Aries and Leo compatibility

A trine is one of only two configurations Ptolemy calls harmonious, and he gives the reason: it is formed between “signs of the same kind”. Aries and Leo also share an element, which the formula counts in full.

The rulers add something particular to this pair. Leo is the house of the Sun, and the Sun is exalted in Aries, the sign where, in Ptolemy’s words, “he begins to lengthen the days”. Our formula gives a point for that, and it helps lift this facet to 93. The angle counts for more than anything else in this facet.

Alan Leo describes the two characters in separate chapters, so any comparison between them is ours. Leo people, he writes, “possess a very strong love nature, which makes them very ardent and sincere in their affections”, and they “like to express their love in action”. Of Aries he says they are “fond of constant change, loving novelty, romance and speculation”.

Leo is a fixed sign. Ptolemy says the fixed signs are those in which the season is “more firmly established”. Aries is an equinoctial sign, the kind now called cardinal, which opens a season. Our formula turns that into steadiness: a fixed sign counts in full, a cardinal sign for half, and the pair’s average is high. Steadiness is a large part of the trust facet, which comes out at 88.

Reading “firmly established” as reliability in a person is our step, not Ptolemy’s. Alan Leo’s portraits do touch on loyalty. He calls Leo people “faithful, sincere and earnest”. Of Aries he writes: “When not living up to the highest strength of their character, they have a tendency to jealousy, they expect loyalty from others and may be somewhat exacting in this respect.” Set side by side, and the comparison is ours, one sign is described as faithful and the other as expecting faithfulness.

This is the pair’s lowest facet, at 79, and it is low for one reason: neither sign is mutable. The formula gives more here to pairs that are adaptable, and a cardinal sign with a fixed sign has little adaptability by its measure. The shared element and the trine keep the score from falling further.

Alan Leo does not write about how these two signs talk to each other. His separate portraits show two different habits. Aries people are “frank and outspoken by choice, but often combative and assertive”, though he also calls them “excellent conversationalists”. Leo people “prefer to live” their ideals “rather than talk of them”. Our reading of the two: one talks readily and argues, the other would sooner act.

Emotions is the highest facet, 94. Elements count most in this facet, and these two signs share theirs completely. William Lilly gives them the same temperament almost word for word: Aries is “in nature fiery, hot and dry, cholericke”, and Leo “by nature, Fiery, Hot, Dry, Cholerick”. Lilly is describing signs as qualities for reading a chart, not people, but it is the plainest statement of what the two have in common.

There is one contrast inside the pair that the sources point to. When Ptolemy lists the lords of this triplicity he leaves Mars out, calling it “contrary in condition to the solar influence”. Mars rules Aries and the Sun rules Leo. Alan Leo’s two portraits, set side by side, show a contrast too: Aries “impulsive” and “headstrong”, Leo with an “emotional nature being deep and of the heart”.

The same inputs as trust, in a different mix, put values at 89: a shared element, a harmonious angle and a good share of steadiness. Leo, as the fixed sign, is the one that supplies the steadiness; if both signs were cardinal this facet would be lower.

Alan Leo sees the two as complementary here. Aries people are “more ideal than practical”, while Leo people are “usually very practical with regard to their ideals”. He concludes that Leo is the more practical of the two and that the union makes “a better blend” for that reason.

Shared activities scores 81. The shared element and the trine carry it. It is held back by the same thing as communication: this facet also counts adaptability, and a cardinal sign with a fixed sign has little.

In Alan Leo’s words, “The Leos love to rule, but it is more from the heart and motive than from the head”, and Aries people are “very self-willed”. Our reading of those two descriptions is that both would want a say in the plan.