Cancer in Hebrew — Sartan, the crab of Tammuz
Cancer in Hebrew is Sartan (סַרְטָן) — the crab. In the Jewish calendar it is not a band of sky but a month with a body: Tammuz, the month of sight, carried by the tribe of Reuben.
The Hebrew zodiac names are older than the Latin ones and blunter: Sartan simply means "crab." The fifth chapter of Sefer Yetzirah binds this mazal to the month of Tammuz, the letter ח (Chet), and the sense of sight — a full anatomy, not just a symbol.
Here is what most Cancer pages will not tell you: your Western Cancer window (June 21 – July 22) usually straddles two Hebrew months — the end of Sivan and most of Tammuz — and because the Hebrew calendar is lunisolar, the boundary lands differently every single year. A Cancer born in the early window may actually carry Sivan's mazal, Gemini. The Jewish sign follows the Hebrew month you were born in, not the sun's degree.
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Emotional, family-oriented, deeply intuitive, sensitive, protective. Tammuz's season carries 17 Tammuz fast — breach of Jerusalem's walls, and its avoda — the month's inner work — is guarding the eyes — the "good eye" of Joseph that does not look at what is not his (Bava Metzia 84a).
Strengths of the Tammuz-born, in the classical reading: intuition, emotional depth, protectiveness, visual perception. The growth edge: emotional regulation, boundary-setting, not personalizing feedback.
The month–mazal–letter–sense map: Sefer Yetzirah, ch. 5. The character of Tammuz: Bnei Yissaschar on Tammuz. The tradition's caveat that none of this is destiny: ein mazal l'Yisrael — see the Journal.
What is Cancer in Hebrew?
Cancer in Hebrew is Sartan (סַרְטָן) — literally "crab." It is the mazal of the Hebrew month of Tammuz, linked to the tribe of Reuben and the letter Chet.
Which Hebrew month is Cancer?
Cancer is the sign of Tammuz. But note: the Western Cancer window (June 21 – July 22) usually straddles two Hebrew months — late Sivan and most of Tammuz — and the boundary moves every year, because the Hebrew calendar is lunisolar.
Is my Jewish zodiac sign the same as my Western sign?
Often not. Your Western sign follows the sun's position on your Gregorian date; your Jewish sign follows the Hebrew month you were born in. Because the calendars drift against each other, two people with the same Western sign can carry different mazalot. The only way to know is to convert your actual birth date.
Cancer is one twelfth of the story.
The full reading adds your Hebrew day, your planetary hour, and the letters of your name — computed, cited, and free to begin.
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