CANCER: 21 June - 21 July

What can you expect of 2009, Cancer?

By Shelley von Strunckel  

Finance, Work and Achievements

If there's one area in your life where this year's theme is teamwork, it involves life's practicalities, your material wellbeing and your goals or career. With Pluto, which had placed great restrictions on your life, having moved into a new sign late in 2008, and now accenting joint ventures, you're in for some changes. Worrying as this sounds, these won't just allow you to shift your approach to obligations or work, you'll find that you have new support. This comes in the form of a renewal of relationships that are already a part of your life, but those that have been neglected or in which there have been feelings of exhaustion or just plain hopelessness. Now you'll feel ready for a fresh start, and you'll even be thinking about setting set new goals. But as importantly, the odds are good there will be new, and remarkably profitable, alliances. Add the expansive Jupiter accenting finances, particularly joint ventures, and either existing arrangements or new ones could prove to be extraordinarily rewarding. Be prepared, however, to shift these arrangements during the year itself, as new ideas or offers arise. Do that, and you'll not only benefit from existing plans, but you'll be attuned to worthwhile new developments when they arise.

Health and Wellbeing

The year of 2009 could be challenging when it comes to your health and well being, and not because of problems. Rather, you'll have so much going on in your life, it will be easy to forget those basic things such as eating properly or taking time for yourself. You will, nevertheless, feel the urge to do something, whether it's simply getting up and out, taking a long walk and enjoying the world around you or adopting a more formal variety of exercise. Similarly, the pressure to get things done could mean that you feel overwhelmed and lose the sense of optimism that's so essential if you're to deal well with this year's dramatic and frequent changes. This is made considerably easier by the fact that, because 2009 is a year of teamwork, you won't be alone. This applies to the obligations or even challenges you're facing. But it's just as relevant when it comes to looking after yourself. The wise Cancer will find somebody, a single individual or, alternatively, a group, with whom to pursue the activities that will provide for the health and well being that is essential to living a full and happy life, during this year and in the future.

Love and Close Relationships

You have a powerful instinct about cycles. Most of those born under the sign of Cancer are able to anticipate changes in the lives of others and the even more dramatic changes in the larger world of business and finance. When it comes to your own life, you crave stability, so will often ignore your own instincts - feelings which say very clearly that, when it comes to certain intimate friendships and close of relationships, change wouldn't just be timely, it's badly needed. Ironically, even unsettling changes and those serious tensions - or even temporary partings - will give these relationships the space to reform themselves and, in doing so, will create a new understanding between you and perhaps even a new intimacy. This also spurs the discussions necessary to resolve the source of problems. You've kept some of your own tensions or concerns under wraps, thinking it best to say nothing. Now, with Pluto, the planet of truth, dominating those relationships, you'll need to talk through certain issues, perhaps unspoken ones. And you'll want to be frank about your own feelings, and at the same time, listen to what others have to say. Do that, and then you'll be ready, and able to talk about your future with equal candour.

Mind, Body, Spirit

You may feel you know what brings you happiness or inspires you. However, during 2009, the key to this part of your life is summed up in the word "discovery". Reassuring as certain familiar habits and practices may be, you may find you need something new. This year is about new encounters, fresh activities and the unexpected. Take chances on the unfamiliar. While you won't find everything you explore is worthwhile, some of what you encounter or who you meet will add to your life during this year and become a regular and uplifting part in the years to come.