Cancer rising traits
Rulership gives the reading its logic. Since antiquity the Moon has governed Cancer, and the Moon is the quickest body in the sky and the one tied to mood, memory and the need for safety. Put it in charge of the ascendant and the outward manner follows feeling. Someone with Cancer rising tends to register what a room needs before deciding whether to help. They ask if you have eaten.
The crab explains the approach: hard shell, soft body, a sideways route across open ground. In a person that looks like indirection: a hint before a request, a small confession to see how it lands, a pause before the next one. Strangers can take those first minutes for shyness or cool good manners. Close friends meet someone generous with attention and quick to laugh once the shell opens.
The costs come out of the same wiring. A sign led by feeling can brood. Old hurts stay near the surface, and a plain remark can sound like criticism. Care also slides into hovering over people who never asked for it. Mood can swing within an hour, and astrologers put that down to the Moon, which never stays anywhere long.
Cancer is a cardinal water sign. Cardinal signs begin things and water signs run on feeling, so this ascendant often ends up organizing the potluck, the ride home and the card for the coworker who is leaving. Cancer as a Sun sign has its own page: Cancer.
Cancer rising appearance
Looks, in this tradition, come down a chain from the ruler. The Moon is a round, pale disc that changes outline every night, and writers carried those images over to the face: round features, pale skin, a soft edge, an expression that follows the mood. It is a chain of symbols with no measurement behind it.
The usual English source for it is Christian Astrology (London, 1647). In his entry for the sign, the author begins: "Generally a low and small stature, the upper parts of more bigness then the lower, a round Visage; sickly pale, a whitely Complexion, the Hair a sad brown, little Eyes, prone to have many Children, if a Woman." Spelling is as printed. The crab is easy to spot in the second clause: broad above, narrower below.
Call it folklore: many Cancer ascendants are tall and lean, and a 1647 sketch cannot see genes or age. Older astrologers gave a planet close to the ascendant more say than the bare sign, so see whether any stand near yours. The birth chart calculator lists them.
The Cancer rising woman and the man
What does a Cancer rising woman do when a friend has a bad week? The stereotype says she cries along and then cooks. The tradition is sharper: she registers the bad week before anyone mentions it, remembers what was said months ago, and goes guarded if the friend turns out careless with her. The shell belongs to the sign, and it shuts fast on behalf of the people she looks after.
A Cancer rising man meets different expectations, and the portrait bends around them. He is pictured as attentive and loyal: the one who remembers the birthday, brings the food, fixes the faucet at your place and says little about why. A culture that tells men to hide care pushes the sign deeper into its shell, and friends may take for distance what is closer to shyness.
A small test for either one: the next time you walk into an unfamiliar place, notice whom you check on first. If it is the quietest person there, the portrait probably fits. If not, check the Sun and Moon signs before deciding it misses.
Cancer rising in love and the Capricorn descendant
A Cancer Sun says it needs a home. Cancer rising is how that need looks from outside, and it is easier to miss because it arrives as care for you.
Astrologers find the partner type at the point opposite the ascendant, the descendant, where the half of the chart about other people starts. With Cancer rising that point is Capricorn, every time. Capricorn reads as steady, reserved and slow to show feeling. The logic is one of gaps: a manner led by mood leaves out structure, so the partner it sketches brings some. Saturn, planet of limits and time, rules Capricorn, and astrologers often picture this partner as older in manner than in years. That can be a relief, or it can chafe. A Capricorn type may keep praise to itself, which Cancer rising hears as coldness, while the hurt that follows lands on the partner as pressure.
Guides picture Cancer rising in a relationship as devoted and protective, showing feeling through food and remembered details. The warning is silence: hurt held in and never said. Name the need once, in plain words, before the hinting starts. Venus and the Moon cover what you need after the first months, and two full charts decide a pairing, so use the Sun-sign pages below as a first look.
