In line at the grocery store, sitting in the shade of an old tree at the park, commuting in the evening, sweating in the club, tracing the spine of a cutie with the lightest touch of a fingertip . . . This Cancer Season, I’m sitting with the question: How can we love each other better?
And when I hold that question, thinking about the astrology ahead, a mashup forms in my head of “Back and Forth” (featuring Missy Elliott, a Cancer) from Kehlani’s new album and Brock Hampton’s “Sugar” which holds the refrain ‘back and forth’ (whose front-person, Kevin Abstract, is a Cancer). The season starts off with Mars entering Gemini, Jupiter entering Leo, and Mercury stationing retrograde. Back and forth. We get momentum and setbacks, brand new energy while simultaneously being haunted by all that has come before. Cancer, ruled by the moon, gives us high tide and low tide, the full spectrum of moodiness. Read on for musings on queer love, a breakdown of the specific transits, and full horoscopes for each zodiac sign.
Cancer Season Highlights
Cancer Season is June 21 through July 21
Key Dates
June 25: 💥 Sun square Neptune
emphasizing confusion (so try not to take things too personally) and deception (so be cautious and don’t judge things too quickly)
June 28: ➡️ Mars enters Gemini
generating momentum for new ideas and active pivots — learn through doing
June 29: 🌕 Full Moon in Capricorn
illuminating the edges of our boundaries, highlighting where we can consciously choose goals aligned with our values and informed by our limits.
June 29: ➡️ Jupiter Enters Leo
expanding creative expression and heart-centered leadership, but also inflating egos—so stay both unapologetically hot and humble
June 29: ↩️ Mercury Stations Retrograde
Oops, she did it again, slowed down . . . and turned around . . . Prepare for things to not go as planned, for communication to breakdown, and for glitches to emerge in the matrix. Give yourself extra time, patience, and humor!
July 1: 💥 Jupiter square Chiron
Expanding opportunity for both conflict and repair. (This was also present in October (Scorpio Season) 2025; are there loose ends from that time that want to be tugged out or tied up now?)
July 3: 🌀 Mars conjunct Uranus
prompting unexpected exchanges—your impulses might surprise you! (Mars squared Uranus in May of 2025, asking us to consider how we handle sudden change and then Mars opposed Uranus in November of 2025, encouraging us to stay in bold pursuit of our goals while staying adaptable to unplanned shifts. What have you learned from then that you can apply to what is emerging now?)
July 6: 💥 Sun square Saturn
creating friction around our sense of purpose and identity, opening possibility for growth by challenging us to re-examine our goals
July 7: ↩️ Neptune Stations Retrograde
reworking our collective idea of “normal”
July 9: ➡️ Venus enters Virgo (Trine Chiron)
shifting relationship dynamics toward more attentiveness, service, and constructive feedback
July 12: 🌀 Sun conjunct Mercury
a.k.a. Mercury Cazimi—a potent moment of resetting our communication patterns
July 13: 💥 Venus square Uranus
creating friction around intimacy—this is an opportunity for breaking a pattern!
July 14: 🌑 New Moon in Cancer
opening a portal for reflection on attachment patterns and an opportunity for setting new intentions and goals around nourishment, care, and boundaries—use this time to digest what you’ve been learning!
July 20: ⛓️💥 Jupiter opposite Pluto (while Trine Neptune)
emphasizing tension between expansion and contraction—where can you take up space without collapsing immediately after?
July 22: 🌞 Sun Enters Leo
beginning a new zodiac season!
Cancer Season Breakdown
“I ain’t goin’ back and forth tonight, I’m goin’ out”
— Kehlani ft. Missy Elliott, “Back and Forth”
“I know it’s hard but we need each other”
— Brock Hampton, “Sugar”
How do we love each other better? Sometimes the loving thing to do is to leave. Sometimes the loving thing to do is stay. Sometimes the loving thing to do requires less, sometimes more. How do we tell the difference? How do we stay open to an answer that is constantly changing?
Cancer says: by feeling our feelings.
Cancer, a cardinal water sign, ruled by the moon, reminds us that the only constant is change! The cosmic crab reminds us our emotions are literally energy in motion, information that wants to move through our nervous systems, to deposit data throughout our bodies, telling us what we want and need by showing us our edges. Our feelings tell us where we are full, where we are leaking, and where we are empty. To love others really well requires that we know what our capacity is, by feeling into it. Again and again.
