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Symbols

Free Cancer SVG files: the glyph, the constellation and the crab

Free Cancer zodiac SVG files for the fourth sign, 21 June to 22 July: the glyph of two circling claws, the faint constellation of the crab, and the crab itself as a silhouette, a line drawing and a crab holding up the Moon. These are the star sign; the awareness ribbons have a set of their own.

13 designs. Free for personal and commercial use, no sign-up. What you can do with them.

Or choose one below for its PNG, DXF and cutting sizes.

Cancer in the zodiac

Cancer is the fourth sign of the zodiac and its figure is the crab. By the usual tropical dates the Sun is in Cancer from 21 June to 22 July; the first and last day can move by one from year to year. Astrology counts Cancer as a water sign, and its ruler is the Moon.

The glyph is two small circles whose tails sweep round each other like a pair of claws. The constellation here is Cancer, drawn from the catalogue positions of 5 of its stars on a map centred on the figure, so its proportions are those of the sky. The brightest of them, Altarf, is shown as a five-pointed star and the others as discs sized by brightness.

Cutting the Cancer crab

A crab is all legs, and the legs set the smallest size you can cut. Every file is 100 mm on its longer side. At that size each leg is about 5 mm wide where it leaves the shell and tapers to under 2 mm at its tip, and the fingers of the claws end in points. In vinyl that weeds well down to about 60 mm. In card or plywood keep the crab at 100 mm or more, or choose the crab in the ring of stars, where the ring protects the leg tips.

The Cancer glyph is two separate marks, so the plain glyph is two loose pieces: lift them together with transfer tape to keep the gap between them. On the ring version the two marks are welded into the ring and the design is one piece.

If you came here for cancer awareness ribbons, they are in the awareness ribbon set.

How to open the files

  • Cricut Design Space: choose Upload, pick the SVG, and add it to the canvas. Set the width you want; the shape is already welded.
  • Silhouette Studio: Designer Edition and above open the SVG. The free Basic Edition does not, so open the DXF instead.
  • LightBurn, xTool Creative Space and Glowforge: import the SVG, then set the layer to cut, score or engrave.
  • Inkscape, Illustrator and Affinity: open the SVG. It is a plain filled path, so you can recolour it, add a stroke or combine it with your own work.
  • Printing or sublimation: use the PNG, which has a transparent background.

Each design page lists the file’s narrowest part at seven sizes, so you can tell whether it will survive at the size you plan to cut.

Questions

What are the dates for Cancer?

By the usual tropical dates, 21 June to 22 July. The Sun does not cross into the sign at the same hour every year, so some calendars give a first or last day one earlier or later. No design here carries numerals: the badge has a blank band for the dates in your own lettering.

Why does the Cancer constellation have so few stars?

Cancer is the faintest constellation of the zodiac: none of its stars is brighter than magnitude 3.5. The design uses the five that make the usual figure, an upside-down Y. Altarf, the brightest, is the five-pointed star at the end of the lower right arm, and the two stars in the middle are the pair known as the Asses.

Why is the crab holding the moon?

Astrology gives each sign a ruling planet, and for Cancer the ruler is the Moon, so the two are often drawn together. On that design the claws overlap the edge of the moon on both sides, which is what holds it to the crab as a single piece.

More free SVG files