Linda Goodman's Sun Signs (29 page)

One of my best friends and favorite Leos is a well-known New York psychiatrist. Granted, it's a career which permits her to lecture and advise (Leo's favorite pastime), but she gives her counsel with such a warm smile, sparkling eyes and deep compassion, her patients feel better just being in the same room with her. Her husband pays her all the respect and adoration she demands as her royal right, but he has a profession of his own to match hers. He's a gifted writer and poet, talents which always impress the sentimental Leo. They share equal billing in front of the footlights, yet he's the man and the boss behind the scenes. A perfect success formula for taming the lioness.

And that's the key to a smooth relationship with your Leo partner. Don't let her smother you—but don't try to top her. Just paste a big, bright star on her dressing room door, and puff up your ego. You're quite a guy, you know—to have won the hand of the proud lioness. Tell me, how did you manage to do it?

Remember the game you used to play called Follow the Leader? Remember the little fellow who always sulked when he didn't get to be leader? If he was the same pal who loaned you money to buy Twizzlers and soda when your allowance ran out, you must have had a Leo in your neighborhood gang.

The typical lion cub is sunny, happy, playful, and jolly when he gets his own way. When he doesn't, storm clouds gather out of nowhere, along with a thunderous roar, or a hurt, brooding withdrawal. Even if he does seem to be a bit full of himself, the young Leo shouldn't be constantly put down. Suppressing his enthusiasm and high spirits can cause deep scars that may darken his Sun for years. Little lions and lionesses have a habit of bossing the other children, which often annoys the mothers of more inhibited youngsters, but they should be restrained gently and never scolded harshly in front of playmates. The great pride of the Leo reacts violently to an attack on vanity, especially in public.

It's good to encourage the natural leadership in Leo children, but they should be taught that everyone must have his turn, because that's the fair way, even if they are stronger than the others.

The leonine sense of justice will usually cause the youngster to see the light. He's not maliciously aggressive. He just has a compulsion to head for the front of the parade. These boys and girls have a strong urge to show off, and it's hard to discourage if it's allowed to get out of hand. The little lion is the one who proudly stands on his head in the schoolyard or walks on a fence to thrill the girls. Wise parents will begin early to make the Leo child realize that showing off is really very undignified. This normally works like a charm, since Sun-ruled children have an innate sense of dignity.

You'll notice it in the tiniest Leos. There's a sort of regal bearing, which creates the impression that baby is monarch of all he surveys. The term “His majesty, the baby” was coined to describe a Leo infant. Little cubs will begin early to rule the roost, wrapping mother and daddy and the entire retinue of relatives around their fingers with very little effort. It's the oddest thing, but a small lion sitting on his throne—I mean in his high chair—covered with prune juice and egg yolk, and needing a change of diapers, will somehow manage to keep his dignity intact. It comes naturally to a Leo baby to allow doting parents and admiring friends to pay homage to him, while he graciously accepts their attention, gifts, and flattering tributes. He finds adoration very easy to take. Notice the pleased, smug look on his face when strangers stop to make a fuss over him.

Your Leo child will be more reckless than the average youngster, take more chances and be more active. Then will come those periodic spells of leonine laziness, when he'll lie around the house too tired to lift a finger, except to motion for you to wait on him. Leave him alone and make him understand no one is his servant. If he wants something, he can get it himself when his energy returns. Otherwise, a spoiled Leo child can become a regular tyrant. Now and then, of course, it doesn't hurt to bring him a book, hand him a glass of chocolate milk or otherwise perform a friendly favor. But a little such submission to the lion's whims is plenty, unless you have a secret urge to be a lady-in-waiting or a prince's equerry. Leo youngsters who have been trained that they must respect the rights of others if they are to be respected themselves, can be lots of fun to live with. They're as playful and affectionate as those adorable little cubs you see at the zoo, and like the cubs, they need strict and loving discipline. The warm kiss and the tough birch rod will both have to be employed frequently by lion tamers. Either one without the other is always ineffective and dangerous.

