Cancer constellation in the zodiac lies in between those of Gemini and Leo, Gemini lying to its west and Leo to the east. To the north lies Lynx, whereas its south is studded with Canis Minor and Hydra.

Cancer is a small constellation with faint stars in it named Acubens (meaning the claws in Arabic), Al Tarf (meaning the end in Arabic), Asellus Borealis (meaning northern donkey in Latin), Asellus Australis (meaning southern donkey in Latin), Praesepe (meaning manger or the beehive cluster in Latin), Tegmine (meaning skin in Greek), Kwan Kei (meaning bright fire in Chinese), and Nahn (meaning nose in Persian).

Cancer in Latin means crab, which makes its symbol Cancer the crab, looking like  denoting the pincers of a crab. Looks like people always had a tendency to link their observations to some known figures of theirs that they were better familiar with!

In the ancient times, Cancer was associated with the Akkadian Sun of the South probably because it might have been positioned at the winter solstice then, but later it started getting linked with June-July with its new name Northern Gate of Sun. The constellation has very few stars in it, and the ones that are there aren’t very bright either, the brightest one being of 4th magnitude only. That is why Cancer had traditionally been considered to be a Dark Sign generally pictured as black and blind.

If we consider the positions in the year 2002, the Sun appeared in Cancer constellation in the zodiac from July 21 to August 9. In tropical astrology, the Sun is taken to be in the sign Gemini from June 24 to July 23, and in sidereal astrology, from July 16 to August 15. That is how these stars affect people born during this period and make the constellations their zodiac signs.