Leo, Steven Forrest tells us in The Book of Fire: The Life Givers, is ruled by the Sun, that which holds our entire Universe together. The Leo drive is to be the center, to express and celebrate the ego, to shine from the core of our very unique self. While being ego-centered can be considered negative, Forrest reminds us that “to know your core values and to act on them, thus shaping a meaningful existence for yourself: these are the self-evidently healthy behaviors.” The key to keeping the fire burning in our lives is to follow the path of our Sun’s sign, using its energy as our True North, creating our own narrative just as others create theirs. While the Leo in us craves and flourishes with attention, this Sun-ruled sign emboldens us to stand up for our own truth and express our creative potential.
Remember, that if we do not have Leo planets in our chart, Leo does rule a house cusp – and the fire planet, the Sun, shines in all our charts. Forrest also identifies the fifth house as the place where the fire energy of the Sun expresses, the area of life where we create, recreate – and procreate.
To understand the fullest expression of the Leo archetype, I sought out the chart of someone born with all three fire planets in Leo. Born with the Sun in Leo, these natives relish the life force within them and seek to overcome any sense of rejection they have experienced by developing an inner self-confidence which outshines darker uncertainties. The agenda of those born with Mars in Leo is to not leave the world until they have left their mark – some evidence of their inner life, of the creative power they feel within themselves. They demand to be seen, and, in doing so, impact their community. Jupiter in Leo natives bring a spontaneity to the expression of their gifts, with a royal sense that the world is waiting for what they have to offer.
A big pile up of planets in Leo occurred in the summer of 1955. Born on August 17 of that year with six planets, including the three fire planets, in Leo, Matthew Manning found his unique voice early. The walls of his bedroom where covered by scripts and automatic writing which he and his family claimed were produced by poltergeists. Matthew early claimed to have psychic and telekinetic powers and was frequently studied by scientists and academics. While their findings were inconclusive, Matthew continued to perform and present himself as a psychic healer. Skeptics often undermined him, but this did not deter Matthew from his path.
Matthew believed he had a gift to bring to the world, and continues on this path today. On his website, Matthew Manning states, “I’ve worked as a healer for over 40 years having originally spent years working with scientists in laboratories. They tested my ability to successfully influence a range of biological ‘targets’ including blood cells mold samples, enzymes, seeds and cancer cells.” With all this energy in his natal ninth house, another fire house, the emphasis of his work is on mind-expanding energies.
Of course, all of those Leo planets under the beams of the Sun – which itself is applying to Pluto – could suggest an ego out of control and bent on domination, especially when you see the square to Saturn in Scorpio. And, the easy sextile of the Leo planets to Neptune in Libra could give one the ability to create illusions….
I will have to leave the legitimacy of Michael Manning’s psychic claims to my readers to assess. In any case, we can see the strong Leo in his chart – someone who is unrelentingly himself, someone who makes himself seen, and someone whose mark will be left behind once he exits this world.
