Leo is courageous and self-confident by nature. Many other types instinctively respect or fear him, and their equally instinctive envy earns him a great many enemies. As a rule, Leos have rather less capacity for sustained effort than Taureans. They do not cope as well with an uphill struggle and are more easily wounded. Their pride, too, hampers them in a fight: they would do battle only with chivalrous weapons. They dislike detail. Leo’s nature is profoundly aristocratic; he despises everything mediocre or base, and in conflicts where such qualities are essential to success, he is very likely to lose. Moreover, he values glory more highly than material gain.
Leo always strives towards an ideal, much like Sagittarius. He is slow to grasp the practical realities and imagines that, if he bases his arguments on the great principles of justice, humanity and fairness, success must inevitably follow. He fails to see that most people settle questions by weighing up the material advantages. He expects a matter to be examined from every angle, with due regard for both past and future, whereas most people consider only the immediate cost. Leo’s honesty and faith in others can also lead him astray. His pride is partly responsible for his belief that deception is impossible. He not only speaks the truth himself but acts openly and sincerely, without evasion or concealment. Of all the signs, he is the easiest to deceive, and even when he discovers a betrayal, he is too noble to seek revenge. “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” is a characteristic motto.
Leo suffers deeply and is, at the same time, intensely compassionate towards others. The very idea of revenge or punishment is almost entirely foreign to his nature. He prefers mercy to justice. He understands perfectly well that an error in any sphere must have its consequences, but he would regret them and would almost certainly refuse to make matters worse by deliberately imposing a punishment.
For all this, Leos are prone to anger and excessive pride and vanity. Leo’s expansive tendencies are his greatest danger. In extreme cases, megalomania is not uncommon. Unrestrained, Leo becomes arrogant; yet despite his extraordinary self-confidence, effective resistance can suddenly leave him at a loss. At that moment he will recall his tragic fate and turn back, determined to die fighting.
With his sense of royalty, Leo is very apt to regard everything others give him as his natural right. He constantly complains of the ingratitude and disloyalty of those who do not immediately do as he demands and expects. Has he not blessed them with his priceless smile? He accepts flattery and takes offence when it is dismissed as insincere. To him, these statements are so obviously true that he cannot believe the person making them is not equally sincere. He will concede that someone may praise him in the hope of receiving something in return, but that is perfectly acceptable—even entirely natural. Is he not the dispenser of all favours? It is only right that his subjects should expect him to reward them.
In money matters, Leo is generous and expects generosity in return; he cannot understand pettiness in any form. When he thinks of money, he thinks in large, round sums. He does not want money merely for himself, and the very thought of miserly hoarding disgusts him. He likes to have it and recognises its usefulness, especially for some of life’s more important purposes.
Leos are highly eloquent, both in speech and in writing. They express themselves directly and openly, always appealing more to the heart than to the intellect. They tell the truth but are inclined to exaggerate, and their optimism can become dangerous.
Leo almost invariably gets on well with his family, thanks to his kind heart. Here, too, of course, he wants to occupy the centre, with his family revolving around him; however modest his circumstances, he makes himself king. His appetite for flattery can become excessive, and when the outside world denies it to him, he may turn into a tyrant at home. Leos expect everything to be done for them, not out of laziness, but from a desire to exercise what they regard as their rights.
Leo rising gives a great head and eyes, quick sight, a large, lusty, strong body; full of mettle, courageous, stout-hearted; thick, broad shoulders, yellowish or flaxen hair; a big, great voice, a resolute spirit, an aspiring mind, and a generous, free-hearted and courteous disposition.
“Nicholas Culpeper – Opus Astrologicum”
In matters of love, Leo is noble and rather conventional. He gives himself completely, and his sense of his own importance is so strong that he cannot imagine anyone refusing such a gift. Once accepted, he is both lazy and exacting. He tends to spoil his partner and feels absurdly wounded when he finds himself neglected. His love is what poets mean by the word: romantic and somewhat chivalrous. It can very easily degenerate into sentimentality. It is almost impossible for Leo to hold a grudge for long. Leos also love danger and adventure, believing that these ennoble passion. Leo has a certain ability to sustain his illusions even after he has seen through them. His faith in the ideal leads him to overlook his beloved’s shortcomings. This, too, is a form of vanity.
Leo rules not only the physical heart but also the nature of love. It is therefore very important for these people to express their emotions naturally, since they depend so heavily on attention. Indeed, the desire for praise and acceptance can develop into an overinflated ego. They would do well to remember the old saying that “those who possess true authority rarely display it”.
Leos have little sense of how to pace their work and are therefore in danger of “working themselves to death”. When fired with enthusiasm, they allow themselves no rest—an approach they share with Aries. They understand the joy of living to the full. “A short life and a merry one” appeals to them far more than a long and sorrowful existence; they despair only when they feel that time is being wasted.
Where marriage is concerned, everything said about love still applies. Leo is strongly inclined to see something sacramental in marriage. He is deeply faithful to his own conception of a vow. His word and his honour are sacred to him. If he has vowed to “love, cherish and protect” his wife until death, he keeps that vow. If, for some reason, divorce becomes all but inevitable, he is prepared to sacrifice his own moral and material interests so that he can feel he has fulfilled his promise.
Self-satisfaction is highly characteristic of Leo, and the pleasure he takes in contemplating his own generosity sustains him throughout his life. Leos are often misunderstood, for there is scarcely an action that cannot be attributed to two opposing motives. Selfish people will therefore always accuse Leo of selfishness, even though he sees himself as the very embodiment of generosity.