Many of us (I might even say most of us) were not raised in families, cultures, and systems that taught us how to feel our feelings (let alone encouraged us to). Many of us were conditioned to ignore, suppress, belittle, downplay, and dismiss our emotional realities.
Some of us, as adults, have to learn the language of emotion for the first time, stumbling through decoding what sensations in our bodies are signaling and which words best convey that. Some of us have to learn later in life how to be responsible for our feelings, not carelessly (and often unknowingly) making others carry the consequences of them for us. Some of us are actively in the process of learning how to take our emotions seriously without projecting them out to be the entirety of reality.
It’s hard work to commit to making space for this learning, but perhaps it is the work of loving each other better. Cancer season wants us to feel the bliss of mutual care and also reminds us to pay attention to when we feel resentment so we can negotiate the ratios of giving and receiving accordingly.
This Cancer season, Mars enters Gemini to get the mind moving—fast conversations, quick pivots, restless momentum, and a push to act on new ideas (even if they’re still messy). Jupiter enters Leo to expand confidence, creativity, and heart-led leadership—inviting bigger self-expression and bold joy (while cautioning us to keep an eye on ego over-inflation). Mercury stations retrograde, in Cancer, to turn us further inward for revisions, reroutes, and truth-telling slips. Emotions are high. This Mercury retrograde is asking for patience, clarity, and cultivated awareness of our limits.
As these transits (and more) unfold, can we let ourselves be moved? (Back and forth.) Can we let the energy move through us? (Back and forth.) Can we sway? (Back and forth.) Can we hold ourselves and each other through the waves in a way that is both strong and flexible? Attentive and with boundaries? I think we can.
The horoscopes below invite you to consider what might benefit most from emotional tending this season, and offer a creative challenge/activity to try on! Read for your sun sign AND your rising sign for a more complete picture. For support with going deeper, check out the 2026 Retrograde Guide Journal, and/or, I’d love to see you for an astrology reading!
Cancer Season Horoscopes
♋ CANCER
It’s your season, Cancer! It’s time to celebrate yourself! Ask for what you want! Revel in that which brings you delight! You may feel some grief or frazzled energy as Jupiter leaves your sign and Mercury stations retrograde in it. Can you practice celebrating yourself amidst your highs and your lows? Can you allow whichever feelings emerge to be okay? Can you let yourself find pleasure in the vastness of your moods and sensitivity? (Yeah, you can take that in a kinky way.) The Moon, your cosmic ruler, moves through a zodiac sign every 2.5 days, forming aspects with other planets along the way. When the moon makes its last connection in a specific sign, it goes “void of course.” This void period varies in length, ranging from just a few minutes to over 24 hours. When void, the moon is unable to communicate with any other planet until it officially enters the next sign. For you, Cancer, these void periods are fertile ground for rest, reflection, and giving yourself extra care. This Cancer season, there is an exceptionally large number of extra long void moon periods: June 28, and July 1, 3, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, and 18. I want you to experiment with using them as permission slips to protect to your peace!
creative challenge: Add the extra long void moon days to your planner/calendar or create reminders on your phone about them. On those days, carve out space (it could be even five minutes!) to jot down how you are feeling and give yourself some form of self-care.
♌ LEO
Jupiter is entering your sign, and that’s an exciting thing to celebrate. This signals a year of expansion and new opportunities for you. Now is a great time to let yourself daydream about what you want to see grow in your life! Notice I said daydream, not rush ahead with an intense action plan. Mercury is retrograde and you’ve got some time percolate. It’s almost your season, but not quite, Leo. The Sun in Cancer calls for slowing down. This reset period before the Sun is in your sign acts as a chrysalis phase, where important transformation happens behind the scenes, preparing you for a radiant emergence when Leo season begins later July. Until then, give yourself permission to retreat when needed. You don’t have to say yes to every invitation. Let yourself be selective. And let yourself be guided by your emotional landscape. As much as you are able, say no to people and spaces that leave you feeling numb/desensitized or overstimulated and scattered. Prioritize activities that help you rest, recharge, and feel safe to feel your feelings more fully. I’m not asking you to avoid hard things, but gift yourself more room to unmask.
creative challenge: Make or find a playlist that has a wide variety of mood and tempo, put it on shuffle and do an experimental dance that ranges from hype to hypnotic. Try not to think too much about how you look and instead prioritize following sensation and a sense of unwinding.
