No one knows that the Dalai Lama is a double Cancer

Here’s the story

Sun in Cancer. Moon in Cancer.

Double Cancer newsletter… the sign/word whose name elicits a shock- making it the most tender, authentic sign of the zodiac. When the word “cancer” arrives at your house (as in the disease), we drop to our knees. The Astrological sign Cancer suggests the raw emotional human capacity to bond and care, to worry and love. The most human sign in the zodiac, tender and real.

They called the constellation Cancer (not because of the disease) because it looked like a crab. Google told me that, “The word “cancer” traces its origin back to the ancient Greek word for ‘crab’ (karkinos) and its Latin equivalent (cancer).”

With some reflection, the synchronicity of the word becomes obvious. Crabs walk sideways rather than straight. When we want to avoid what is present, we walk around what is. At worst, Cancer avoids their own pain, their own needs, always focusing on the “other.”

Doesn’t that sound familiar? The moms and dads in the world who care for the children before themselves. The caretaker who gives to the point of exhaustion. The person who secretly holds their pain to themselves rather than saying it out loud, unable to ask for help; therefore, they suffer alone.

I just found out that my dear friend, who died of cancer last month, had so many more secrets than I could have known. Well, of course he did, he had five planets in the sign of Cancer. How did I miss that?

His sister-in-law arrived on Kauai surprisingly last week, where I found out exactly how many secrets he actually had. The truth rocked my world. Wait. I knew him for 57 years, and while I detected his inner world was deep and tender (when we were teenagers), he froze his Water self and lived in a world of secrets that tortured him as an adult.

It would appear obvious that after his daughter had taken her life, for reasons far beyond his control- she was ill, with inner demons- she left for a good reason… but that was impossible for my friend to believe. He blamed himself entirely. He carried a heavy load that no one could take from him and yet, he never shed a tear. I went to him, and spent a week with him right after the funeral, and tried to open him up. I cried- a lot- every night at dinner with him. He never shed a tear.

Like a crab, he avoided the direct confrontation of his feelings and wouldn’t do the work needed to soothe the pain. Eventually (this is my theory), that backed-up energy took him out. The Astrological sign Cancer promotes, and actually insists on, the direct release of pain, tears, and emotional work. If it is denied, a slow-eating termite quietly destroys the very foundation of the person’s psyche until the entire house falls.

This double Cancer sky invites us to feel. To be real. To touch the pain straight on.

Good to note that the Dalai Lama is a double Cancer. He has so much wisdom. In his book on forgiveness (#ad),, I found myself crying page by page. His tenderness was so real.

He advises against isolation, advocating for active connection and using personal suffering as a catalyst for growth. Finally, he teaches that releasing anger and embracing forgiveness is essential to protect inner peace.

That book made a huge impact on me and my understanding of the sign Cancer. In the end, my friend’s life insisted that he walk toward peace. He never did what the Dalai Lama suggested. He never faced his anger or forgave himself for what happened to his 30-year-old daughter. And I had no power to make a difference.

I decided to follow the crab-like behavior of my friend in order to stay close to him in his last months. I avoided topics that would hurt him, which is so against my nature (Saturn in Sag), but so helpful in allowing us to stay close.

That’s why I am doing this class in CS (Continual Stars). We are speaking to the unspeakable about our planet’s Cancer-like symptoms.

We have to face the truth about our world. I do. I do everything I can to be “real.” It seems I cannot be alive with fake anything. Not my friends, not my food. Even my clothes- I am always reading labels: Is it cotton? Is it real fabric? And my favorite people are the ones who cry.

I want to hear the truth at all costs. However, as we know, that word “truth” has morphed into a brand-new shape. We no longer know that word: truth. It’s a relic of times gone by. But we sure know about the word “cancer” arriving in our homes. That truth remains across time- more prevalent than ever.

Tears are running down my face. I am so glad that I can cry. Sometimes I go into the ocean underwater and just scream to let go of the rage I am feeling. My life lesson is to speak to the unspeakable, as it was for my friend who passed. Look at the difference. I cry. I rage. He was numb and a victim of cancer and pain at the end.

What can I do to inspire you to face the truth? To say it out loud. To be real? How can I support the next generation in learning how to process pain and secrets out loud- with a friend, a counselor, a trained professional who knows how to clean the pipes of our emotional plumbing so we are not full of shit?

We often are. When you’re asked, “How are you?” …who do you tell the truth to? Someone who is safe to feel with.

Many have learned how to heal from cancer and mark it as the turning point. They left a job they didn’t like, reviewed their relationships, and walked straight toward healing. They recover better for having gone through it.

I am so sad that I couldn’t help my friend. I am so sad that cancer was his doorway out without the option of healing. Even now, I imagine he is in the remedial class on the other side called: Unfinished Business from Your Last Lifetime. I am always sending him my blessings and my love. I cry for him regularly. I am sure he is watching.

Oh, how I love the Cancer of Astrology. So much so that I already signed up for my next life: to be a Cancer.

Can you love that part of you that is raw and real and find the means to share it?