The LEO Man

You might see this man basking in the bright sunlight, and you may find him mak­ing flowery speeches, but it won't be in the solitude of the desert. Most likely it will be on a stage or in front of a circle of adoring friends and relatives. He may waste money, but he's not about to waste his sweetness in the empty air. There will always be an audience.

There you are, in a nutshell. The secret of snaring the lion is that simple. Be his audience. Totally different from the reluctant Virgo and Aquarian males, your Leo pal will happily succumb to the throes of delicious romance, if you play your cards right, adore him, flatter him, and respect him.

Is he a flamboyant August male? Wear dark glasses and submit to his brilliant sunlight. Is he one of the gentle, quiet Leos? Don't be taken in by his sleek softness. Stroke him the wrong way and sparks will fly. Remember, he's only playing the role of the meek soul. Beneath his courte­ous manner and patient fixity are smoldering fires of proud dignity and arrogant vanity, ready to flame up and bum the pushy female silly enough to think she can rule him.

The lion will be a chivalrous and gallant suitor, tenderly protective and sentimentally affectionate. You won't need to lay much of a trap to tempt him into romantic advances. One might say Leos possess a kind of instant passion. Just add opportunity-mix well with candlelight and lush violins-and love's in bloom like the red, red rose. As a matter of fact, you can leave out the candles and music if they're not handy, and just use the first ingredient. Same thing.

If love is missing from his life, the fiery lion will simply pine away-dramatically, of course. He has to be wor­shiped or die, and you can just about take that literally. Leo males seldom spare expenses when they're courting. You'll be taken to the best restaurants, showered with per­fume and flowers, proudly escorted to the theater and you'll tie a ribbon around some pretty fantastic love letters. To tell you the truth, you'd have to have a heart made of stone to resist.

By now, you're probably thinking you've got it made.

Think again. That leonine romance won't be completely trouble free. You might take a lesson from the pampered favorites of royalty. Leo will invite you into his den and warm you at the hearth of his big heart, but the lion's lair can turn into a plush, luxurious prison. Is he jealous? The answer is "Yes," and you can spell it with big electric light bulbs. You belong to him, body, soul, and mind. He'll tell you what to wear, how to part your hair, what books to read, which friends are best for you and how to orga­nize your day better. He'll want to know why you were gone for two hours shopping when you said you'd be back in one hour, who you met on the way, what they said- and he'll even pout if you don't tell him what you're think­ing as you stare out the kitchen window while you're scrambling his eggs. After all, you could be thinking of another man. Just don't ever forget the force of his im­pulsive temper when it's aroused. Teasing him by occasional flirtations to prove to him you are still desirable is absolute folly. He knows you're desirable. He needs no proof whatsoever. Besides, your Leo man is liable to flatten your innocent masculine friends to the floor-if not put them in the hospital-when he's pushed too far.

All is not roses and honey in a love affair with a lion, and that includes the quiet pussycats along with the flashy torn cats. There's no difference in the basic nature. The Siamese monarch was a typical Leo and youll get invaluable tips from Anna's technique. First the provocative challenge to interest him, then final feminine submission after you've taught him you won't be completely devoured. Truly, her story is a must. Sleep with it under your pillow.

Be prepared to balance his great enthusiasms with calm reason and willing to soothe him as he blows up problems . The gentle Leos do this quietly, but what's the difference? Whether he roars and rages because his employees refused to obey him, or pouts on the back porch because the neighbors snubbed him the end result is identical. He needs your stability to balance his irrational pride. If you don't possess it yourself, your love may turn into a constant battle royal. You'll be breaking up and making up with such speed that your astonished friends will ask, "Where's the fire?" Where? Why, right inside your cozy lion's den. .

Don't try to be a career girl. He'll never stand for it He's your career. The lion may permit his mate to go out hunting for a few skins when the bank account gets low, but she'd better make it clear the job comes last, after him and the home nest. He won't tolerate competition from a male or an outside interest. If you're brave enough to accept these challenges, go ahead and buy your trous­seau, but be sure it's stylish. He'll want to show you off in his own Easter Parade, in December as well as in ApriL Embarrass him by appearing in public looking anything but queenly and you might miss a familiar face in the church while the choir is singing "Oh, Promise Me"-his.

After you're married, mated, and deeply loved, count your rewards. Your Leo husband will be as kind and good-hearted as King Arthur, provided you let the family re­volve around him. If he gets the respect he demands, hell repay it by pouring out generosity. You may be told how lovely you look repeatedly, he'll probably give you a large allowance, and-wonder of wonders, with his romantic dis­position-he'll be likely to remain faithful. There's always a better chance of that after marriage than when he's single, and I'll tell you why. The lion is usually too lazy to chase pretty faces, once he's found a lioness who will capably run his kingdom, while he luxuriously snoozes in the hammock. Hell play affectionately with his cubs, pro­tect his mate from all danger, and thrill her with his ambition to rise to a position of impressive superiority in his career.

You will lead an active social life with your Leo husband, as long as he gets his beauty sleep. But there will be a few nights out with the boys, and there may also be some juggling of finances, due to sudden gambling urges, or a chance investment he thought would pay off. A Leo man I know once bought ten shares in an oil well. Although he was onlv one verv minor stockholder among thousands, about twice a month, he would visit the site of the drilling and look important. When anyone asked him what he wanted, he would tell them, "I'm just checking to see how things are going with my well." The drillers treated him with great respect. They thought he was a member of the Board of Directors.

