Leo

LEE-oh

greek: Λέων (Leon) · latin: Leo · sanskrit: Simha

Definition

Leo is the fifth sign of the zodiac, covering 120 to 150 degrees of the ecliptic — the circle the Sun appears to travel over a year. It is a fixed fire sign, falling in the middle of Northern Hemisphere summer, when the Sun's heat is most settled. In the traditional system of dignities — the strengths a planet picks up from its sign — the Sun rules Leo alone, making Leo the only sign whose ruler is a luminary (the Sun or Moon) with no second ruler. No traditional planet is exalted, or especially strong, in Leo.

In Tradition

Astrologers in the Western tradition link Leo with creative self-expression and the unfolding of an individual personality. Because the Sun rules it, Leo traditionally carries a feeling of vitality and of standing in your own authority.

In Practice

A planet in Leo tends to express itself through sustained, confident creativity, because the fixed mode gives steady, enduring energy. The house — the life area — that has Leo on its cusp is read as the part of life where self-expression and personal authority come forward. Hellenistic practice groups Leo among the fixed signs (in Greek, sterea, "solid"), tied to stability, permanence, and situations that change slowly. Within the fire triplicity — the trio of fire signs, Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius — Leo is the fixed expression of fire. Astrologers also watch the Leo-Aquarius axis, the pair of opposite signs, for how someone balances personal creative expression against belonging to a wider group.

Historical Origin

Leo appears as one of the twelve zodiacal signs in the earliest Hellenistic texts. The Hellenistic name for the fixed signs is sterea, meaning "solid" or "firm," reflecting their link to mid-season stability. The Thema Mundi — the Hellenistic teaching chart used to illustrate the system — places the Sun in Leo, which makes the Sun-Leo rulership a foundation of the whole scheme. In medical astrology, the body region matched to Leo is the heart.

Definition

In Tradition

In Practice

Historical Origin

Further Reading