Signs: Fixed Cross—Leo

I am That and That am I

The quest for identity: preserving the self with responsibility to others

Leo: esoteric meaning

As one of …four signs which are signs of birth, of beginning and of renewed cyclic realisation (Aries, Cancer, Leo, Capricorn) the general influence of Leo is as:

…the “birthplace of the individual,” the coming into form of individual self-conscious [individual] who emerges out of the mass and herd in Cancer, substituting, for instinctual consciousness, self-awareness and a sense of responsibility of an individual kind. (EA 102)

In the microcosm of Leo rulerships, we see the entire journey of humanity outlined the the triple rulership of the Sun and the expansion on consciousness that is psychological evolution:

Self-consciousness or human awareness

The unity of individual purpose, experienced as a result of the urge for personal experience and knowledge (the probation period, Mutable Cross)

Consciousness of conflicting dualities

The long journey of learning, often externalised in our social and personal relationships, wherein conflicts are resolved and wisdom begins to form from experience (the period of “discipleship”, Fixed Cross)

Group consciousness and service

Activities that transcend the purely personal and contribute to a wider unity (the life of the initiate or those who have exhausted the limits of the purely personal, Cardinal Cross)

See the Leo-Scorpio-Capricorn triangle that embodies this journey in the experiences undergone in each of those signs (EA 287).

the outstanding theme of Leo is the activity of the self-conscious unit in relation to its environment or the development of sensitive response to surrounding impacts by the one who stands—as the Sun stands—at the centre of its little universe. (EA 294)

In Leo, the more personal journey through the triple rulership of the Sun (and veiled planets) can be seen as follows (EA 296-7):

Exoteric/physical Sun

development of material life and the incentive to gain knowledge through experience, centres below the diaphragm. Multiplicity

Esoteric/Heart of the Sun

via Neptune: the expression of experience gained in a directed, coherent and integrated manner, heart, throat and ajna (brow) centres. Duality

Heirarchical/central, spiritual Sun

via Uranus: the application of the above in activities that benefit humanity in general, the head (crown) centre. Unity

See the Sun for more on this triple nature.

Leo: rulers

• Orthodox: Sun
• Esoteric: Neptune
• Hierarchical: Uranus

The Sun is given as the ruler of all the three conditions of Leo—exoteric, esoteric and hierarchical and—as the centre of our Second Ray solar system—this rulership is about the primary quality of that ray—the expansion of consciousnses, which brings in Aquarius:

…this triple control … is tied up with the relation between Leo and Aquarius … Leo indicates the height of achievement of the human soul. (EA 147)

In the personal horoscope, the Sun veils Neptune esoterically, a rulership strengthened in a chart with a Fixed Cross emphasis or (possibly) a predominance of even-numbered Rays. Hierarchically it veils Uranus, especially for those with a predominantly Cardinal emphasis or (possibly) in a chart favouring odd-numbered Rays. However on the Mutable Cross of repeated experience the Sun emphasises the physical. Depending on other factors in the chart, Vulcan may also play a part during the transition between the Mutable and Fixed crosses (exoteric to esoteric) especially if Virgo or Taurus are strong or where other first ray influences are present. The integrated but self-centred Leo personality then begins to awaken to the “Heart of the Sun” and reverse the wheel, sometimes facing a crisis that challenges all the self-oriented achievement of a strong Leo personality.

Orthodox: Sun ⇧

In connection with the Mutable Cross [analogous to the Sun as Leo’s exoteric ruler], the rays of the Sun in a threefold form (combining the lowest energies of the threefold Sun) pour into and through [humanity], via Jupiter… the agent of the second ray which the Sun expresses—cosmically and systemically. (EA 143)

The implication here is that the Sun via Jupiter—the second ray planet of synthesis—aids the integration of the individual as a functioning and coordinated personality. At the fundamental level this will be either actively for deliberately selfish, or passively self-interested, purposes. In a chart where the individual is under the developmental process of the Mutable Cross, the well-documented “dominant Leo personality” is the result. The exoteric Sun-Leo function is well-known, but it is worth grasping Leo’s esoteric context within the archetypal sequence of signs around the zodiac:

Mass consciousness in Cancer gives place to individual consciousness in Leo. Out of the mass or the herd emerges the self-sufficient unit which becomes increasingly aware of its oneness, its aloneness and its isolated attitude as the “one in the centre” of its small cosmos. This attitude continues to develop and to become emphatic and dynamic … leading to the pronounced ego-centric consciousness of the selfish, intelligent [individual] and to the ambitious display of selfish power of [those who desire] place and position. (EA 292)

However, for all but the most willfully self-oriented, the esoteric rulership of Neptune will have begun to hint at a subtler and more empathic influence.

