Leo is the sign of the life-giving Father. It is through this sign that the true personality of Man can be expressed. Leo can call forth the courageous and masterly Lord of the Jungle or the cowardly pussycat who, like the lion in The Wizard of Oz, needs a heart to animate him with the force of life.
It is the heart, the central pulse of one’s being, which is the part of the body ruled by the fifth sign. If we examine the glyph’ for Leo bl pictographically, we will see that the first open circle is the vein leading to the main coronary chamber (the large semicircle). The second open circle is the artery which takes the newly pumped blood from the heart so that it’ may be distributed by the circulatory system (ruled by Aquarius, Leo’s polar opposite) to the rest of the body. Thus Leo is the center, the vortex to which all energy must flow and from which all life-force emanates.
Leo embodies the quality of fixity with the element of fire. This means that Leo is the eternal flame. Individuals with faint hearts both figuratively and literally can never shine consistently bright. They may have momentary flare-ups but their fire always dims, while Leo’s fire never stops burning. The nature of his flames will depend upon the fuel which stimulates him. The lesser lion burns with the force of his own ego, resulting in a very conceited individual. In the lower evolved Leo type, the instinct to rule can manifest in a dictatorial manner (Mussolini and Napoleon, for example). All too often this species of feline will give the commands well enough but in forgetting to consult the Divine Will before taking action, he inevitably brings about his own downfall.
The more highly developed Leo is ignited by the fire of the Father Sun and will glow with divine inspiration (Mme Blavatsky, for example);’ When we view the symbol of Leo from this perspective, we will see the more esoteric meaning of the sign. Here the first small open circle represents the link between the Divine Will and Man (the larger semicircle) who repolarizes this heaven-inspired energy so that it can be used on Earth. The second small open sphere is the power emanating through Man to his surroundings. Thus the highest attribute of Leo is rulership by Divine Right.
Alan Oken