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it all because he's got to be king. Even when his contribution is patently absurd and glowing with florid ignorance, he won't back down. I once knew a Leo like this. He would profess knowledge about all sorts of things, because he needed to have an image of being highly learned. If you questioned him, he would begin to argue. Of course he was always right. How dare you challenge it? What? Not know the answer? He knew everything. He would even get indignant and angry if you questioned him, to cover up his inadequacy. I, the King.
What can Leo do with this shadow? Well, a lot of it requires being very, very aware of oneself. Leo has a hard time being aware of the needs of others because he takes a lot for granted. Leo isn't a sign of relationship like Cancer, Libra and Pisces. But Leo needs to make this gallant effort of noticing what his own behaviour does to other people, and allowing them their independence and the credit due them, if he isn't to lose his friends and loved ones through enmity and antagonism. Enmity is agonizing for Leo, who needs so badly to be loved. We've said that the Lion doesn't have a mean, petty bone in his body, and that's perfectly true. But his shadow can be a bit of a bully, and trample unnecessarily over the wills and desires of others. Unless he's able to put time into his own creative expression he runs the risk of robbing other people of theirs. It's not an easy task. But it's one worth striving for, and suitable for the genuine nobility of character that is the real basis of Leo.
There is a beautiful image in the Tarot deck which describes Leo very nicely. This is the card for the Sun. It shows a small child crowned with a wreath of flowers, riding horseback on a horse, with his arms and legs thrown out in the air in joy. He isn't even hanging on to the horse, so trusting is he of the bounty of life. Behind him, a huge sun shines. This is the Leo who trusts his own inner self. He doesn't have to own others then; he's just himself, and it's good to be alive. Shadows have a way of disappearing in the noonday sun.
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