Esoteric: Neptune ⇧

Here the Sun veils Neptune

The esoteric rulership is intimately bound up with the “Heart of the Sun” and the love-wisdom quality of the second ray as expressed through the refined Ray 6 qualities of Neptune:

…the real Sun under which our planetary life will eventually function … is the Heart of the Sun. When that is controlling, the [aware individual then lives] a dual life simultaneously (which is ever the problem of [those] illumined by the soul as well as by the light of day) [which consists] of our apparent experience and situations and our inner spiritual soul awareness. The personality will still respond to influences coming to it from the [orthodox solar rulership] but the motivated life activity and the subjective experience of the inner [self] will be conditioned by energies coming… from the “Heart of the Sun.” (EA 110-11)

Many will be familiar with the inherent tension implied by the above description, with the predominantly emotional and psychological conflicts that demand to be resolved. The esoteric rulership also begins to invoke the influence of Leo’s complementary sign (where Jupiter is the esoteric ruler and Uranus the Hierarchical) so that:

…eventually the time comes when the nature of the Fixed Cross begins to dawn upon… consciousness … and the influence of Aquarius … begins to balance that of Leo. Then there comes the gradual shift of … attention away from the “one who stands alone” to the environing group, and an equally important shift away from selfish interests to group requirements. (EA 292-3)

Hierarchical: Uranus ⇧

Here the Sun veils Uranus:

…the planet of occultism, and that which governs group relations, organisations and the eleventh House. It relates the Leo influence to Aquarius. (EA 538)

The hierarchical rulership of Leo at the broadest level concerns the ultimate expansion of consciousness for humanity as a whole, as well as veiling Uranus for those beginning to respond to the transcendent power of the Cardinal Cross.

Under the freedom of the two this connects Leo and the polar sign Aquarius, in which the consciousness of humanity in general—and that of soul-aware individuals in particular—reaches a peak. According to the esoteric philosophy, integrated and aware individuals who have successfully extracted themselves from the thoughtless behaviours of “the mass” eventually become part of a “fifth kingdom of souls”—a collective state of being that transcends the current reactive state of humanity, and whose individuals—whether consciously or instinctively—work as a group for the good of the whole:

Leo and Aquarius, through the Sun and Jupiter, are related to Ray 2. Development of the individual consciousness into world consciousness. Thus a person becomes a world server. (EA 67)

The two signs are eventually blended into a functioning whole. For more on this process, and on the expansion of consciousness that dawns once the soul—rather than the personal self—becomes the focus of consciousness, see the Personal Points.

The connection between Leo and Aquarius is apparent in the current shift from the former to the latter in the Ray 5 triangle, and also in the key role of Venus in the origins and expansion in consciousness of the inner human soul.

Decanates

See the notes about the inconsistency of decanates in Esoteric Astrology. For comparison, Stephen Pugh’s decanate rulers are listed, alongside current orthodox rulers and those given in the book.

Esoteric/developmental: conscious development (annual signs from Aries via Taurus to Pisces)

0-9°: Sun A: Leo, integration and co-ordination of the personality

10-19°: Jupiter F: Sagittarius, second ray beneficence ensuring a successful outcome and expansion of consciousness

20-29°: Venus D: Aries, an eventual “form of group individualism” (EA 448)

Exoteric/experiential: humanity in general (precession from Aries via Pisces to Taurus)

29-20°: Mars E: Aries, Initial conflict and the struggle to be

19-10°: Jupiter F: Sagittarius, the beneficent and gradual learning process of incarnation

