Leo the Lion is a fire sign in the fixed mode. Leo governs the heart, the central organ of the body. Leo is ruled by the Sun, the heart of the solar system.
Leo is the natural leader, the monarch, the king, and becomes the center around which others orbit. Leos are often accused of arrogance and selfishness but, like the Sun, their purpose is to shine.
The stone of Leo is the diamond and the metal is gold, appropriately regal minerals for this sign. Leo is joined in the triad of fire signs by Aries and Sagittarius. While Leo is the steadily burning fire during the hottest part of summer, Aries is the initiative fire in the beggining of spring, and Sagittarius is the transformative fire in the darkest part of winter.
“The natives of Leo are energetic and generous at the same time, magnanimous, mystics and authoritarians.
They have a tendency towards anger and should struggle much to dominate that defect.
Leo, being the throne of the Sun, announces fortune and high position.
The occult significance is Intuition.
Gold is the metal of this sign and diamond, its stone.
The natives of Leo are authoritative and want to command only.
Leo brings some journeys. The natives of Leo suffer a great deal morally.”
-Samael Aun Weor, Zodiacal Course
“The metal of Leo is pure gold. The stone of Leo is the diamond; the color of Leo is golden. In practice we have been able to verify that the natives of Leo are like the lion, brave, irate, noble, worthy, constant.
But there are many people and it is clear that, among the natives of Leo, we also find those who are arrogant, proud, unfaithful, tyrants, etc.
The natives of Leo also have organizational aptitudes, they develop the sentiment and bravery of the lion. The developed persons of this sign get to be great paladins. The mediocre type of Leo is very sentimental and irate. The mediocre type of Leo overestimates his own capacities too much.
In every native of Leo, mysticism already developed in an incipient stage always exists; it all depends on the type of person. The natives of Leo are always predisposed to suffer accidents to the arms and hands.”
-Samael Aun Weor, Esoteric Treatise of Hermetic Astrology
Aquarius the Water-bearer is the opposite sign of Leo and is ruled by the planets Saturn and Uranus.
Aquarius is oriented toward structuring groups of people, with a great interest in idealistic communities and utopian societies. Aquarius rules the circulatory system and blood vessels. Therefore the blood pumped by the heart ruled by the Lion, is then distributed by the Water-bearer to each and every cell in the body.
Leo is the center around which others gather; Aquarius works on the periphery to make sure no one is left out. Leo is the monarch and Aquarius is the democrat, or autocrat.
Under the influence of Leo, historic kings and monarchs were considered divinely ordained to rule over the masses and traced their lineages back to a union of god and mortal. Psychologically, while Leo can provide excellent leadership, there is the danger of seeing themselves as holding a divine right to rule over others.
Aquarius sees every person as deserving of autonomy, but may be so concerned with fighting for the equality of groups of people that they forget the warmth and strength of the Sun.