The Sun and The Inner Journey of Leo

In this article from the LCM archive Soul Astrologer Ruth Hadikin looks at the planetary ruler of Leo at personality and Soul level to reveal the inner journey of Leo…

Continuing our Soul’s journey through the 12 Zodiac signs, after Cancer brings the diffuse divine light into form, the light in Leo individuates. Leo’s deeper spiritual purpose is to express Divine Will through realization of Self as an individual. In Leo we individuate, but we can never separate from the rest of humanity, for that isn’t possible. Each of us is an individual ray of light that, just like the rays of the Sun, is never separate from the light of the Divine.

In understanding the planetary rulership of Leo, it is important to consider the fullness of our own Being. To really comprehend the role of the Sun in relation to human evolution, we need to begin experiencing ourselves as far greater than just our physical form.  In the process of the evolution of consciousness, we are really expanding our perception so that we become aware of that which already is.

“There are no levels of Reality;

only levels of experience for the individual”

– Ramana Maharshi

Esoterically Leo is said to have ‘only’ one planetary ruler at personality, Soul and Hierarchical level, and that is the Sun. In order to understand this we have to think way beyond the astronomical model of the Sun as a piece of molten rock that is burning away in space, and begin to think of the Sun as ancient people’s once did: as a conscious Divine Intelligence. A living Being that has a triple aspect: the Solar Logos. 

This triple aspect of the Sun has custodianship over three specific areas of our spiritual development: The physical Sun (the Corona which we can see) creates and sustains the conditions for the development of our outer worldly life as experienced through our ego-personality. The heart of the Sun creates and sustains the conditions for the development of our heart and Soul, and the Core of the Sun (which is at one with the Central Spiritual Sun) creates and sustains the conditions for our development at Hierarchical level.  All three are one. Understanding how the Sun is one and yet plays three individual roles, is key to understanding how humanity is one and yet we play our individual roles.

The Sun epitomizes the idea of planetary rulership as custodianship or space-holding, providing the perfect conditions for evolutionary processes to unfold, in stages, with precise Divine timing. The Sun is the centre of our planetary system. We live within a Solar system, named from the Latin word ‘Sol’ meaning Sun.  The Sun provides a constant emanation of vital life force, which permeates and sustains this system. Leo is a fixed sign and here we see an example of the purpose of fixed energy for stabilization: in this case creating a stable environment for sustaining Life, through constancy and continuity.

“It is the Sun that is a great living consciousness,

a great pulsating solar heart”

– Errol Weiner, Transpersonal Astrology

The Sun is more than just a symbol for humanity – he also is the epitome of ‘as above, so below’. Understanding that there is a spiritual core, which emanates through the heart, and then radiates through the outer Corona, or personality, is a truer understanding of our own nature as Human Beings. We are, each of us, energetically like a Sun in miniature and if we only focus on our Corona (personality) we will miss the true depth and nature of our being. To find the truth of our own being we also need to go within, passing through the heart center, to discover our spiritual core. The Sun is not only a symbol of our Self-realization, but he is our guide.

The Sun invites us to go within for deeper understanding. We cannot understand the deeper spiritual mysteries of the Sun by looking at him. Indeed looking directly at the Sun would be harmful. It’s as though He is saying to us “go back, that is not the way”.  Just as the physical Sun connects to the Great Spiritual Sun through the heart of the Sun, so the Sun indicates to us that the path to our own deeper spiritual truth is an inner journey through our hearts to our spiritual core. We cannot know the truth of these esoteric teachings by thinking about them, but only through experience. We need to go deep into our hearts in meditation to experience the truth of our innate connection with the heart of the Sun.

“The Sun’s heart beats at eleven-year intervals,

and with this ‘beat’ it sends out its life-force into its entire system,

just as the human heart sends out this same vital force, via the bloodstream”

– Errol Weiner, Transpersonal Astrology

Through the infusion of life-force energy the Sun illuminates the path to Self-Realization, and Leo is the sign of Self-Realization. There are many steps on this path and they can be put into three stages: self-consciousness, Self-Awareness and Self-Realization. These three stages can also be equated to the three aspects of the Sun and three stages of development on the Soul path of Leo.

The path of Self-Realization in Leo is itself a vital stage in the overall evolution of human consciousness. The German philosopher Friedrich Neitzche spoke of three stages of consciousness: the Camel, the Lion and the Child. The Camel represents tribal consciousness, where we follow the herd, follow the masses, and go along with the collective consciousness. This is the pre-egoic state.

The Lion represents individualization – the ability and the willingness to stand alone. Separate. Apart from the herd. In terms of our personal spiritual development this is the development of, and identification with, our ego. At the same time this is the beginning of our spiritual awakening. Just as the great river Ganges has it’s source in a tiny mountain stream, so our collective spiritual awakening has it’s origin in our currently emerging egoic state. Within the ‘Lion’ stage are stages one and two (below) of our path of Leo.

The Child represents the ‘free spirit’ once we are liberated from our egoic challenges and delusions. This is the post-egoic state (and the third stage of the path of Leo, which is why Leo is also associated with creativity, playfulness, and children). Our spirit is ‘free’. The Child is our fully awakened state of  Self-Realization, or enlightenment. In this final stage we arrive at a deeper realization, through experience, that we are not separate but have an individual expression in our oneness. When we finally reach this stage we experience the truth of our connectedness with the Sun, and all living beings.

“Know thyself. If thou canst learn the true nature of thine own self,

thou wilt know the reality of the Universe.”

– Abhedananda

We can see how important the path of Leo is for the evolution of consciousness. During the first stage of the path of Leo (self-consciousness) we become aware of self vs. ‘other’. This is the first stage towards individuation. The path to individuation begins with an idea. An idea of separation. We become aware of the idea that there is a ‘me’ in here, and there are others ‘out there’. This focus on the outer world, conditioned by the corona of the Sun, is vital for the development of a sense of an individual self. The individual at this stage will (necessarily) be personality–oriented with no sense of Soul. This is the stage where we become self-ish, because our world is centered around our idea of ‘me’ and meeting the immediate needs of our personality.

In the second stage of the path (Self-Awareness), we move to the heart. Conditioned by the heart of the Sun we begin asking “Who Am I?” We hear the call of spirit and our journey moves within. The individual at this stage is still largely personality-driven but has experienced Soul awakening. We are aware of our spiritual nature but still experience Soul and personality as separate. We become less selfish and more altruistic in our outlook.

At the final stage of the path, conditioned by the core of the Sun (the Great Spiritual Sun) the individual is fully Self-realized. We realize there is no separation and we live from unity consciousness (oneness). We are fully integrated in that there is full personality-Soul fusion and no experience of separation. We become oriented toward world-service for the benefit of all living things because we know from personal experience the deepest meaning of the Soul Keynote for Leo:

“I Am That, and That Am I”

– The Tibetan, Esoteric Astrology

It is under the warm, loving, life-giving, custodianship of the Sun in all his aspects, that we walk the path of Leo to the full realization of our true nature as spiritual beings. To fully express our Divine purpose we need a strongly defined sense of Self. From our fully integrated Self-realized state we are able to fulfill our Soul purpose, which is to be a unique individual expression of Divine Will. LCM