Decan 1 · 1–10°
Sub-ruler: Moon
Double Moon — the most emotionally attuned and most easily flooded.
Roughly the first ten days of the sign.
June 21 – July 22 · Water · Cardinal · ruled by Moon
Cancer
Cancer covers June 21 – July 22 and is the 4th sign of the zodiac: water, cardinal, ruled by Moon. Its keynote is protection, memory and deep attachment. In 2026 the Sun spends 31.45 days in it — the 1st longest of the twelve, because the signs are not equal in length.
The Cancer man The Cancer woman
DatesJune 21 – July 22
SymbolCrab
ElementWater
ModalityCardinal
Ruling planetMoon
House4
PolarityNegative
Lucky numbers2, 7
Lucky dayMonday
ColourSilver, white
BirthstoneRuby, moonstone
Best matches
Scorpio, Pisces, Taurus
Hardest matches
Leo, Sagittarius, Aquarius
Rules the bodyChest and stomach
Calculated, not approximated
Exact Cancer dates for 2026
Sun enters Cancer
21 June, 08:24 UTC
Sun leaves Cancer
22 July, 19:17 UTC
Length this year
31.5 days
Every other site prints "June 21 – July 22" with a note that dates "may vary by a day". They vary because the Sun crosses the boundary at a specific moment, and that moment shifts each year — but it is not unknowable.
The figures above are computed: the Sun enters Cancer when its ecliptic longitude reaches 90°, and that crossing is found to the minute. If you were born near a boundary, this is the answer you actually needed.
Calculated from the Sun's actual motion
The zodiac signs are not equal
Cancer lasts
31.45 days
Rank by length
1 of 12
Share of all births
8.86%
If signs were even
30.44 days · 8.33%
Everyone assumes the twelve signs are equal months. They are not. Cancer runs 31.45 days in 2026, against 29.20 for the shortest and 31.45 for the longest — a spread of well over two days.
The cause is Kepler's second law. Earth's orbit is an ellipse, and the planet moves slowest at aphelion in early July — so the Sun takes longer to cross the summer signs than the winter ones. Cancer, Gemini and Leo are the long ones; Capricorn, Sagittarius and Aquarius the short.
All twelve, measured
| Sign | Days in 2026 | Rank | Share of births |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cancer | 31.45 | 1 | 8.86% |
| Gemini | 31.33 | 2 | 8.56% |
| Leo | 31.3 | 3 | 9.05% |
| Taurus | 30.96 | 4 | 8.24% |
| Virgo | 30.91 | 5 | 8.86% |
| Aries | 30.45 | 6 | 8.18% |
| Libra | 30.4 | 7 | 8.62% |
| Pisces | 29.95 | 8 | 7.91% |
| Scorpio | 29.9 | 9 | 8.05% |
| Aquarius | 29.59 | 10 | 7.75% |
| Sagittarius | 29.56 | 11 | 8% |
| Capricorn | 29.2 | 12 | 7.91% |
Birth shares combine two separate effects: the uneven length of the signs, and the fact that births themselves are seasonal — the northern hemisphere peaks in July to September. Both push in the same direction, which is why Leo and Virgo come out ahead of Aquarius and Pisces by more than a percentage point.
Rarely covered
The three Cancer decans
Each sign divides into three ten-degree segments, and each has its own sub-ruler. Two people can both be Cancer and read as noticeably different because they fall in different decans — roughly, early, middle or late in the sign.
Decan 2 · 11–20°
Sub-ruler: Pluto
Deeper and more intense. Holds things longer.
Roughly the middle ten days of the sign.
Decan 3 · 21–30°
Sub-ruler: Neptune
Dreamier and more compassionate, with weaker boundaries.
Roughly the last ten days of the sign.
Cancer personality
Nurturing
Guarded
Loyal
Moody
Intuitive
Strengths
Reads emotional undercurrents accurately and looks after people without being asked.
Weaknesses
Withdraws instead of stating the problem, and keeps score in silence.
Cancer is the one cardinal water sign — and that pairing is the whole explanation. The element sets temperament: water signs read the room before anyone speaks. The modality decides what happens when circumstances change: cardinal signs start the change themselves.
There are exactly twelve combinations of four elements and three modalities, and each is occupied by one sign. That is why no two signs are interchangeable, and why Cancer cannot be swapped for the other water signs without changing the meaning.
The Cancer man and woman
Cancer man
Guarded until certain, then entirely committed. Withdraws instead of arguing.
Cancer woman
Nurturing and unusually perceptive about mood. Takes small slights harder than she admits.
Worth saying plainly: nothing in astrology assigns different meanings to a sign by gender. These descriptions reflect how the traits are conventionally written about, not a separate system — and plenty of people will recognise themselves in the other one.
Cancer in each area of life
In love and relationships
Slow to open, fiercely loyal once it does. Takes small slights harder than it admits.
As a friend
Remembers everything — birthdays, grievances, what you said in 2019.
At work
Good in roles requiring care and institutional memory. Sensitive to hostile environments.
Career that suits
Care work, hospitality, property, history, anything involving looking after or preserving.
With money
Saves for security rather than pleasure. Property is the instinctive investment.
As a child
Sensitive and home-oriented. Needs a stable base before venturing out.
As a parent
The archetypal nurturer. Devoted, protective, occasionally too protective to let go.
Health and the body
Chest and stomach — Cancer rules them, and stress goes straight to the gut.
Cancer compatibility with every sign
Ranked by the angle between the two signs on the wheel — the same geometry astrology uses for aspects. Signs 120° apart share an element and form a trine; 90° apart is a square. Nothing here is a matter of opinion.
| With | Aspect | Angle | Score | Element |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scorpio | Trine | 120° | 88% | Water |
| Pisces | Trine | 120° | 88% | Water |
| Taurus | Sextile | 60° | 82% | Earth |
| Virgo | Sextile | 60° | 82% | Earth |
| Cancer | Conjunction | 0° | 78% | Water |
| Capricorn | Opposition | 180° | 75% | Earth |
| Aries | Square | 90° | 62% | Fire |
| Libra | Square | 90° | 62% | Air |
| Gemini | Semi-sextile | 30° | 58% | Air |
| Leo | Semi-sextile | 30° | 58% | Fire |
| Sagittarius | Quincunx | 150° | 55% | Fire |
| Aquarius | Quincunx | 150° | 55% | Air |
Famous Cancers
Ariana Grande, Tom Hanks, Frida Kahlo, Nelson Mandela
Lists like this are the weakest evidence in astrology and the most quoted. With roughly a twelfth of all people in any sign, every sign has impressive members — picking four of them proves nothing. Read it as trivia, not as support.
Common questions about Cancer
What are the exact Cancer dates?
June 21 – July 22 as usually published. In 2026 specifically the Sun enters on 21 June am30 08:24 UTC and leaves on 22 July pm31 19:17 UTC.
Who is Cancer most compatible with?
By aspect, Scorpio, Pisces, Taurus. Those sit at the easiest angles on the wheel — but sun signs are one factor of many, and a difficult angle describes friction rather than failure.
What is a Cancer decan?
A ten-degree third of the sign with its own sub-ruler: Moon, Pluto, Neptune. It is why two people of the same sign born three weeks apart can read quite differently.
What body part does Cancer rule?
Chest and stomach — Cancer rules them, and stress goes straight to the gut.
Is the Cancer man different from the woman?
Not in the system itself — astrology assigns no gendered meaning to a sign. The separate descriptions above reflect convention in how signs are written about, nothing more.