Leo

By Maren Tremblay, Fatesight editor · Last updated October 25, 2026

A sign often associated with warmth, creativity and a natural sense of presence. Leo tends to be generous and expressive, and often wants to be appreciated for what it brings.

Dates	July 23 – August 22
Element	Fire
Modality	Fixed (steady)
Symbol	The Lion
Opposite sign	Aquarius
Ruling planet	The Sun

Leo season 2026: dates and cusps

The usual Leo dates, July 23 to August 22, are a convention: the minute the Sun enters Leo moves about six hours later each year until a leap day pulls it back.

Year	Enters (UTC)	New York time	Leaves (UTC)
2026	Jul 22, 19:13	Jul 22, 3:13 PM	Aug 23, 02:19
2027	Jul 23, 01:05	Jul 22, 9:05 PM	Aug 23, 08:14
2028	Jul 22, 06:54	Jul 22, 2:54 AM	Aug 22, 14:01
2029	Jul 22, 12:42	Jul 22, 8:42 AM	Aug 22, 19:51
2030	Jul 22, 18:25	Jul 22, 2:25 PM	Aug 23, 01:37
2031	Jul 23, 00:11	Jul 22, 8:11 PM	Aug 23, 07:23

From 1950 to 2030, the Sun entered Leo on July 22 in 42 years (first 1952, last 2030) and July 23 in 39 years (first 1950, last 2027), in UTC. Born on one of those days? Whether you are Leo depends on your birth time, which the free birth chart calculator checks.

Leo traits

Leo tends to be warm, confident and generous. Many people with this sign liven up a room, enjoy creating things, and are loyal to the people they champion. Blind spots often include a need for recognition, pride that makes apologies hard, and a habit of taking the lead when others would like a say. Leo can be more sensitive to criticism than it lets on. Its confidence is often real, and it grows stronger when it is shared.

Leo in the astrological tradition

Leo is the fixed fire sign and the only house of the Sun. Ptolemy explains the choice: Cancer and Leo come at the height of the Northern summer, when the Sun's heat is greatest, so the two lights took those two signs, the Moon the feminine Cancer and the Sun the masculine Leo. Lilly calls Leo hot and dry, masculine and diurnal. As a fixed sign it falls mid-season, after the solstice has passed.

Fire for warmth and confidence, fixed for loyalty and staying power, and the Sun for identity, pride and generosity: the combination gives Leo its reputation as the zodiac's natural host and performer. The same ingredients explain the sign's sore spot, which is being overlooked rather than being challenged.

The story behind the Leo symbol

The Lion is the Nemean lion of Greek myth, a beast whose hide no weapon could pierce. Heracles overcame it with his bare hands as the first of his twelve labors and wore its skin afterward. The constellation really does look like a resting lion: a backward question mark of stars, the Sickle, forms its head and mane, and the bright star Regulus, 'the little king', sits almost exactly on the Sun's path. Babylonian astronomers knew these stars as a lion too. For the Northern Hemisphere it is a spring constellation, highest around midnight in March.

Leo in love

In relationships, Leo tends to be devoted, affectionate and expressive. Appreciation, playfulness and feeling chosen often matter a great deal. It may need to be admired and can struggle when it feels overlooked. Traditionally, Leo is said to get along with Aries and Sagittarius, fellow fire signs who share its enthusiasm, and with Libra, an air sign whose charm and social ease often feed its fire.

In love Leo tends to be warm, open and romantic in the classic sense: flowers, plans, a declaration said out loud. It wants a partner it can be proud of, and who is proud of it in return. Loyalty runs deep once it commits. The difficulty is wounded pride, when Leo goes quiet or dramatic because it feels taken for granted. Regular, specific appreciation from a partner, and a Leo who asks for attention directly instead of testing for it, keep things easy.

How Leo works and decides

At work, Leo tends to be creative, motivating and comfortable in the spotlight. Performing, leading, teaching, design, hospitality and roles where personal flair counts are common fits. It often does its best work when its contribution is seen and valued. Being left in the background for long can be frustrating. Teams often appreciate its generosity and vision, and it helps when Leo also listens and shares credit.

Leo decides with conviction and backs its choices, and its people, in public. A team follows a Leo that has made up its mind, which is a real asset in a crisis or a launch. The weak spot is a decision tied to image: choosing what looks impressive over what works, or struggling to reverse a call in public. Building in a review point, where changing course is planned rather than a loss of face, helps this sign stay as generous with its mistakes as with its praise.

Leo with friends and family

Leo is the friend who throws the party, remembers to toast everyone and defends its people fiercely. It is generous with time and attention and simply fun to be around. In families it often takes a central role, organizing celebrations and keeping traditions alive. What it needs back is simple: to be noticed, thanked and included.

Room to grow

A common growth edge for Leo is finding worth beyond applause. Confidence and warmth are real gifts, and they can feel steadier when they do not depend on being noticed. Celebrating others without competing, and asking for feedback before defending, may help. Vulnerability tends to make a leader easier to follow, not harder.

