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Labors of Hercules – The Myth in Cancer

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The Labors of Hercules

Cancer

The Capture of the Cerynian Doe

You will resonate with Cancer if you have the Sun, Moon, or Ascendant in Cancer or if you have the Sun or Ascendant in close aspect to Moon. You will also be influenced by Cancer if you have several planets in the fourth house, or if you were born with the Moon in the first, fourth, seventh, or tenth house.

Don’t know your chart? You can request one here.

Labors of Hercules

The Capture of the Ceryneian Doe

Listen to Kathy Newburn Summarize the Myth in Cancer

Cancer

The Soul’s Task in Cancer: Transmute Intelligence to Intuition

Cerynian Doe or HindHercules, in his pursuit and capture of the doe of Diana, has many voices demanding action and outcomes from him. Just like us, we have the voices of heart, mind, society, and soul speaking to us. His conduct in this myth demonstrates that he is able to discern the voice of the soul (though intuition), successfully, follow it’s guidance intelligently, and act wisely to ensure right action.

Cancer’s strengths and gifts:

  • Nurturing
  • Inclusive
  • Intelligent Builder
  • Protective
  • Resourceful
  • Compassionate
  • Intuitive

Cancer’s shadow and weakness:

  • Moody
  • Overly sensitive
  • Controlling
  • Anxious
  • Isolationist
  • Dependent
  • Inconsistent

Click on the link below to listen to a reading of The Capture of the Ceryneian Doe from The Labours of Hercules, by A. A. Bailey

~ Read by Karen Johannsen

The Myth

In this labor, Hercules’ task is to capture the Ceryneian hind, or doe. The doe was at home on the sun-drenched fields of the shrine of God.

It would seem that capturing a female deer would be an easy task for Hercules. However, the Ceryneian Doe was special. Not only did she have golden horns and hooves of bronze, but she was also the special pet of Artemis, the Cerynian DoeGoddess of the Hunt. Her hooves of bronze enabled her to run faster than an arrow. Even if Hercules were able to capture the doe, he would invoke the wrath of Artemis for harming her.

After pursuing the doe for a year, Hercules sees the doe standing in and drinking from a river. He aimed his arrow, bringing the doe down with a shaft placed between its front legs. The wound was enough to cripple the doe, but not enough to wound her mortally. Explaining to Artemis that he had been forced to do this by Eurystheus, she forgave him on condition that he return the doe the fields of the sacred shrine.

Hercules knows that he must bring the doe to Eurystheus. On arriving at the king’s stronghold, Hercules tells Eurthstheus that he must take the doe from his own hands. Reluctantly Eurystheus reaches for the doe. But, at the same moment, Hercules lets her go, and she escapes back to Artemis. As Hercules departs, he looks across to the hill, where he sees the golden-antlered fawn standing again, shining in the sun.

Understanding the Myth’s Symbols and Meaning

Cancer is a sign of the collective and one that holds consciousness for the family as a unit. But, it also holds significance for the family of humanity as a collective whole. For these reasons, Cancer has a powerful connection to and association with the instinctual aspects of humanity. The instinctual response is essential to survival. When instinct is active, the use of higher mental functioning is not required – we act, or react, without thought to ensure our survival.

Artemis is the Goddess of the moon, hunting, and wild animals. The moon, as the traditional ruler of Cancer, has domain over the realm of instinct and emotional response. It is symbolic of the emotional and feeling nature as well as our connection to our own mother. Because it’s the last of the first four signs of the zodiac involved with involuting the soul into matter (Aries through Cancer), Cancer is esoterically considered to be the gateway into form.

templeAs a representative of the feminine, the doe is symbolic of God’s love for all beings and his taking care of his children. It is also a symbol of spiritual authority. The doe’s antlers are golden and reach for heaven indicating devotion to God and spiritual regeneration. Through the doe and her antlers, we begin to understand that we sense and obtain access to the intuitive realms available to us beyond instinct and intelligence.

The doe is elusive and difficult to find. Hercules would catch sight of the doe, only to have it disappear. It takes Hercules a year (symbolic of a lifetime) to capture the doe. Only is it when she is standing in and drinking water, which is a symbol of Hercules’s purification, is she at last captured.

So, the doe is the symbolic representative of three aspects of consciousness, all of which are related. First, she is a creature of nature, and so represents the instinctual realms. Her golden antlers signify access to the intuition that is available through growth and development. And last, she is the Doe of Artemis. Artemis allows Hercules to take the doe and demonstrates the use of intellect by exercising service to humanity in partnership with him in his task. And lastly, her return to the sacred place.

