by Dawn Rose
Understanding your Leo rising sign and how it fits in with your Sun and Moon signs can be a bit confusing.
This is why I have created a separate article on the Rising Sign Meaning, which you can check out here.
In short, the zodiac sign, which stands as a rising sign in your horoscope determines the specific manner in which the energies and qualities of your Sun sign will be manifested in your lifetime.
For example, someone with a Libra Sun sign and a Leo rising will have the chance to manifest their communicative, friendly, people-oriented, even flirtatious nature (Libra) a lot more easily, because they will be driven by the inner motivation to be self-expressive, generous, giving, and warm-hearted – all qualities of their Leo rising sign.
The very same person would find it a lot harder to realize this Libra-driven nature with a Capricorn rising, which would make them more serious and introverted.
This is why one of the very first things to be analyzed in a natal chart is how harmonious the interaction between the rising sign and the Sun sign is. Whether they are placed in signs that complement or contradict each other.
In addition, we should also consider and closely examine the planet, which rules the Ascendant and therefore the whole natal chart (in the case of Leo rising, the ruler is the Sun); where this planet is placed by sign and by house, and how it interconnects with the Sun and Rising signs.
Usually your physical characteristics are determined by the combined influences of the signs, where the Sun, Moon, rising, and the ascendant ruler are placed.
For example, if you are a Virgo with a Sagittarius rising and a Leo Moon, and your Jupiter (the ruler of your ascendant) is placed in Gemini, we will say that your Sun sign is Virgo, your Moon is in Leo, your Rising is in Sagittarius, and your horoscope and ascendant ruler is in Gemini. The latter will further color the characteristics of your rising sign.
The rising sign is something that you need to manifest and demonstrate gradually throughout your life, and this is why some of the traits and characteristics of this sign can be overemphasized and more obvious than some of the qualities of your Sun sign.
For example, someone with a Leo rising is ‘more Leo than the Leos’. They wish to be noticed at all cost, and they suffer if they don’t receive the attention they seek. Their strong desire to be the center of attention provokes their inventiveness, but their manners would also be a bit more demonstrative than those of a Leo Sun sign. In comparison, someone with a Leo Sun has the calm confidence that they are the king and he or she receives the attention they deserve with dignity. A Leo Sun attracts this attention effortlessly.
To learn all the meanings of each zodiac sign, planet, and house, Download The Fast Track To Astrology Cheat Sheets.
Now that you have a good idea of the meaning and significance of the rising sign, let’s move on to
Leo Rising Appearance
A distinctive Leo rising feature is their hair – always well-groomed, beautiful, good-looking.
As a rule, those born with a Leo rising have a certain royal demeanor and appearance.
Leo rising women can be red-headed, naturally or not.
Leo rising also have strong, broad shoulders, the upper body is usually well-developed.
Fresh, glowing face, big eyes, well-formed lips, tall figure, and a straight ‘royal’ walk are all outer features that give away a Leo rising.
There are some commanding notes in the timbre of their voices. Their intonation requires attention from the listener. In the presence of positive aspects to the ascendant and to the Sun, their face has a radiant “solar” radiance, and cheerful and naughty sparks flash in their eyes.
Leo Rising Meaning – An Overview
A Leo rising individual strives to be the center of attention, to be noticed.
Leo rising often choose professions that naturally put them in the center of attention: they work with children, take up a teaching profession, and to a lesser extent professions related to entertainment or life on stage.
When one is born with their ascendant in Leo, they eventually reach the desired social status and life goals due to their own qualities, but also with the help of highly respected people, especially women, who bring them prosperity.
There are elements of drama in the behavior of Leo rising, sometimes even theatricality. The artistic circles and the sphere of art attract them.
Leo rising are sincere in their feelings and become attached to their partners. In marriage, children play an important role and Leo rising give a lot of care and attention to them.
The father often played an unfavorable role in Leo rising childhood – missing, or vice versa – very authoritarian.
For a full list of words and phrases, associated with Leo and all other signs, planets, and houses, Download the Fast Track to Astrology Cheatsheets.
Leo rising traits and the specifics of its ruler – the Sun
The astrological sign Leo is ruled by the Sun, which endows those born under this rising sign with special psychological characteristics.
The peculiarities here stem from the fact that Leo, in contrast to the other signs of the Zodiac is not ruled by a planet. In astrology, for convenience, we call all the rulers of the zodiac signs planets, but we remember that in reality the Sun and the Moon are two exceptions and from an astronomical point of view are outside this category.