There are two kinds of Leo boys and girls. The first kind are the extroverts, gay, cheerful, outgoing, warm and generous, if a bit pushy at times. The others are quieter, almost timid on the surface. Such outwardly bashful little lions may have suffered a serious blow to their vanity from domineering parents or from too much attention being paid to brothers and sisters. Secretly, they need power and applause as much as the others. The danger in such situations, if they're prolonged, is that the Leo child will either get the attention he seeks later in life by forcing issues at the wrong time with the wrong people, or retreat into painful shyness and destructive frustration. Leo ego, unnaturally bottled up for long periods, is most unhealthy.

As youngsters, Leo boys may like to play with soldiers and enjoy games of challenge with a strong element of chance. The little female Leo will be ladylike, if strong-willed, may enjoy nice clothes and being told she's pretty, and will probably like being given responsibilities around the house. An occasional Leo girl is a tomboy, but vanity will eventually win out, and the phase passes. Don't expect these youngsters to enjoy taking out the garbage or cleaning the floors. They will rebel against menial tasks, so assign them more important and dignified duties that give them a sense of authority.

Teachers can expect the Leo students to do a little instructing of their own. They love to explain things to others, and nothing delights them more than playing the role of substitute instructor when the teacher has to leave the room. It puts them in the spotlight. Normally, the Leo child left in charge at school will administer discipline happily, but now and then his playful spirit will come forth, and the teacher can return to find a three-ring circus in progress.

Young Leos can learn fast when they want to. They're intelligent, and are often richly rewarding to the patient teacher, but they have a tendency to be a little lazy about learning. They prefer to slide by on sunny personality and ingratiating charm. Teachers can be a little sun blinded by their smiles and compliments, and it's not unusual for little cubs to get better grades than they deserve. They may have to be forced to develop good study habits. On second thought, forcing is a waste of time. The easiest way to raise the grades of a Leo child is to appeal to his vanity, to make him want to be superior to the others. That will usually turn the trick. When he's good, pat him on the back so he really feels it. Light taps won't do. No matter how many compliments he gets, he's always hungry for more.

These children will probably require more spending money than their more frugal friends. Your Leo child may give away most of his spare nickels, but he won't shortchange himself, either. It's a good idea to teach him the rule the Rockefeller children were taught about finances: “Give some, spend some, save some.” Especially the last.

When they grow older, the young lions and lionesses will notice the opposite sex much sooner than youngsters born under other Sun signs. Expect a turbulent adolescence, because your Leo child will be up and down emotionally a hundred times a day. Both his friendship and his romances will be terribly dramatic, and full of colorful ecstasy and heartbreak. All Leo children love to go to parties. Give them plenty of freedom, or they'll simply take it. Harsh orders destroy their pride and dignity. If you build the courage and flatter the ego of your young Leo by telling him sincerely you know he can do it, he'll proudly be strong for you.

It's never an easy task to raise an August child. There will be moments when you feel your caged lion will never be tamed. But he can be, if you remember that he needs gentle and continuous discipline—and love and affection are the two magic keys that unlock his golden heart. It's not the lions who were adored as children who grow up into unhappy adults. It's the little cubs who were emotionally starved and neglected. Remember that he'll pretend to be very brave, but secretly fears he isn't. Hug him tightly every night and love him with all your heart.

You have a Leo boss and you've worked for her for over a year? Really? You must be a very good listener.

Your Leo boss will probably feel that corporate taxes, government regulations and union rules were all invented as a personal conspiracy against her, but she'll dispose of them easily. Most lions are excellent organizers and perfect geniuses at delegating authority. Her way of taking care of tedious memos and reports is to turn to you and declare, with great flourish, several bullet points on the general subject, then wave her hand regally, and with a gorgeous smile say vaguely, “You take it from there.” Then she'll probably add that she'd like the report completed and placed on her desk as soon as possible. “Take your time,” she'll say. “As long as I get it before noon tomorrow.” Leos are not fond of details. They prefer to paint the picture in broad strokes and let you worry about bothersome trifles like figures and statistics.

