"C" for "CANCER"

The horoscope sign of the CANCER in the celestial vault and constellations.
I am very fond of the horoscope sign under which I was born. 
(original drawing of  Alexander Jamieson).

Cosimo I de' Medici was born in June under the Gemini sign. However in paintings, bas-reliefs and frescoes describing his noble personality he prefers the Capricorn sign because it reminds him of when he was elected Duke of Florence in January 1537 and his birthright as a politician.  

The horn of plenty is part of the
Capricorn Mythology 

During Cosimo's time the Capricorn sign was a sign of power. Indeed two important personalities were associated with this sign: Emperor Augustus and Charles V of France.  In addition Capricorn was the birth sign of his famous ancestor Lorenzo de' Medici, known as Lorenzo the Magnificent. 

Horoscope signs in the celestial vault
Image: Museo Galileo Florence, Italy

My first thought was Cancer to be used for this post because it alliterates with my list of short posts starting with "C".  The only thing I could think of is that my horoscope sign reminds me of the start of a beautiful marriage as I am a honey moon baby. Which means a lot to me and later I discovered a connection between Cancer and Capricorn which could be more interesting. In its turn Capricorn came to  mind from the word capra (tr.goat) as the Capricorn is half a goat and half a fish. 

In The Renaissance Capricorn was a symbol of power. 

As a matter of fact Cancer and Capricorn have much in common if we consider astrology as the ancient science of reading the celestial vault as part of life and mutual influences in the universe: heaven and earth, communion of macroworld and microworld. In this perspective Cancer and Capricorn are called respectively north gate and south gate, they are the signs of the summer solstice and the winter solstice.  Furthermore they are part of a process of renewal on which they are inscribed as gates of an egg -symbol of rebirth. In fact they are the opposite! 

This is my fifth post of short  stories entitled "Cake Stands for Cama": stories about my favorites starting with "C".  I hope you enjoyed it!

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Original Posts by Roberta Niccacci -

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