when their deep, Cancerian need for security arises. Help your child find ways to practice unconditional self-love and reassurance so that they can always return to their center for unwavering support. Even simply embodying this behavior in a clear way can make all the difference for your child.

How To Support Your Cancer Child

 

The best and easiest way to support your Cancer child is by simply encouraging conversation about their emotions. If you notice that your child seems closed off or shut down, ask them directly how they’re feeling. On the other hand, if their emotions seem unbalanced, encourage them to express their feelings from a place of calm and groundedness. Sharing how you as an adult can relate to their current emotions, perhaps with a past experience, or even leading by example in sharing how you’re feeling in the current moment, can help your child feel more comfortable in opening up. 

 

If your child is feeling overloaded by emotions, please remember to validate them as often as you can by reminding them that it’s okay to feel however they’re feeling. If they are struggling to identify their exact emotions, it can be extremely helpful to create a “feel wheel”. A feel wheel is a simple tool that can be used to narrow down which emotion they’re experiencing in any given moment.

 

You can turn creating the feel wheel into a fun project with your child by identifying and writing down as many emotions that you can think of together. The two of you can then incorporate those same emotions into a wheel made out of a circular object with an arrow that can point to each emotion.

 

Encourage your child to even label each emotion with a specific color that they may relate to that emotion. This will offer yet another avenue for your child to identify and relate their emotions to the world around them.

 

While discussing emotions with your child, don’t forget to emphasize that emotions do, and will change. Assist them in reflecting on an emotion or experience from the past in which they felt one way, and how they feel differently now. This can help them to recognize that they can move past any negative emotion they may be feeling in the moment, and in the future.

 

Being ahead of your child’s moods is very helpful for a Cancer child. You can start by tracking your child’s emotions with the cycles of the Moon, which can reveal helpful patterns in their behavior. You may notice that your child experiences their emotions very strongly when the Moon is in Scorpio, or expresses him/herself more directly when the Moon is in Aries.

 

Knowing what to expect from your child will help them better navigate through the more difficult experiences as they will have more attuned support. As a parent, it can also evoke patience and limit the frustration you may experience while raising your ever-changing youngster.

 

Encouraging your Cancer child to experience their emotions through multiple channels can lead to more healthy emotional expression. Interpretative dance is a great way for your child to reveal how they feel without having to express it verbally. We all experience feelings in a different way through our body, so it’s important for your Cancer child to know what each emotion physically feels like.

 

Directly engaging in activities like this with your child can make them feel more supported. Your Cancer child can develop the confidence and inner space to express themselves out in the world, even when you can’t be present.

 

So if you’re raising a Cancer Child…

 

• Recognize they will be more sensitive to their experiences. Validate their feelings and help them to process them in a healthy way.

 

• Reinforce balanced, diverse emotional expression. Conversations about past emotions, interpretive dance, and feel wheels can all have a positive impact.

 

• Remind them that emotions are ever-changing. Help them distinguish between who they are and what they are feeling.

 

• Encourage them to always seek safety and nourishment within themselves. Your child is a mother to themselves first and foremost.

 

Watch the Episode

 

In this Seeds of Light episode of the Astrology Hub Podcast, Astrologer Cameron Allen and Host Ana Zaharia discuss how to support your Gemini child. Click here to watch or listen!

 

 

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This article was written by Joe G.

Learn more about Seeds of Light, Host Ana Zaharia, and featured contributor Cameron Allen here.