The classic example of a Leo boss is one I know who called in his secretary to dictate an answer he had prepared for an especially important client. “Have you decided what you want to say?” asked the innocent girl, shorthand book open, pencil poised. “Yes, I have,” smiled her Leo employer. “Tell him maybe. Got that? Maybe. You fill in all the other stuff.” With those masterful instructions, this man cheerfully went to lunch where he entertained several people at an expensive bistro, played a few rounds of golf, returned to the office around five o'clock and wanted to know if the letter was ready. It was. (The secretary was a Virgo.) After reading it with solemn approval, the Leo reached for the phone and quoted the letter to an associate. His words floated through the office door to the long-suffering secretary. “How do you like it?” he asked into the receiver. “I think I did an excellent job of putting the whole situation together and making it clear where we stand, don't you? Of course, I've always had a way of expressing myself. My wife is always telling me I should be a writer,” he finished modestly.

This may be a somewhat extreme case, but you will find echoes of such an attitude lingering in the air if you have a typical Leo boss. Give her all your original ideas. She'll love you for it. August-born executives tend to favor employees who add creative thinking to the firm. However, be prepared to see her grinning like a Cheshire Cat the next day as she proceeds to organize the plan you gave her the night before, tossing out the startling comment, “It's one of the best ideas I ever had.” She honestly believes she thought of it first. Truly. Of course, you triggered her imagination, which is why you're so valuable to her. But it was
her
idea. Remember that.

Now and then your Leo boss may seem a tiny bit ungrateful. Like she'll toss a huge stack of letters on your desk because she can't be bothered or bored reading them herself. Then the next morning, when you're bleary-eyed from staying until midnight to finish the extra work she threw at you, she'll shake her lion's mane disapprovingly, and mumble a comment on the sloppy condition of your desk as she walks to her own plush lair. Oh, yes, she's almost sure to have a luxurious private office. It may have soft lights, music, flowers, a suede sofa and an imposing desk. Even if the budget is small, you'll seldom find her surrounded by pineapple crates and dingy window panes with no draperies. The walls may be covered with excellent prints of good paintings or photos of herself, taken with important dignitaries. Any awards or certificates she's earned will be neatly framed, and hung in a prominent spot.

Another Leo boss I know had an assistant who worked overtime every night and all day on Saturdays and Sundays for three months on a special promotion. She also managed to move filing cabinets, pack huge boxes of merchandise and change the bottles in the water cooler every other day. Meanwhile, she found time to do her boss's Christmas shopping and pick up his cleaning once a week. One bright, sunny morning she overheard him singing her praises to a vice president of the firm. “That Hester is a real jewel,” he was saying. “I don't know what I'd do without her. The girl is really fantastic. Of course, she's a little bit lazy, but you can't expect to find everything in one person.”

Did Hester quit on the spot? I should say not. Why should she let a little thing like that bother her? She's a smart girl, who knows that anyone's efforts seem drab when they're compared to her boss's fabulous vitality (in between his daily beauty naps on the velvet chaise longue in his private office). Why should she leave a boss who never fails to admire her new dress? She would hardly hand in her resignation to a man who presented her with a topaz bracelet for her birthday, a set of Waterford crystal for her hope chest, and who so sweetly understood that she needed a bigger workspace near a window.

Her Leo boss helped her father find a new job, paid her mother's hospital bill, and generously gave in to her requests to hire her cousin in the mail room. Besides, she's proud of his reputation in his profession. He won two awards last year; he's dictating a book to her about his life; he's listed at the top of the best dressed men in
Esquire;
he's deeply in love with his wife, adores his children, and has caused the firm's profits to go sky high, in spite of those wild chances he took a couple of times. He seldom notices if she takes extra time at lunch. Last week, he found her a larger apartment with lower rent and scolded her fiancé because he wasn't treating her right. Quit? Hester wouldn't think twice about it.