Sun-sign pairs with Cancer: Aries · Taurus · Gemini · Cancer · Leo · Virgo · Libra · Scorpio · Sagittarius · Capricorn · Aquarius · Pisces
Example: July 15, 1990, 5:15 a.m., New York
Yes: you are a ♋︎ Cancer rising, 17°01′.
Your ascendant is in Cancer. That is 1 hr 4 min from the nearest sign change, so a few minutes of rounding will not move it.
On that date in New York City, Cancer was rising from 3:56 a.m. to 6:19 a.m. Anyone born there in that window is a Cancer rising.
For your Sun, Moon and rising sign together, with every step of the calculation, use the rising sign calculator.
Cancer rising and your Sun sign: 12 combinations
The Sun is the core self and the ascendant is the delivery, in the usual telling. Each Sun sign gets a house of its own in a Cancer rising chart, and the house names the area where that Sun spends its energy. The Sun gets a clear field, though it may pull against a manner that wants to protect and wait. Each entry gives the house, then the New York hours when Cancer was rising in that season. Not sure of your Sun sign? The birth chart calculator prints it beside your Moon and ascendant.
♈︎ Aries Sun
Top of the chart: the 10th house of career and reputation, which makes these late-morning births. Aries wants to move first and Cancer rising checks who could get hurt. Astrologers picture a leader who looks after the team.
Sun in your Whole Sign 10th house. In New York around April 4, Cancer rises 10:35 a.m. to 12:58 p.m. Aries zodiac sign
♉︎ Taurus Sun
Friends and long-range hopes belong to the 11th, where this Sun lands. Both signs lean toward comfort and loyalty, so the portrait is a homebody with a big circle, every member fed. Morning births.
Sun in your Whole Sign 11th house. In New York around May 5, Cancer rises 8:33 a.m. to 10:56 a.m. Taurus zodiac sign
♊︎ Gemini Sun
A talkative Sun goes to the 12th, tied in old texts to retreat, sleep and what happens offstage. Behind a quiet front it surprises people with how much it knows. Births soon after sunrise.
Sun in your Whole Sign 12th house. In New York around June 5, Cancer rises 6:32 a.m. to 8:54 a.m. Gemini zodiac sign
♋︎ Cancer Sun
One sign doing two jobs, and the 1st house holds the Sun. That needs a birth near dawn in late June or July. Astrologers read protectiveness and sensitivity with nothing to temper them: the shell and the soft body from the same sign.
Sun in your Whole Sign 1st house. In New York around July 7, Cancer rises 4:26 a.m. to 6:48 a.m. Cancer zodiac sign
♌︎ Leo Sun
The next sign along, so the Sun sits in the 2nd, tied to earnings and belongings. Leo wants applause and Cancer rising wants to be needed. The portrait is the generous host who overspends on other people. Births in the small hours.
Sun in your Whole Sign 2nd house. In New York around August 7, Cancer rises 2:24 a.m. to 4:46 a.m. Leo zodiac sign
♍︎ Virgo Sun
Virgo carries the Sun to the 3rd, the area of siblings, neighbors and errands. Both signs notice detail: the ascendant remembers what you said and the Sun fixes what you complained about. Helpful in daily life. Births just after midnight.
Sun in your Whole Sign 3rd house. In New York around September 7, Cancer rises 12:22 a.m. to 2:44 a.m. Virgo zodiac sign
♎︎ Libra Sun
Home and family roots occupy the 4th, the bottom of the wheel. Libra and Cancer are both cardinal and stand at right angles, and the tradition hears tension: a wish for peace pulling against a wish for a place of one's own. Births around midnight.
Sun in your Whole Sign 4th house. In New York around October 8, Cancer rises midnight to 12:42 a.m. and 10:16 p.m. to midnight. Libra zodiac sign
♏︎ Scorpio Sun
Water on water. The 5th, which covers dates, play and making things, takes this Sun, and Scorpio intensity sits under a soft ascendant, so feeling runs deep and is shown late. Evening births.
