Leo I: The Fire of Determination
We’ve reached an exciting milestone in my series on the 36 Decans of the Zodiac because today we’re diving into the sign of Leo. This marks our second exploration of the element of fire, which gives us an opportunity to deepen our understanding of Leo by comparing it to Aries, for example. The focus of today’s video is the first Decan of Leo—Leo I—which covers the first 10 degrees of the sign. In the video below, I go into more detail about this Decan, including a discussion of the two planets that rule it: Saturn and the Sun.
We’ll also explore the tarot card associated with this Decan, the Five of Wands, and the numerology that adds layers to its meaning. To make it personal, I’ll share examples of two individuals with their rising degree in this Decan: Meryl Streep, the legendary actress, and Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad, a renowned middle-distance runner. His chart highlights some fascinating themes tied to this Decan.
Transcript (Modified)
The Sun and the Fixed Nature of Leo
Leo I. I love this Decan. It’s complex and sometimes challenging, but I know it well because my Venus is here, in my 10th house. This Decan is ruled by the Sun, and Leo as a whole is also ruled by the Sun. All the planets revolve around the Sun, making it a natural symbol of being a centering force. The Sun shines brightly, radiates warmth, and brings stability—all qualities reflected in Leo’s energy.
Leo is a fixed sign, which mirrors the Sun’s consistent nature. Day after day, the Sun rises and sets, creating a reliable rhythm. Similarly, Leo’s fixed energy gives it stability. As a fire sign, Leo is also about inspiration, freedom, self-expression, and the desire to shine. I’ll compare Leo’s fire to Aries when we get to the tarot, but for now, let’s stay focused on the first Decan.
Saturn’s Influence and the Sun-Sun-Saturn Dynamic
All three Decans of Leo share the drive to shine brightly, rooted in the Sun’s radiant, fixed energy. However, the first Decan has an added layer of complexity: Saturn. Under the Chaldean order, Saturn rules this Decan, while under the Triplicity system, the Sun is its ruler. This creates a Sun-Sun-Saturn dynamic.
The Sun and Saturn are natural opposites in astrology. Leo, ruled by the Sun, is opposite Aquarius, ruled by Saturn. The Sun represents light, warmth, and life, while Saturn is cold, distant, and heavy. Saturn’s energy is tied to restrictions, boundaries, hard work, and responsibility. It rewards effort but also imposes limits, teaching us what is and isn’t possible in the material world. It carries a weighty, somber quality, often symbolizing endings or judgment, like a stern father figure saying, “Do this the right way.”
This dynamic creates tension in the first Decan of Leo. On one hand, there’s the drive to shine and radiate warmth; on the other, there may be feelings of restriction or the need to work harder to achieve brilliance. There’s also a sense of being observed or judged as you shine. It’s the balance of Saturn’s discipline and the Sun’s radiance that defines this Decan.
You can see this energy play out in people like Meryl Streep. Her success didn’t come easily—she worked incredibly hard to become the best actress she could be, which reflects Saturn’s tension of persistence and effort. Those are the planetary forces shaping this Decan.
Tarot: Five of Wands
To deepen our understanding, let’s look at the tarot card tied to this Decan: the Five of Wands. Usually, I’d also reference ancient texts like Agrippa or Ibn Ezra, but in this case, their descriptions mostly mirror the general energy of Leo. So, we’ll focus on the tarot.
In the Rider-Waite deck, the Five of Wands shows five young men holding sticks, locked in what appears to be a battle. They seem evenly matched, and it’s unclear who will triumph, highlighting the card’s competitive and combative nature. In the Thoth deck—the Crowley deck—the card is called Strife. This name amplifies the same idea: this Decan isn’t just about achieving or shining; it’s about encountering challenges and conflict along the way.
Five of Wands, Rider-Waite Tarot and Thoth Tarot
Aries vs. Leo Fire Energy
This feels like a good time to compare the energy of Aries to Leo. The first four signs of the Zodiac focus on the individual, the next four on the social dynamic—“you and I”—and the final four on the greater world or community at large. Aries, Taurus, Gemini, and Cancer are all about “me.” Aries is about me personally struggling with fire energy; Taurus is about me figuring out how to create stability and make my way in the material world. And so on.
If you’ve watched my videos on Aries I, Aries II, and Aries III, you’ll see how this unfolds. Aries, as the first sign, is the fire that bursts into the world and wants to prove it exists. It’s about achieving light for myself, gaining self-mastery and dominion, and then, in Aries III, celebrating that achievement.
With Leo, the fire evolves. It’s no longer just about me—it’s about showing who I am to the world. Leo says, “I want the world to see my fire, to admire me, to recognize and celebrate my achievements.” You can really feel this progression when you look at the tarot cards tied to Leo’s Decans. In Leo I, represented by the Five of Wands, we see the fight to find our place and to shine. By Leo II, represented by the Six of Wands, we’ve won that battle. It’s the victorious figure riding high, celebrated for their success and ability to shine in the world. Then, in Leo III, represented by the Seven of Wands, the energy shifts. Now it’s about holding onto what’s been achieved. Here, the figure defends their position and protects their light from being diminished by others.
Five, Six, and Seven of Wands, Rider-Waite Tarot
We’ll explore these ideas further in my videos on Leo II and Leo III, but to give you a sense: Leo I is about breaking—or trying to break—our light out into the world to be admired. Along the way, we encounter competition and obstacles, whether external or internal, like self-doubt or fear of stepping into the spotlight.
