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Zodiac sign · Fixed fire · ruled by the Sun

Leo

Leo is the Sun sign of anyone born while the Sun is in Leo: in 2026, from 22 July 2026, 19:13 UTC to 23 August 2026, 02:19 UTC. The dates move by up to a day from year to year, so a birthday at either end needs the year, and sometimes the hour, to settle its sign. The Sun is next in Leo from 23 July 2027.

Leo is a fixed fire sign ruled by the Sun; its symbol is the lion. Astrologers read it for the way it shines. Of the 6,194 well-known people in StarMap's dataset, 520 have the Sun in Leo for the whole of their birth date; Jimmy Wales, Fidel Castro and Madonna are among them. 37 more were born on a day the Sun entered or left Leo and are left out, because the hour decides and StarMap has no birth time for them.

Jimmy Wales and Fidel Castro were both born with the Sun in Leo.Is your Sun in Leo?Draw your birth chart, free: your Sun, Moon and rising sign from the real sky

Leo dates, year by year

YearThe Sun enters Leoand leaves
202522 July 2025, 13:30 UTC22 August 2025, 20:33 UTC
202622 July 2026, 19:13 UTC23 August 2026, 02:19 UTC
202723 July 2027, 01:04 UTC23 August 2027, 08:14 UTC
202822 July 2028, 06:54 UTC22 August 2028, 14:01 UTC

The Sun is next in Leo from 23 July 2027. The dates are the same everywhere on Earth, in UTC; in a time zone far from Greenwich the entry can fall on the evening before or the morning after.

Born on the edge: 22 July and 23 August

  • 22 July, the first day of Leo season this year, is shared with Cancer. Since 1900, the Sun was in Leo all day in 0 years, in Cancer all day in 86, and changed sign during the day in 41, when the hour and place of birth decide.
  • 23 August, the last day of Leo season this year, is shared with Virgo. Since 1900, the Sun was in Leo all day in 16 years, in Virgo all day in 17, and changed sign during the day in 94, when the hour and place of birth decide.

The three decans of Leo in 2026

Astrologers divide each sign into three decans of ten degrees, and read the second and third as coloured by the other two fire signs (Sagittarius and Aries). The Sun takes about ten days to cross each.

  • Decan 1 · 0° to 10° · 22 July 2026, 19:13 UTC to 2 August 2026, 06:23 UTC
  • Decan 2 · 10° to 20° · 2 August 2026, 06:23 UTC to 12 August 2026, 16:48 UTC
  • Decan 3 · 20° to 30° · 12 August 2026, 16:48 UTC to 23 August 2026, 02:19 UTC

Leo traits

Leo shines. The sign is read for warmth and self-expression: generosity, pride, a liking for an audience and a loyalty that is fierce once given. A Leo Sun tends to be confident in public and more easily bruised in private than it lets on, with a strong sense of its own dignity and a real wish for other people to do well.

The shadow side is the need to be seen: vanity, a hunger for praise, difficulty sharing the stage, and a tendency to take disagreement as disloyalty. Astrologers describe the sign's work as learning that the light is not diminished when it is shared.

Leo in love

In love, Leo is romantic in the old sense: grand gestures, open admiration, a wish to be adored and to adore back. It needs appreciation the way other signs need space. Its lesson is that affection shown quietly counts too, and that a partner is not an audience.

Leo at work

At work, Leo leads, performs or creates, and is at its best when it can put its name to something: directing, teaching, hosting, running the show. It is generous with credit when secure and prickly when ignored. Routine work with no recognition drains it; give it a stage of any size and it rises to it.

What people get wrong: that Leo is only vanity. The need to be seen comes with an equal need to see others shine, and the sign's generosity is as marked as its pride. A Leo who feels secure turns most of its warmth on other people; the showing off is what insecurity looks like on a lion.

A Sun sign is one placement of ten. The Moon, the rising sign and the planets change how it plays out: a Leo Sun with a Aquarius Moon reads differently from one with the Moon in Leo too. Draw your whole chart to see yours.

Famous Leo Suns

All 520 famous Leo Suns, best known first, each with a birth chart.

Leo in the rest of the chart

The Sun is not the only body that can be in Leo. Each of these has its own page: what it means, who has it, and when the body is in Leo.

Leo and the other signs

  • Same element (fire): Sagittarius and Aries, a trine apart, read as the signs that understand Leo without trying.
  • Opposite: Aquarius, six months away, read as the sign Leo is drawn to and argues with.
  • Same modality (fixed): Scorpio and Taurus, a square apart, the friction that gets things done.
  • Two signs either side: Libra and Gemini, a sextile apart, easy company of a different kind.

Leo with every sign, each pairing with the famous couples who have it: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces.

Sun signs are the roughest measure of two people. Compare two whole charts for the aspects between them.

Questions people ask

What are the Leo dates?

In 2026 the Sun is in Leo from 22 July 2026, 19:13 UTC to 23 August 2026, 02:19 UTC. Most years it enters on 22 July or the day either side and leaves on 23 August or the day either side; the table above gives the minute for each year. A birthday on one of those edge days needs the year, and sometimes the time and place of birth, to settle its sign.

Is 22 July a Leo or a Cancer?

Not always. 22 July is the first day of Leo season in 2026, but the Sun's sign on that date depends on the year: of the 127 years from 1900 to 2026, in 86 it was in Cancer all day and in 41 it entered Leo during the day, so the hour and the place of birth decide. The birthday page for 22 July lists every year.

Is 23 August a Leo or a Virgo?

Not always. 23 August is the last day of Leo season in 2026, but the Sun's sign on that date depends on the year: of the 127 years from 1900 to 2026, in 16 the Sun was in Leo all day, in 17 it was in Virgo all day and in 94 it left Leo for Virgo during the day, so the hour and the place of birth decide. The birthday page for 23 August lists every year.

What planet rules Leo?

The Sun. The ruler is read as the sign's manner: where the Sun sits in a Leo Sun's own chart colours how the sign shows.

What element is Leo?

Fire, with Sagittarius and Aries: the three fire signs sit a third of the zodiac apart and are read as easy company for one another. Leo is also fixed, like Scorpio and Taurus and Aquarius, which share its way of acting and are read as the signs it rubs against.

Which famous people are Leo?

Jimmy Wales, Fidel Castro, Madonna, J. K. Rowling and Andy Warhol all have the Sun in Leo. StarMap lists 520 well-known Leo Suns, each with a birth chart computed from their birth date and place.

Are Leo men and Leo women different?

Not in the chart: astrology reads the Sun in Leo the same way whatever a person's gender. What people describe as the Leo man is usually Mars in a chart, how someone pursues what they want, and the Leo woman Venus or the Moon, how they love and what they need; each has its own page for Leo, with the famous people who have it.

Leo horoscopes

Dates are computed from the Sun’s position with the astronomy-engine ephemeris, checked against Swiss Ephemeris, in the tropical zodiac. Birth data comes from Wikidata; a person is listed only when the Sun was in Leo for the whole of their birth date. Readings describe tendencies, for entertainment and self-reflection; StarMap predicts nothing. All twelve signs.

Photo credits (12 photos from Wikimedia Commons)

Each link opens the photo’s page on Wikimedia Commons, which states its author and licence.