Shy Cancer?

Land of the Lost star and funnyman Will Ferrell's Astrology profile

by Jeff Jawer

We might imagine that comedians, especially wild and funny ones like Will Ferrell, star of the soon-to-be hit movie Land of the Lost, must have fiery birth charts loaded with signs of extravagance and extraversion. The talented Mr. Will Ferrell, however, was born on July 16, 1967, under the security conscious and supposedly shy sign of Cancer, which is also the Sun sign of Robin Williams. Apart from their obvious talent, what cuddly Cancer brings to comedy is a high degree of sensitivity that's as good at finding the funny bone as it is at finding a corner to cry in. It's been said that comedy is a way of overcoming pain by causing us to laugh it away, which Will Ferrell does superbly.

From the look of Will Ferrell's chart, his Cancer Sun is just the tip of his temperamental iceberg. He was born with the Moon, Cancer's ruling planet and the astrological collector of personal history, in deep, dark and mysterious Scorpio. This is traditionally considered to be a difficult place for the Moon due to Scorpio's penchant to focus more on hunger than fulfillment. Those with the Moon in Scorpio understand the shadow worlds of wounds and despair even when their personal stories are not so hard. Will's Moon is particularly intuitive because it's joined by dreamy Neptune, the planet of imagination. This compassionate planet takes the cynical edge off his Scorpio Moon, allowing him to move audiences to tears and laughter with a gentle touch. Neptune is also about absorption and illusion, which often makes it prominent in the chart of skillful mimics.

Big, old, loosey goosey Will is a perfectionist who works very hard to appear so relaxed. Venus, the planet of love and approval, was in industrious Virgo when he was born. This can be associated with insecurity that is overcome with dedication to mastering his craft.

The brilliant inventiveness that's helped make Will a star is shown by Uranus, the planet of originality, in a favorable 60-degree sextile to his Sun. This reflects the zaniness that's such an important part of his act.

Mercury the Messenger was moving backwards when Will was born. This retrograde period often indicates complications when it comes to education and communication. For him, though, it shows up in his folksy way of talking (G.W. Bush, who he plays so well, is also a Cancer) and means that he's more intuitive than analytical as a thinker.