I know this personally—putting yourself out there can feel scary. There’s a vulnerability in shining your light. But this Decan demands courage: the courage to step up, test your strength, and face others who might be just as capable as you. It’s about pushing through fear and breaking through anyway. That’s the essence of the competitive energy that defines this Decan of the Zodiac.
The Creative Tension of Fives
Let’s talk about the number five and its significance in numerology, Kabbalah, and astrology, especially since we’re dealing with the Five of Wands here. In the third Decan of Aries, we had the Four of Wands, which is all about celebration and containment—a steady, structured energy. Fours are stable, like a square, but they can start to feel stagnant. The Fives, on the other hand, push us out of that stability. They’re about breaking into new territory, which can feel tense and challenging, but there’s a creative energy in that tension.
In astrology, this creative energy is reflected in the quintile aspect—a 72-degree angle, or one-fifth of a circle. Quintiles in a birth chart often show a creative or unique sense of expression, a desire to break out and try something new. To give you the vibe of this, the quintile is a minor aspect that reflects creativity, talent, and individuality. It’s often tied to latent abilities or gifts that need to be developed. This fifth harmonic connects directly to the number five and its symbolic association with individuality and creation—qualities that are also central to Leo.
In Kabbalah, the number five corresponds to the Sephirot Gevurah, which represents conflict or motion necessary for spiritual growth. Gevurah disrupts the harmony of the Four—the stable structure we talked about earlier—to push us toward the Six, which we’ll see in the second Decan of Leo. The Six is about beauty, harmony, and finding peace in self-expression, but the Five is where we’re still in motion, striving to get there. Gevurah also represents challenge as a catalyst for growth, where stability breaks down so evolution can happen. Fives bring a sense of crisis or creative tension that forces us to move forward.
This all ties back to the energy of this Decan, where the Sun and Saturn—two opposing forces—are locked in creative tension. That tension hones the skills of people with planets or points in this Decan. They want to shine, but they’re faced with obstacles and competition that push them to work harder. And as we all know, competition sharpens our abilities over time. That’s the energy of this Decan: growth through challenge, evolution through conflict, and creativity born out of tension.
Examples of Leo I Rising: Meryl Streep and Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad
Meryl Streep: Saturnine Discipline and Solar Authenticity
Let’s talk about the two people I have as examples with their rising degrees in this part of the Zodiac. First, we have Meryl Streep, who’s widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. She has been nominated for 21 Academy Awards—more than anyone else—and has won several of them. When you think about Meryl Streep, you probably think of her incredible range and the number of movies she’s done. But what a lot of people don’t realize is how much effort she puts into her craft.
For example, in Sophie’s Choice, which I think was back in the 80s, she actually learned Polish—and maybe even German—just to prepare for the role. As someone who’s studied languages, including German (which is notoriously difficult), I can tell you that’s no small feat. It shows how much she prepares—or over-prepares—for her roles.
I also want to share a couple of quotes from her that really capture this energy. They reflect the Saturn influence in this Decan, where Saturn drives her solar energy and creative ambition. She said, “There were a lot of times when I didn’t get roles that I thought I deserved, but instead of giving up, I worked harder.” Saturn, Saturn, Saturn. And she also said, “I wasn’t the prettiest, I wasn’t the most talented, I didn’t have the best voice, but I worked really hard, and I had a lot of determination.” Again, this is so Saturnine—dedication and persistence overcoming obstacles.
But there’s also a solar quality here, especially in this Decan of Leo, that’s about bringing forth authenticity. The Sun represents our deep identity, our true self. Meryl touches on this when she says, “Acting is not about being someone different. It’s about finding the similarity in what is apparently different, and then finding myself in there.” She’s tapping into her authentic voice, and that’s what allows her to shine.
Lastly, we’ve talked about the courage required in this Decan—the courage to step out and risk Saturnine judgment from others. Meryl ties this idea of courage and authenticity together when she says, “You have to have courage to step out and be seen, but it has to be grounded in something real, your truth.” That’s the energy of this Decan: courage, authenticity, and the drive to shine despite challenges.
Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad: Competition, Power, and Tension
The second example I found—someone I didn’t know before—is Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad, a middle-distance runner. He’s super famous in the running world. He’s retired now, but he’s from Algeria and mainly competed in the 3000-meter steeplechase. He’s the only man to win three Olympic steeplechase medals, in addition to other silver medals and accolades.
What’s interesting about him—and this is where astrology really speaks—is his reputation for being fiercely competitive, sometimes to the point of conflict. He’s known not only for winning races but also for his temper and for getting into fights with competitors or acting out in the heat of competition.
When I looked at his chart, it all made sense. His Ascendant degree is in the first 10 degrees of Leo and is in a T-square with a Pluto-Mars opposition. Pluto and Mars opposing each other in a chart often indicate power struggles, and with both of them squaring his Ascendant, it’s no surprise that competition plays such a significant—and sometimes volatile—role in his life.
Mars in Taurus, which he has, adds another layer of complexity. Mars struggles in Taurus because Taurus is ruled by Venus, and their energies don’t align well. This can create difficulties for someone trying to channel Mars’ assertive, action-oriented energy in a Venusian, grounded sign like Taurus. For him, that tension shows up in how he competes—sometimes with aggression or conflict.
I just think this is such a great example of how astrology works. When you see a chart like this, it’s like astrology is speaking directly to us. It reminds me that we’re all part of something bigger, following the energy of our karma. That’s one of my philosophical views of the world, and examples like this really illustrate it.
So anyway, I hope you enjoyed this video. If you did, don’t forget to like and subscribe, and I’ll see you in about 10 days for Leo II!