Sun in your Whole Sign 5th house. In New York around November 7, Cancer rises 7:18 p.m. to 9:40 p.m. Scorpio zodiac sign
♐︎ Sagittarius Sun
In the 6th (daily work, routine, health), a restless fire Sun under a home-loving front pulls two ways: a trip on the calendar, and home by dinner. Early-evening births.
Sun in your Whole Sign 6th house. In New York around December 7, Cancer rises 5:20 p.m. to 7:43 p.m. Sagittarius zodiac sign
♑︎ Capricorn Sun
Capricorn lies straight across the wheel, so this Sun rides the descendant and starts the partnership half of the chart. The self gets found across the table, in other people. Cancer warmth faces Capricorn restraint. Late-afternoon births.
Sun in your Whole Sign 7th house. In New York around January 6, Cancer rises 3:25 p.m. to 5:48 p.m. Capricorn zodiac sign
♒︎ Aquarius Sun
The 8th is where old texts file joint finances and the closest bonds, and this Sun lands there. Aquarius brings cool ideas to a front run by feeling, so the person is loyal to causes and friends and slow to say what hurts. Afternoon births.
Sun in your Whole Sign 8th house. In New York around February 5, Cancer rises 1:27 p.m. to 3:50 p.m. Aquarius zodiac sign
♓︎ Pisces Sun
The 9th covers long trips, study and belief. Two water signs make an impressionable pair, imaginative and quickly worn out by crowds. Jupiter rules Pisces in the traditional scheme and adds a hopeful streak. Births near midday.
Sun in your Whole Sign 9th house. In New York around March 5, Cancer rises 11:33 a.m. to 1:56 p.m. Pisces zodiac sign
Cancer rising and the Moon sign: the ruler in 12 signs
Look up your Moon sign before reading the table. It changes every couple of days, so the birth date usually settles it. With Cancer rising it matters more than usual, because the Moon is the chart ruler and each line below reads the ruler.
| Moon sign | With this ascendant, in the tradition |
|---|---|
| ♈︎ Aries Moon | quick, hot protectiveness; the shell snaps shut before the explanation arrives |
| ♉︎ Taurus Moon | craves comfort, a good dinner and a settled home; slow to change its mind |
| ♊︎ Gemini Moon | chatty and restless inside; works through worry by talking it out |
| ♋︎ Cancer Moon | the Moon in its own sign, on the ascendant: feelings show at once and last long |
| ♌︎ Leo Moon | wants warmth and credit and gives both away freely; proud when hurt |
| ♍︎ Virgo Moon | worries in detail and settles by being useful |
| ♎︎ Libra Moon | craves peace and company; goes quiet rather than start a fight |
| ♏︎ Scorpio Moon | feelings run deep and stay behind the shell; trust is earned slowly |
| ♐︎ Sagittarius Moon | restless and hopeful; wants a trip planned and a home to return to |
| ♑︎ Capricorn Moon | Moon in the descendant sign: composed outside, drawn to partners who add structure |
| ♒︎ Aquarius Moon | cool on the surface, loyal to causes and friends; needs room to think |
| ♓︎ Pisces Moon | very impressionable and giving; worn out by crowds and restored by quiet |
The Moon: chart ruler for Cancer rising
To read the ruler in your own chart you need two things: the sign of your Moon and its house. Whole Sign houses follow from the sign, so with Cancer rising an Aries Moon always sits in the 10th, a Taurus Moon in the 11th, a Gemini Moon in the 12th and a Cancer Moon in the 1st. The birth chart calculator prints both from your birth details.
Every sign hands its chart to one planet. For Cancer that is the Moon alone, and modern astrology added no second planet here, as it did for Pisces and Aquarius. Where the Moon stands by sign shows its manner of working. Where it stands by house shows what it works on. Counting from Cancer, which fills the 1st house, Leo is the 2nd, Virgo the 3rd, and the count runs round to Gemini in the 12th.
A worked case is the sample in the check below, a 5:15 a.m. birth in New York on July 15, 1990. Cancer rises, the Moon stands in Aries in the 10th house, which an astrologer would read as quick feeling that shows up in work and public life.
