Cancer, The Chariot, & The Mother

Journaling with Astrology & Tarot: Cancer & The Chariot

Our Journaling with Astrology & Tarot series continues with Cancer & The Chariot. Below you will find a personal story to introduce the themes of Cancer & The Chariot, followed by an intro to Cancer, The Chariot, and an exploration of how the two connect. Apply these themes to your own life with the journal prompts at the end of the post.

A quick note of apology for this season’s exploration being late! The last month has been a lot for me with moving homes. I hope you enjoy this for the second half of Cancer Season,

Paid subscribers, access your Cancer & The Chariot Soul Journaling Session here.

Mother Knows Best?

In the fourth grade, my fiercely protective mother told me to call my bully a bitch.

Allow me to give a bit of context to try and make this advice make sense (though I’m pretty sure it still doesn’t, but at least you’ll understand the motive).

Jane wasn’t always my bully. We had started as very good friends, as she lived in the same apartment complex as me. But girl drama took over and we became enemies. I can’t really remember what caused it, but it escalated quickly, and Jane eventually teamed up with a fifth grader to bully me on the bus rides home from school.

My mom was with me throughout the whole ordeal, consoling me and telling me what I should do to fight back. She tried to talk to the school and have them do something about it, but the bus always seemed to be a free-for-all, and the driver never wanted anything to do with it. So when I continued to come home crying, my mom came up with a plan. And because I did everything she told me, I put that plan into action.

Taking Down My Bully

One afternoon, I rode the bus home and did my best not to react as the girls loudly talked shit about me to anyone who would listen (and so I could also easily hear them, without them actually having to shout things at me that would get them into trouble).

Once I got off the bus, I walked my usual route, going around the community clubhouse and pool. Jane always walked on the other side, since her apartment was on that side of the complex. Once I hit the point of the pool (just far enough from the bus stop to not be considered within the school’s jurisdiction, so I would not get in trouble), I stopped.

“HEY, JANE!” I shouted, as loud as I could manage in my nervousness. “YOU’RE A BITCH!”

Then I bolted. I ran as fast as I could through half the length of the apartment community to our building in the very back. Certainly no one was running after me, but I had to release all that anxious, angry, negative energy somehow. I ran up the building stairs and burst through the door, sweaty and heart pounding, to tell my mom I had done it. I had put that little bitch in her place.

My mother was proud. Good job, Marcy! You took back control.

The Fallout

Of course, this action did not come without consequences. While I didn’t get in trouble with the school, many of the girls at school were appalled. They came up to me to ask how I could say such a horrible thing. Why did I do that?

No one cared of course that she had said ugly things to me and about me first. I had used a truly bad word, a word we weren’t even supposed to know about, let alone say.

After much back and forth and me being unable to justify what I had said—other than to say, “But she started it!”—the girls convinced us we should be friends again. The feud was inconvenient for those who were friends with both of us. I also was tired and wanted the conflict to end, so I agreed to it.

I thought I would feel happy and relieved—and part of me did—but that was quickly followed by immense guilt and dread.

What about my mom? What would she say about this?

My mom was a yeller when it came to discipline, and if you did something she didn’t like and she found out about it, there would most certainly be a day or more of yelling and tension in the house. As a sensitive and anxious child, I admittedly feared her judgment, and I always did my best to avoid anything that might cause her to yell at me. Her critical comments, usually made hastily in anger or frustration, could cut deep—and many I still remember.

And I certainly still remember the fallout of telling her I became friends with Jane again. She was enraged. There was screaming and door slamming and shaming. Why on Earth would I want to be friends with that girl again, my mom said, after all she had said and done?! I better not come home crying to her once Jane was mean to me again, cause she didn’t want to hear about it!

The result of these rocky couple of days at home was me going back to school and telling Jane that my mom said we couldn’t be friends. This is not, of course, what my mom had told me to say—I was supposed to just tell her I didn’t want to be her friend after everything she’d said and done to me. But instead, I told the truth.

