to be great, and to receive the love and applause of an adoring audi-
ence, even if the “audience” is just one other special person. You need
someone to believe in you and your dreams. Though you appear radi-
antly self-confident and independent, you are actually very much
dependent on the affirmation, love, and recognition of others. You
cannot bear being unnoticed or unappreciated.
You also love wholeheartedly and generously and really know how to
make the person you love feel special. You love the magic of “being in
love” and know how to keep the romance alive in your relationships.
You are also immensely loyal and will defend your loved ones and stand
by them to the end—as long as they never offend your pride or betray
your trust. However, you like to be the strong one in a relationship and
you really do not share the leading role very easily. Ideally you need to
find a person who is as strong-willed as yourself, but who will not try to
dominate or compete with you.
Your strengths are your zest and love for life, your creative power, and
your warm and generous heart. Your primary fault is your tendency to
be very egocentric, so concerned with the impression you are making
and with your own creative self-expression that you forget there is
another, larger world that does not revolve around you. (From “Mer-
lin,” by Gina Ronco and Agnes Nightingale. Courtesy of Cosmic Pat-
terns [http://cosmic.patterns.com].)
When we hear “Lion,” we think “fierce.” But that’s misleading. Go to
the zoo and have a look at the “King of the Beasts.” He’s lying there,
one eye open, looking regal. He knows he’s the king. He doesn’t need
to make a fuss about it. The lion, like Leo at its best, radiates quiet con-
fidence. A happy, creative, comfortable participation in the human
family—that’s what Leo the Lion is all about.
The evolutionary method is deceptively simple: creative self-expres-
sion. As we offer evidence of our internal processes to the world, we
feel more at home, more accepted, more spontaneous—provided the
world claps its hands for us! That’s the catch. Leo needs an apprecia-
tive audience. That audience can be a thousand people cheering or one
person saying “I love you.” Either way, it’s applause, and for the Lion,
that’s evolutionary rocket fuel.
Toughing it out, not letting oneself be affected by a lack of support or
understanding, may well be an important spiritual lesson—but not for
Leo. Here the evolutionary problem comes down to lack of real, ulti-
mate trust in other people. The cure isn’t toughness; it’s building a pat-
tern of joyful give-and-take. So perform! And if no one claps, go some-
where else and perform again.
With your Sun in Leo, you are naturally creative. Your task is to express
that side of your character vigorously and confidently—and to make
sure that what you offer is appreciated. What is the best truth youTHEASTROLOGYBOOK [399]
Leo