Where the Moon falls with this ascendant, by Whole Sign house. We took every third date from 1930 to 2025 and one moment every 12 minutes of New York clock time, and kept the 139,020 moments with Cancer on the horizon.
| House | 6th | 11th | 1st | 8th | 9th | 3rd | 2nd | 4th | 10th | 5th | 12th | 7th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ☽ The Moon | 8.4% | 8.4% | 8.4% | 8.3% | 8.3% | 8.3% | 8.3% | 8.3% | 8.3% | 8.3% | 8.2% | 8.2% |
The Moon by sign in the same count: Taurus 8.4%, Sagittarius 8.4%, Cancer 8.4%, Aquarius 8.3%, Pisces 8.3%, Virgo 8.3%, Leo 8.3%, Libra 8.3%, Aries 8.3%, Scorpio 8.3%, Gemini 8.2%, Capricorn 8.2%.
Because the Moon is the fastest planet, its spread across Cancer risings is almost flat. Its busiest house is the 6th house (8.4%) and its quietest the 7th house (8.2%), with Taurus (8.4%) the leading sign, yet the whole range is a fraction of a point. By sign, the shares come out within a fifth of a point of those for all birth dates, because where the Moon stands in the sky is unrelated to which sign is rising. Only the house shifts with the ascendant.
The Moon is the quick hand on the clock of the chart, and your birth minute stopped it.
Cancer rising and the midheaven: Aries or Pisces
Which midheaven goes with Cancer rising? Aries or Pisces, and Aquarius only from Seattle north. The midheaven (MC), the peak of the chart and its career marker, comes out of the same birth minute as the ascendant, so only a few pairings exist.
New York gave Pisces 61.4% and Aries 38.6%. South of it Aries takes over, with 64.5% in Miami. North of it Pisces gains, 75.8% in Seattle, and in Anchorage Aquarius leads at 57.1%. In Whole Sign houses Aries falls in the 10th, where career is traditionally read, so an Aries MC and the 10th line up. Pisces falls in the 9th (travel, study, belief) and Aquarius in the 8th.
| City | Midheaven sign that comes with it |
|---|---|
| Miami (26° N) | Aries 64.5%, Pisces 35.5% |
| Los Angeles (34° N) | Aries 51.1%, Pisces 48.9% |
| New York (41° N) | Pisces 61.4%, Aries 38.6% |
| Seattle (48° N) | Pisces 75.8%, Aries 23.0%, Aquarius 1.2% |
| Anchorage (61° N) | Aquarius 57.1%, Pisces 42.9% |
Read further: midheaven in Aries, midheaven in Pisces, midheaven in Aquarius.
How common is Cancer rising? Find your latitude
Find your latitude first (New York sits at 40.7° N, Miami at 25.8° N), then read across the table below. In New York each visit lasts 2 hr 23 min, which adds up to 9.9% of the clock and fifth place, equal to Sagittarius. Leo, Scorpio, Virgo and Libra get more; Aries and Pisces get roughly half as much.
Going north lengthens it slowly. Miami sees 2 hr 16 min, Seattle 2 hr 27 min and Anchorage 2 hr 49 min, where Cancer holds 11.8% of the day. On the equator the figure is 8.9%.
| Latitude | Share of the day | Time on the horizon |
|---|---|---|
| 0° N Equator (Quito, Singapore) | 8.9% | — |
| 25.8° N Miami | 9.5% | 2 hr 16 min |
| 34.1° N Los Angeles | 9.7% | 2 hr 19 min |
| 40.7° N New York | 9.9% | 2 hr 23 min |
| 47.6° N Seattle | 10.2% | 2 hr 27 min |
| 55° N Edinburgh, Moscow | 10.8% | — |
| 61.2° N Anchorage | 11.8% | 2 hr 49 min |
| 33.9° S Sydney | 8.2% | — |
Past the equator the order shifts: in Sydney the figure is 8.2%. Every number here counts clock time and not babies, since births are not spread evenly over 24 hours. Try your own birth minute in our calculator.
