New Moon in Cancer: Miriam and the Waters of Belonging

Cancer is a water sign, known for its emotional intelligence, fierce loyalty, and nurturing instincts. Ruled by the Moon, Cancer carries the wisdom of tides and memory. Water signs are intuitive and empathetic, often feeling the undercurrents of situations before they are spoken aloud. This emotional depth and devotion to belonging often make Cancer the keeper of family stories and safe spaces. Cancer is also a Cardinal sign, marking the beginning of the season of summer. Cancer doesn’t just feel deeply; it initiates transformation through love, leading with the heart through courage and connection.

In the biblical story of Miriam, sister of Moses, found in the book of Exodus, we find an embodiment of the strength of a Cancer: emotionally attuned, fiercely protective, and profoundly connected to water as both symbol and source. Like a Cancer, Miriam appears again and again near water—ushering in new beginnings, offering protection, and anchoring collective memory.

Her name means “bitter water woman,” and her story is filled with the ache and beauty of what it means to carry leadership within a suffering community. She is the first woman in the Bible named as a prophet and her name appears in more biblical books than any other woman, indicating her importance to the narrative₁. We meet her first as a child, where her cleverness and courage secure her brother’s safety as well as preserve her mother’s continued presence in his life.

Many decades later, we see her lead a song in Exodus 15, after the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea. Many scholars believe it is her song, even though it’s traditionally ascribed to Moses. This “Song of the Sea” is the oldest recorded piece of poetry in the Bible, and it is led by a woman with tambourine in hand and liberation in her voice.

Interestingly, in Numbers 20, Miriam dies—and the people immediately cry out that there is no water. Rabbinic tradition tells us that Miriam’s presence was the well—that the community’s source of water dried up with her death. Dr. Wilda Gafney writes, “When she died, they lost the well along with her.” Her loss is collective. She had been holding sacred, vital, and nourishing space for the community. And perhaps like many women, her value was most deeply felt in her absence.

Yet her legacy lingers. In Micah 6:4, God reminds the people, “I sent Moses to lead you, and also Aaron and Miriam.” She is named equally alongside her brothers, a leader in her own right. Her story invites us to consider that leadership from within is just as valuable as leadership from the front.

As Kelley Nikondeha writes in Defiant, “We are all Miriam’s descendants with work to do, songs to sing, and liberation to practice until every Pharaoh is dethroned and every captive set free. Women are not the soft side of church work...We are called to be Exodus strong and to work alongside men to set people on both sides of the Nile free from slavery, complicity, and all manner of injustice.” Cancer’s energy is not passive or sentimental. It tends the flame of freedom and walks beside the wounded, holding the stories, the water, and the hope.

To live in the spirit of Miriam—and in the strength of Cancer—is to lead with the heart and to know that the tenderness of emotions is not a weakness, but a wellspring.

1: Womanist Midrash, Wilda Gafney
2: Defiant, Kelley Nikondeha

In terms of personality traits, each sign exhibits positives and negatives. It’s important to be aware of both, and to notice what you want to emphasize and what energy you can focus on in this season.

High Side of Cancer: Nurturing, intuitive, loyal, empathetic, emotionally intelligent, protective, compassionate, imaginative, deeply caring, creates a sense of home and belonging.

Low Side of Cancer: Moody, overly sensitive, withdrawn, clingy, passive-aggressive, avoidant of change, emotionally reactive, stuck in the past, overly self-protective, prone to resentment.

SUGGESTED MEDITATION FOR NEW MOON IN CANCER: Seeing with the Eye of the Heart