Decan 1 · 1–10°
Sub-ruler: Sun
Double Sun — the most confident and most in need of recognition.
Roughly the first ten days of the sign.
July 23 – August 22 · Fire · Fixed · ruled by Sun
Leo
Leo covers July 23 – August 22 and is the 5th sign of the zodiac: fire, fixed, ruled by Sun. Its keynote is warmth, presence and the need to be seen doing it. In 2026 the Sun spends 31.3 days in it — the 3rd longest of the twelve, because the signs are not equal in length.
DatesJuly 23 – August 22
SymbolLion
ElementFire
ModalityFixed
Ruling planetSun
House5
PolarityPositive
Lucky numbers1, 4
Lucky daySunday
ColourGold, orange
BirthstonePeridot, onyx
Best matches
Aries, Sagittarius, Gemini
Hardest matches
Virgo, Capricorn, Pisces
Rules the bodyHeart and spine
Calculated, not approximated
Exact Leo dates for 2026
Sun enters Leo
22 July, 19:17 UTC
Sun leaves Leo
23 August, 02:28 UTC
Length this year
31.3 days
Every other site prints "July 23 – August 22" with a note that dates "may vary by a day". They vary because the Sun crosses the boundary at a specific moment, and that moment shifts each year — but it is not unknowable.
The figures above are computed: the Sun enters Leo when its ecliptic longitude reaches 120°, and that crossing is found to the minute. If you were born near a boundary, this is the answer you actually needed.
Calculated from the Sun's actual motion
The zodiac signs are not equal
Leo lasts
31.3 days
Rank by length
3 of 12
Share of all births
9.05%
If signs were even
30.44 days · 8.33%
Everyone assumes the twelve signs are equal months. They are not. Leo runs 31.3 days in 2026, against 29.20 for the shortest and 31.45 for the longest — a spread of well over two days.
The cause is Kepler's second law. Earth's orbit is an ellipse, and the planet moves slowest at aphelion in early July — so the Sun takes longer to cross the summer signs than the winter ones. Cancer, Gemini and Leo are the long ones; Capricorn, Sagittarius and Aquarius the short.
All twelve, measured
| Sign | Days in 2026 | Rank | Share of births |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cancer | 31.45 | 1 | 8.86% |
| Gemini | 31.33 | 2 | 8.56% |
| Leo | 31.3 | 3 | 9.05% |
| Taurus | 30.96 | 4 | 8.24% |
| Virgo | 30.91 | 5 | 8.86% |
| Aries | 30.45 | 6 | 8.18% |
| Libra | 30.4 | 7 | 8.62% |
| Pisces | 29.95 | 8 | 7.91% |
| Scorpio | 29.9 | 9 | 8.05% |
| Aquarius | 29.59 | 10 | 7.75% |
| Sagittarius | 29.56 | 11 | 8% |
| Capricorn | 29.2 | 12 | 7.91% |
Birth shares combine two separate effects: the uneven length of the signs, and the fact that births themselves are seasonal — the northern hemisphere peaks in July to September. Both push in the same direction, which is why Leo and Virgo come out ahead of Aquarius and Pisces by more than a percentage point.
Rarely covered
The three Leo decans
Each sign divides into three ten-degree segments, and each has its own sub-ruler. Two people can both be Leo and read as noticeably different because they fall in different decans — roughly, early, middle or late in the sign.
Decan 2 · 11–20°
Sub-ruler: Jupiter
Expansive and generous. The teacher and the traveller.
Roughly the middle ten days of the sign.
Decan 3 · 21–30°
Sub-ruler: Mars
Sharper and more driven, with a shorter temper.
Roughly the last ten days of the sign.
Leo personality
Generous
Proud
Dramatic
Loyal
Attention-seeking
Strengths
Genuinely generous, and lifts the mood of a room by walking into it.
Weaknesses
Needs recognition badly enough that its absence reads as rejection.
Leo is the one fixed fire sign — and that pairing is the whole explanation. The element sets temperament: fire signs act first and consider afterwards. The modality decides what happens when circumstances change: fixed signs resist it and hold their position.
There are exactly twelve combinations of four elements and three modalities, and each is occupied by one sign. That is why no two signs are interchangeable, and why Leo cannot be swapped for the other fire signs without changing the meaning.
The Leo man and woman
Leo man
Generous and demonstrative, and genuinely wounded by indifference.
Leo woman
Warm, magnetic and proud. Gives extravagantly and expects to be noticed for it.
Worth saying plainly: nothing in astrology assigns different meanings to a sign by gender. These descriptions reflect how the traits are conventionally written about, not a separate system — and plenty of people will recognise themselves in the other one.
Leo in each area of life
In love and relationships
Romantic and demonstrative. Wants to be admired, not merely tolerated.
As a friend
The one who organises the party and remembers what you like. Needs appreciation back.
At work
Natural in front-facing roles. Chafes when the credit goes elsewhere.
Career that suits
Performance, leadership, teaching, anything with an audience or a stage of some kind.
With money
Earns well and spends generously, often on other people.
As a child
Performs from an early age and needs a genuine audience. Ignoring a Leo child is the one real punishment.
As a parent
Warm, playful and proud. Risks treating a child as a reflection of themselves.
Health and the body
Heart and spine — Leo rules them, which is why the sign is associated with the back.
Leo compatibility with every sign
Ranked by the angle between the two signs on the wheel — the same geometry astrology uses for aspects. Signs 120° apart share an element and form a trine; 90° apart is a square. Nothing here is a matter of opinion.
| With | Aspect | Angle | Score | Element |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aries | Trine | 120° | 88% | Fire |
| Sagittarius | Trine | 120° | 88% | Fire |
| Gemini | Sextile | 60° | 82% | Air |
| Libra | Sextile | 60° | 82% | Air |
| Leo | Conjunction | 0° | 78% | Fire |
| Aquarius | Opposition | 180° | 75% | Air |
| Taurus | Square | 90° | 62% | Earth |
| Scorpio | Square | 90° | 62% | Water |
| Cancer | Semi-sextile | 30° | 58% | Water |
| Virgo | Semi-sextile | 30° | 58% | Earth |
| Capricorn | Quincunx | 150° | 55% | Earth |
| Pisces | Quincunx | 150° | 55% | Water |
Famous Leos
Barack Obama, Madonna, Jennifer Lopez, Carl Jung
Lists like this are the weakest evidence in astrology and the most quoted. With roughly a twelfth of all people in any sign, every sign has impressive members — picking four of them proves nothing. Read it as trivia, not as support.
Common questions about Leo
What are the exact Leo dates?
July 23 – August 22 as usually published. In 2026 specifically the Sun enters on 22 July pm31 19:17 UTC and leaves on 23 August am31 02:28 UTC.
Who is Leo most compatible with?
By aspect, Aries, Sagittarius, Gemini. Those sit at the easiest angles on the wheel — but sun signs are one factor of many, and a difficult angle describes friction rather than failure.
What is a Leo decan?
A ten-degree third of the sign with its own sub-ruler: Sun, Jupiter, Mars. It is why two people of the same sign born three weeks apart can read quite differently.
What body part does Leo rule?
Heart and spine — Leo rules them, which is why the sign is associated with the back.
Is the Leo man different from the woman?
Not in the system itself — astrology assigns no gendered meaning to a sign. The separate descriptions above reflect convention in how signs are written about, nothing more.