Leo Compatibility – The Best and Worst Matches

Last Updated on October 24, 2022

A birthday solidly in Leo’s late July to mid-August range generally brings a fun, boisterous personality.

Leos might be too loud for some people, but those up for the challenge will be rewarded with Leo’s generosity and loyalty.

In the Northern Hemisphere, the Sun is in Leo in the hottest part of the summer.

It’s also the part of the summer when gardens and fruit trees are heavy with produce, and people are desperate to hand off excess vegetables and fruits to neighbors they hardly know.

Those born under Leo tend to have this sense of abundance in their background, though they may not be able to articulate it out loud.

They tend to be therefore generous, feeling that there is enough to share.

Even when fully grown, Leos retain a childlike sense of fun. Like kids, they can also at times be self-absorbed and immature.

Leo’s compatibility with more grounded and serious types can therefore be difficult. Some Sun signs, however, blend well with Leo’s unique combination of strengths and weaknesses.

Leo Compatibility – The Best and Worst Matches

When looking at the compatibility potentials for Leo among the other zodiac signs, it is important to remember that the Sun sign speaks to a person’s basic life purpose.

The Sun sign is not the only thing that matters in astrology. For example, if you are dating a guy who has Leo placement in his chart then I recommend that you also read our article on the Venus in Leo traits here.

The full astrological chart plots the position of all celestial bodies, in relation to the earth, at the time of a person’s birth.

Many situations can be clarified including those close to the boundary between one sign and another, but a sun sign reading will give the basics.

Read on to discover who is the best soulmate for Leo.

The Best Matches For Leo Compatibility

For the most part, Leo works best with air signs like Gemini and Libra, as well as fellow fire signs Aries and Sagittarius.

Leo and Gemini

Leo is capable of hogging conversation time, but Leo is actually a better listener than people might think when Gemini gets to talking.

Gemini tends to have loads of ideas but not the stamina to get any of them done.

Leo has the opposite problem: a tendency to put all their eggs in one basket.

Leo can therefore sift through Gemini’s firehose of thoughts and find those that are capable of amounting to something.

If Leo, an action-oriented fire sign, is sold on an idea, Leo will actually try to make it happen.

Meanwhile, Gemini’s eggs in one basket tendency can get Leo stuck in a rut if something goes wrong with that one basket.

Typically it only takes one Gemini of any cultural heritage to top the old saying of “Two Leo’s, three opinions,”.

Gemini can then help Leo find a fresh perspective on whatever Leo has become intractably frustrated with.

Leo and Libra

Leo’s compatibility with Libra is of both idealists who dream of a better world.

Libra, less innocent than Leo, sometimes gets depressed seeing how far the reality of the world is from their ideals of how the world should be.

Leo is more optimistic and tends to see a lot of good in the world, so Leo can help Libra be more optimistic about the future.

The hardest part of Leo and Libra’s compatibility might be having to decorate a home if they got to the point of living together.

Libra is more elegant and might prefer muted colors. Leo, the Lion, is simply wilder and likes flamboyant brighter shades.

Libra, concerned with portraying a harmonious image, might not want to admit to enjoying Leo’s more boisterous excesses.

Libra’s mock shock, of course, encourages Leo further. It’s hard for even Libra to live up to Leo’s high ideals, but Leo accepts Libra in a way that Libra needs.

Leo and Aries

The thing that Leo loves most about being partnered with Aries is that for once someone else is in trouble for being the loudest and most boisterous person in the room.

As much as Leo loves the spotlight, Leo is willing to hang back while Aries gets wild.

Then Leo can saunter in and look suave by comparison.

This sails right over Aries’s head, as Aries has already impulsively wandered off to the next exciting thing, so there’s no need to worry about Aries being offended.

Aries can have some rough edges, but Leo’s positive attitude sees the good intentions behind Aries’s brash exterior.

Aries women are especially misunderstood by the world in general as aggressive, so they could therefore benefit from the generous heart of a Leo partner.

Leo and Aries always have plenty of activity going on. They definitely feed off each other’s energy, so their duo can become greater than the sum of its parts.

Leo and Sagittarius

Leo and Sagittarius throw excellent parties together.

Sagittarius might know the technical details of which kind of wine is the best, and Leo just trusts Sagittarius on that.

Both of them tend to love having boisterous fun with larger groups.

When Leo and Sagittarius are having one on one time, they particularly enjoy travel.

Sagittarius might lead their discussion of philosophical matters, but Leo is capable of keeping up.

Both have a basically optimistic attitude. Leo and Sagittarius also understand each other’s needs for alone time to recharge their fire, which makes Sagittarius a great sign of Leo’s compatibility.

Leo Compatibility – Worst Matches

While the rest of the astrological charts – or just hard work! – can make one of these relationships possible, the hardest matches for Leo are Cancer, Virgo, Capricorn, and Pisces.

Leo and Cancer

A person’s gender can’t be identified from their astrological chart. That being said, Leo and Cancer are a couple where gender differences can really make a difference.

Leo man Cancer woman would be the harder version of a Leo and Cancer pairing.

This tends to be because male socialization takes Leo’s brashness to the extreme and female socialization takes Cancer’s emotionalism to her extreme.

The Leo man would always be making the Cancer woman frustrated with him, even though he didn’t mean to, which could create an atmosphere of uncertainty.

Cancer man Leo woman, however, could actually work well because this pair would have a common background of colliding with the expectations for their gender.

The Cancer man probably grew up shamed for being too emotional, and the Leo woman was too loud for a female. In short, together both were always too much.

When they come together, neither wants the other to feel like they are too much.

They are therefore willing to put in the work to hear each other out and make each other feel appreciated, but it could definitely be a lot of work.

Leo and Virgo

“Sparingly” is not a Leo word. Leo’s have an attitude of abundance and generosity, and they live largely.