The Moon is the Earth’s satellite, while the Sun is a star, around which all the planets of the solar system revolve. The Sun emits light, heat and energy that give rise to life. This is a very important specific feature, unique to the Sun and no other celestial body in the solar system.
For this reason, the Sun is the center, the starting point of creation and the source of life. Without this celestial light, any kind of creative activity, as well as life itself, would be unthinkable.
This remarkable circumstance endows those born under the sign of Leo with special qualities that are inherent exclusively to them and to no other sign of the Zodiac.
Being influenced directly by the center of creativity, they have an innate sense of pride and dignity ever since birth.
Like the lion, which has a reputation of being the king of animals, those born under this sign require (either consciously or subconsciously) to be treated with admiration and respect, befitting their royal origin.
For a full list of words and phrases, associated with Sun and all other signs, planets, and houses, Download the Fast Track to Astrology Cheatsheets.
Leo Rising Traits – Psychological Motivation
The ascendant determines the type of energy that drives a person and motivates them to a certain type of action.
Leo is the sign that governs self-expression and creative activities, the arts, the desire for life, sports and games, entertainment, flirting, and hobbies.
Those born with a Leo rising demonstrate from an early age that they will not have time to be bored. To create, to build and to enjoy life is extremely important to them.
Whether this is manifested through any particular art, talent, and unique abilities or simply through romantic passions, Leo rising need to feel in love with life.
It is important for Leo rising to find a suitable occupation, which can serve as a vent for the creative potential accumulating in them. Otherwise these people may fall into uncharacteristic depression and sadness.
Leo rising traits – ambitious and leadership-oriented
Usually those born with a Leo rising are characterized by great ambition and desire to achieve a lot in their career.
They are rarely satisfied with low-paid positions, jobs in which they cannot perform as leaders or where their abilities are not valued high enough.
The Leo rising ambition is usually strongly expressed and this motivates them to climb the corporate ladder in search of new ways to achieve success. Sometimes there is a contradiction and a clash between their desire for creativity and their pursuit of material prosperity. The balanced Leo rising must be well-provided for materially, but at the same time completely free to create.
Representatives of this rising sign do not show much desire to face their shortcomings. Leo rising are born with a royal demeanor, character and manners. Many of them believe that in many ways they are superior to other people, ever since they are children.
This may be true, but it is often perceived by others as vanity, pride, and narcissism.
If Leo rising could quell their strong desire for personal prosperity, success and fame with a certain amount of meekness, humility and modesty, then the great inner strength of their dynamic sign would be used much more rationally.
Leo rising psychological challenges
Those born with a Leo rising are quite susceptible to psychological illnesses.
The reason for this is rooted again in their “royal” origin. Convinced that they have a special mission, special talents, and leadership abilities by birth, they can hardly swallow any failure or defeat.
This applies not only to their career ambitions and public appearances, but also to their personal relationships. Probably the easiest way to hurt a person with a Leo rising sing is to hurt their ambition. These people are extremely noble and are always ready to come to the rescue, especially to those they love.
Leo rising are extremely generous and giving in nature. They are generous in time, effort, money, etc. However, in return they demand gratitude, respect and appreciation for the good done.
One of the fundamental lessons of life is the need to do good and help others, without expecting an expression of gratitude and appreciation in return. Good should be done, because it flows in us and looks for a positive creative vent.
In this sense, it is correct to say that by helping others, above all, we help ourselves. When we see that our efforts have helped someone get on their feet or helped them feel better, we get an inner feeling of satisfaction. This makes us feel useful in life and proud of our ability to take care not only of ourselves, but also of those around us.
Less evolved Leo risings may require gratitude from others, but it must be properly understood exactly where this need stems from.
It stems primarily from the fact that this sign learns how to be at the center of events and manage them, how to be the “king of animals” and how to be a source of life, inspiration and enthusiasm to others.
And because Leo rising are still learning how to achieve all this, they suffer from inner doubts and complexes whether they can actually achieve this goal, whether they are adequate and whether they can actually be the center of life and energy source to others.
Leo rising need to be confident in themselves, so that others can be sure and rely on their strength. Therefore, even a small word of disrespect, ingratitude, and contempt from others can deeply hurt the Leo rising.
Leo rising traits – dignity and honor
For this one sign, the saying that a bad wound heals, but a bad word is not forgotten is extremely valid.
Keeping up with their royal nature, Leo rising people may indulgently forgive you after a while, but they will certainly not forget the harsh words, concerning their honor or dignity.
Internally, they are very afraid of the moment when they turn out to be real or imagined victims of such treatment.
