Leo Season is upon us once again, bringing with it an opportunity to reflect upon our own uniqueness, individuality, and purpose.

The noble sign of Leo is associated with warmth, creativity, play, children, the heart, role-play, acting and royalty. It is Leo which governs the roles we play in society, throughout our lives. It is in Leo that we walk the path of self-realization, which begins with the development of the ego. In order to fulfill divine purpose, we need a well-defined ego. The challenge is to cultivate a mature ego that recognizes the distinction between individuality and separation.

Continuing our Soul’s journey through the 12 zodiac signs, after Cancer brings the diffuse divine light into form, the light in Leo individuates. Leo’s deeper spiritual purpose is to express divine will through realization of self as an individual. In Leo we individuate, but we can never separate from the rest of humanity, for that isn’t possible. Each of us is an individual ray of light that, just like the rays of the Sun, is never separate from the light of the divine.

In understanding the planetary rulership of Leo, it is important to consider the fullness of our own being. To really comprehend the role of the Sun in relation to human evolution, we need to begin experiencing ourselves as far greater than just our physical form. In the process of the evolution of consciousness, we are really expanding our perception so that we become aware of that which already is.

There are no levels of Reality;
only levels of experience for the individual.

~Ramana Maharshi

Esoterically Leo is said to have “only” one planetary ruler at personality, soul, and hierarchical level, and that is the Sun. In order to understand this we have to think way beyond the astronomical model of the Sun as a piece of molten rock that is burning away in space, and begin to think of the Sun as ancient people’s once did: as a conscious divine intelligence, a living being that has a triple aspect, the Solar Logos.

This triple aspect of the Sun has custodianship over three specific areas of our spiritual development: the physical Sun (the corona which we can see) creates and sustains the conditions for the development of our outer worldly life as experienced through our ego-personality. The heart of the Sun creates and sustains the conditions for the development of our heart and Soul, and the core of the Sun (which is at one with the central spiritual sun) creates and sustains the conditions for our development at hierarchical level. All three are one. Understanding how the Sun is one and yet plays three individual roles is key to understanding how humanity is one and yet we play our individual roles.

The Sun epitomizes the idea of planetary rulership as custodianship or space-holding, providing the perfect conditions for evolutionary processes to unfold, in stages, with precise Divine timing. The Sun is the centre of our planetary system. We live within a Solar system, named from the Latin word “Sol” meaning Sun. The Sun provides a constant emanation of vital life force, which permeates and sustains this system. Leo is a fixed sign and here we see an example of the purpose of fixed energy for stabilization: in this case creating a stable environment for sustaining Life, through constancy and continuity.

It is the Sun that is a great living consciousness,
a great pulsating solar heart.
– Errol Weiner, Transpersonal Astrology

The Sun is more than just a symbol for humanity; he also is the epitome of “as above, so below.” Understanding that there is a spiritual core, which emanates through the heart, and then radiates through the outer corona, or personality, is a truer understanding of our own nature as human beings. We are, each of us, energetically like a Sun in miniature and if we only focus on our corona (personality) we will miss the true depth and nature of our being. To find the truth of our own being we also need to go within, passing through the heart center, to discover our spiritual core. The Sun is not only a symbol of our Self-realization, but he is our guide.

The Sun invites us to go within for deeper understanding. We cannot understand the deeper spiritual mysteries of the Sun by looking at him. Indeed looking directly at the Sun would be harmful. It’s as though He is saying to us “go back, that is not the way”.

In Part II, we’ll explore the Sun’s role in our path toward self-realization.

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Ruth Hadikin – Soul Astrologer

To get your personal Soul Sign/Life Purpose Report (FREE with a consultation), contact Ruth via her website. You can also request a FREE mp3 download, “The Energetics of Soul Astrology.”

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Karen MacKenzie has been working on a series of astrology inspired paintings using goddesses from different cultures. For more information about the symbolism in this print and to view other works in her ongoing series, check out her website, Karen MacKenzie Art (her prints are very affordable).