Rashi 4 of 12 · Water sign
Cancer.
Karka · The Crab
The Moon's own sign is the zodiac's home: protective, nurturing and deeply attached. Karka feels first and remembers everything.
- Ruler
- Moon (Chandra)
- Element
- Water
- Quality
- Movable (chara)
- Gender
- Feminine (even)
- Exalted here
- Jupiter
- Debilitated here
- Mars
- Direction
- North
- Sun passes
- 16 Jul – 16 Aug (approx.)
Placement
Cancer in your chart
Rashi — the mind and emotions
Cancer as your Moon sign
In its own sign the Moon is at ease — emotionally rich, intuitive and caring, though easily hurt and slow to forget a slight.
Lagna — the body and the life's direction
Cancer rising
A Cancer ascendant gives a gentle, receptive presence. Home, family and emotional security sit at the centre of the life.
Vedic astrology reads the Moon sign and the ascendant before the Sun sign. Both depend on the exact time and place of birth — NAMOH works them out from yours.
Temperament
The nature of Karka
Gifts
- Care and loyalty
- Emotional intelligence
- A long memory for people
Lessons
- Moodiness
- Holding on too tightly
- Retreating into the shell
Where Cancer tends to thrive
- Healthcare and nursing
- Hospitality and food
- Real estate
- Counselling and education
Lunar mansions
The nakshatras of Cancer
Thirty degrees, nine padas. Where your Moon falls along this span decides which nakshatra colours your Cancer Moon — and which planet's dasha your life begins in.
Lordship
Moon, lord of Cancer
Cancer takes its colour from Moon (Chandra). Wherever Moon sits in your chart shows where the affairs of your Cancer house are carried out.
Jupiter is exalted here — at the height of its strength.
Mars is debilitated here, and has to work harder to give its results.
Graha Maitri
Cancer with the other signs
One strand of Guna Milan compares the rulers of two Moon signs. It is a first reading only: a full match weighs all eight kootas, from nakshatra to nadi.
Questions
Cancer, briefly answered
Who rules Cancer in Vedic astrology?
Cancer (Karka) is ruled by Moon (Chandra). It is a feminine, movable water sign.
What are the Cancer dates in Vedic astrology?
In the sidereal zodiac used in Vedic astrology, the Sun passes through Cancer from about 16 Jul – 16 Aug, give or take a day each year. Vedic astrology gives more weight to the Moon sign and the ascendant than to the Sun sign, and those depend on the exact time and place of birth.
Which nakshatras fall in Cancer?
Punarvasu (1 pada), Pushya and Ashlesha. Together they make up Cancer's thirty degrees, nine padas in all.
Which planets are strong or weak in Cancer?
Jupiter is exalted in Cancer and Mars is debilitated in Cancer. Exaltation lets a planet give its best results; debilitation asks more of it.
See where Karka sits in your chart.
Your Moon, your rising sign and every planet, read from your exact birth time and place.
Explore your Kundli