Leos.
date: 5.01.2012
time: 1:02 AM
You are a Leo.
Leo's public relations staff have made sure that the King of Beasts is presented in newspaper columns as the top of the heap: mane flying, radiating confidence, creativity and self-assurance, ready to outsmart and outshine any foe, loving life and the applause of the crowd.
It's true that you strive for all these things, and spend a lot of energy developing them. But Leo, confident? The reality is just the opposite, which is why you spend so much time thinking about yourself. Deep inside, you're driven by the need to fulfil your own individual myth. And you don't have to look very far to discover that myth: the larger- than-life heroine, however humble the worldly disguise. Beneath the apparent extraversion of this powerful sign there always lies a secret child.
Leos are so idealistic it can make one cry. Even Leos who cloak themselves in cynicism are really romantics to the core. Your idealism can make you cry too. Leo envisions life in a certain way, and that way is usually coloured by the nobility, beauty and romanticism of a fairy-tale royal court. Once you've got that vision, you don't appreciate having to change it.
It takes a lot to convince you that villains don't always wear black, heroines don't always win the battle and rescue the beautiful princess, and the beautiful princess isn't always suitably adoring and grateful afterward. Leos have a kind of black and white perception which is often bruised by the complexities of human nature.
Being a heroine is a tough role to play these days, since people can be so damned unappreciative. But if you can stick to your inner vision without demanding that the rest of the world conform to your ideals, then it may one day dawn on you that you are indeed the heroine, on a quest for your own Self, and that the rich love of life which blossoms in you is not wasted just because you sometimes have to compromise with reality. The tendency to cling to an ideal and become bewildered when it's punctured is most visible in your relationships.
You're perpetually baffled by the pettiness, ambiguity and general nastiness that abounds in the human psyche. Not that you don't have your share of these human attributes. But you usually make an enormous effort to be honourable in your dealings with others. Loyalty and honour are terribly important to you, and these things are hard to find in the marketplace these days.
Leos need to paint their canvas with large, unrestricted strokes. Wherever a new, original idea is needed or some new creative possibility can be envisioned, there Leo is to be found. No Leo likes to be the power behind the throne. Nothing but the throne itself will do. But that's part of your charm - the more distinctive and individual you are, the happier you feel. Some Leos carry this to outlandish extremes. Napoleon, for example, wanted to conquer the world. Whenever it's said that something can't be done, there will be a Leo determined to do it.
The trouble with all those big, bold brush strokes on the canvas of life is that somebody has to clean the paintbrushes afterward. It's pretty certain this won't be you, because you feel trapped and miserable having to deal with the details of everyday life. Of course you can do it; Leos are wonderfully competent. But you don't feel it's your role.
Leo's famous extravagance comes from two sources: first, you love things to be beautiful and luxurious, and second, you can't be bothered to see whether there's enough in the bank account to cover it. Save? Budget? Don't be silly. Your intuition gives you unquenchable optimism. The down side of this is a belief that you should be exempt from all those banal restrictions that afflict mere mortals. Yet your gifts are often so outstanding that others make allowances. You need to feel important to yourself, and often try to find that sense of self-esteem by being important to others. When they don't notice you, you're hurt.
Leos often find it very difficult to share the stage. You're generous to a fault, but you can be insensitive to the emotional currents around you. And as for pride...Well, you invented the word. Leos are often deeply introverted, but you depend so ferociously on the love and acceptance of others that you'll do virtually anything to earn their admiration. It's really a problem of identity.
The big task which challenges you in life is the issue of who you are, why you're here, and why you're uniquely yourself. It's a lifelong challenge. If you can't muster the self-esteem you need from your own inner resources, you'll crave it like a drug from the audience. But the real journey is within, into the source of your own being. It's in the process of creating that you find your real sense of self- value. And the Leo who learns this, and lives it, is indeed heroic.
The Leo partner.
For Leo, love makes the world go round. Like every other experience in life, love is mythic to Leo, something which must be dramatised to the utmost. Comfortable fondness and affection isn't Leo's style. Leos love to be in love and to play the lover. If you're the recipient, it's probably not like anything you've experienced before.
The Leo partner in love is romantic and magnanimous. One way to show love is to lavish gifts on the loved one. And those gifts aren't just ordinary boxes of dreary chocolates. They're likely to be expensive, exotic and hard to obtain, and usually they're meant to be worn so others can admire them. For heaven's sake, show your appreciation, and show it loudly. A Leo who has gone to a great deal of trouble with a gift can feel crushed and humiliated if the gift isn't received with suitable enthusiasm. Leo is a better giver than a receiver.
For Leo, love is a creative act. Sometimes you can get the odd feeling, in the midst of all that romance, that Leo is so in love with being in love, and so enchanted by a mythic image of love, that somehow you haven't been noticed. It's a common problem in Leo's relationships. You feel sort of left out, if you haven't got the knack of stepping in and out of fairy tales yourself.
But whatever the difficulties, Leo is really the ideal lover. The gift of making a love affair magical and special is one of the Lion's nicest qualities. The Leo partner can make you feel as though no one in the world has ever been in love before. She loves with style and without inhibitions. And it's in Leo's nature to be loyal, too. Although the Lion can be vain and loves to be admired, Leos are essentially constant partners with an idealistic vision of love as something that endures. If they're truly in love, they'll move the earth for you. Naturally they want something in exchange for all that passion.
