Zodiac sign 4 of 12 · कर्क
Cancer zodiac sign: dates, traits, love and career
Cancer runs from 21 June to 22 July. It is a cardinal water sign ruled by Moon.
Cancer begins at the June solstice and is the first water sign. People born under Cancer are often caring, loyal and closely tied to home and family, with a strong memory for feelings.
Cancer at a glance
| Dates | 21 June to 22 July (a day either way, by year) |
|---|---|
| Symbol | ♋︎ The crab |
| Place in the zodiac | 4 of 12 |
| Element | Water |
| Modality | Cardinal |
| Ruling planet | Moon |
| Polarity | Negative (receptive; called feminine in older texts) |
| Opposite sign | Capricorn |
| In Hindi | कर्क |
The dates follow the Western (tropical) zodiac. The Sun changes sign at a different hour each year, so if you were born around 21 June or 22 July, the exact sign depends on your birth year, time and place.
Cancer traits and nature
In short: Cancer people are often caring, protective and tied to home and family. They do best when they also make room for their own needs.
Like the crab with its shell, Cancer people can seem guarded with strangers and soft with those they trust. They read moods well and often know what someone needs before it is said.
Their feelings move like tides: they may be cheerful one day and quiet the next. A safe home base, good food and people they love help them stay steady.
Strengths
- Care for others
- Strong intuition
- Loyalty to family
- Good memory
- Making a place feel like home
Things to watch
- Moodiness
- Taking things personally
- Holding on to old hurts
- Retreating instead of saying what is wrong
Element, modality and ruling planet
Cancer is a water sign. Water signs are commonly linked with feeling, intuition and close bonds. The other water signs are Scorpio and Pisces.
It is a cardinal sign. Cardinal signs start each season and are said to like beginning things. The other cardinal signs are Aries, Libra and Capricorn.
Its ruling planet is Moon, on which traditional and modern Western astrology agree. Its opposite sign is Capricorn, often read as its complement.
Cancer in love and compatibility
In love Cancer is usually tender and devoted, and wants a bond that feels safe. They show care by looking after people, cooking and remembering small things. Sharp words stay with them, so a gentle and steady partner suits them best.
The table reads the match with all 12 signs by a common rule: the same element and complementary elements (fire with air, earth with water) read as easy, signs a square apart as tense, and signs that share nothing as mixed.
| With | Element | Aspect | Reading | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aries | Fire | Square | Tense | Same modality, clashing elements: friction that needs patience. |
| Taurus | Earth | Sextile | Easy | Complementary elements: friendly and easy going. |
| Gemini | Air | Neighbour | Mixed | Different element and modality: little in common at first, can grow with effort. |
| Cancer | Water | Same sign | Easy | Same element and outlook: easy to understand each other, and the same blind spots. |
| Leo | Fire | Neighbour | Mixed | Different element and modality: little in common at first, can grow with effort. |
| Virgo | Earth | Sextile | Easy | Complementary elements: friendly and easy going. |
| Libra | Air | Square | Tense | Same modality, clashing elements: friction that needs patience. |
| Scorpio | Water | Trine | Easy | Same element: natural understanding. |
| Sagittarius | Fire | Quincunx | Mixed | Nothing shared: needs adjustment on both sides. |
| Capricorn | Earth | Opposite | Mixed | Complementary elements, same modality: a strong pull that needs give and take. |
| Aquarius | Air | Quincunx | Mixed | Nothing shared: needs adjustment on both sides. |
| Pisces | Water | Trine | Easy | Same element: natural understanding. |
This is a general guide from the sun signs alone. How two people get on shows in their full birth charts; in India, marriage matching uses the Moon sign and nakshatra in Kundli milan. Kundli matching by date of birth · Love calculator
Cancer career themes
Fields commonly linked with Cancer: Nursing and care, Teaching young children, Food and catering, Hospitality, Social work, Home and interior work.
These are tendencies of the sun sign as commonly described, not predictions. Your rising sign, Moon and the other planets shape each person far more than the sun sign alone.
Western Cancer and the Vedic sign
Western astrology uses the tropical zodiac, tied to the seasons: Aries always begins at the March equinox. Indian astrology uses the sidereal zodiac, tied to the stars, which now sits about 24° behind (the Lahiri ayanamsa). That is why most people’s Vedic sun sign is the sign before their Western one.
In 2026 the Sun enters sidereal Karka rashi on 16 July. So of the people born 21 June to 22 July, those born 21 June to 15 July have the Sun in Mithuna (Gemini) in Vedic astrology, and those born 16 July to 22 July have it in Karka. These are the Sankranti dates.
Your Indian rashi (janma rashi) is a third thing: the sign the Moon was in at your birth. The Moon changes sign about every two and a quarter days, so it needs your date, time and place of birth: use the rashi calculator.
- Cancer horoscope: today, weekly, monthly and yearly
- Zodiac sign calculator: by date of birth, with cusp days flagged
- Rashi calculator: your Vedic Moon sign
- Karka rashi (the Vedic Cancer)
- Cancer tarot card
← Gemini · All 12 zodiac signs · Leo →
Questions about Cancer
What are the Cancer dates?
21 June to 22 July. The Sun changes sign at a different hour each year, so the first and last day can shift by a day. If you were born on one of those days, check with the zodiac sign calculator.
What is the ruling planet of Cancer?
Moon. Traditional and modern Western astrology agree on it.
Which signs are compatible with Cancer?
By the common element and modality rule, Taurus, Virgo, Scorpio and Pisces read as easy matches for Cancer, and Aries and Libra as tense. It is a general guide: a real match is seen from both full birth charts.
What are Cancer traits?
Strengths commonly given for people born under Cancer: care for others, strong intuition and loyalty to family. Things they are often told to watch: moodiness and taking things personally. These are tendencies of the sun sign, not certainties.
Is Cancer the same as Karka rashi?
No. Cancer is the Sun's sign in the Western tropical zodiac. In Indian astrology your rashi is the Moon's sign at birth in the sidereal zodiac, and it can be any of the twelve. Find it with the rashi calculator.
What is a Cancer's sun sign in Vedic astrology?
The sidereal zodiac sits about 24° behind, so in 2026 people born 21 June to 15 July have the Sun in Mithuna (Gemini) in Vedic astrology, and those born 16 July to 22 July have it in Karka.