Take it all in stride-there are compensations. How can he scold you for buying that expensive mink hat after he lost the price of a mink coat in a little game with the fellows or after he spent your savings at an auction on two box cars of folded cardboard cartons in assorted sizes, when he took a notion to go into the mail order business? (Then he couldn't use them because it turned out that they were stamped all over with the words "Rat Poison" and a large skull and crossbones.) Keep him away from auc­tions if you have to lock him up, because he has an irresistible urge to bid higher than anybody on anything at any time He'll be quite the check grabber in public too, cheerfully saying, "The treat's on me," with the money for the new freezer. Leo would be right at home in Texas or Las Vegas, where he would instantly be recognized as a high roller (unless his Moon or ascendant dictates econ­omy).

There's one thing about the lion you may find very handy. Almost all Leos have a marvelous knack for fixing things. It can be anything from a broken door knob or a stubborn bathroom faucet to a tape recorder or a com­plicated stereo hi-fi set. If he's a typical Leo, he won't be able to resist trying his hand at making something work when it's on the blink. If all else fails, he'll give the offending machine or whatever a resounding kick in splen­did leonine anger, and suddenly the door knob will turn, the water will spray like Niagara Falls, the tape recorder will start talking and the hi-fi will start singing. There seems to be something mechanical about this Sun sign. Lots of Leo men can take engines apart and put them back together again, hardly soiling their hands in the process. He's not the type to let a hinge hang for months un­screwed or a carpet lie on the floor untacked. A surprising number of lions are experts at making their own furniture and building an extra room on the house with no pro­fessional help. He may have his own workshop in the basement. Don't complain about a little sawdust on the floor. It keeps him contented-and home at night.

The lion is the life of most parties, but he's no fool. He wears the jester's mask to get attention, and his audiences usually sense they'd better respect him during his temporary playful spells. Regardless of appearances, there's nothing easygoing about the inner nature of your Leo man. He's far more steadfast and tenacious than he seems. He knows what he wants, and he usually gets it. He's pretty good at keeping it, too.

If you expect him to be faithful during the courtship, be sure you keep him well nourished with romance and affec­tion or his huge need for love and admiration will make him stalk all over the jungle in search of it. If your re­lationship is real and deep, he'll probably be true to you, but his eyes may wander a bit. Other than keeping him blindfolded, there's very little you can do about that. Leo appreciates beauty, so if you're the type to get jealous over an appreciative glance at another female, you'd bet­ter get tolerant fast. A Leo man whose lady love leaves him because of his flirting will be honestly hurt and as­tonished. He's entirely capable, then, of faking anything from a heart attack to a tear-stained farewell note to get you to sympathize and run back into his big, warm arms, and hell be so convincing you'll feel like a cruel monster. Unless you enjoy emotional, dramatic scenes yourself, it's much less trouble to understand him in the first place. His capers will probably be innocent and harmless anyway, if you're treating him right. Never overly sensitive to the feelings of others, in spite of their basic kindness, most Leo men are so wrapped up in themselves that they can be brutally frank and untactful. But his dazzling smile soon clears the air. The warm lion doesn't have a malicious bone in his strong, graceful body. He may blow off terrifying steam, yet malice is not a part of his make-up and he can't cope with real cruelty (unless there's an affliction in his natal chart). He will enjoy sports, but as he grows older, he will prefer to watch them from the comfort of his padded throne, while you wait on him.

Not always, but very often, there's an odd twist to Leo males. Unlike the Capricorn, who seeks to rise socially through wedlock, the lion sometimes tends to marry be­neath him. He has as much desire for social status, but he just can't resist acquiring a "subject" to whom he's superior. Sometimes he makes a wrong choice, and the shrinking violet who sat adoringly at his feet makes a surprise move to grab the sceptre away from him. When that happens, the dethroned Leo is a miserable husband who .wears the tragic compression of an exiled monarch.

It's sad. but true- that Leos seldom raise large families. Many of them have no children, are separated from them, or raist an only child. Too bad, because they make warm, wonderful fathers, perhaps somewhat too permissive be­tween sten talks about prope' behavior. Your offspring may chafe under his demands and be bored with his long lectures, bui they'll soon learn how to flatter him into sub­mission. He'11 insist on their respect and get it, but they're liable to wheedle him out of anything by the clever usage of "Yes, Sir. You're right. Sir." Therefore, the real dis­cipline may be up to you. The children may resent his ar­rogant ways. but Leo fathers are almost always remembered with affection in later years. One tip. Don't give the young­sters more attention than you give him, or you may end up with quite a lot of trouble on your hands in the form of a giant bruised ego, which will be nearly impossible to heal.

How can you size up the puzzling male Leo? Is he kindhearted or dangerous, generous or cruelly selfish? Is he really a sociable fellow who loves people? Does he gain his reputation for superiority under false pretenses, or does he, like the real lion, deserve to be called King? Obviously, by his own standards at least, he does deserve to be the Lord and Master in his love life and his career. You have to admit that he's usually highly successful in both romance and business.

Whether the Leo man is truly a king, or just a pretender to the throne, we may never know. But there are several things you do know about your own lion. He has in­satiable appetites, and he's as proud as a peacock. He has am enormous need to command and to be loved by those he rules. Remember that Leo secretly fears he may fail and be ridiculed. It's a constant inner torture, and the true source of his vanity and exaggerated dignity. Yet, when his nobility has been aroused by a great cause, he knows no fear. Only then does the lion learn that the magnificent strength and courage he's been pretending to have has really been there all along.

Your Leo may drive you wild by his antics during court­ship, but he's not at all a bad mate for a long term possi­bility. If you don't mind submerging your ego, and building your life around his, once you've tamed this man, you'll be adored and youll never be lonely again. Besides, he can fix those bathroom faucets.