♍ VIRGO
Do you know the true origin of your zodiac sign’s archetype, “the virgin”? Modern use of this word means someone who hasn’t had sex before, but astrology is ancient. Historically, Virgin meant “belonging to no man.” Historically, virgins were temple tenders, devotees of various gods and goddesses, who had unique strength, privileges, and autonomy. They were one-in-themselves rather than owned by a husband. This Cancer season, as we contemplate how to love better, I want you to give yourself more credit for the service you provide to everyone around you, Virgo. And I want you to notice where that has become overextension. I want you to notice any relationships or pockets of your social circles where you may be self-abandoning or feeling taken for granted. You have every right to feel recognized, honored, and respected in all of your interactions. This season, I want you to remember your power. I want you to remember that the love you give is choice, not an obligation.
creative challenge: Have you been keeping secrets from yourself? from others? Set a timer for 10 minutes and write out—on a piece of paper—things you haven’t been honest about. Get it off your chest. Burn the paper and regardless of what you choose to share with others or not, recommit to not denying yourself the truth.
♎ LIBRA
Looking at the month ahead, you might experience emotion washing over you in situations or areas where normally you are more stoic or reserved. Cancer season is asking us all to attend to our feelings, and for you that is best practiced wherever you feel the weight of responsibility. Before going to work, before showing up to the organizing meeting or hard conversation, before posting on social media or whatever your version is of public engagement, can you take a moment to slow down or pause to tend to your inner landscape first? It could be simple, like an extra deep breath. This isn’t about shutting down your impulse to be seen; it’s about resourcing yourself to shine brighter, Libra! It’s about loving more fully! The deeper you go, the more fertile soil is created for meaningful projects. You may find increased social capacity and a ton of inspiration for new art, events, or other forms of connecting.
creative challenge: Go on a curiosity field trip (bookstore/museum/podcast), then save three quotes/ideas that stir emotion in you to share with your house, group chat, or other community.
♏ SCORPIO
Other signs can feel disoriented when plunged into the emotional waves of Cancer season, but this is your wheelhouse, Scorpio! Emotional intimacy (and intensity) is your default mode of operating. That doesn’t make it easy, per se, but it does make more room to be less existential about each high and low. To not lose the forest for the trees. What I mean by that is you might be able to better keep your eye on the bigger picture amidst a conflict or a burst of delight, not letting either dismiss the other. Being in the hurt fully without it making it a catastrophe. There’s something spiritual about this, feeling feelings fully without getting entirely lost in them. It’s a devotion. What are you devoted to? What does prayer look like for you? What do you come back to again and again in-between the highs and the lows? Cancer season wants to show you deeper layers of faith that are fortifying and true to your values.
creative challenge: Write a five-line empowerment statement about yourself in devotion—then release something heavy that doesn’t match it (write and tear up an old story, delete a lingering text thread)
♐ SAGITTARIUS
This Cancer season wants to reconnect you to your own magic, Sag. But for that to come to fruition, you’ve got to seriously evaluate your current resources. Where are you giving too much? What responsibilities are you neglecting? Within your partnerships and collaborators of all kinds, are the conditions clear and the scales relatively balanced? Your mind has initial answers to these questions. Let yourself sit with the emotional reality of how much you are spending and earning, how much you are offering and receiving. You have the power to make some really awesome investments in the near future, but be discerning about who will get what out of it. This is not a time to avoid hard conversations; it is a time to bring both more tenderness and more realism to the dynamics at play.
creative challenge: Free-write journal (don’t stop moving your pen or typing on the keyboard) one page on “what I believe now,” then ask someone close to you one big question you actually want to discuss.
♑ CAPRICORN
Cancer is your opposite sign of the zodiac, Capricorn. This time of the year teaches you about yourself through contrast. And the greatest site of learning is in relationships. My question this season—“how do we love each other better?”—is extra relevant for you. It’s a two-way street. It’s not just about how you can be better for others, but also what you need from them. Be honest with yourself about how your relationships are feeling. Beyond what’s “working” or not, consider when you do or don’t feel truly seen, recognized, and appreciated. During this month’s Mercury retrograde, if conflict or misunderstandings with your closest people arise, try your best to bring curiosity to the situation, trusting that whatever is being brought into the light is important information to inform your boundaries and goals moving forward.
creative challenge: Do a quick energy reset by drawing a line down a piece of paper and on one side list 3+ drains and on the other side 3+ supports. Is it possible to cancel/shift one drain and schedule/enhance one support looking at the week ahead?