9-0°: Sun A: Leo, individual self-rule

• Orthodox: Sun, Jupiter, Mars (Leo, Sagittarius, Aries)
• EAst e/o: Sun, Jupiter, Venus / Mars, Jupiter, Sun
• Pugh e/o: Mars, Sun, Jupiter / Jupiter, Sun, Mars

Venus in the final esoteric decan reflects the emerging control by Aquarius of the Ray 5 triangle as complementary to Leo, and the sign of the emerging age in the greater zodiac for the hopeful coming expansion in human consciousness in general. However, the passage below (EA 448) states that “upon the reversed wheel” Venus (given as the Aries decanate) is the first to be encountered, which would actually be the case for the exoteric “backwards zodiac” journey of gradual human progress… so the individual undergoing conscious development after the “reversal of the wheel” back to the familiar order, would first encounter the decan ruled by the Sun. This change appears to spring from the current shift of the ruling fifth ray sign from Leo to Aquarius, and the resulting power of the 5th ray planet Venus in both Aquarius and Leo. The impact of this decanate on humanity in general is therefore distinct from its effect on the individual, whether traversing the wheel in either direction.

The exoteric decans would be reversed as Mars, Jupiter, Sun. If we also count the mass influence of Venus in the coming shift to Aquarius, the Aries decanate might be ruled by Venus for those beginning to respond unconsciously to Ray 5 (rather than Mars) as a result of the general change in human culture arising from the influence of Aquarius in the greater zodiac. A careful reading of the second passage below (EA 448) helps untangle this apparent confusion. See the entwined Individual and mass effect of the fifth ray triangle. Jupiter here emphasises the central originating role of the Ray 2 Sun to our solar system and in the overall gradual progress of humanity under this ray, as well as the personal symbolism allocated to Leo.

Saturn… the Lord of Karma, has his power lessened in this sign. It is for this reason that Sepharial is incorrect when he gives Saturn as the ruler of the first decanate. The three decanates are given by him as being ruled by Saturn, Jupiter and Mars. Alan Leo is, however, nearer the truth when he gives us the Sun, Jupiter and Mars.

Self-rule through initial conflict, carried to a successful issue and blessed by the beneficence of Jupiter, is the true history of the advanced Leo aspirant, and this thought and the objective result of this realisation is summed up for us in the two word mottoes of this sign:

And the Word said: Let other forms exist. I rule because I am.

I Am—the Word of the self-conscious, selfish, individual Leo.

I am That and That am I.

I Am That—the Word of the Leo subject who is rapidly gaining the higher consciousness and preparing for fresh and universal expression in Aquarius. (EA 310-11)

Leo in the coming Aquarian era

This touches on a Theosophical concept in which the term “Venus” has multiple facets, particularly concerning the individualisation of humanity in the prehistoric past. It involves the role of the form-building entities (or conscious forces, if you prefer) who created the vehicle—the “causal body”—to house the incoming human soul consciousness in the forms that were to evolve into humanity—the Theosophical term for these beings is the (now mythic-sounding!) Lords of Flame (see glossary).

In the Aquarian era the power of the planet Venus becomes a dominant factor in the last decanate. … Upon the reversed wheel in the case of the spiritually oriented [individual] and the disciple, … the first decanate [encountered] is governed by Venus… which we are told was responsible for the appearance of the individualised consciousness… this in combination with other influences and forces. In the Aquarian Age, Venus will again have an analogous influence only with this difference that the emergence into manifestation of an increased individualism and self-conscious realisation will be subordinate to the appearance of the first stages of an expanded consciousness throughout all mankind—the consciousness of group responsibility. It will be perhaps better expressed as a form of group individualism. (EA 448)

The general idea here is that—at a crucial future point—humanity will undergo a growth-shift in consciousness in the “Aquarian age” (which lasts around 2.5k years in the sidereal zodiac) that compliments the shift that early hominids undertook, but on a higher turn of the spiral. This will involve the same influences involved at that time. For people living now this may not seem relevant, but individual conscious development always leaps ahead of the slow collective process symbolised by the sidereal zodiac, so the meaning of this decanate can be applied accordingly, with reference to the united evolutionary Leo-Aquarius axis.

Esoteric Astrology: 310-11, 448