Zodiac sign

Leo

Direct answer

Leo is the fifth zodiac sign: fixed fire, ruled by the Sun, associated with vitality, creativity, visibility, play, leadership, pride, and the courage to shine.

Zodiac SignsThe Great Almanac DictionaryUpdated 2026-09-26

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At a glance

In astrology: Leo is fixed fire, ruled by the Sun, opposite Aquarius, and often describes sustained radiance rather than quick heat.
Found in: Zodiac Signs
Related: Zodiac, Sun Sign, Moon Sign, Rising Sign

Deeper Almanac guide: Leo zodiac guide. This dictionary entry is a concise definition page; the linked guide remains the long-form topic page.

The zodiac constellation figures ranged along an engraved ecliptic — Zodiac field guide · visual guide **Leo**
Leo is fixed fire, ruled by the Sun.
The sign glyph and elemental field orient the archetype without reducing it to a stereotype.

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What sets Leo apart

Leo is the Sun's only house, and the fixed sign of midsummer: it holds the season's heat where Aries ignites and Sagittarius disperses. Together with Cancer it frames the rulership scheme, since the Sun rules Leo, the Moon rules Cancer, and the other planets are counted outward from the pair. No planet is exalted in Leo and none falls. Saturn is in detriment here, opposite his own Aquarius. Firmicus gives each planet one masculine and one feminine sign, with the Sun in Leo and the Moon in Cancer.

Sun enters: about 22 or 23 July
Domicile: the Sun alone; its only sign
Exaltation and fall: none for the seven planets
Detriment: Saturn, from the opposite sign Aquarius
Images: the lion; the fixed signs match Ezekiel's living creatures in later Christian reading

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Leo in the traditional textbooks

Ptolemy gives it to the Sun because, with Cancer, it is the northernmost sign, nearest the zenith and hottest. It is a fixed sign, masculine and fiery, and in the Dorothean list it is one of the sterile signs. Dorotheus says a Moon or ascendant in Leo or Sagittarius means few brothers. Regulus, the bright star of its heart, takes the nature of Mars and Jupiter in Ptolemy.

Ruler: the Sun. Ptolemy gives it to the Sun because it is northernmost, nearest the zenith and hottest, so it goes to a luminary. Its detriment is Saturn, the ruler of Aquarius, the opposite sign.
Exaltation in this sign: none. Fall in this sign: none.
Triplicity (fire): Sun by day, Jupiter by night, Saturn as partner (Dorotheus).
Nature (Abu Ma'shar): hot, dry, choleric; taste bitter; masculine, diurnal; summer, firm.
Ptolemy's class: fixed. On the body, it enlarges the body, and its fore parts strengthen it while its rear parts weaken it.
Body (Abu Ma'shar): upper stomach, heart, sinews, sides, ribs (al-Qabisi: stomach, heart, flanks, back).
Wind (Firmicus): the north wind.
Lands (Abu Ma'shar): the Turkic lands to the end of the inhabited world, Sogdiana, Nishapur.

The bounds and decans of Leo

The widest bound is Saturn's, at 7 degrees, and the narrowest bound is Venus's, at 5 degrees. The Sun rules Leo but takes no bound, since the Sun and Moon have none. It holds no decan here either.

Here are the Egyptian bounds of Leo, counted from 0 degrees of the sign:

Jupiter: 1 to 6 degrees (6 wide)
Venus: 7 to 11 degrees (5 wide)
Saturn: 12 to 18 degrees (7 wide)
Mercury: 19 to 24 degrees (6 wide)
Mars: 25 to 30 degrees (6 wide)

Laid over the three decans of Firmicus Maternus and al-Qabisi, they fall like this:

The first decan, degrees 1 to 10, belongs to Saturn. The bounds inside it: Jupiter 1 to 6, Venus 7 to 10.
The second decan, degrees 11 to 20, belongs to Jupiter. The bounds inside it: Venus at 11, Saturn 12 to 18, Mercury 19 to 20.
The third decan, degrees 21 to 30, belongs to Mars. The bounds inside it: Mercury 21 to 24, Mars 25 to 30.

The stars of Leo, and what the sources say it symbolizes

Dorotheus says an eclipse in Leo brings distress to lions. Hill says the twelve labors of Hercules begin with the lion because the summer solstice then lay in Leo, and he reads the Sphinx as a midsummer symbol from that time. Hill also reads the lion as one of the four living creatures of Ezekiel 1 and Revelation 4:7.

Ptolemy gave the stars of Leo these planetary natures, in the first book of the Tetrabiblos:

the head, Saturn and some Mars
the neck, Saturn and some Mercury
Regulus, the heart, Mars and Jupiter
the loins and tail star, Saturn and Venus
the thighs, Venus and some Mercury

The spiritual meaning of Leo

Spiritually, Leo asks where the heart must become brave enough to be seen.

Why Leo matters

Leo matters because it shows where a chart needs heart, expression, recognition, creative loyalty, and a reason to give warmth.

How to read Leo

Astrologers reach for Leo when interpreting creativity, romance, performance, confidence, leadership, children, generosity, and the house where life asks for visible heart.

Leo in practice: an example

Leo on the fourth house can make home a place of pride, warmth, loyalty, drama, and creative self-definition.

Where readings of Leo go wrong

It is a mistake to reduce Leo to vanity. Leo at its best is generous presence.

Sources and editorial method

This entry summarizes the tradition in the Almanac's own words; where no source is listed, it is an editorial summary rather than a primary text, and symbolic readings are named as the tradition's, not as fact.

Source: The Great Almanac Dictionary
Category: Zodiac Signs
Aliases: Leo sign, Leo zodiac sign
Last updated: 2026-09-26

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ZodiacThe Zodiac is the twelve-sign wheel used as astrology's core sign language. Sun SignSun Sign is the birth sign of the Sun and the most familiar doorway into astrology. Moon SignMoon Sign is the birth sign of the Moon and a key indicator of emotional patterning. Rising SignRising Sign is the sign on the eastern horizon at birth and one of the most personal chart factors. ElementElement groups the zodiac signs into fire, earth, air, and water. ModalityModality describes whether a sign initiates, stabilizes, or adapts.

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