Leo in Classical Astrology

Leo, the Lion, is the fifth sign of the Zo­di­ac. The sun enters it on or around July 23, when the summer is at its peak. Leo be­longs to the ele­ment fire, its quality is fixed and its charge is positive. Its Ruler is the sun, and Pluto exalts in it. Its motto is: "I want." In the horo­scope chart, Leo brings a proud and prominent charac­ter to planets or Houses therein.

Your Zodiac Sign

Those who have Leo as their star sign are born when the sun was in Leo, normally July 23 - August 22 (it differs slightly from year to year, be­cause of the leap years). Therefore, it is also - more correctly - called the sun sign.
     The sun in your horoscope is your natural self - what you are when you relax, when other planets in your horoscope are not active. It is your basic drive, a character you have as an ingredient - more or less evident in all you do and all you are. It is the most important point in your complete horoscope chart, but of course it is not the only thing that describes your personality. You need to look at all the components of your birth chart, to get a correct astrological description of your­self.
     If your sun sign is Leo, you are a proud person, with a strong sense of integrity and the importance of being true to yourself. It is the major sun sign, so it is natural for you to shine. To a Leo, life is very much the individual achievement, and the ability to rech a place of distinction in society - but mostly, to be able to have pride in oneself. A center stage position is gladly taken, but nothing compares to looking at oneself in the mirror and being genuinely pleased with what one sees there - not at all only on the surface.
     A Zodiac sign does not give exactly the same influ­ence all through its 30°. Its first third has something of a cardinal quality, whatever the quality of the sign as a whole is, its second third is slightly more fixed in quality, and the last third is more mutable.
     If the sun is in the beginning of Leo, you need to dominate your surroundings, and are usually able to do so. You can act, and when you do you don't keep it a secret. If the sun is in the middle of Leo, you don't need a very prominent position, but you want to be respected for what you are, and you tend to remain there as securely as if you were a statue. If the sun is at the end of Leo, you tend to be displeased with the position you have and the admiration you get. You strive for more, and that makes you active and competent, but also somewhat frustrated.

Your Father

The sun in the horoscope also represents your father (the mother is represented by the moon).
     If you have the sun in Leo, your relation to your father is one of high mutual respect. It is also mutual in the way that you both feel a need to be proud of each other, in order to be proud of yourselves. It's kind of a gentlemen's agreement. Still, you may feel that your father is never completely aware of your qualities - and you doubt that he would ever admit to you surpassing him in any way, no matter how minute. You can feel that your father is a role model, sometimes hard to live up to.

The Planets

When another planet or other point of the horo­scope is in Leo, it is also affected by the sign, get­ting some­thing of its character. Here are those points, what they stand for, and how they are affected by Leo:


    Sun   basic drive - Leo brings pride and integrity.
    Moon   longing - Leo brings a need to be admired by others, and to feel good about oneself.
    Mercury   curiosity - Leo brings an ability to convince others and a mind set on personal goals.
    Venus   affection - Leo brings great charm that seduces others, and a delight in oneself.
    Mars   aggression - Leo brings a strong willpower and determination.
    Jupiter   luck - Leo brings good fortune and some ease to achieve personal success.
    Saturn   duty - Leo brings a sense of importance, and determination to reach one's goals.
    Uranus   contemplation - Leo brings a fascination with one's own mind, and constant curiosity to explore it.
    Neptune   fantasy - Leo brings a fantasy quite self-occupied, and dreams of personal satisfaction.
    Pluto   catharsis - Leo brings drastic changes and a sense of destiny in the making, to one's personal life.
    Ascendant, AC   attitude - Leo brings an impressive appearance and the admiration of others.
    Medium Coeli, MC   self-image - Leo brings personal pride and the conviction of being special.

The Houses

In the astrological Houses, the Zodiac signs also bring their characters, influencing the environments de­scribed by the Houses. Here are the twelve Houses, what they stand for, and how Leo affects them:

1. Identity - Leo makes you seem self-occupied, but also charismatic.
2. Resources - Leo makes you full of personal resources.
3. Communication - Leo makes you attract many friends, and your learning is mainly autodidactic.
4. Home - Leo makes you the center of your family, sometimes dominating it too much.
5. Pastime - Leo makes you seek out personal pleasures and indulge in them.
6. Work - Leo makes you have a leading role at work, whatever your title is.
7. Partners - Leo makes you the main one in your relations, but you have difficulty committing.
8. Unknown - Leo makes you confident that fate will be kind to you, or that you can master it when needed.
9. Travel - Leo makes you prefer the world to turn around you, than the other way around.
10. Career - Leo makes you get a prominent, leading position in just about any social situation.
11. Ideals - Leo makes you a convinced individualist, turning to the community only to get its confirmation.
12. Shortcomings - Leo makes you feel that life doesn't give enough opportunities for you to realize your own goals.

     Of course, all of the above is very general, mainly to give you an idea of how the sign works in the horoscope. You need to study your complete horoscope chart carefully, to make a deeper and more nuanced inter­pretation.

© Stefan Stenudd

Leo in Zodiac Sign Astrology

If Leo is your Zodiac sign, also called star sign or sun sign, it means that the sun was in that sign at your birth. For much more about what that means in astrology and the horoscope, please go to my website devoted to the Zodiac sign:
Leo Traits