Restrained emotionality, intimacy and timidity. Cancer is the child of the Moon, and is usually betrayed by her eyes. Eyes are usually quite large, almond-shaped and in a peculiar way luminous - meaning they're light in color or give the impression of light. The eyes tend to be watery and full of emotion even if the Cancer tries to hide it. If you get the impression that you are looking at a full or half moon contrasting a backdrop of darkness, you can take a fair guess that you're looking at a Cancer born. Although there are quite a few exceptions to the rule, you typically won't notice a Cancer immediately. Perhaps more than any other sign, the Crab sneaks up on you, subtly. You catch a glimpse of him or her in the corner of your eyes after a few hours at a party. Then they linger on your mind, quietly, and you don't quite know what role they have to play. Always eager to help and take care of things, Cancer is the one who'll fetch a bag of ice and hold it against the head of an accident-prone guest, or the one helping the host to remove spilled wine from the carpet.
It's all part of the "mothering" tendency characteristic of Cancer or the Moon strong in the horoscope. Cancer men too share this embracing, caring instinct, although it might express itself differently. Sometimes the tender goodwill of Cancer can take on a smothering or domineering quality. Possessiveness is second nature to these people, and something you should always try to sense in a potential Crab. Though it sounds silly, it is in fact common for Cancers to have a body language and posture reminding of a living Crab. The movement of the arms, the careful, guarded walk, the highly set and wide chest. These physical features are common with Cancer ascending, but also with a generally strong Cancer influence. It has been suggested that female Cancers have either an unusually prominent or an almost flat chest, (being that Cancer rules this body part) but this idea should probably be taken lightly.
A favourite example of Cancer strong in the horoscope is Robin Williams (Sun, Mars and Uranus in Cancer; Mars/Uranus involved in a "grand trine" with Cancer ruling Moon in Pisces and Ascendant in Scorpio). In spite of the extrovert and highly verbal comedy of Williams, there is no doubt that his intense outpouring of emotion and the way he almost obsessively radiates empathy and care comes from a dominance of Cancer and the water element. Additionally, his body and general appearance is prototypical Cancer/water. No commentary on the sign Cancer should overlook to mention Meryl Streep (Sun conjunct Uranus, and Venus in Cancer - her Ascendant says 2 degrees Leo, but I would not be surprised if her actual birth time was 10 minutes earlier than recorded, making hers a Cancer Ascendant instead). Streep completely impersonates the idea of the Moon-mother (at least to me), oozing of the fluid, feminine emotion and deep receptivity characteristic of Cancer.