Jane and I never had an issue again. While we never revived our friendship, we never did say anything bad about the other one after that. We left each other alone. But if you’d heard all my mom had said about her, you wouldn’t have expected this to be the outcome!

That was the first time I saw the proof that my mother could, indeed, be wrong about some people. Still, it would take me until my early 30s to stop blindly following her advice when it came to friendships and relationships. After all, sometimes her instincts would be right, but the big reactions were a bit disproportionate to the situations.

Cancer, the Chariot, & Mothering

What does this all have to do with Cancer and the Chariot? Well, my mother’s Sun Sign is Cancer, and Cancer is considered the mother of the Zodiac. Cancer is also my Rising Sign, it is the Rising Sign of my first-born daughter, and it is the Sun Sign of my second daughter. On top of that, both my mother-in-law and sister-in-law have Cancer as their Sun Sign. Cancer energy certainly has a big influence on my life.

And as I bring you through the themes and traits of Cancer and the Chariot, you’ll see how this story of my mom is an illustration of a more extreme expression of the themes! But I will also share how we can harness this energy for our benefit—and for the benefit of those around us.

Cancer

Cancer Season runs from approximately June 21 – July 22, depending on the calendar year. In 2025, it runs from June 20 – July 22.

Gifts of Cancer

Cancers tend to be:

• In touch with their emotions and ruled by their intuition

• Nurturing and protective (which is why this is the sign of the mother, and it also points to their symbol of the crab, with its protective outer shell)

• Steadfast and dependable

During Cancer Season, you may:

• Feel more called to go inward, getting in touch with your emotions and acknowledging your emotional needs

• Spend more time tending to your home and nurturing your most important relationships

• Seek a deeper connection to your roots and ancestors, examining generational patterns and working to heal generational wounds

Challenges of Cancer

Cancers can love deeply, stand their ground, and proudly wear that protective shell of the crab, but when taken too far, those efforts to protect can also push people away. That nurturing sweetness can quickly turn into a snap of the claws.

Being overprotective of themselves can also lead to being overly cautious. They might struggle to make progress on big goals or be more hesitant to be vulnerable in certain situations.

During Cancer Season, you’ll want to watch for any tendency toward being overprotective of yourself or your loved ones. You can nurture, guide, and do your best to protect—but be sure to leave room for yourself and others to make mistakes (and learn from them).

Featured Chariot cards in order of appearance: The Journey Tarot by Cassie Uhl, The Modern Goddess Tarot by Cecilia Lattari, The Meraki Tarot by Bouchette Design, the Radiant Wilds Tarot by Nat Girsberger, and the Mystic Mondays Tarot by Grace Duong. I love that these each exude a sense of calm control but also freedom and flow—it’s all about taking command with grace and ease, trusting our intuition and that the Universe has our backs.

The Chariot

Gifts of The Chariot

The Chariot card is one of determination and action. If you pull this card, it is a signal that you will succeed through your commitment and focus, maintaining momentum even in the face of obstacles. It calls on you to be confident and courageous as you pursue your dreams or vision. To me, this card is often the nudge I need to trust myself and move ahead without hesitation. And it reminds me that I am truly in the lead if I listen to my intuition and follow my gut instincts. (The Chariot also happens to be my 2025 card of the year! You can find out yours here.)

Challenges of The Chariot

If you pull the Chariot in reverse or if it comes up in a challenging position within a spread, it might indicate a lack of faith in self, which can make moving your Chariot forward and in a clear direction quite difficult. You may lose momentum quickly, letting too many obstacles get in your way or slow you down. It could be a signal to change direction or to pause and get clear on your intentions and desires before charting your path forward.

