Ah—the first quarter square; crux of action, the deep tension of spilling to the surface: rage, motivation, expelling inner demons. When the Sun and Moon are in square, there is a tragic quality to the life. Unlike those who were born with the Sun and Moon in happy, flowing aspect, and know wholeness, a sense of completion and radiance—when the Sun and Moon are internally at odds, deeply schismed from within, then wholeness does not exist at singular moments, but can be discerned subtly along the strip of time in separate moments, after the fact. When the Sun is up, the Moon is down, when the Moon is activated and nourished, something in the Sun gets sacrificed. This is a life of sacrifice and of deep motivation to achieve cohesion in the material realm, and finally bring peace and a sense of completion to the inner tension that the person has always lived with. When the Sun and Moon are in a square, typically it is within the same ‘cross’ or modalities—thus the person ends up extremely motivated within that sphere. Cancer and Libra lie within the cardinal cross; the cardinal signs initiate and perpetuate the power of the new seasons. They are the signs of creation. Cancer pertains to the creation and experience of the emotional body at its place of origin, in the womb of the mother. A deep lake reflecting the inconstant Moon; this is the symbol of the mother whose cycles and moods are our first seasons within the womb. Thus, we are born with an already strong sense of what rhythms, motions, and people feel like home. I read once that Cancer is the sign of a wandering soul which would signify that the person takes to wandering because his or her sense of home is not material. It lies in the breasts of others or in certain foods or weathers, in allegiance with certain places and tempers of this earth. Cancer people are insular and self-deriving, but also hungry for interaction and stimulation. Creatures of unconscious moods, people of pre-birth memory; the Cancer personality is instinctive, unapologetically feeling, and deeply private, carrying with themselves their own gravity. But, like with Scorpio or Pisces, fellow water signs, there is a desire to share secret space with others, to merge with others, merge with one’s environment, and this desire will bring Cancer people out far. Cancer is ruled by the Moon and so the Moon sign will take on enormous importance. Cancer may be the ethos and the skeleton of ethics in the person, but the sign of the Moon is the nature of that expression, the art of it. And Libra is most certainly an artist in the zodiac, capable of perceiving at a glance the nuances of people’s intentions and interests and reacting accordingly so as to ‘fit’ in in any place. Libra loves establishing common ground between people too and is thus known as the law-maker and the peace-maker. This humanitarian instinct coupled with the deep desire to know and imprint one’s self in different places makes for a fearless traveler. This person is overwhelmingly accepting of various people and groups, to the point of allowing in those who are damaged and will not treat the person well. Yes, the Cancer-Libra is vulnerable to attracting troubled, abusive souls, for the Sun-Moon hard square person understands torment, living with it internally as they do. Within, Cancer signifies a need for carving out peace and touching base with a deep, unyielding part of the self, hard and mesmerizing as ruby, which is the shape of the person’s own heart. This is an uncompromising place and any trespassing or overriding of this place will make the person rabid with anger and completely capable of fighting their way out or fleeing the situation. Typically—typically…but the Libra Moon would have the person linger, would have the person open heart and ears to other people’s tearful songs, would even lay at other people’s feet what it most sacred to them so as to achieve—for others—a kind of peace. This person double-crosses themselves in the effort to be loved by others, or in service to them, desiring to receive in return a love and an inclusion that makes them feel cohesive, that brings them back to a sense of deep original wholeness—towards which the person is always dreamily wandering. I was close to a woman once of this combination. She lived with me briefly in her wanderings. Yes, she was very far from home. We worked together lugging boxes of apples at the farmer’s market. She had a wise woman’s face, broad shoulders, masculine hands. She was sweet-hearted but used to dress herself hard and forbidding. Yet, always happy to relate, and tireless in being of service. With herself, she could have been more kind and more discerning. It was a struggle for her, I know.