The warrior energy of Mars wants to be strong, protective, and move confidently toward what is necessary and useful, but in the nurturing and punitive sign of Cancer he must move crabwise, side to side, with two harsh claws that will quickly register their displeasure with anything that seems threatening. In this sign, that warrior energy becomes highly reactive, easily spooked, dramatically boastful one day and then dramatically victimized the next.

What is wanted is to connect this powerful energy to the heart, which can turn the claws into hands that could grasp, push away, hold tightly, or strike if needed. In this sign, we might forget we have hands that can do so many things based on what the situation is needed. We might feel we are in a state where we must claw at anything threatening or cling strongly to what we want to hold close—a clinging that might actually break or injure whatever it is we’re holding.

If we can open the heart to what we are feeling, there is room to perceive and respond. Our feelings and the stories we tell about them are only one layer of reality, and may be quite different from what others are perceiving outside of us. In Cancer, feelings are sharp, urgent, and overwhelming, and the last thing we’d want is to slow down and spend time with them. But it is that practice—letting our hearts be the ocean in which our feelings are merely waves that peak, break, and recede—that lets our power truly flourish. Then that tight pincer grip may become a really firm, loving grasp. One can feel truly safe and loved in such a grasp, one that knows its power and chooses to express it in care.

So this is a good season to notice those swelling waves and the drive to go on reckless attack, strategy be damned. See if you can breathe space for your feelings and perhaps try to simplify your response to two questions: What do I love right now? How could I protect it?