Cancer: The Archetype of the Home

I have a confession to make. I allowed myself to retreat while I was in the Catskills, and this was so deeply nourishing, but it was an edge for me. My comfort zone in the past has been to work, very, very hard – because at one time, I had to. I’d work a 9-5, and then come home and run by business. While I spent some time in the forest this past week, I reflected on the archetype of Cancer, and this shed some light on what the home actually symbolizes for us…

Cancer teaches us that the home is such a sacred, and powerful place. It doesn’t only represent the physical home, but also the metaphorical – people, pets, places, and patterns that we find comfort and belonging in. Thing is though, the home can be both serving and self-sabotaging, depending on our level of awareness. 

The home isn’t only linked to comfort, but also our relationship to ourselves and the outside world. Of course, this is where we can find nourishment, rejuvenation, privacy, and connection to self/family etc. It is a place we go to where we can completely let our guard down, and because of this, it’s also a place where our deepest shadows feel safe enough to surface.

Our relationship to ourselves and the outside world manifests in a messy room, or maybe the opposite – neurotic cleaning. It masks itself in the way you speak to your family, how you perceive yourself in the bathroom mirror, and the time you take to care for yourself in this sacred space. Your home is a reflection of YOU.

The home can either be a healthy temple to honor yourself and recharge your batteries in, or it can serve as an escape from the outside world, and even from yourself. It is symbolic of what you do to self-sooth and comfort yourself, which can either be serving or unserving to your overall well-being. It’s time to really take a look at what we consider to be “home” – what we have normalized, accepted, and allowed in this scared space. We create our own realities, and we have the power to create a home that mirrors a loving, nourishing, and caring connection to self. In order to do this, we must look at our shadows and ask the deeper question: What is the condition of your home revealing to you?

Your relationship to home is also symbolic of your attachment to your comfort zone. Do you fearfully cling to what feels familiar? Or, do you honor and return to what feels comfortable, while also challenging yourself to meet your edges? Does home serve as a prison, or a base from which you fly from?

Home, whether this is a place, person, or pattern, is meant to be a place you return to for care, love, and nourishment. It isn’t meant to be a prison that you keep yourself in to run away from your problems or sabotage yourself. It isn’t a dumping ground for the unhealed wounds that live inside of you. It’s a temple – a place to deeply connect with yourself and spirit. A space that helps you emotionally attune to yourself and others, by deeply listening to what your body needs and desires. It’s a divine reflection of spirit’s love for you, your worthiness of being here, and the bright light that lives inside of you.

Home used to be a place I always found myself working in, largely to escape pain. But I recognized that this wasn’t what I wanted my home to represent for me, and it certainly wasn’t an energy I wanted to carry over into my business. I wanted it to symbolize health, well-being, sacredness, connection to myself and spirit, love, and care. This created a shift for me, in the homes I return to internally, and externally.  

So where can you find reflections of love and shadow in YOUR home, and what are the messages they have for YOU?