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to the core. And Leo's idealism frequently makes him cry as well, since he's inclined - being rather fixed in temperament - to become fairly solid (put euphemistically) in his attitudes and ways of thinking. In other words, Leo tends to envision life in a certain way - and that way is usually coloured by all the charm and romanticism of King Arthur's court - and once his got his vision, he really doesn't appreciate having to change it. It takes a lot to convince him that life is not the fairy tale he thought, where villains are always recognizably and utterly good, where the hero always wins and the villain loses, where the beautiful rescued princess is suitably grateful and adoring. Sometimes villains and heroes, much to Leo's chagrin, have subtle shadings of grey, and are not easily definable. Leo has a kind of black-and-white perception which doesn't readily accommodate the complexities and subtleties of human nature. And those beautiful princesses have a nasty habit, particularly lately, of not wanting to be rescued at all, since they're learning how to do it themselves. What can a poor lion do? Leo courts shock after shock on the plane of real life. Like the other two fire signs, his intuition works overtime and tells him about he creative possibilities whereby he can live out his myth as hero, creator, sustainer, protector of the weak. It's a tough role to play these days, since people can be so damned unappreciative. Even in King Arthur's time they aren't always willing to play the game. So Leo usually collides mane first with some aspects of life he doesn't like very much. But if he sticks to his inner vision of himself, and relinquish his demands that the rest of the world conform to his ideals, it may one day dawn on him that he is indeed the hero, on a quest for his own Self, and that the rich love of life which blooms in him is not wasted because he has to make a few adjustments to reality.
The tendency to cling to the ideal and become bewildered when it doesn't match reality is most visible in Leo's relationships. Both in business and in love, in the family and with friends, he is perpetually baffled by the pettiness, ambiguity, jealousy, and general nastiness that abound in the human psyche. Not that he doesn't possess these attributes himself. But Leo will usually make an enormous effort to be honourable in his dealings with others, because that's the knightly code. Quite right, he's a living anachronism. There are Leos walking around where you can virtually hear the clank of armour and see the heraldic banners waving in the breeze. Loyalty is terribly important to Leo, and honour - a word whose meaning has become rather tarnished in the marketplace these days. It's perfectly understandable why the lion may so often be found with the hurt, disillusioned look on his noble face.
In the big, bold, colourful world in which Leo lives, the intrusion of the small and the banal are not welcome. Leo needs to paint his canvas with large, unrestricted strokes. Whenever some new, original idea is needed, wherever an impact must be made, wherever some new creative possibility can be envisioned, there'll you'll find Leo. Freddie Laker is a characteristic Leo. Who would have thought that one man, without the enormous funds and hierarchy of the large airlines behind him, could have succeeded in setting up his Skytrain service with such flair? Notice the ads for his flights. Often you get to see the picture of Sir Freddie himself, smiling and promising his customers the best possible service available. There's the Leo touch: the personal stamp. No cold, impersonal photo of a big, powerful plane as you find with commercial airlines. No, you get to see the man himself. A little exhibitionist? Of course. But that's part of Leo's charm, too - the more distinctive and individual he can be, the happier he is. Some Leos carry this to the most outlandish extremes. Napoleon, for example, wanted to conquer the world. But you'll notice that wherever it's said that something can't be done, there you'll find a Leo determined to do it.
The trouble with all these big, bold, colourful strokes on the canvas of life is that somebody has to clean the paintbrushes and wash up the paint tins afterward. And also during. And you can be pretty sure it won't be a Leo, who feels trapped and miserable when he has to deal with the details of everyday life. When you read mythology, you don't often find the hero considering what chemist he should visit for his mouthwash so that he's acceptable to the princess. No, details like that aren't part of the mythological world. Who ever heard of King Arthur shopping at Marks
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