Sign 5 of 12

Leo (Simha)

सिंह

120° to 150° of the sidereal zodiac

Leo, Simha, is the fifth sign, and its name means the lion. Its brightest star is Regulus, the Lion's heart, in the nakshatra Magha, and its tail ends in the two Phalgunis. The lion is the king of the forest, and the tradition reads Leo as the sign of authority, dignity, generosity, pride and the will to lead, the only sign ruled by the Sun. It is also the Sun's moolatrikona, the part of the zodiac where the Sun acts most fully as itself. The Sun passes through Leo from mid-August to mid-September. In a chart the sign colours the way a planet in it behaves, and its lord carries its affairs into the house where that lord stands. This page sets out what the site's own tables hold for Leo: its lord, element and quality, the nakshatras within it, the planets whose dignity it decides, and what each graha is for a Leo Lagna.

At a glance

Lord
Sun
Span
120° to 150°
Element
Fire
Quality
Fixed
Opposite sign
Aquarius
Nakshatras
3 in whole or part

Lord, element and quality

Leo is ruled by Sun. Wherever the Sun stands in a chart, it carries the affairs of the house Leo falls in. It is a sign of the fire element and of the fixed quality. The twelve signs cycle through the qualities in order, movable, fixed and dual, so every fourth sign shares one: Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius are fixed. The birth report describes the sign's theme as leadership, pride and creativity.

The nakshatras in Leo

Each sign holds two and a quarter nakshatras, nine quarters in all, since the twelve signs and the twenty-seven nakshatras share the same circle.

  • Magha: 0°00′ Leo to 13°20′ Leo, all four padas.
  • Purva Phalguni: 13°20′ Leo to 26°40′ Leo, all four padas.
  • Uttara Phalguni: 26°40′ Leo to 30°00′ Leo, pada 1, the rest of it lying in Virgo.

Planets whose dignity Leo decides

The site's table of dignities, which follows Parashara's ranges for the signs he divides by degree, gives these in Leo:

  • Sun: Sun is in its moolatrikona from 0° to 20°; Sun is in its own sign from 20° to 30°.

For every other planet Leo is the sign of a friend, a neutral or an enemy, as that planet counts the Sun. The table: Moon — friend, Mars — friend, Mercury — friend, Jupiter — friend, Venus — enemy and Saturn — enemy.

Leo as the Lagna

When Leo is rising at birth it is the first house, and each graha's nature for the chart follows from the houses it rules. The site takes this from Parashara's own list for each rising sign (Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra, ch. 34, tr. R. Santhanam), and goes by the chapter's general rules for a graha the verse does not name. For a Leo Lagna:

  • Sun, lord of the 1st: auspicious.
  • Moon, lord of the 12th: neutral.
  • Mars, lord of the 4th and 9th: the Yogakaraka, ruling an angle and a trine.
  • Mercury, lord of the 2nd and 11th: inauspicious.
  • Jupiter, lord of the 5th and 8th: auspicious.
  • Venus, lord of the 3rd and 10th: inauspicious.
  • Saturn, lord of the 6th and 7th: inauspicious.

The Yogakaraka, the single graha that rules both an angle and a trine and so is the chart's best friend, is Mars.

Rahu and Ketu are not classed by the verse: they act for the lord of the sign they occupy and the house they are in.

Varahamihira on each planet in Leo

The Brihat Jataka gives a reading for a birth with each of the seven planets in each sign; the nodes are not given any. The site's birth report quotes these as they are paraphrased here. Varahamihira adds that a sign's effects come in full only when the planet, the sign and its lord are strong.

The Sun in Leo. With the Sun in Leo, Varahamihira describes a strong, forceful person who loves the open country, forests, hills and pasture, and who is, in his words, stronger than learned. (Brihat Jataka 18.2, tr. N. Chidambaram Iyer (1905))

The Moon in Leo. With the Moon in Leo, Varahamihira describes a proud, bold and generous nature of fixed principles, devoted to the mother and drawn to forests and hills, but quick to anger and slow to let a grievance go. He warns of trouble with digestion and teeth, of worry, and of few children. (Brihat Jataka 17.5, tr. N. Chidambaram Iyer (1905))

Mars in Leo. With Mars in Leo, Varahamihira describes a fearless person who bears hardship patiently and loves the wild, with modest means and few children. (Brihat Jataka 18.7, tr. N. Chidambaram Iyer (1905))

Mercury in Leo. With Mercury in Leo, Varahamihira gives a hard reading: an unsettled, wandering life with little comfort or means, difficulty in love, few children, and a risk to one's good name. (Brihat Jataka 18.10, tr. N. Chidambaram Iyer (1905))

Jupiter in Leo. With Jupiter in Leo, Varahamihira describes intelligence and influence, a good spouse and children, wealth and comfort, and beyond these command over others. (Brihat Jataka 18.13, tr. N. Chidambaram Iyer (1905))

Venus in Leo. With Venus in Leo, Varahamihira describes an excellent spouse, gain through women or a partner, and few children. (Brihat Jataka 18.16, tr. N. Chidambaram Iyer (1905))

Saturn in Leo. With Saturn in Leo, Varahamihira gives a hard reading: heavy burdens and sorrow, little recognition, and few children. (Brihat Jataka 18.18, tr. N. Chidambaram Iyer (1905))

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