As Mars settles into Cancer's tunnels, I'm thinking of the ways anger is denied, of the ways we are taught continually to suppress and repress and bury our feelings, our passions, our responses (to injustice).

As always, there is a lesson and another side to dignity.

There are a lot of martial lessons to be learned from crabs.

And astrologically, there is nuance to its state of fall.

The first decan + term of Cancer is Mars, its triplicity regardless of sect is Mars. for Cancer, this means continually facing cyclical growth + rebirth.

Cancer opens the Thema Mundi, with the Moon. As the stars of the summer solstice moved from Leo, the Chaldeans recognized the constellation of Cancer as a crab due to the "side step" motion of the Sun into its place. But its stars are dim, and not excessively solar in nature.

To the Egyptians, this constellation was represented by the scarab beetle, regarded as a symbol of Khepri, the early morning manifestation of the Sun god Ra.

The pole of the summer solstice is a period of souls entering the Earth, while the winter solstice is a leaving.

Thus we also see through interlinking this cultural symbolism, Cancer as the regenerative force behind life itself. Cancer is both the one who oversees the tide to make the Earth plane hospitable, *and* the regenerative forces of life.

Crabs shed and regenerate their shells, and when they are in this process they are very vulnerable. But their shell is also personal armor, and despite this guard they live in community with their kin. As tunnel creatures, they ask us to reach deep within ourselves.

Their side step motion tells us there may be a different way to approach the situation than we thought. They are typically peaceful creatures who will evade you, but if ever threatened, and you are in a position of being pinched, good luck releasing that claw.

Care can be its own form of resistance, and crabs do not teach us to run away or to avoid, but to save our pinch for what really matters. A conflict may not be able to be avoided until it is directly approached. Cancer shows us both ways, while remembering our soft underbellies.

Mars in Cancer shows us discernment, how to wield our power without destroying ourselves in the process. If you feel you are being faced with insurmountable challenges right now, pay attention to the cycle as it is likely one that will lead you to a new state of self embodiment.

While are are enduring this transit, may we lean into the regenerative forces of creation that direct our lives with a guiding passion. May we meet each other in community, and face conflict directly when it is needed, and cleverly evade its force when of no use.