Sabian Symbols · Cancer · Degree 4 of 30
Cancer 4°
The traditional symbol for this degree, one of the 360 Sabian symbols first recorded in 1925: “A hungry cat argues earnestly with the mouse she intends to catch.”
THE SYMBOL
“A hungry cat argues earnestly with the mouse she intends to catch.”
Cancer 4° · Sabian symbols, devised 1925 (Marc Edmund Jones, clairvoyant Elsie Wheeler)
Remember to round up: a planet or point at 9°30′ takes the 10° symbol, not the 9° one.
What this degree describes
Appetite and reasoning tangle together here, the cat not simply pouncing but making a case first, as if instinct wanted the mouse's cooperation rather than only its capture. This is a strange, almost comic degree, since a predator rarely bothers explaining itself, and the effort to persuade suggests something in Cancer that wants its wants to be understood, not just satisfied. There's an honesty under the comedy: hunger can dress itself up as conversation, but the outcome the cat is after doesn't actually change.
When a planet or point falls here
A planet at this degree can indicate real skill at rationalizing an appetite, wanting something and building the argument for why wanting it is reasonable. Venus or Mars here often shows charm used in service of a very specific need, persuasive rather than blunt. It rewards noticing when you are actually just hungry, underneath the argument you are making.
What are you currently arguing for, that you would probably just take if you let yourself admit you wanted it?
Find your own Sabian symbols
Your Sun, Moon, Ascendant, and every planet each sit at their own exact degree. Cast a free natal chart to find yours, or let a full reading trace what they mean together.
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