Leo

Leo holds high summer — 23 July to 22 August — and is ruled by the Sun itself, the only sign with that distinction. The tradition draws the conclusion you'd expect: this is the zodiac's source of light.

A fire sign, Leo is associated with warmth, loyalty, performance and a generosity that genuinely enjoys other people's good news. The literature is fond of the lion image but the household cat may be more accurate: dignified, sun-seeking, convinced of its own welcome, and usually right.

The tradition's gentle caution for Leo is about the off-switch — a sign that runs on appreciation needs to learn to shine with nobody watching. Its remedy is creative work done for its own sake.

Leo's stones are the warm ones, and the sign is rich in them: tiger eye with its moving band of gold, citrine like bottled morning, sunstone with its glittering spangles, pyrite, amber, golden onyx. No other sign's shelf glows quite like this.

Its scents are spice and citrus — cinnamon, ginger, orange — the smells of things generously given.

Gathered below: the catalogue in Leo's register. For the Leos in your life, who have probably already mentioned the date.