Cancer & The Chariot

These two come together around the themes of determination and focus. The dependable, intuitive, and protective nature of the Cancer makes them an excellent navigator, driving their Chariot forward with purpose. When they set a goal and believe in what they’re doing, their deep level of commitment and emotional intelligence will get them where they need to go. And they will protect their vision, themselves, and all involved in the process, snapping back at any obstacles on their path.

When this energy is channeled in the right direction, it can lead to great things! But when pushed toward the extreme, it can be too forceful and again, overly protective. I see this in many of the stories I have growing up with my mom.

While I still don’t understand why she thought me calling my bully a bitch was the way to solve the problem, I know her advice came from a place of love and desperately wanting to protect. And same with her need to control who I should or should not be friends with. But this is a good reminder that sometimes our desire to protect—our loved ones or ourselves—can steer us off course and lead into some controlling behavior.

We want to guide our Chariot with steady hands and navigate the path with emotional intelligence, being sure to balance our desire to protect with understanding, openness, and kindness. When in balance, it becomes a quick and smooth path, one where we maintain momentum by going with the flow, rather than being in constant conflict or battle, desperately seeking control.

Just a little 🦀 setting off on its big journey.

Working with Cancer Season & The Chariot

Here’s some ways to work with this energy this season, and to channel it into a force for good:

• Listen to your intuition and let it be your main navigator. Letting your intuition lead the way can be a joyful and freeing experience, especially if you’re someone who often feels they need to follow proven, logical paths.

• Protect and nurture your big goal, dream, or vision this season as if it were your child. It is something you are creating and birthing, so treat it as such. It is sacred and precious. It deserves your love and energy. And this goal, dream, or vision may even be centered around relationships, family, or home, making nurturing your most important relationships a top priority.

• Trust yourself and commit to yourself. Avoid being half in—give what is important to you right now your all.

• Stay focused on your vision or creation, but again, avoid that desire to control or force outcomes. Being committed and focused doesn’t mean you try to control everything in your path—it means continuing on the path even when things get hard or go “wrong.” Adjust as needed to anything that comes up rather than trying to force it back to the way you want or wish it to be.

Journaling with Cancer & The Chariot

To help you work more deeply with this energy, I’ve created:

1. A set of journal prompts focused on the themes of Cancer & The Chariot (for all subscribers, listed below).

2. A recorded Soul Journaling Session with one key prompt for the Soul (for paid subscribers). You can use this session as a daily journal prompt during Cancer Season or as a prompt for a daily one-card Tarot/Oracle reading:
   

   Cancer & The Chariot Soul Journaling Session

Your Journal Prompts

If you’d like, listen to the music above while you journal.

• What am I currently working on creating or bringing to life? (A project, personal goal, or dream?)

• How can I bring nurturing, mother energy to this creation? What would that look and feel like?

• How can I nurture and protect myself in the creation process?

• If I were to let my intuition chart the course for this, what would that look and feel like? What would my next step be that I could take today?

Build the Momentum

Let’s create a mini Soul Journaling Circle in the comments! If you feel called, head there and share with us what you’re prioritizing for the remainder of this Cancer Season so we can cheer you on! Also, this is a great way to let the Universe know of your intentions.

Are you a Cancer? If so, I’d love to give you a free month of the paid subscription so you can work with the Soul Journaling Session for the season! Just send me a DM on Substack, reply to this email, or leave a comment below letting me know.

With much love and gratitude,

Marcy

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In Process: The Soul Journaling Tarot

I’m in the process of creating my own Tarot deck! Each month, I’m working with the card that is tied to the current Astrological Season. I’ll be brainstorming and sharing my ideas around The Chariot card with my paid subscribers this month, and inviting them to give input to help me create the card. If you’d like to join me for this process, consider becoming a paid subscriber.

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Additional Cancer Season Resources

Journaling for Cancer Season

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Want to support Soul Journaling Sessions without committing to a subscription? You can contribute a one-time donation via Buy Me a Coffee—though in my case, with two little ones, it’s a contribution to the Diaper Fund!

With much love and gratitude,

Marcy