Cancer rising times: the hour in each month
Picture a birth certificate that says 7:20 a.m., June 15, New York. The Sun sign is Gemini, since Cancer season has not begun, so the owner may assume Cancer is out. The table below says otherwise: June 15 has a Cancer window between 5:52 and 8:15 a.m.
No date gives Cancer rising; each day has its own window instead. In New York it falls around sunrise in June, just before dawn in July, in the small hours in August, around midnight in September and October, in the evening in November, late afternoon into evening in December, in the afternoon in January and February, near midday in March, and in the morning in April and May. Each month it starts roughly two hours earlier, and the clocks shifting by an hour in spring and fall add a hop to that pattern.
Rows show the 15th of every month, New York time. Longitude moves it: a birthplace well west runs later on the clock, one well east earlier. The check above gives exact hours for your birthday and place.
| Born around the 15th of | Cancer on the horizon (New York clock time, 2025 calendar) |
|---|---|
| January | 2:46 p.m. – 5:08 p.m. |
| February | 12:44 p.m. – 3:07 p.m. |
| March | 11:54 a.m. – 2:16 p.m. |
| April | 9:52 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. |
| May | 7:54 a.m. – 10:17 a.m. |
| June | 5:52 a.m. – 8:15 a.m. |
| July | 3:54 a.m. – 6:17 a.m. |
| August | 1:53 a.m. – 4:15 a.m. |
| September | midnight – 2:13 a.m. and 11:47 p.m. – midnight |
| October | midnight – 12:15 a.m. and 9:49 p.m. – midnight |
| November | 6:47 p.m. – 9:09 p.m. |
| December | 4:49 p.m. – 7:11 p.m. |
Treat a recorded time with some doubt. Old records often round to the hour or half hour, and a window of 2 hr 23 min is short enough for rounding to move you across the line.
Who has Cancer rising? Famous charts
We accept birth times graded AA, A or B by Rodden, and each chart is recalculated here. Of the 143 charts on the site, 20 have Cancer rising:
Angelina Jolie Cancer 28°52′
Born June 4, 1975, 9:09 a.m., Los Angeles Cedars of Lebanon, California; Rodden rating AA. Gemini Sun, Aries Moon; Mars in Aries in the 10th house, Pluto in Libra in the 4th.
Her chart ruler, the Moon, stands in Aries near her midheaven, 4.7° away, with Jupiter even closer at 0.4°. Venus sits 0.7° from the ascendant.
Tyra Banks Cancer 18°08′
Born December 4, 1973, 7:13 p.m., Inglewood, California; Rodden rating AA. Sagittarius Sun, Aries Moon; Mars in Aries in the 10th house, Pluto in Libra in the 4th.
Cancer was on the horizon for 82 minutes before her birth and had 56 more to run, so a clock error of under an hour either way would leave the ascendant where it is. Her chart ruler, the Moon, is in Aries in the 10th house.
Michael Jordan Cancer 13°06′
Born February 17, 1963, 1:40 p.m., Brooklyn (Kings County), New York; Rodden rating AA. Aquarius Sun, Sagittarius Moon; Mars in Leo in the 2nd house, Pluto in Virgo in the 3rd.
His ascendant is at about 13 degrees of Cancer. His chart ruler, the Moon, stands in Sagittarius in the 6th house, and Jupiter in Pisces is 3.4° from his midheaven. Venus in Capricorn falls in the 7th house, which is the descendant sign and house for Cancer rising.
Cher Cancer 8°37′
Born May 20, 1946, 7:25 a.m., El Centro, California; Rodden rating AA. Taurus Sun, Capricorn Moon; Mars in Leo in the 2nd house, Pluto in Leo in the 2nd.
She wrote on X, "Moon in Capricorn,Rising Cancer", and the calculation agrees. The ascendant is at 8.6 degrees of Cancer, and the Moon, the chart ruler, stands across the chart in Capricorn in the 7th house. Saturn is in Cancer in the 1st house.
