This constellation is one of the most easily recognizable in the night sky, that of the reclining lion. The lion is known as the king of beasts, and therefore anyone who could defeat a lion in battle, such as did Heracles (Hercules) of Greek myth, and Samson of the Old Testament; then that one symbolically has achieved victory over his own lesser, beastly nature. It is that beastly nature that is ruled so much by the passions, that when one has successfully subjugated those passions; that that one is fit to rule over others himself. The definition of royalty or nobility does not refer to hereditary bloodlines, but of qualities of the heart; those beneficent qualities that make one fit to rule over others. 

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Can it be any accident that the sign Leo refers to royalty, rulership, and magnanimity of the heart. 

The lions “fiery” mane also looks like the corona of the Sun; and it is no accident either that the Sun is the astrological ruler of the sign Leo. 

Leos, and those with preponderances of Leo in their chart, sometimes like to be the center of attention, they might have an insecurity about not being loved and adored; and an afflicted Sun or Leo in the chart can correspond to heart disease in the individual. 

Leo is a sign of the fixed variety; that it, it is an energy that does not easily change. Emotionally and psychologically, all fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius) can be somewhat “intractable”. 

Esoterically, Leo pertains to the quality of GOD-GRATITUDE, a state of humility engendered by a curbed sense of ego or pride; no one wants to be under the authority of someone who is very impressed with him or herself. God Gratitude is a state of consciousness that recognized the true authority of Life, the LORD, the Creator of the Universe, and ultimate source of all good things. One is in the best position to rule others when they are in a constant state of gratitude and acknowledgment to God in their affairs.