♒ AQUARIUS
Welcome to Cancer season, Aquarius! The theme for everyone is feeling our feelings, and for you this might feel most useful if you approach it like a science experiment through which you are collecting data. Through this lens your emotions aren’t something to ignore or fix, rather they are rich information to be plotted and explored over time. Notice how your emotions change depending on various variables—who you are around, how much sleep you got the night before, how much caffeine you’ve had or how much you’ve eaten, etc. If you’re able to chart these correlations, not as immediate facts but as hypotheses to be considered, by the end of Cancer season you will have some really rich material to work with. Keep living your life. Play. Have fun. And, research your emotional landscape in the process.
creative challenge: Commit to being the one who initiates the fun by inviting someone on a playful date (thrift, karaoke, game or art night) and experiment with naming the sensations you experience in your body throughout the hangout
♓ PISCES
As a fellow water sign, Cancer season can be a relatively comforting and easeful time of year for you, Pisces. Emotions are higher for everyone and perhaps that makes you feel less alone in the profound depth of despair and love you have access to year-round. This Cancer season, with Mercury stationing retrograde, things could feel a little more topsy-turvy. My invitation for you is to not let logistical setbacks or emotional constraints stop you from having fun. Someone cancels last minute? Savor the alone time. An old wound is activated? Make art about it. Can’t stop crying? Go dancing anyway. Fun and challenge are not mutually exclusive. Neither are pleasure and pain. This is your season to play, a radical act in the face of it all.
creative challenge: Give your home some love! Choose one surface, wall, or corner to clean and redecorate and then spend some time in that area dancing, reading, stretching, making art or whatever you feel inspired to do after it’s reset
♈ ARIES
This is a season of integration for you, Aries. Cancer season is asking us all to feel our feelings more fully, and for many of us that looks like slowing down to meet more layers of our emotional truth. Maybe you need to slow down, too, to be with yourself more fully. I want to offer that maybe that doesn’t always look like slowing down for you though. Maybe feeling your feelings happens through the catharsis of speeding up, whether that looks like going for a run, stumbling through a mosh pit, or a crescendo of self-pleasure. Whatever your pace, whatever gets you there, let yourself feel fully and try not to worry about how it looks from the outside. There is wisdom in your chaos, and finding safe and empowering ways to embrace that can be a source of healing core wounds in yourself and your lineage. It can be a way to love better.
creative challenge: Embrace your impulses by releasing at least one spark a day (a voice memo, a doodle, a mini poem) without any planning or editing, just raw emotional output. Try to do this for a week!
♉ TAURUS
Cancer season can be a busy time for you, Taurus. You might notice an increase in work tasks, social invitations, and general requests for your skills and presence. You are loyal and hardworking by nature, so be mindful of overcommitting right now. As Mercury stations retrograde bringing the potential for more miscommunication or external uncertainty, return again and again to your emotional capacity for what you are being invited into. As you consider what to say yes or no to, consider: Maybe your schedule is open that day, but is your heart? I’m not advising that you cancel on your commitments anytime you wake up on the wrong side of the bed, but I am gently offering the invitation to take your own feelings seriously in the bigger picture of how you distribute your time and energy this month.
creative challenge: Set aside an evening to make art out of nourishing yourself. This could be through food, an elaborate moisturizing ritual, or some other form of tending your body. Document the process! This could be a quick pic, a playful video, or sketching a still life.
♊ GEMINI
With Mars entering your sign now, you may notice increased inspiration, recognition, and magnetism. To best utilize this power, remember that it is yours rather than tethered to external approval. Notice if you end up on a rollercoaster of highs and lows dependent on someone else’s changing idea of you. As an air sign, you can be prone to thinking your feelings, Gemini. If you have other prominent water placements, maybe this is less of an issue, but either way you likely try to use your mind to puzzle your way through “figuring out” things that just need to be felt. This Cancer season, I’m not telling you to stop thinking (that would be an absurd thing to tell a Gemini placement), but I am inviting you to not ignore the emotional dimensions of whatever arises, especially regarding matters that seem purely material or practical on the surface. Questioning your worth? Financial trouble? Work stress? Before you try to “fix” the problem, take some space to get in touch with the deeper feelings being tugged at and see what new perspective emerges from that tenderness.
creative challenge: Go on a 20-minute walk and record a stream of consciousness voice-note of everything on your mind with the intention of naming feelings that emerge—at the end of your stroll, give yourself an affirmation or mantra for the day or week based on what emerged.
