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| By Ronald Searle, from Searle's Zodiac. |
"It would probably be difficult indeed to find anyone strongly under the fifth sign who did not express himself in some way; for the Sun must shine." So wrote English astrologer C.E.O. Carter in his piece A Pride of Lions on zodiac sign Leo.
Dante Alighieri, centuries earlier, wrote
"All your renown is like the summer flower that blooms and dies; because the sunny glow which brings it forth, soon slays with parching power."
Alighierei's quote reminded me of the popular (in his day) author Guy de Maupssant (1850-1893), cut down in his early 40s by syphilis. He had Sun in Leo. He'd obviously expressed himself too much, early on, and in all the wrong places!
Another writer with Sun in Leo, and featured in the past on this blog, is
English poet Philip Larkin. One of his last poems, found written on the back of an illustrated postcard depicting illuminations from the Book of Hours, in this case Leo for July/August:
LONG LION DAYS
Whatever conceived
Now fully leaved,
Abounding, ablaze –
O long lion days.
(P.A.L 1982)
On the distaff side, J.K. Rowling has shone very brightly, as befits Leo Sun, via her Harry Potter novels.
Writing hasn't been the favourite mode of expression for Leo-types though, neighbouring sign Virgo, ruled by Mercury, takes up the slack on that front.
A few less commonly mentioned points about zodiac sign Leo, as made by C.E.O. Carter in his Pride of Lions piece, linked above:
From an archived post of mine on Leo:
Husband does express himself via painting, so Leo peeps through. Maybe his Moon and ascendant degrees are within sidereal Cancer....they are! His midheaven is less than half a degree from Taurus (in Aries), a slight tweak in birth time could bring it into Taurus.
With only Pluto in Leo myself - just into that sign by the skin of its planetary baby teeth - I'm one of the first of the Pluto in Leo set.
Dante Alighieri, centuries earlier, wrote
"All your renown is like the summer flower that blooms and dies; because the sunny glow which brings it forth, soon slays with parching power."
Alighierei's quote reminded me of the popular (in his day) author Guy de Maupssant (1850-1893), cut down in his early 40s by syphilis. He had Sun in Leo. He'd obviously expressed himself too much, early on, and in all the wrong places!
Another writer with Sun in Leo, and featured in the past on this blog, is
English poet Philip Larkin. One of his last poems, found written on the back of an illustrated postcard depicting illuminations from the Book of Hours, in this case Leo for July/August:
LONG LION DAYS
Whatever conceived
Now fully leaved,
Abounding, ablaze –
O long lion days.
(P.A.L 1982)
On the distaff side, J.K. Rowling has shone very brightly, as befits Leo Sun, via her Harry Potter novels.
Writing hasn't been the favourite mode of expression for Leo-types though, neighbouring sign Virgo, ruled by Mercury, takes up the slack on that front.
A few less commonly mentioned points about zodiac sign Leo, as made by C.E.O. Carter in his Pride of Lions piece, linked above:
But we must always remember that Leo is a sign of very varied expression. There are four main points in a nativity: Sun, Moon, ruler and ascendant; and with Leos two are the same. Therefore much depends on the sign emplacement and aspects of the ruler which is also the Sun. Another point to consider is the sign on the midheaven, which in these latitudes may be Aries or Taurus; the former are commonly more mobile, physically and mentally. Thirdly, if we agree that the constellations have some value and accept Cyril Fagan's calculations, the first 23 degrees or so of Leo are in the constellation Cancer which would make the natives of that area quieter and more sensitive and more of "family men" or women. Fourthly, we must bear the decanates in mind. Leo-Sagittarius-Aries by the Hindu method; Saturn-Jupiter-Mars by the Chaldean.
I've met few Leo Suns in my time - a couple of guy friends I recall, back in the 1960s, in Devonshire, the English south-western riviera. One had clear Leo tendencies - he wasn't wealthy - far from it, but he made it his business to have a flashy Jaguar car to make a good impression. Onlookers probably never guessed that the back seats were supported by a couple of old soda crates, and various other bits and pieces of the interior had seen much better days. He started his own business, a one-man affair which hadn't truly taken off at the time I knew him. He had dreams of building a lovely house on a Devon cliff-top, took me to see the site he wanted to buy. He was a sweet dreamer. I often wonder how things turned out for him.