The Lion is a jealous cat, and won't tolerate lesser creatures pursuing her chosen mate. Leos don't mind a bit of competition. If you're special enough to attract lots of admirers, well, that's a reflection on Leo's good taste. What they can't endure is betrayal, which is deeply wounding and rarely forgiven. Leo has a naive and idealistic heart, and betrayal of trust is, well, dishonourable. That means, by the way, not just sexual betrayal, but betrayal of her ideals, her dignity and her sense of self.
The Leo partner doesn't expect only loyalty and fidelity. She also wants to be treated like a queen. Now, that's a sword which cuts two ways. Leo can be so loveable that you want to treat her like royalty anyway. On the other hand, that imperious assumption of specialness can get a bit tiresome, because sometimes it goes with a double standard. It's sometimes difficult for Leo to remember that other people are special too. She's apt to forget it.
In exchange for all that love, loyalty and adoration, Leo offers a wonderfully protective quality. Leo has a generous heart and will fight heroically for those she loves. She can be untiringly supportive and terribly caring, and she's not averse to making some pretty big sacrifices on behalf of her loved ones (it's the little everyday sacrifices that are sometimes harder). She can give up everything and never begrudge it.
Life with a Leo partner is always exciting and alive, but rarely smooth. She's too touchy and temperamental, and her visions and ideals are too big to avoid inevitable conflicts in the smaller realms of living. Leos don't get along with the inconsistencies and limitations of human nature. What they want is the total love, the mythic love, the love that was eulogised in troubadours' songs six centuries ago.
On one level, that kind of love doesn't exist, and Leo usually suffers disappointment somewhere along the line because of this. Yet that mythic love is a reality on another level, and no sign is as capable as Leo of bringing the world of myth into ordinary life and gently reminding you that you're also a heroine or a princess. When you spend time with someone who tries to be a walking myth all the time, you start noticing that myths are all around you, and a relationship with a Leo can convince you that fairy tales can come true after all.
The Leo woman.
Meek, mild and colourless this woman is not. She's a queen and she expects to be treated like one. Even the more repressed Leo woman (and they're pretty rare) will show this side of her nature, although it may be heavily disguised under socially acceptable manifestations of good and selfless behaviour. You can spot this kind of Leo because she somehow makes sure you know just how much she's giving, and how much it's costing her, and how special she is to be so self-sacrificing. But most Leo women let their light shine openly, cleanly and honestly, and let the envious be damned.
The Leo woman is intensely individual, and not very good at being everybody's favourite model of self-effacing conventionality. More often than not, she'll be a troublemaker, or a woman who attracts gossip like a candle attracts moths. She has an intense need to live her life in her own way, and that life has got to have colour and dynamism.
Have you ever watched a caged lioness in a zoo, pacing back and forth, her eyes furious and glaring because she hasn't got room to stretch out and run and hunt? That's what happens to the Leo woman when she's caged, either by social conventions, her own timidity, or a limiting relationship.
The Leo woman needs somewhere to express her creative abilities. Whether these take the form of artistic talent, organisational abilities, or counselling or public relations skills, she needs to be somebody special and to earn recognition for it. In short, she needs an audience. Don't expect her to play audience to you twenty-four hours a day. Find someone else to look after the mundane chores; that isn't her role, unless it's her company, film, or novel, in which case she will take pride in her ability to master both the big picture and the details.
Recognition is important to the Leo woman, and she is proud. She has high expectations of loyalty from a partner, and won't forgive either betrayal or humiliation. If she can't find a suitable creative outlet, she may try to get her recognition by making lots of people fall in love with her, or by trying to play Pygmalion and reshaping the lives of those she loves. She's even capable of becoming a hypochondriac if she feels she's not getting enough attention, claiming recognition through subtler, more manipulative means. This dynamic, fiery, energetic woman must have a stage on which to perform. Otherwise, she's liable to push you off yours.
Leo women are often highly competitive at work. They hate having to answer to someone else all the time, and are better off running their own show. They can also be intensely competitive with their own sex. In any of life's dramas, she's unquestionably the leading lady. It's typical to find the Leo women with a bevy of friends who all lean on her for advice and help. In part, it's because she's both strong and generous. In part, it's because she doesn't like the competition of equals.
She can easily try to become the support for a weaker partner. Don't let yourself fall into that trap. Many Leo women are afraid of a strong partner because they fear being dominated. All too often, the pattern in relationship is for the Leo woman to take charge and make the decisions, and then to bitterly blame the loved one for failing to give support when she herself needs it. Yet it's hard to give help to a Leo woman; she's too busy giving help to others, and she doesn't like to appear needy or incompetent. That's why it's essential for her to have some area of life where she can shine independently, and for you to recognise and honour this.
The Leo woman's gifts lie in her capacity to be so intensely individual and alive, and in her loyalty and generosity to those she loves - provided she's treated well. Never, never take a Leo woman for granted. The Lioness has claws, and isn't averse to making scenes that make more socially inhibited signs turn white and cold with shock. If you're looking for a woman who is an individual to the hilt, you'll love Leo. And even if she's not the partner for you, you're not likely to overlook her.
|