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Compatibility
Leo Horse and Scorpio Monkey

The famously combative firstwest and secondwest combination is capable of yielding profound benefits, even if the often caring and respectful match between the firsteast and secondeast is at times hesitant to provide complete support.

Western Zodiac sign, Leo
Western Zodiac sign, Scorpio

Western Zodiac

Leo and Scorpio

Compatibility overview

Not for the faint-hearted! This combination of powerhouse Western zodiac signs firstwest and secondwest can be one of the most intense and combative of any under the Sun. Even apparently mundane subjects may provoke fierce or intractable confrontations. However, there is a clear upside to this explosive energy match, with excitement aplenty, and both sides—separately and together—likely to find unparalleled opportunities for positive personal transformation.

Leo and Scorpio - Relationship Horoscope

Read more about the LEO and SCORPIO zodiac signs...

Read more about the LEO HORSE and SCORPIO MONKEY combined zodiac signs...

The interval of three steps around the Western zodiac wheel forms a hard right-angle. This perpendicular, so-called Square energy is theoretically the most turbulent of any connection, for the natural trajectories of the signs cannot help but collide.

For Leo and Scorpio, the prospect of inevitable tension begins with the elements. Leo represents the dynamic, volcanic energy of Fire at its most stable, meaning they are typically natural leaders, noble and charismatic, their stunning performative and leadership skills ever propelling them towards light and glory. Water sign Scorpio may be no less forceful, but their essential direction is more emotional, sensitive, and directed to the great profundity of existence, encompassing both positive and negative standpoints. Hence these signs can each find the other unsettling. Leo may find Scorpio's brooding complexity weighs down their idealistic visions, while Scorpio can see Leo as simplistic, high-minded, and brash. Indeed, disputes over power are perhaps the most obvious threat to this relationship. These are both incredibly capable signs. Their shared Fixed modality emphasizes productivity and actualization, but in a head-on context like this, it also means there is barely any scope for compromise. On any given subject, Leo and Scorpio may find they have opposing instincts, and they each think their own should rule the day.

The gift of this Square energy connection rises out of its potential for conflict. For one thing, there is likely to be no shortage of excitement—creative and sexual chemistry, for example, are very likely here, at least in the short term. Also, while admiration may not always be easy to admit, these signs are too similarly impactful not to respect each other's prodigious talents, sometimes hugely. Most importantly, Leo and Scorpio can achieve unique self-knowledge through this relationship. Patterns of disagreement and resolution may reveal to these signs their true identities—values that are able to be compromised, and those that cannot. Nothing holds these signs' feet to the fire like this incendiary match.

Ultimately, long-term success as a partnership here is likely to require some work, but individual and mutual enrichment are strongly favored, and both Leo and Scorpio may be eternally grateful for the lessons they learn from each other.

Celebrity Leo/Scorpio Pairings*

*Click on the names to see both Western and Chinese zodiac matches for that pairing.

Gale Anne Hurd and James Cameron
Gale Anne Hurd and James Cameron (click for attribution/s)

James Cameron (8/16/1954, Leo Horse), Gale Anne Hurd (10/25/1955, Scorpio Sheep) : Film director Cameron and producer Hurd shared a noteworthy collaborative relationship, and were married from 1985 to 1989. Before their marriage, they worked on The Terminator (1984), for which they also both wrote the script. They made Aliens (1986) while they were together, and The Abyss (1989) and Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) during and after their break-up. Cameron described in 1986: "We don’t always get along. There’s always creative dialog. I know this movie [Aliens] would not have been possible to do, as you saw it, within the budget parameters, if we hadn’t made such a good team. I never could have done it with another producer who wasn’t backing me 100%. And I don’t think Gale could have done it with another director, who was trying to achieve something at the expense of schedule and production costs."

Donnie Wahlberg (8/17/1969, Leo Rooster), Jenny McCarthy (11/1/1972, Scorpio Rat) : Singer/songwriter/actor/producer Wahlberg and actor/model/meda personality McCarthy have been married since 2014. McCarthy said in 2021, "Even Prince Charming and the fairy tale doesn’t come without work. I loved him so much as soon as I met him, I was like, ‘How do I not mess this up? I’m going to ask him, before we even have our first fight, if we can go to therapy together.'"

Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates
Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates (click for attribution/s)

Melinda French Gates (8/15/1964, Leo Dragon), Bill Gates (10/28/1955, Scorpio Sheep) : Microsoft founder Bill Gates and computer scientist/philanthropist Melinda Gates met in 1987, and were married from 1994 to 2021. They have three children. Their charitable foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, was the second largest charitable organization in the world in 2020. In 2019, Melinda Gates said, "I think people have a certain view of Bill, because he was a high-charging CEO running Microsoft. I think people must think, 'Oh well, Melinda must not really have equality with Bill.' Actually, I have total equality with Bill. But it took a while for us to get there." Around the same time, Bill was quoted as saying, "Working together as well as raising a family together, there’s a certain intensity to that. But we’re very lucky because we mostly see things the same way, the goals are very much the same."

Merritt Wever (8/11/1980, Leo Monkey), Toni Collette (11/1/1972, Scorpio Rat) : The two actors formed a close connection when they collaborated on the successful and award-winning miniseries, Unbelievable (2019). Collette described, "[Our rapport] was very easy and just felt natural, you know? We didn't have to reach too far to make it feel authentic...it is [a] really important story, and I think every human should watch it." Wever said, "[Collette is] someone whose body of work is part of my artistic makeup and DNA...I actually accidentally quoted Muriel’s Wedding to her face one day, and thought she was gonna think I was the biggest dork. Instead, she received it with like, great affection and forgiveness and patience. I got to tell Muriel, 'You’re terrible, Muriel.' And you know what? There aren’t too many people in the world who can say that, so I’ll take it..."

Neil Young and David Crosby
Neil Young and David Crosby (click for attribution/s)

David Crosby (8/14/1941, Leo Snake), Neil Young (11/12/1945, Scorpio Rooster) : The two musicians formed part of the on-again, off-again supergroup, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Their album, Déjà Vu (1970), remains the most successful for each of the four members. Young and Crosby shared a famously at times fraught relationship. In 2014, Crosby described Young's partner Daryl Hannah as, "a purely poisonous predator." Young responded, "I wish [Crosby] the best with his life. There’s love there. There’s just nothing else there." After Crosby died in early 2023, Young wrote: "David’s voice and energy were at the heart of our band. His great songs stood for what we believed in and it was always fun and exciting when we got to play together...We had so many great times, especially in the early years. Crosby was a very supportive friend in my early life, as we bit off big pieces of our experience together. David was the catalyst of many things."

Arnold Schwarzenegger (7/30/1947, Leo Pig), Lou Ferrigno (11/9/1951, Scorpio Rabbit) : The two bodybuilders shared an iconic rivalry, recorded in the cult classic documentary film, Pumping Iron (1977). The film is famous in part for showcasing Schwarzenegger's legendary "psych-out" tactics against Ferrigno. Ferrigno said later, "My only regret was that I was planning and hoped to reach my full potential and beat Arnold because he was five years older, but I never got that chance...The way I look at it, it didn’t matter if I won, [it] didn’t matter if I lost. It was all about reaching out to the mainstream and educating the public on what bodybuilding really is." Pumping Iron is generally credited with having springboarded both Ferrigno and Schwarzenegger to highly successful and lucrative careers in Hollywood.

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Chinese Zodiac sign, the Horse
Chinese Zodiac sign, the Monkey

Chinese Zodiac

Horse and Monkey

Compatibility overview

This combination attracts some challenging cross-currents, but it can also be affectionate and profoundly inspiring. The firsteast and secondeast have a mixed reputation, as far as good and bad fortune is concerned. With careful management and sensitivity, however, there is a good chance they may be able to establish a supportive and deeply admiring relationship.

Horse and Monkey - Relationship Horoscope

Read more about the HORSE and MONKEY zodiac signs...

Read more about the LEO HORSE and SCORPIO MONKEY combined zodiac signs...

Chinese astrology tends towards polarized judgements about very strong or very challenging matches, but the combination of Horse and Monkey is located more in the middle ground. Certainly there are plenty of positive synergies to help these two forge a meaningful connection.

The lively Monkey loves to be entertained, while the freewheeling Horse is a born entertainer. Similarly, the Horse tends to deeply admire skills and achievements they consider worthy of their time, things the Monkey's brilliant cleverness can provide in spades. Hence these two can fall naturally and happily into an audience/performer dynamic, alternately taking each other's breath away with stories and feats showcasing their respective abilities. The same qualities help these two as a duo attract attention from others—don't be surprised to see crowds gather when these two show what they can do! At a more abstract level, the Horse and Monkey share a deeply compatible creative idealism, a common belief in virtuosity and commitment. As collaborators, they may be more inclined to take turns than to play at the same time, but there is every chance they will agree strongly about what is good or bad.