The other Sun in Leo guy friend I met, around a year later, was a very different character. He was the foster son of a couple of elderly spinsters who ran a small boarding house where I stayed when attending an interview in the same town. I got the job, and later the son befriended me. He was neither outgoing, nor particularly warm. No aim to be successful. He had, I think, been worn down by life with the two ladies. I tried hard to like him, but didn't succeed. Several years later after I'd been away from the area and returned for some reason, I happened upon one of the ladies from that boarding house. She told me that her foster son had committed suicide some months earlier. That was a shock - and so very un-Leo-like! I don't know his chart other than his birthday - 27 July - so can't say what other unfortunate placements might have added to his obviously distressing situation. I suspect he might have had only Sun in Leo with, perhaps, small groups of personal planets in both Cancer and Virgo - but that's a wild guess.
I mustn't forget Himself - my husband - who has Leo rising and Moon in Leo (+ Aries Sun). I really do struggle to identify any strong typically Leo traits in him.
Husband does express himself via painting, so Leo peeps through. Maybe his Moon and ascendant degrees are within sidereal Cancer....they are! His midheaven is less than half a degree from Taurus (in Aries), a slight tweak in birth time could bring it into Taurus.
With only Pluto in Leo myself - just into that sign by the skin of its planetary baby teeth - I'm one of the first of the Pluto in Leo set.
2 comments:
"Can the Sun shine for itself or just one other? ... Of all the signs, they [Leos] cannot live for themselves alone." Isabel Hickey
Ah, those Leos! I've known and been friends with an inordinate number of solar Leos. They certainly know how to attract an audience, attention, and adoration. Volatile temper, but easily allayed, then dismissed, unlike my Scorpio clinging to the violation. Fragile egos dependent upon other egos for nourishment. The Leos I've encountered have been very funny...always a good story or joke to reveal, even it it's about them...always ready to become the life of a party...they know how to cajole their subjects.
An oddity I've noticed about the couple of Leo friends I've had for years is their upholding of rules, when it works in their favor, but complete disdain for rules when the rules counter their efforts. A very handsome Leo fellow I know has a constant flow of lovers...I call his appointments flavor-of-the-month...and he dismisses them summarily based on the unwritten rules of termination. BUT, once every year or two he will fall for someone that is not responsive to his charms and it infuriates him...LOL...what goes around, comes around.
They do demand loyalty and are extremely appreciative of flattery and positive strokes directed their way. A little attention goes a long way in sustaining a Leo.
My appreciation for the month of August depends on where I have lived and what I'm doing. I like August in the cooler parts of the country...here in the deep south, it's sweltering and not to my liking. As a child, August was the last month of freedom before returning to school. As an adult, I've rarely taken exotic, extended vacations in the summer months (or any month of the year)...always favored stay-cations in order to save money or complete home repairs...or maybe a long weekend within the confines of extended local tourism. It was usually my Leo friends that took the exotic destination vacations!
mike ~ There'll be some of the textbook Leo characteristics in those with Leo emphasised, but in many cases, in my opinion, it won't be anywhere near as dramatic or obvious, as the textbooks indicate.
I have a cousin, and had an uncle with Sun in Leo. The cousin runs his own garden centre in Cyprus; the uncle (on the other side of the family) used also to be self-employed, first as a painter and decorator, later in life he ran a pub. The common denominator there, and with my old boyfriend in the first example in the posting, is being the boss - even if it's just being one's own boss. But then again my parents were always self employed (after WW2) and neither had any emphasis on Leo (unless the sign was rising for one of them, which I don't know as birth times are unknown). So....
August hasn't been a favourite month for me, ever. I've never favoured summer vacations either, even when I lived in England. I did, always, favour getting up and away though, usually from September onwards. We did as much of that as finances would allow each year.
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