The doe must be returned to the temple. This signifies that the world of the intellect, those that involve higher mental functions such as understanding, discernment, and reasoning, which must be awakened and transported into the realms of the sacred.

The Spiritual Task

The ancient mantram for the Cancer personality is, “Let isolation be the rule, and yet the crowd exists.” The strong need for security, safety, and foundation is perceived only through external objects by the personality-dominated Cancerian. To ensure this, they can build a wall of isolation from the world. Home is created as a place for safety, harmony, and comfort. But, its reach is only to that of the immediate family. Its influence does not extend beyond its four walls.

As a water sign, the Cancerian native is sensitive to others. It carries the energy of the feminine, motherhood, and nourishing others. This sensitivity is not restricted to the emotional aspect, though. It also manifests as caring for others based on their physical, safety, and spiritual needs.

Lighted houseIntuition is elusive. Its role in our spiritual journey is as a translator of the language of God. Beyond reasoning, it requires that we earn access to it, and so, we must continue to seek it. As we build intimacy and relationship with the soul, we come increasingly under the influence of Cancer’s spiritual ruler, Neptune. Through its vibration, we gain access to the creative and imaginative impressions sent from the intuitive realms.

The soul-infused Cancerian possesses an intuitive awareness of what is needed by the collective consciousness of humanity. The ancient mantram for the Soul in Cancer is, “I build a lighted house and therein dwell.” A lighted house manifests when the light of the soul radiates and lights the world outside the walls where we live.

Applying the Cancer Lesson in Everyday Life

Johfra-Bosschart CancerIf you haven’t already done so, it may be helpful to read the article “Spiritual Transformation is a Team Activity” https://soulbridging.com/spiritual-transformation-captain/. This useful article highlights how the energy of the personality shifts its expression from personality dominance to soul control.

Cancer is ruled traditionally by the moon and spiritually by the planet Neptune. The personality in Cancer will be concerned with building a foundation, especially as it relates to home and the mundane aspects of everyday life. They can use the home that they create (either as the physical building that they live in or the home of their life) to provide for their nourishment, protection, and security. Think of the crab carrying its hard shell of protection with them. Alternatively, the spiritually mature Cancer will use their capacity for love, caring, and nurture and be the house of their lives that lights the way for others on the path.

Explore the Ancient Keynotes

These ancient and profound Keynotes provide insight into the expression of the sign by the personality and the soul. Kathy Newburn explains how we can better understand their meanings.

Practice

PracticeIt is helpful to meditate on and ponder the ways that the personality uses the energy of Cancer to build foundation and light in the world. Consider how the spiritually mature Cancerian native uses the energy of the sign. Take some time to journal your answers to the following questions. This focus will support you to deepen your awareness and integrate the highest expression of Cancer and to manifest it in your everyday life.

The Voice of the Personality in Cancer Says: “Let isolation be the rule, and yet the crowd exists.”

The strong need for security, safety, and foundation provided by external objects is the experience of the personality-dominated Cancerian. To ensure this safety, they build walls of isolation from the world. Cancerians create home as a place for safety, harmony, and comfort, but its reach through the personality is only to that of the immediate family. Its influence does not extend beyond its four walls.

Some questions to ponder for the Cancer personality:

  • Does your sensitivity create situations where you feel vulnerable or victimized?
  • When your sensitivity is triggered, do you isolate and withdraw from the world to feel protected and secure again?
  • What house are you building? Is it for yourself, separate and individual, or is it for work that serves the broader needs and support of the collective?
  • Are you guided primarily by instinct and the flow of the crowd? What would your life look like to have your inner guide, your intuition be your primary guide?

The Voice of the Soul in Cancer Says: “I build a lighted house and therein dwell.”

The soul in Cancer seeks to elevate the powerful instinctual energy of the sign so that it learns to access and use the intellect and intuition. When these higher aspects of knowing are activated, the light of the soul radiates all they do.

Some questions to ponder for Soul’s Expression in Cancer:

  • How can you work to use your gift of sensitivity to perceive differences and understand others more deeply?
  • Is the home of your life a source of light, warmth, and nurturing for others, particularly those who are not your immediate family or friends?
  • Are you able to sense and contact the collective consciousness that underlies the whole of humanity?
  • What forms can you build that will contribute to the health and well-being of all?
  • How do you provide a tangible expression of the divine spirit that is within you?