The 12 Days of Aries: Healing the Inner Child Day 4 - Cancer

"The cry we hear from deep in our hearts comes from the wounded child within. Healing this inner child’s pain will transform negative emotions."
-Thich Nhat Hanh

The month of Aries is the start of the lunar new year. It is called in Hebrew Rosh Chodashim, the head of all months. As the seed of the year and the DNA of all the coming months, it affords us the opportunity to plant seeds with our consciousness to do deep inner work that will soften our journey and smooth our path to change.

The first 12 days of Aries are especially important as they each correspond to one of the 12 months of the coming year. The sixteenth century Kabbalist Rav Isaac Luria explains that the spiritual work we do on these 12 days influences what we will experience in the corresponding months to come.

To guide you through a process of internal transformation, I am going to overlay two modalities, Kabbalistic astrology and the inner child archetype, to assist us to do profound work of healing from within.

My hope is that with the knowledge of the cosmic opportunity ahead of us these next 12 days, a gift given to us by the great Kabbalists, together with an exploration of our inner self, we can begin embracing our child so that we can move to our spiritual growth and maturity.

Looking forward to taking this journey with you.

The 12 Days of Aries Day 4: Cancer

Welcome to Day 4 of the 12 Days of Aries, the Kabbalistic window in time that starts at Sundown on Monday, April 11 and ends at Sundown on Tuesday, April 12.

Cancer is a cardinal water sign. Cardinal signs herald new seasons and new beginnings and water signs have the gift of feelings and sensitivity. Cancers, in particular, are very emotional and are prone to moodiness and pessimism. They seek security from feeling close to other people, and can become closed and withdrawn when they don't get the energy they need. The motto for Cancer is “I feel, therefore I am.”

The Cancer Inner Child Archetype holds unresolved emotional pain and fears abandonment or neglect. This inner child archetype is needy for energy and clingy to other people for fear of being left alone or “out in the cold.” When it doesn’t get the energy it craves, it is the child that voices the old sentiment, “Nobody likes me, I guess I’ll go eat worms.”

We all have a bit of this Cancer Inner Child Archetype within. It shows up when we find ourselves feeling excluded or when we feel slighted when people distance themselves from us. Whatever the case may be, the most important thing is NOT to judge ourselves for it. In fact, when we recognize how needy we are for energy from others, we can start the work of forging a connection to our own source of energy: the Light of our soul.

Consciousness for the Day: Practice good self-care. Connect with the inner security that comes from loving yourself unconditionally, connecting to the Light, and feeling others.

Most importantly, be gentle with yourself and your inner child. You are work in progress and a child of God who loves you. Healing comes from positively acknowledging and taking responsibility for what we need to change, not from beating ourselves up.