Unfortunately, this is not Virgo’s approach.

Using an analogy, If Leo and Virgo had to live together and share a shower, it would not work. Leo would be accused of using too much hot water.

Leo has a big-picture view and tends to be overwhelmed and frustrated by Virgo’s focus on minor details.

Leo has faith that things will just work out.

Leo is generally right about that, but Leo also fails to appreciate some of Virgo’s skills at things in the physical world requiring precision such as sewing, woodworking, or technology.

Leo has a more positive attitude toward life in general than many other signs, but the tension between Leo and Virgo is enough to test even that.

Leo feels that Virgo assumes the worst of Leo, such as that Leo is intentionally trying to wastewater in the shower and therefore doesn’t care about the environment.

Leo of course pushes back, and then Virgo resents being seen as the killjoy. In Virgo’s mind, Virgo means well, however, as you can see all this does not bode well for a harmonious compatibility match between these two.

Leo and Capricorn

Capricorn is not as detail-oriented as fellow earth sign Virgo, but Capricorn is more serious. Leo’s buoyant enthusiasm can, therefore, be too much for Capricorn.

Capricorn begins to wonder when Leo will grow up and settle down.

Capricorn tends to have a narrow view of what success looks like. It usually involves progress in a stable career and meeting life milestones at an early age.

Leo can be more conservative than people think because Leo enjoys the perks of status, and status is the bigger half of the status quo.

Leo and Capricorn could therefore meet in a professional setting, but they would have reached that same mountaintop by two very different roads, and that would soon become apparent.

Leo is more likely to wander into Capricorn’s territory for the wrong reasons than Capricorn is likely to wander into Leo’s territory for any reason.

Leo can learn from this adventure that it is better for a Leo to be a true Leo than a fake Capricorn. Even a Capricorn could ultimately respect a true Leo in the right environment.

Leo and Pisces

Leo and Pisces are both idealists who tend to trust others, so this is what brings them together. Pisces, like Libra, have a tendency to get depressed when reality doesn’t measure up to their ideals.

While Leo is capable of cheering Libra up, Pisces takes it further than Libra does, to the point that Leo winds up getting dragged down into an emotional pit with Pisces.

Pisces, a water sign, has a capacity to recover from its own emotional extremes – the ocean can make some dramatic moves, but ultimately the tides go in and out.

While Leo has dramatic moments of their own, something about the particular emotional extremes of Pisces is Kryptonite for Leo.

If Pisces unleashes a wave big enough to put out Leo’s fire, Leo has a hard time getting it back.

Leo wants to help and wants to fix things. However, it feeds Leo’s pride to be the fixer. If Pisces puts Leo in a situation that Leo finds unfixable, Leo’s self-worth can therefore really suffer, which does not support this compatibility match.

The Leo Man

The fun-loving Leo man is known to enjoy being the life of the party.

Occasionally there are more subdued Leo men who have found less dramatic ways to make their individual contributions to the world, but they do all have pride in what they bring to the table.

Leo men enjoy dressing up and looking good, especially if it involves a fancy hairstyle. They often have some creative ability.

Social pressures shape Leo’s men in different ways than Leo’s women.

Leo men might not be able to get away with being as emotional as Leo women, but Leo men can have a more bombastic persona than Leo women.

See also: Leo man negative traits

Leo Man Relationship Compatibility

An Aries woman would be an especially good match for a Leo man. As stated above, Aries women tend to be misunderstood because they may come across as aggressive.

A Leo man is, however, kindhearted enough to not get easily upset by an Aries woman. He could also be loud enough himself that an Aries woman would not look like an outlier in relation to him.

If you’ve been dating a Leo guy and you want to know if it’s going to lead anywhere significant, then you might want to see our article here to discover the signs a Leo man is in love with you.

Leo Man Sexual Compatibility

Sagittarius, symbolized by the archer, can be athletic, so a Leo man might enjoy a Sagittarius woman for a specific physical connection. She would be the teacher, but he would be an eager student.

The Leo Woman

The generous and gregarious Leo woman is a lot of fun. She has a sunny, positive attitude and tends to see the best in people.

The Leo woman may have a distinctive lion’s mane of big hair.

She is concerned with her appearance, but she does not limit herself to the latest trends – she adds her own creative touches.

Social pressures may have toned down some of the Leo woman’s louder and more self-absorbed tendencies over the course of her life, but she is a passionate and emotional person.

Leo Woman Relationship Compatibility

A Leo woman would get an ego boost from being the one to guide a Gemini man through his variety of ideas.

She would be so proud of her contribution that she wouldn’t realize she was doing the lion’s share of the work.

Leo Woman Sexual Compatibility

The Leo woman could appreciate an Aries man’s direct approach.

Even though Cancer and Leo are overall a harder pair, a Cancer man might actually work well with a Leo woman sexually because they are both on the innocent side.

Related article: 4 Leo spirit animals you need to know

Leo Compatibility – Final Thoughts

The four elements in astrology tend to break down into two groups: fire with air, and earth with water.

Leo, a fire sign, therefore interacts most smoothly with fellow fire signs Aries and Sagittarius and with air signs Gemini and Libra.

There are not a whole lot of intrinsic differences between Leo men and Leo women, but the process of socializing people into their gender roles can wind up emphasizing different parts of the Leo personality.

Earth signs like Virgo and Capricorn, as well as water signs like Cancer and Pisces, tend to challenge Leo more. One can, however, often learn a lot from relationships that are more challenging, so don’t discount these signs completely when it comes to Leo compatibility.

There also may be other factors in both partners’ astrological charts that are compatible in spite of a difficult match between Sun signs.

If you’re interested to know more about the compatibility of other zodiac signs, then please see our article here on more zodiac love matches.