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What Makes A Leo Happy- Life in the Sunshine

A cloudy day is no match for a sunny disposition. – William Arthur Ward

sunnyThe Sun is the power point of the horoscope, thus you will seldom be truly happy without being connected to your own Sun and to all those things it rules.

You may tune into your Sun quite spontaneously if you are a Leo or your Sun is close to the Ascendant or to the Midheaven, but others may have to develop their own sunny characteristics by consciously concentrating on things the Sun rules on their charts.

Keep your face in the sunshine and you can never see the shadow, wrote Helen Keller. Perhaps this is what we all should learn to do even in analyzing astrological charts. In addition to remembering the central role of the Sun we should also give special attention to the fifth house, the house of the Sun. In the fifth house we all may develop a positive and optimistic Leonian attitude that often is “the mother of happy accidents” (Vauvenargues, Sun in Leo).

CHARISMA AND RADIANCE

leoLeo, the sign of the Sun, is a strong and radiant sign, even its colors – golden yellow and orange – reflect this. A developed Leo is positive and optimistic, very loyal to itself and to things and people it believes in and values. But yet it’s never wise to rouse a Leo to anger, fixed signs have a long memory, and Leos are no exceptions. Although they may not be revengeful like Scorpios sometimes, they do not forget easily anyone who hurts their pride. Such offenders Leos either cut out of their lives, or the offender just ceases to exist for them.

Usually Leos have a lot of self-respect, some of them can also be vain and snobbish, more so the ones with little talent. In some cases pride can be a problem and even a cause for a downfall, but usually Leos soon rise up again, stronger than ever. They have now learnt how to avoid anything similar happening once again. “Only a man who knows what it is like to be defeated can reach down to the bottom of his soul and come up with the extra ounce of power it takes to win when the match is even.” (Muhammad Ali, Leo rising).

Leos also have a lot of charisma and magnetism. “Rule, teach or entertain” could be a good motto for them – or better still: rule and teach and entertain, because Leos often enjoy combining these three functions. In almost any crowd Leos usually stand out, and so do those with Sun on the Ascendant or on any other angle. Even the Sun on the IC usually stands out, although it takes more time and happens in more selected circles or in indirect ways.

If a Leo doesn’t spontaneously come forth, perhaps because of a strong Saturn, others may still drag the Leonian out, because people usually intuitively sense that a Leo almost always has both dramatic and teaching talents, thus having a Leo around is a way to have your daily dose of entertainment as well as some good lessons. Often people are so ready to expect that Leonians will always offer some dramatic entertainment for them, that they become angry if a Leo fails to perform.

LOFTY MANNERS

leo-ciro-marchettiLeos are independent but not totally self-sufficient: a ruler needs subjects to perform well. This is also why Leos do not always work well with other Leos, they all need their own kingdoms. Sometimes Leos with their royal ways and an air of superiority provoke other signs to attempt to cut Leos down, yet often with meager results, because Leos with their dramatic sense usually turn such attempts to a great drama in which the Leo is once again a star.

A true Lion never becomes merged into its surroundings, but it may well overpower others and assimilate them. According to Dane Rudhyar a Leo Ascendant type often tries to find himself by creating mirrors around himself and then finding himself through those mirrors. People living close to a Leo-Ascendant type may thus find it hard to use their own creativity without becoming copies of their Leonian friends. If a man and his dog begin to resemble each other, why should not this happen to a man and his neighbor, wrote John Steinbeck (Leo rising).

Very few Leos are satisfied with living in the background, they are made for the limelight. If life forces Leos into modest circumstances, they will often still keep a remnant of their lofty manners. And they will also have at least a couple of loyal subjects. Because of their need of subjects, Leos may not always, for instance as teachers, encourage or accept others to try to rise to the same level.

AN ARISTOCRAT OR A SNOB?

When you’re as great as I am, it’s hard to be humble. – Muhammad Ali, Leo rising

Leo is a powerful sign, and all would be well if only high-level people were born as Leos. But that is not how life works, all kinds of people are born as Leos. According to Martin Seymour-Smith “a heavily-tenanted Leo can be an embarrassment to an ungifted person, leading to the most absurd airs and pretensions…”. In such cases the Leonian may also be subjected to severe peer pressures as others are not always ready to tolerate royal behavior from an untalented person.

sunny-leo-artBecause of their feeling that they were meant to be something special, many Leos do not only aim at high positions, they also do their utmost to become worthy of those positions. For a Leo “equality may perhaps be a right, but no power on earth can ever turn it into a fact.” (Honore de Balzac, Leo rising). For a Leo your claims for equality may sound like attempts to put a Leo down, which seldom succeeds for long, as both Sun-Leos and Moon-Leos are very resourceful in finding new ways to show their special worth. Attempts to put Leonians down just strengthens their beliefs that “equality is a slogan based on envy” (Alexis de Tocqueville, Leo).

Some Leos may seem passive in defending their rights, but try stepping on their toes and you’ll find that even they can, in their own way, roar like all Lions. They will usually put you firmly back to your own place, either publicly or at least in their own minds. “If I am wronged, I am of steel. I am not of pariah class.” (Aino Kallas, Sun in Leo).

Many Leos keep a royal distance to their admirers, they do not appreciate rough manners, meanness or a lack of culture. Some of them, like T. E. Lawrence (Sun-Ascendant in Leo), even avoid “the lower creation…” altogether. Fernando Pessoa (Moon in Leo) said, that a contact with the public will wound a sensitive person, it puts him to the same level with those who are rioting on the streets. A typically Leonian attitude is expressed by Edmond de Goncourt (Moon in Leo): “I am a well-born man of letters, and the common people, the mob, if you like, have for me the attractiveness of unknown and undiscovered races, something like the exotic that travellers at the cost of great suffering seek in far-off countries.”

AN INDIVIDULISTIC EXTRAVERT?

Leo astrological signA Leo can’t be happy without being able to express her or his own creativity in an individual way. Ludwig Feuerbach, a Leonian philosopher, defined happiness as a condition, in which each creature can, without any obstacles, really satisfy its own individual needs and aspirations, thus happiness is subjective, it always depends on one’s individuality. For a Leo merging oneself into a crowd would mean losing one’s individuality and thus everything, even one’s humanity.

Carl Payne Tobey wrote that he never met a person with Leo rising, who was not an extravert, although for instance the Sun in Cancer may make the extravert cautious. According to Tobey Leo is interested in the outer world, not in the inner one, as Leo has just left Cancer behind. The Leonian task is to act as a kind of father figure or to help people in the world. A Cancer is interested in the effect the world has on her or him, a Leo is interested in her or his impact on the world, and especially on people. Leos like to organize people, not things.

Thus in addition to being able to express themselves Leos also need a way to help others and the world. A Leo without any such role is usually a frustrated Leo. And a frustrated Leo may become self-absorbed, a narcissist if you want, until it once again finds a suitable role in which to use its special creative teaching and leadership talents. If a Leo doesn’t find such a role it may use it teaching talents in trying to educate everyone around even when it is the last thing others want and need.

But a happy Leo, expressing its true individuality, is a kindly figure, as a teacher very understanding, tolerant and supportive, and as an entertainer giving herself or himself totally to the public. Yet even the most understanding Leo knows her or his own value, if you do not treat a Leo with due respect, you may lose a friend. To be happy a Leo needs friends like almost everyone does, but they have to be friends that truly appreciate the Lion. And usually also friends the Lion can respect and appreciate.

Last updated on July 12, 2015 at 7:36 pm. Word Count: 1589