Cancer — Karka

Sanskrit · Symbol	Karka · ♋
Element · Modality	Water · Movable
Lord	☽ Moon (mool trikon)
Exaltation	♃ Jupiter at 5°
Debilitation	♂ Mars at 28°

Karka means crab — the animal that moves sideways, carries its home on its back, and retreats into its shell when threatened. Cancer is the Moon's mool trikon, the sign most naturally aligned with the Moon's quality: receptive, emotionally deep, protective, and nourishing.

Jupiter exalts in Cancer at 5° — the great benefic in the sign of nurturing creates a combination of wisdom and compassion that is considered exceptionally fortunate. Mars debilitates here at 28° — the warrior's direct, aggressive force is muffled by Cancer's defensive, emotionally charged atmosphere.

Planets in Cancer take on an emotional, nurturing, and sometimes defensive quality. The Sun in Cancer is somewhat uncomfortable — not debilitated, but the individual solar quality is softened by the receptive, collective energy of the sign. Venus in Cancer is warm and domestic, inclined toward home-centered pleasures. Saturn in Cancer creates tension — Saturn's cold, structured quality in the Moon's water sign often shows as a conflicted relationship with the mother or home life.

Cancer as lagna produces a body often characterized by roundness and a receptive, open face. The personality is typically empathetic, protective, and home-oriented. The Moon is both the natural karaka of the 4th house and the lagnesh here — making the Moon doubly important in this chart. The Moon's phase (waxing or waning) at birth significantly affects the constitution and emotional stability. See the Moon for Cancer's lord, the fourth house for Cancer's natural domain, and the signs overview for the movable-water framework. In Jaimini, Cancer is a backward sign in Chara Dasha.