Keke Palmer Cancer 28°15′
Born August 26, 1993, 3:16 a.m., Harvey, Illinois; Rodden rating A. Virgo Sun, Sagittarius Moon; Mars in Libra in the 4th house, Pluto in Scorpio in the 5th.
In a 2016 Marie Claire interview she said, "My rising sign (which is what you present to the world) is Cancer." Her ascendant is in the last two degrees of the sign, and Leo took the horizon only minutes after her recorded 3:16 a.m. birth. Venus stands in Cancer in the 1st house, 0.2° from the rising degree.
Charli XCX Cancer 5°34′
Born August 2, 1992, 2:25 a.m., Cambridge, England; Rodden rating A. Leo Sun, Virgo Moon; Mars in Gemini in the 12th house, Pluto in Scorpio in the 5th.
Cancer rises at 5°34′, and the midheaven had moved into Pisces in the minute of her birth. The Moon, her chart ruler, is in Virgo in the 3rd house by Whole Sign, while the Sun, Mercury and Venus share Leo in the 2nd.
Adele Cancer 5°31′
Born May 5, 1988, 8:19 a.m., Tottenham, England; Rodden rating B. Taurus Sun, Sagittarius Moon; Mars in Aquarius in the 8th house, Pluto in Scorpio in the 5th.
Her time is rated B, from a biography, and gives almost the same ascendant as Charli XCX's, 5°31′ of Cancer. Saturn, Uranus and Neptune in Capricorn stand opposite it, all in the 7th house by Whole Sign. The Moon, the chart ruler, is in Sagittarius in the 6th.
Julia Roberts Cancer 27°53′
Born October 28, 1967, 12:16 a.m., Atlanta, Georgia; Rodden rating AA. Scorpio Sun, Leo Moon; Mars in Capricorn in the 7th house, Pluto in Virgo in the 3rd.
Her ascendant is at 27°53′ of Cancer, and the birth certificate puts her birth ten minutes before Leo rose. Her ruling Moon has already reached Leo, a Whole Sign 2nd, and Saturn in Aries tops the chart from the 10th.
Margot Robbie Cancer 25°36′
Born July 2, 1990, 7:45 a.m., Gold Coast, Australia; Rodden rating A. Cancer Sun, Scorpio Moon; Mars in Aries in the 10th house, Pluto in Scorpio in the 5th.
Cancer rises at 25°36′ in her chart. The Moon rules it and sits in Scorpio, a Whole Sign 5th, while the Sun, Mercury and Jupiter fill Cancer itself in the 1st house.
The Weeknd Cancer 23°30′
Born February 16, 1990, 2:45 p.m., Toronto, Ontario (CAN); Rodden rating A. Aquarius Sun, Scorpio Moon; Mars in Capricorn in the 7th house, Pluto in Scorpio in the 5th.
His ascendant is at 23°30′ of Cancer, with Jupiter in the same sign in the 1st house. Venus, Mars and Saturn in Capricorn occupy a Whole Sign 7th, directly across from the rising sign, and his Moon, the planet that governs the ascendant, falls in Scorpio, the 5th by Whole Sign.
Jack Black Cancer 22°37′
Born August 28, 1969, 3:04 a.m., Redondo Beach, California; Rodden rating AA. Virgo Sun, Pisces Moon; Mars in Sagittarius in the 6th house, Pluto in Virgo in the 3rd.
Cancer rises at 22°37′ in his chart, and Venus has moved on to the last degrees of the same sign, still in the 1st house. The Moon, which rules the ascendant, is in Pisces in the 9th by Whole Sign. His AA time puts an Aries midheaven over the chart.
Ben Affleck Cancer 8°34′
Born August 15, 1972, 2:53 a.m., Berkeley, California; Rodden rating AA. Leo Sun, Scorpio Moon; Mars in Virgo in the 3rd house, Pluto in Libra in the 4th.
Cancer is on the horizon at 8°34′ for him. The Moon, which rules the sign, sits in the 5th house, in Scorpio, while Venus keeps the ascendant sign company in the 1st and the Sun lies in the 2nd, in Leo.
