South Node in Cancer or the Fourth House

The South Node in Cancer is a clinging to family and emotional security that has now become an undertow, making it difficult to achieve the professional goals desired. Intimacy in relationships that once served them well, has turned into a tangled web of personal problems that drain these people, leaving them frustrated in their desire to climb the ladder of worldly achievement. Dependency and fear of detached professionalism undermine the rise.

The unhappy home. Childhood difficulties are common with this node, although some don't remember and insist that the home was a good one. Even if there was no overt dysfunction, there is still a sense that fulfillment was lacking, and hard as they might try by staying around the family later in life, it never comes. Very often the unhappiness is vague, but in many cases, the past was a troubled one, and still they cling and hope to resolve the issues. An impossibility. Denial is common as they find reason to stay dependent on the family in adulthood. If not the original family, then a re-creation.

The re-creation of family relationships. The Cancer SNs have a tendency to replay the family dynamics that disappointed them early on. They often get involved with needy people, then wonder why their efforts to help them fail. Likewise, the comfort and safety they long to dissolve into with others often eludes them. They have a fear of aloofness and often when the moat of professional distance starts developing, they swim across to attach umbilically and ensure their continuing security. So they think. They also sometimes attach to unsatisfactory groups as a replay of the family unit.

Moodiness and childish overreaction. SN Cancers sometimes let their emotions and insecurities dominate to a detrimental degree. Easily overwhelmed when they lose control, they overreact then dislike themselves for their immature behavior. They often brood and can easily feel self-pity. When insecure, they run to others for comfort and relief, then feel inadequate for being needy. Oversensitivity to others' moods can also also affect them because of their lack of distance and excess concern about their dependents' state of mind. Sometimes the need for intimacy presses when others don't want it, and the SN Cancer feels rejected and wounded

Sorrow around the mother and/or family. Here again, often the SN Cancer will deny completely that there was a problem with the mother. Some, on the other hand, are acutely aware of her pain, and as much as they try to soothe her, she is inconsolable. I think they feel inadequate when this happens and frightened when she she's not strong, powerful, and protective. Frequently the adult SN Cancer replays the parent-child relationship, often playing the mother role to someone else, resulting in a feeling of victimization.

Personal vs professional. One of the hardest habits to break is the one that injects intimacy in what are supposed to be professional relationships. Sometimes too many personal details are revealed and the desire to be close and comforted interferes with the pure business at hand. They feel lost when the connection isn't there, not realizing their natural abilities to form productive adult relationships, once they get past the initial fear. What they fail to see is that the personal connection will automatically be there to the right degree if they don't force it or focus on it too much. If not reined in, it can be difficult to extricate themselves from the web of interpersonal hurts in the workplace. The web that is always there, but not for them this time around.

Shying away from a cruel world. Another hard fear to leave behind. The urge for the SNs in Cancer to stay safe and protected from what they perceive as a hostile world filled with hurt, not knowing, of course, their innate skills at controlling and surmounting difficulties when maturity is maintained. The joy of discovering their capabilities is worth it all.

Support of others. In some cases, The ancient Cancer SN knowledge of nurturing growth will drive them to put everything into helping others achieve their goals to the neglect of their own. Perhaps this is avoidance and fear of facing the hard climb in the world, but the feeling of waiting for their turns can be frustrating and disheartening.

Leaving home and childhood. In every way, SN Cancers know they must do this. When they start to achieve and move ahead, the call home comes, trouble in the family, "we need you", and on it goes. This inner call undermines advancement repeatedly, as the trap door is waiting upon return. Sometimes the SNs get far up the ladder and fall all the way back down, having to start again. This is not to say that they literally leave the family, but the dependent child is meant to be transformed into the capable adult. Mature people in control of their own emotions, and able to take charge of situations in a completely effective way.

Those with the SN in Cancer are taking their age old knowledge of feeling and familial connection to the larger world, where they can influence society with their emotional experience and human understanding. Next, the node to success....North in Capricorn.
Top illustration: Don Wood. Photograph: Italian actress playing Medea. Bottom: Emma Chichester Clark