Cancer is the sign traditionally associated with family, home and the past. And whimsy. Yes, whimsy. It’s our best kept secret, perhaps the secret to surviving emotional ups and downs. Whimsy is good for the soul. So when, during an emotionally exhausting stretch of days tethered to my house, due to heavy winter storms, damage and repair, I found myself wandering into a tea & coffee shop, this spontaneous diversion felt so nurturing, so fine, I decided to allow myself to linger.

I was drawn in by the stacks of tea cups in the window. My departed great-grandmother had many teacups. Like many of her generation, she collected things, and this was one of those things. They sat in a fancy showcase cabinet with glass doors, the kind that only grandmothers (and Cancerians) have, probably purchased at Sears Department Store. When I’d visit, I’d immediately run to the teacup cabinet, admiring the delicate flowers, looking for my favorite cup, a purple one showcasing a bouquet of mums.

The other main thing I remember about my great-grandmother is her poetry. A realtor by day, she moonlighted as a poet and she wrote poetry especially for me, her first grandchild, which she slipped into Valentine’s Day cards, early childhood Birthdays, Easters. When she imparted those sweet and loving words to me, she may not have known she was supplying me with the gift of a lifetime: an innate sense that I was beyond a measure of a doubt, loved. With Venus conjunct my Mercury in Cancer in my tenth house, administering cups of comfort in the form of words is surely a direct imprint from my lineage, too, because while I firmly believe I am my own person, aren’t we often born into families that directly or vicariously nurture both the learning, and the gifts, we’re meant to bring into this world?

This is how whimsy works. A playful interlude, an intentional diversion, can take us right back to our roots, into our soul. Sometimes we need a pleasurable rabbit hole to fall into for a brief spell, a swaddling cocoon to get wrapped up in – to comfort, and heal. It was a nice reprieve, too, remembering the gifts from my lineage, as I tend to focus on the other -because those have been what has spoken the loudest, needed healing.

Cancer Full Moon can bring up a lot of emotions- surrounding family, home, loved ones, an aching heart. Insecurities and fears can weigh heavy. Feelings we’ve been too busy, or not allowed our self, to feel, may rise to the surface of awareness. Cancer is the healer of the zodiac, and Cancer heals through feeling. Clumsy, subjective and messy as they are, feelings are not facts, but they are breadcrumb trails that offer us clues about how and who we are. About any given issue, we may not yet know “what to do”, but after a good cry, a journaling session, a vulnerable share, we will definitely be one step closer to knowing.

The same goes for whimsy, an underrated soul healer. Right now, a step off the beaten path, perhaps triggered by… a faint memory, a long-lost pleasure, a perfume whiff of nostalgia… inspires and heals. A brief waltz with wonder, a tryst with imagination, can restore comfort, calm and continuity better than you might first think. Because the Cancer archetype, isn’t only about therapy offices and emotional family drama.

Happiness belongs to the Moon, mistress of whimsy. Feel free to follow yours.