Overcoming the Fears Within

This week, we enter the month of Cancer, a month that brings us special opportunities to grow spirituality and to transform our lives. Kabbalistically, we know that each of us is influenced by the energy of every month, even if we are not the born in that month.

This means that even if we are a Taurus or a Leo or a Scorpio, we will still be influenced by the energy of the month of Cancer, first, because this is the energy that is available right now, and second, because we all contain a bit of each of the twelve signs of the Zodiac.

The month of Cancer is ruled by the moon. As you probably know, the moon has no light of its own. The light we see in the moon is simply a reflection of the light of the sun. According to the kabbalists, human beings are very similar to the moon in this way because human beings (the moon) are vessels created to receive the Light of the Creator (the light from the sun). From the moment we wake up to the moment we go to sleep, we are almost completely driven by the desire to receive. I say “almost” because when we were born, each one of us was also given a spark of the Creator, which is part of us. The only way we can become the person we are supposed to be is by igniting this spark, and by doing so, to take that which is negative (the negativity that is inside of us and the possible negativity of the environment we were born into) and transform it into Light by our own work and effort.

We also know that Cancer is a water sign and, as such, is one of the most emotional signs of the Zodiac. The water of Cancer is a powerful water: the emotional bed—like amniotic fluid—from which life becomes manifest.

On the one hand this emotionality makes Cancers extremely, loving, warm and empathetic towards others. Family and friends are extremely important to them.

On the other hand, however, this strong emotional nature can sometimes lead Cancers to have difficulty dealing with fears, since fears can stimulate our emotions. Sometimes the fears of the Cancer are founded and other times not. The challenge this month for all of us, not just Cancers, is to recognize how and where our fears and their accompanying emotions are blocking us from leaping towards our goals. Are we are afraid people won’t like us? That we won’t be accepted? Are we afraid that we won’t be able to do what we want to do? Cancers tend to fall into nostalgia very easily. Why? Because it can be more comfortable to live in the past than to face the uncertainty that accompanies the future. The past is 100% known. The problem is that if we are stuck in the past, we cannot move forward to accomplish our life’s purpose.

The crab, which is the sign of Cancer, walks sideways. This is often how Cancers tend to walk through life: afraid to face their circumstances head on. But you know what? I saw a beautiful documentary recently that showed how crabs can travel across the ocean bed if they are next to each other, connected to one another. In this way, they form a line that joins them across the ocean to the next destination.

For us, this is a powerful lesson. When we are able to find unity with others—when we can see the spark of the Creator that exists in the other person—then in spite of our difficulties and differences, there is no ocean we cannot cross together, no matter how uncertain the path may seem.