Leo Ascendant
Those with Leo Rising, I’m sure you will agree, make a dramatic and compelling entry onto the stage of life, born as it were to play roles bigger than life. Famous people with a Leo Ascendant, including some arch villains, include Johnny Depp, Marilyn Monroe, George W. Bush, Al Pacino, Justin Timberlake, Katie Holmes, Jessica Alba, Picasso, Toby Maguire, Jack Nicholson, Celine Dion, Camilla Parker Bowles and Prince Charles, Steven Seagal, Mystic Meg, Tina Turner, Meryl Streep, Tina Turner, Linda Goodman, Andy Warhol, Edgar Cacey, Sting, Joan of Arc, Luciano Pavarotti, Michael Moore, Frieda Kahlo, Donald Trump, Cassius Clay (Mohammed Ali), Balzac, Roger Moore, Aleister Crowley, Alice Bailey, Henri Matisse, Anne Frank, Eddie Murphy, Bobby Fisher, Indira Gandhi, Farah Pahlavi, Maya Angelou, Galileo, O. J. Simpson, Martin Scorsese, Armani, Christopher Columbus, Albrecht Durer, Franz Kafka, Goebbels, Eiffel, Yul Brynner, Haile Selassie, Debussy, Liszt, Al Gore and Ann Boleyn.
Some of these people have made such an impact that their names personify whole eras or they have become iconic symbols such as Columbus, Ann Boleyn, Anne Frank, Marilyn Monroe and Luciano Pavarotti.
The impact of film personalities Al Pacino, Meryl Streep and Martin Scorsese on their field could never be overestimated.
Notice what is missing is political and national leaders with the exception of Haile Selassie, the magnificent figurehead of Ethiopia and all Africa, tracing his origins back to King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. Leo Rising does not seem to operate naturally in the affairs of states. Maybe George W. Bush was just a good actor.
What matters to Leo Rising is to create life, goodness, honor, loyalty and triumph. There is no group more optimistic, positive and life-affirming than those with Leo Rising.
Your Ascendant tells you what experiences in life to choose in order to grow. Leo Rising benefits when they choose something heroic, calling for dramatic overcoming of obstacles and self mastery so that their glory shines as an inspiration to others – sometimes down through the ages.
If used negatively, they may pull insanely egotistical, prideful, competitive and melodramatic experiences which cheapen the human condition and reduce the grandeur of humanity to a three ring circus of distractions and pettiness at the expense of others. Think of the long, disturbing trial of legendary running back O. J. Simpson who literally “got away with murder,” a very poor lesson for a true American Idol to give a nation of worshiping fans. Pablo Picasso, the great Spanish artist, destroyed the lives of all the women he loved except one.
It’s critical to Leo Rising to understand the difference between drama and melodrama. Drama, such as Euripides, Balzac, de Bergerac and Shakespeare is always about men and women but in their most elevated aspect Great dramas such as Oedipus Rex, Othello and MacBeth are about rulers and kings, people bigger and better than ordinary people, extra-ordinary people personifying noble and heroic qualities (listen carefully, Leo Rising) but for some stroke of fate or fatal flaw that all who aspire are to learn from.
Melodrama is about the merciless and annoying display of constantly changing emotions over basically things that are your own damn fault! Have a good laugh over this paragraph but learn from it.
Depending on the sign and house of your Sun, you must pull these positive experiences towards you in order to grow. Eventually your pride and ego become tempered by a desire to be truly noble.
You also want to use this energy to ennoble others. You can see Meryl Streep do this whenever she attends the Oscars. Extraordinary Italian operatic tenor Luciano Pavarotti set such high standards for himself: each time before the curtain went up he wondered if his father would be pleased with his performance. Once he was booed at La Scala. He said he deserved it. People paid to see the best at La Scala and he let them down. German Renaissance painter Albrecht Durer was the first real “rock star” in history, the first artist to stand out as an individual and to become rich and famous in the process. He invented the “self portrait.”
When centered and in touch, Leo Rising, you can set the world on fire for the good of all concerned. Think what world heavy-weight champion Mohammed Ali did for the image of African-Americans in his colorful, extraordinary career. Think of the dignity with which Henry VIII’s wife Ann Boleyn did what she had to do.
Be careful – more than any other Rising sign – to stay in your own center as the Sun is the very center of our universe. Instead of greedily trying to gather all the glory for yourself, spread it around. Invite others up onto the stage of life. A conscious Leo Rising avoids glitz and glamour for something more substantive – a good reputation.
The Rising sign also describes your physical appearance. Many Leos are radiant, with white teeth, a smile that would light up Broadway, a mane of reddish gold hair and a commanding, regal appearance.