Common misreadings of Leo

Searches ask why Leos are 'always single' or 'so moody'. Neither comes from the tradition. Leo is read as loyal and committed once it chooses, and a fixed sign tends to stay; choosiness at the start is about standards, not reluctance. As for moods, Leo shows what it feels, which can look dramatic next to signs that keep things inside.

The bigger misreading is arrogance. The Sun's sign is read as confident, but generosity is half of its description. A Leo who seems self-centered is often a Leo who feels unseen, and the warmth usually returns as soon as that changes.

Leo as your Sun, Moon or rising sign

Sun in Leo

Astrological tradition (Lilly 1647; Hand 1981): a Sun in Leo is read as warm, generous and proud: you are said to give loyalty freely, to enjoy making something of your own and to shine when you are doing what you love.

Moon in Leo

The Moon is your instincts and what helps you feel at home. In Leo it is read as warm, proud and generous, with a need for creative expression and being appreciated.

Leo rising

Astrological tradition (Lilly 1647; Hand 1981): a Leo rising is read as warm and noticeable in first impressions: people may see you as confident, generous and good company.

Find your Moon and rising sign with the free birth chart calculator

Mercury and Venus signs for Leo Suns

Seen from Earth, Mercury and Venus stay close to the Sun: on the 1,878 days from 1950 to 2009 with the Sun in Leo (at noon UTC), Mercury was never more than 27.4° from it and Venus 46.0°. Their signs on those days:

Mercury's sign	Share of days
Mercury in Cancer	16%
Mercury in Leo	47%
Mercury in Virgo	36%

Venus's sign	Share of days
Venus in Gemini	10%
Venus in Cancer	27%
Venus in Leo	21%
Venus in Virgo	34%
Venus in Libra	7%

The decans of Leo

Each decan is a 10° third of Leo. In the Golden Dawn's scheme, which the tarot follows, each has a planet and a card; the dates are the Sun's in 2026, in UTC.

Decan	Degrees	Dates in 2026	Planet	Tarot card
First	0°–10°	Jul 22 – Aug 1	Saturn	Five of Wands
Second	10°–20°	Aug 2 – Aug 11	Jupiter	Six of Wands
Third	20°–30°	Aug 12 – Aug 22	Mars	Seven of Wands

Leo in the tarot

The Major Arcana card of Leo in the Golden Dawn's scheme is Strength; its decans take the numbered cards above.

Leo and the constellation Leo

The Sun reaches the constellation Leo on August 11, 19 days after it enters the sign Leo on July 22, and moves on from it on September 17 (UTC). During its Leo season, until August 23, it passes in front of Cancer (July 22 to August 11) and Leo (August 11 to August 23). The equinox the signs are counted from has drifted 26.2° against the stars since Ptolemy's era, about AD 150.

Leo in the sky in 2026

What happens in Leo in 2026, by the ephemeris our charts use (UTC dates). No planet from Mercury to Pluto is in Leo as the year begins.

Date	In the sky
Feb 1	Full Moon in Leo
Jun 13	Venus enters Leo
Jun 30	Jupiter enters Leo
Jul 9	Venus leaves Leo for Virgo
Aug 9	Mercury enters Leo
Aug 12	Total solar eclipse at the New Moon in Leo
Aug 25	Mercury leaves Leo for Virgo
Sep 28	Mars enters Leo
Nov 25	Mars leaves Leo for Virgo
Dec 13	Jupiter turns retrograde in Leo

Best matches for Leo

The three pairs with Leo that score highest on our compatibility pages, by element and modality:

Questions about Leo

What planet rules Leo?

The Sun, the same in the old scheme and the modern one. Leo is the Sun's only house, and the Sun is read as identity, pride, creativity and generosity, which is why Leo is often called the most self-expressive sign of the twelve.

Is Leo a fire sign?

Yes, the fixed fire sign; Aries and Sagittarius are the other two. Fire is read as warmth and enthusiasm, and fixed as staying power, so Leo is described as the most loyal and steady member of the fire family.

What sign should Leo avoid?

No sign is excluded. Taurus and Scorpio, the fixed signs square to Leo, are traditionally its most demanding matches, since all three dig in; Aquarius, its opposite, is read as a strong pull with very different needs. Respect for each other's way is what tends to make those pairs hold.

Born on July 22: am I a Leo or a Cancer?

It comes down to the year and the time. The Sun moves from Cancer into Leo on July 22 or 23 (UTC), at a different minute every year. Look up that minute in the season table at the top, which also counts how often each day occurred since 1950; the birth chart calculator checks your own birth.

Why is Leo the lion?

The constellation's stars trace a crouching lion, and in ancient times the Sun passed through it in the hottest weeks of summer. Greek myth tied the figure to the Nemean lion of Heracles' first labor, and Babylonian star lists had a lion here before that.