Hailee Steinfeld Cancer 1°00′
Born December 11, 1996, 5:26 p.m., Tarzana, California; Rodden rating AA. Sagittarius Sun, Capricorn Moon; Mars in Virgo in the 3rd house, Pluto in Sagittarius in the 6th.
Her ascendant is just past the start of the sign, at 1°00′ of Cancer. Capricorn holds the Moon, her ruler, on the descendant side (7th house), and Sagittarius holds the Sun (6th).
Travis Barker Cancer 24°21′
Born November 14, 1975, 8:59 p.m., Fontana, California; Rodden rating AA. Scorpio Sun, Aries Moon; Mars in Cancer in the 1st house, Pluto in Libra in the 4th.
Cancer rises at 24°21′, and Mars, retrograde at 2°07′ of the same sign, falls in the 1st house. The Moon, which rules the ascendant, is in Aries in the 10th, with Jupiter beside it.
Cameron Diaz Cancer 22°40′
Born August 30, 1972, 2:53 a.m., San Diego, California; Rodden rating AA. Virgo Sun, Taurus Moon; Mars in Virgo in the 3rd house, Pluto in Libra in the 4th.
Cancer rises at 22°40′, and Venus at 21°20′ of Cancer sits just short of that degree, in the 1st. Her Moon falls in Taurus and the 11th house.
Claressa Shields Cancer 1°33′
Born March 17, 1995, 11:27 a.m., Flint, Michigan; Rodden rating A. Pisces Sun, Libra Moon; Mars in Leo in the 2nd house, Pluto in Sagittarius in the 6th.
The ascendant is at 1°33′ of Cancer, close to the start of the sign. Her ruler, the Moon, is in Libra, which makes it a 4th-house Moon; the Sun in Pisces holds the 9th.
Paul Mescal Cancer 0°08′
Born February 2, 1996, 1:15 p.m., Dublin, Ireland; Rodden rating A. Aquarius Sun, Cancer Moon; Mars in Aquarius in the 8th house, Pluto in Sagittarius in the 6th.
Cancer had barely begun to rise, at 0°08′. His Moon is in Cancer as well, a 1st-house Moon, and the Sun, in Aquarius, lies in the 8th.
Kurt Russell Cancer 0°22′
Born March 17, 1951, 10:42 a.m., Springfield, Massachusetts; Rodden rating AA. Pisces Sun, Cancer Moon; Mars in Aries in the 10th house, Pluto in Leo in the 2nd.
Cancer has just begun to rise, at 0°22′, and the Moon, the chart ruler, is in Cancer too, a 1st-house Moon. Pisces holds the Sun in the 9th house.
Albert Einstein Cancer 11°39′
Born March 14, 1879, 11:30 a.m., Ulm, Germany; Rodden rating AA. Pisces Sun, Sagittarius Moon; Mars in Capricorn in the 7th house, Pluto in Taurus in the 11th.
An AA time brings Cancer up at 11°39′. The Moon, which rules it, lies across the wheel in Sagittarius (6th), and the Sun is in Pisces, a 9th-house Sun.
Vincent van Gogh Cancer 21°09′
Born March 30, 1853, 11:00 a.m., Zundert, Netherlands; Rodden rating AA. Aries Sun, Sagittarius Moon; Mars in Pisces in the 9th house, Pluto in Taurus in the 11th.
Another AA time, with 21°09′ of Cancer rising. Sagittarius holds his Moon too (6th), and Aries gathers the Sun and Mercury in the 10th house.
At 28.87° of Cancer the ascendant of Angelina Jolie is almost at the end of the sign, so a birth time only a few minutes later would have put Leo on the horizon. Thirteen of the twenty times here are rated AA, the highest grade; those of Keke Palmer, Charli XCX, Margot Robbie, The Weeknd, Claressa Shields and Paul Mescal are rated A and Adele's B, from a biography. Other names: celebrity birth charts.
Questions about Cancer rising
What is the Cancer rising sign?
