Sensitive (but often crabby), imaginatively creative and artistically gifted (but often obsessed with the minutiae of home and past), Cancerians are among the most challenging of the zodiac children to get to know. Like the crab that symbolizes their sign, they often present a hard, crusty, even impenetrable exterior to the world, and can appear withdrawn, cool, and reserved. Beneath the shell, however, lies an emotional and sensitive soul with great reserves of compassion and intuition. Like the crab, Cancerians are also tenacious and protective of their home turf and make for fiercely protective and loyal parents and friends.

Your extraordinary imagination is often at the root of your moodiness and defensiveness. The Cancerian imagination is generously vivid and colorful – and it can be one of your greatest assets when used positively. Used negatively, however, it can turn sour and encourage you to worry – often irrationally – about anyone and anything. And that tendency can be an enormous liability.

Cancers are security- conscious people. Having a special person to love provides the emotional stability you need to function at your best.

Pluto rules your romantic relationships through passionate Scorpio. Since yours is a water sign and Scorpio is too, sharing feelings with a lover who understands you is very important. That is not to say that you like to spend all your dates sitting up late talking about emotions. Sexy Scorpio energy makes the physical side of love vital as will. but Cancer and Scorpio are possessive. You tend to become emotionally dependent on your honey and often attract admirers who are the jealous, demanding sort. Remember, there is a difference between belonging with someone, which is not.

Do not expect your companion to fulfill all your needs, and do not try to become the only important person in his or her life. That is not romance – it is obsession. No matter how smitten you are with your beloved, continue to maintain close ties with your family and friends. Keep plenty of outside interests and enjoy an occasional evening out with pals.

Maintaining some independence allows you to base your self-esteem on who you are and what you do, not just who you date. And if your relationship doesn’t go the distance, you will have a strong support system that can help you bounce back and, when the time is right, find someone new.

Difficulties also may occur when your delight in caring for your lover creates a claustrophobic atmosphere. Indeed, any low-level tension in your life may explode in the bedroom, since you simply can’t leave your overactive imagination and tendency to worry at the bedroom!

If you are a typical Crab, you are more comfortable behind the scenes than you are in the glare of the workplace spotlight. You do not even mind if some of the credit for your efforts goes to others, as long as you are earning a decent living and making a meaningful contribution to your field. Still, with Mars ruling your career through assertive Aries, you are likely to take a leadership role at some point.

It is precisely because you do not identify too closely with your job that you make a fine leader in the workplace. While you have a strong work ethic, you also believe in balancing work with play. You try to make every moment count on the job, but avoid letting your work follow you home. This inspires the same healthy attitude in the people you supervise and guide.

Empathetic nature could lead to a rewarding career in nursing, social work or counseling. Your sign is associated with parenting and early childhood, so you could enjoy teaching, making toys or any job that involves kids.

The hospitality industry is another field worth considering. You’d make a fine chef or restaurant or hotel manager. And although you are the live-and-let-live type, if Mars’ energy is particularly strong in your chart, you’d also excel as a soldier or police officer.

Since you like to control as many areas of your life as possible, you might decide to go into business for yourself. Before you take this step, though, ask yourself if the feeling your own boss is worth giving up the security of regular paychecks, vacations and benefits. You may think like an entrepreneur, but many Crabs would rather keep working for bosses and let them handle the big headaches of being in business.

Excellent at spotting moneymaking opportunities, most members of your sign usually start on the path to financial security early in life. Even in the teens and 20’s when most young people are dreaming of the next car, outfit or night on the town, the Crab in saving for the future.

The moon gives you an appreciation for material security. The Sun, ruler of your money sign, Leo, makes you lucky in speculation. If you invest in traditional ways – insured savings, an employer-sponsored retirement fund and real estate – and also keep an eye open for investment opportunities, you might become well off someday. Cancer is the sign of people who make their own fortunes. The. Sun rules the Zodiac’s 5^th House of gambling and personal 5^th House, rules big business and the stock market. Calculated risk can pay off for you, so you may want to put a little extra cash into stocks and bonds.

Investments that can be profitable for you include your metal, silver, gold and stocks linked to home building, the hospitality industry, solar energy, sunscreens and beachwear.

Business partnerships have their ups and downs for Cancer since Uranus, the master of surprises, rules these through Aquarius. But join ventures with friends can pay off. Just make sure you put everything in writing first. That way your financial relationship won’t strain your social one.

You are pretty tough, and worry is the only thing that can upset your system – if you let it! Cancerians are more prone to worry than people of any other Sun sign. In fact, even before you realize you are worried about something, stomach upsets and general moodiness will announce the fact.

So try to watch it. No doubt you have heard – once too often – a friend or lover say, “For goodness sakes, pull yourself together and stop worrying! This advice, as you know too well, simply doesn’t work. But realizing how prone you are to worry – often irrationally so – is the beginning of learning how to solve the problem very sound, will also help.

There is absolutely no connection between the Sun-sign Cancer and the disease of that name. You are no more prone to cancer than anyone else. Nevertheless, it is better to be safe than sorry. The Cancerian body area is the chest, and the sign also rules the breasts. It is especially important, therefore, that Cancerian women check their breasts regularly. The Moon, Cancer’s ruling planet, is associated with the alimentary system: The esophagus; stomach; gallbladder; bile dusts; pancreas; and intestines.

You shouldn’t have any difficulty developing ideas for leisure activities. Above all, don’t limit yourself and do be adventurous: the world’s your oyster! As we have already pointed out, Cancerians are the champion hoarders of the zodiac, and one obvious hobby you are likely to embrace is being a collector of some kind. You sill not only find this compulsively interesting and time consuming, but your collection – of stamps, coins, dolls, or antique kitchen tools, to name just a few examples – may turn out to be extremely profitable.

Cancerian women are often superb craft workers and especially good at sewing. Men, too, may enjoy petit point or embroidery. These kinds of activities often appeal to side of Cancerians that enjoys peaceful, quiet periods. So fishing, too, is very attractive to members of this water sign. And though a Cancerian might find working in the kitchen of a restaurant a little too noisy and provocative, working in your own kitchen is an entirely different matter. A course in Cordon Bleu cooking could the start of a hobby that will please your friends as much as it will delight you.

Indeed, if you start your collection when you are still working, by the time you retire you may be able to sell it at a huge profit – and start a brand new, and more lucrative, collection! You will find you not only enjoy searching for and acquiring objects, becoming an expert in the area – whatever it is.