Leo

The Lion, focused fire, ruled by Sun

"All the world's a stage," wrote William Shakespeare. Sun-born Leos agree. Just as the Sun is the center of the solar system, they enter the stage of life as the heroes and heroines of their own life dramas. Every Leo girl is the princess; every Leo boy the knight in shining armor. They feel their royal blood; the Sun shines through them.

The life path for Leo is to express their generous spirit from the warm and true center of their hearts. They may be shy and self-conscious about doing this at first. Like the Cowardly Lion in the Wizard of Oz, they need to develop the self-confidence to acknowledge and express their native endowment of courage, creativity and dynamic leadership. Defending his friends, the Cowardly Lion finds the courage that he has had all along. He doesn't need a wizard to give it to him. It is love and friendship that will bring out the best in the loyal Leo. Every sign needs its opposite sign to grow to its full potential. Aquarian qualities of friendship and concern for the larger whole help Leos transform their center of awareness from the self to the Self. The Sun is, after all, one star among all the others in the galaxy.

Taming the lion is a Leo theme that appears in the philosophical science of alchemy, in which spiritual lead is turned to gold. A wild, green lion, with wide-open jaw and paws outstretched, is seen devouring the Sun, as passionate desires and the drive for power may consume the light of spiritual consciousness. Leo must learn about the function of the ego--as a lens to focus the higher Self, not as an end in itself. The mask of self-identity is removed to reveal the pure essence of Being.

The greedy lion's paws are cut off, frustrating his wild, selfish desires. This process is difficult and painful for the lion! Leos have a hard time accepting limitations. They may sulk (no one else can sulk like a Leo!) or let depression get the best of them. Yet if they can allow the inner burning to purify their hearts to a renewed level of Self-awareness, their passion is transformed into a powerful, creative force that gives light to the world, as the nuclear fusion within the Sun's core produces rays of life-giving energy. The Sun dips into the darkness before it reappears fresh each day. The enlightened lion, like Aslan in the C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia, guards the gate to the inner sanctum, honoring the individual expression of spirit in every other Self.

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