The Lion's Share

I’ve wanted to be a Leo for as long as I can remember. Who wouldn’t want to be a natural born leader with a passionate, generous, and cheerful personality? I would give anything to be confident and attractive. Oh the things I could accomplish if I were able to unite and lead people for a shared cause! If only I were a Leo…

Well, here’s the thing. I was actually born under the sign of Leo. But even if I am ruled by the sun and belong to the element of fire, I am likely the most timid and introverted Leo who was ever born. At least, it feels that way.

When I was a teenager, I took every zodiac personality quiz that I could find. I bought magazines with horoscope sections. I hunted through internet quizzes. I asked my friends to guess my zodiac sign. All of this only led to frustration because I would end up with a different result each time. Sometimes I was Taurus, and other times I was Sagittarius. In fact, the only sign I never received was the sign of Leo. How unfair.

On top of it all, I never saw the benefits of favourable planetary alignment. When were these new opportunities supposed to appear? How would I know when to reconnect with old friends and when to take on new responsibilities? I wanted to find the writer of these horoscopes and ask them (in my most polite voice) to please give me more specifics so that I wouldn’t embarrass myself.

Then, I started reading the astrological sign descriptions to try to place myself. I knew I was a Leo, but… maybe there had been some kind of mistake. But every chart or article that I read gave me the same problem. I saw a little bit of myself in every zodiac sign. Honestly, I found that I identified most with Pisces; compassionate but easily victimized, artistic but sad, and intuitive but hesitant. Yes! That was me … but not who I was supposed to be.

And so, on a fateful day as I sat in a university lecture hall, I crumpled up my very last astrology article and chucked it in the recycling bin. Nineteen-years old and already an expert in everything, I had decided that astrology was only for the weak-minded and reality-challenged. I was a first year university student, thank you very much. I scoffed at astrological love compatibility tests, laughed off lucky numbers, and looked down my nose at anyone who dared read horoscopes in my presence.

I mean, let’s be honest. Does the Leo constellation even look like a lion?

And that’s when I started to rethink my attitude. Humans organized the stars using the constellations. The constellation of Leo may have been identified as early as 4000 BC by the ancient Mesopotamians. It has been named the “Lion” by many civilizations, from the ancient Greeks to the Indians. In truth, it’s amazing. Humans looked up at a sky they didn’t understand, drew pictures, and gave groups of stars their names and stories. They imposed their imagination on what might have looked like a random smattering of distant points of light.

So, you know what? If humans have the capacity to organize the stars above us to create the zodiac, then I might have the ability to become the person that I really want to be. I might not act like a Leo all the time, but I’m working on it. I am going to mindfully and intentionally build my self-confidence so that I will become more attractive to myself and others. I will be passionate about what I believe in, and I will cultivate the courage to share my convictions with others. I will focus on the positive and create my own opportunities for success.

Will the planets align for me? I hope so. But instead of passively waiting for the opportunities to fall into my lap, I will actively anticipate them. I’ll take on responsibilities I find worthwhile, and connect with people who infuse my life with joy.

I may not feel like a Leo, but I will be a Lion.

I’m a Leo - by birth and by choice.