[11] Due to the negative associations of the word "Cancer" with the disease of the same name, some astrologers refer to persons born under this sign as "moon children".

"[15] In ancient Egypt, the sign of Cancer was conceived as a scarab beetle, while in Mesopotamia it was represented by a turtle.

[15] In each case, the animal representative of the sign was perceived as "pushing" the sun across the heavens, initiating the summer solstice.

[16] Naturalist Richard Hinckley Allen, in 1899, deemed Cancer the "most inconspicuous figure in the zodiac," adding that its mythology "apologizes for its being there by the story that when the Crab was crushed by Hercules, for pinching his toes during a contest with the Hydra in the Marsh of Lerna, Juno exalted it to the sky.

"[16] During the Middle Ages, the zodiacal symbol of Cancer was included in devotional books and incorporated into monumental sculptures.

[19] In Giorgio Vasari's fresco, the Chamber of Fortune, Cancer is represented in the northern compartment of the ceiling, pictured by Diana, holding the moon, along with a crab.