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Cancer tarot cards

21 Jun – 22 Jul (approximately) · Cardinal water · ruled by Moon · suit of Cups

home · care · feeling · protection · moodiness

Cancer is cardinal water at midsummer, the sign of home and the people we keep close. The Chariot is its trump: a vehicle with an armoured shell, will carried inside a protective form, much as the crab carries its home. Its decans are the Two, Three and Four of Cups, from a bond made, to friends celebrating, to someone withdrawn and not yet ready to take what is offered. It is ruled by the moon, so its moods move like tides.

The cards of Cancer

The ChariotMajor ArcanaThe Chariotwillpower, determination, victory through controlTwo of CupsDecan 1Two of CupsVenus in Cancer · 21 Jun – 30 Junpartnership, mutual attraction, connectionThree of CupsDecan 2Three of CupsMercury in Cancer · 1 Jul – 10 Julcelebration, friendship, communityFour of CupsDecan 3Four of CupsMoon in Cancer · 11 Jul – 20 Julapathy, discontent, withdrawalQueen of CupsCourt card (modern scheme)Queen of CupsCardinal watercompassion, intuition, emotional depth

Cancer cards in a reading

Cancer cards point to belonging: who you are looking after, who looks after you, and where care has turned into a wall. The Chariot here is less about conquest than about holding steady while feelings pull in different directions.

Reading for a Cancer

Reading for a Cancer, go gently and leave room for feeling before advice. The Four of Cups often comes up for them as a sign they have retreated to recover; ask what would make it safe to come back out.

A Cancer season spread

Cancer season (about 21 June to 22 July) turns attention to home and family. Draw this to look at who and what makes you feel safe.

  1. 1. My shell: How am I protecting myself right now?
  2. 2. Who I care for: Where is my care going?
  3. 3. What nourishes me: What fills me up again?
  4. 4. What I keep out: What am I keeping at a distance, and should I?
  5. 5. Coming home: What would home feel like this season?
Draw the Cancer season spread

Questions

What tarot card is Cancer?
In the Golden Dawn system used by the Rider–Waite–Smith deck, Cancer is The Chariot. Its three decans are the Two of Cups (Venus in Cancer, 21 Jun – 30 Jun), the Three of Cups (Mercury in Cancer, 1 Jul – 10 Jul), the Four of Cups (Moon in Cancer, 11 Jul – 20 Jul).
What court card is Cancer?
In the modern scheme that gives cardinal signs to Queens, fixed signs to Kings and mutable signs to Knights, Cancer (cardinal water) is the Queen of Cups. Older Golden Dawn tables split each court card across two signs, so you will see other answers.
What planet rules Cancer?
Moon rules Cancer in classical astrology, whose tarot card is The High Priestess.
Can I use tarot without knowing astrology?
Yes. The astrology is one layer of meaning built into the cards; every card can be read from its picture and its written meaning alone. The correspondences help when you want another angle, or when several cards of one sign or planet turn up together.

Correspondences follow the Golden Dawn system the Rider–Waite–Smith deck was made within (tropical zodiac, dates approximate; they shift by a day in some years). Other traditions assign some cards differently. See the full table for all 78 cards.