The eastern skyline held Cancer at your birth, so Cancer is the ascendant. Astrologers take that as the manner people meet first, and for Cancer it is protective, watchful and led by feeling. Finding it needs the birth hour and city as well as the date.
Is Cancer rising rare?
No. Cancer takes 9.9% of a New York day, or 1 in 10, which ranks fifth of twelve. Aries and Pisces are the rarest there, at roughly half that share.
What does a Cancer rising look like?
The 1647 textbook describes a small stature, a round face, pale skin and little eyes. Astrologers tie that to the Moon, so roundness and pale coloring are the stock images. It is folklore, and genes and age shape a face far more.
Who is Cancer rising attracted to?
Astrology answers from the descendant, which is Capricorn for every Cancer ascendant: steady, reserved partners. Your Venus and Mars signs say more about attraction than the ascendant does.
What is a Cancer rising woman or man like?
Both are pictured as attentive, loyal and guarded. They notice what others need, show care through action, and pull into the shell when hurt. His version is often quieter about it. The Moon sign tells you more about behavior than the ascendant.
Does a Cancer Sun mean Cancer rising?
No. The Sun sign comes from the date and the rising sign from the hour. The two meet only for births near sunrise in Cancer season: in New York around July 7 the window runs 4:26 to 6:48 a.m.
Which midheaven goes with Cancer rising?
Aries or Pisces, and Aquarius only from Seattle north. New York gives Pisces 61.4% and Aries 38.6%. Aries lands in the 10th house, the house of career.
Which celebrities have Cancer rising?
Among the charts on this site, Angelina Jolie, Tyra Banks, Michael Jordan, Cher, Keke Palmer, Julia Roberts, Margot Robbie, The Weeknd, Jack Black, Cameron Diaz, Ben Affleck, Travis Barker, Charli XCX, Adele, Claressa Shields, Hailee Steinfeld, Paul Mescal, Kurt Russell, Albert Einstein and Vincent van Gogh come out Cancer rising: Jolie late in the sign at 28.87°, Palmer and Roberts at about 28°, Robbie at about 25½°, Barker at about 24½°, The Weeknd at about 23½°, Jack Black and Cameron Diaz at about 22½°, Banks at about 18°, Jordan at about 13°, Cher and Ben Affleck at about 8½°, Charli XCX and Adele both at about 5½°, Claressa Shields at about 1½°, Hailee Steinfeld at about 1°, Paul Mescal just past 0° and Kurt Russell at about ⅓°, Einstein at about 11½° and van Gogh at about 21°. Lists elsewhere can differ, since a published time may be less reliable than theirs.
Sources
- Astronomy Engine: the open-source ephemeris library behind our planet positions, dates and statistics
- Jean Meeus, Astronomical Algorithms (Willmann-Bell, 1991): formulas for the ascendant, midheaven, mean node and mean Lilith
- Astro-Databank (Astrodienst): published birth charts we test the calculation against
- GeoNames: city coordinates for the calculator (CC BY 4.0)
- How we create our readings: our own calculation of sign dates, positions and the 1930 to 2025 statistics
More rising signs and your chart
Find your own ascendant with the rising sign calculator (Sun, Moon and rising together) or see the whole chart with the birth chart calculator. The ascendant starts the 1st house; its opposite point, the descendant, starts the 7th house. Cancer as your Sun sign: Cancer zodiac sign. Not sure of your Sun sign? Find your zodiac sign by birthday. The Cancer card in tarot: The Chariot. Other rising signs: Aquarius rising · Aries rising · Capricorn rising · Gemini rising · Leo rising · Libra rising · Pisces rising · Sagittarius rising · Scorpio rising · Taurus rising · Virgo rising.
Astrology is a symbolic tradition, not a science. We explain what the tradition says and show the calculation so you can check it. Rising signs and planets come from the astronomy-engine ephemeris in the tropical zodiac, the same code as our calculator, checked against five published charts from Astro-Databank to within 0.02°; time zones from the IANA database; the city list from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). More in How we work.