In cases where the person has a few more planets in Leo, on top of the ascendant, their pride and arrogance go beyond the limits of the conventional and this can lead to a number of problems with relatives and acquaintances.
These are the type of people, who are a classic example of those, who arrange scenes and part forever with their partners because they did not remember to acknowledge their virtues on time.
One of my clients with a similar placement broke up with her partner, because at a restaurant, instead of never taking his eyes off her, he looked at other women. In another case, the refusal of the partner to buy her a bag turned out to be a sufficient reason for separation.
When Leo rising begin to do good and help others without asking for anything in return (even just a “thank you”), it means that they have reached a turning point in their evolutionary development.
Leo rising true power
The irony lies in the fact that when a person learns to give selflessly and nobly, without expecting any return in the form of gratitude, then the Universe starts rewarding them and multiplying the prosperity and abundance in this person’s life.
And it is not at all necessary for the people we have helped to repay us or thank us. This ‘Universal justice’ can happen either after a long time or through completely different people.
But above all, the Leo rising need to understand that when they give to others, they do so primarily for their own sake. This is how they begin to realize their own significance, strength, and power, and find the meaning of life by being the center and support of those, who are not able to achieve this on their own.
Leo rising true life mission
We can summarize that one of the main life missions of Leo rising is to develop qualities such as leadership skills, creative skills, personal strength and power.
The astrological house in which the Sun falls shows in what specific area of life these abilities are manifested and developed.
For example, if the Sun falls in the first house (especially if it coincides with the ascendant), one’s ego is the main driver behind their actions.
The Sun in the second house makes them want to shine with their ability to make money and own material values.
With the Sun in the third house a person tries to express him or herself through writing abilities, communication and interpersonal skills, etc.
In general, the house in which the Sun falls is indicative of the area of life in which a person seeks recognition, respect, love and admiration from others. After all, a Leo rising means striving to differentiate oneself as a unique individual, and the house of the Sun shows the specific area in life where this striving is strongly expressed.
To learn ALL the higher and lower manifestations of Leo, as well as all other signs, planets, and houses, Download the Fast Track to Astrology Cheatsheets.
Leo Rising Life Lessons
Some with Leo rising boast of their “royal” origin since childhood. They need to understand that respect, appreciation and love from others are not something that will be poured into their feet just like that, and must be won and acquired as a result of hard work.
Some Leo risings timidly shy away from the challenges of life, fearing failure. This category is doomed to failure in advance, because by definition Leo is a sign that must develop the above-mentioned qualities by themselves.
Other Leo risings may be bitterly disappointed that the world does not recognize them as geniuses from the moment of their birth. In the end, Leo rising must find the right field of self-expression to become a center of life-giving force, zeal and enthusiasm for life.
Leo Rising Love Life
In their personal relationships, Leo rising often show unbridled passion.
On the one hand, the strong zeal, enthusiasm and energy make these people attractive and passionate lovers, but on the other hand, their fiery personality can incinerate the object of their love.
Their loved one must be a person, who possesses some unique qualities, such as strong intellect or erudition, some special talent or exceptional physical beauty.
Then the Leo rising can be proud of their partner or at least shine with the reflected light next to them. They could not love and dedicate their lives to a person, who does not shine or somehow stand out in the gray crowd.
Leo Rising Compatibility
When Leo rises on the eastern horizon, we always find the opposite sign – Aquarius – on the western. While the sign of the eastern horizon describes the psychological motivation of the individual, the sign on the western horizon shows the energy of the partner we are connecting with.
The partner complements us with the energy that we miss or find hard to develop.
While Leo rising try to find their personal mission and purpose in life, Aquarius rising try to develop the personal qualities of the individual in such a way as to make them useful for the team.
Leo’s ardor and enthusiasm must be cooled and restrained (but not extinguished) by the objectivity and impartiality of Aquarius.
Through the relationship with their partner, Leo rising should learn how to be more restrained, humble, and modest. This helps them work better to fulfill the goals of the team, instead of just fulfilling their personal goals.
Through the partner, the Leo rising subdues his or her tendency to selfishness and egocentrism and replaces them with a desire for more objectivity, impartiality and altruistic devotion.
Please remember that Sun Moon and Rising signs are not enough to properly evaluate compatibility or one’s personality.
You can see a very accurate and beginner-friendly step-by-step guide on how to check compatibility with your partner, taking into consideration the most important elements in the birth chart here.
And if you wish to order a full in-depth analysis of your natal chart that examines the interrelatedness of all elements and also provides a report with remedies on how to overcome your weakest points and challenges, you can do so here.
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