These two do have some potentially serious headwinds to contend with. Compatibility in the Chinese zodiac is all about the four Trine Families, and the families of the Horse (with the Dog and Tiger) and Monkey (with the Dragon and Rat) have a reputation for tension. While the Horse and Monkey may avoid the worst of this energy (e.g., the Horse and Rat, or the Monkey and Tiger), their instincts can still be very different at times.

The Horse is quintessentially independent, whereas the Monkey loves social connection. The Monkey delights in intrigue, and is extremely adept at handling complex social situations, while the Horse usually prefers to remain aloof or rise above the fray. If a relationship between these signs amplifies rather than addressing these essential differences, the Horse may become remarkably distant or selfish, while the Monkey may be disillusioned, miserable, or bitter.

Ultimately, this is a relationship where sensitivity around communication, and a balance of distance with closeness, can pay significant dividends. If the potentially destabilizing differences can be managed, the extent of mutual admiration and shared values can foster a terrifically rewarding relationship.

Celebrity Horse/Monkey Pairings*

*Click on the names to see both Western and Chinese zodiac matches for that pairing.

Jacqueline du Pré and Daniel Barenboim
Jacqueline du Pré and Daniel Barenboim (click for attribution/s)

Daniel Barenboim (11/15/1942, Scorpio Horse), Jacqueline du Pré (1/26/1945, Aquarius Monkey) : The celebrated classical musicians were married from 1967 until du Pré's death from multiple sclerosis (MS) in 1987. Their marriage attracted controversy, in part because Barenboim reportedly began a hidden family with his second wife (Elena Bashkirova) while du Pré was alive. Barenboim continues to raise money for MS research, and in 2017 described meeting du Pré: "There was chamber music being played and before we spoke we sat down to play together — we played a Brahms sonata — and understood each other musically, perfectly, and then outside of music too...She was [a unique musician,] not exactly very knowledgeable about things to do with music in a musicological or scientific way, but she had an uncanny instinct and quickness of brain that was mind-boggling. She would see a piece for the first time and she was able to not just play the notes but get to the essence of it."

Kevin Costner (1/18/1955, Capricorn Horse), Cindy Costner (10/29/1956, Scorpio Monkey) : The actor and actor/director met in college, before Kevin Costner began his acting career. They were married between 1978 and 1994, and had three children together. During the making of the Costner-directed Dances with Wolves, the two collaborated extensively behind the scenes. Their divorce settlement is one of the largest in Hollywood history. Shortly before their separation, Kevin said: "The temptations are pretty strong—and there’s a hungry world out there waiting for you to fall. So you can’t even dabble without paying a huge price. I try to conduct my life with a certain amount of dignity and discretion—but marriage is a hard, hard gig."

Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz
Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz (click for attribution/s)

Swizz Beatz (9/13/1978, Virgo Horse), Alicia Keys (1/25/1981, Aquarius Monkey) : The record producer and musician have been married since 2010 and have two children. In 2021, Keys described: "I think one of the things we're really good at is giving each other the space that we need. That's not a hard thing for us. And even just being intuitive about what each other needs is also something that comes really fluid for us. We'll always check in and we're always making sure we're good."

Harrison Ford (7/13/1942, Cancer Horse), Carrie Fisher (10/21/1956, Libra Monkey) : The two actors shared one of the famous fictional relationships of all time as Princess Leia and Han Solo in the Star Wars movies. Shortly before her unexpected death in 2016, Fisher revealed in her memoir, The Princess Diarist, that they had an affair while making the first film in the series, when she was 19. She described contacting Ford prior to publication: "I said [to Ford], 'I found the journals that I kept during the first movie, and I’m probably going to publish them...I’ll show it to you before and you can take anything out that you want taken out. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable'...I wouldn’t have ambushed him like that, but it’s still – no matter if I told him or not, it probably feels like an ambush. It feels like an ambush to me, and I’m the one who wrote it." After Fisher died, Ford released a statement saying, "Carrie was one-of-a-kind, brilliant, original. Funny and emotionally fearless. She lived her life, bravely...We will all miss her."

Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams
Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams (click for attribution/s)

Rachel McAdams (11/17/1978, Scorpio Horse), Ryan Gosling (11/12/1980, Scorpio Monkey) : The two actors starred together in The Notebook (2004). During filming, tension between the two led to Gosling asking for another actor to read McAdam's part. Director Nick Cassavetes retold: "[Gosling said,] 'Would you take her out of here and bring in another actress to read off camera with me?...I can’t. I can’t do it with her. I’m just not getting anything from this.'...We went into a room with a producer; they started screaming and yelling at each other...They had it out...I think Ryan respected her for standing up for her character and Rachel was happy to get that out in the open. The rest of the film wasn’t smooth sailing, but it was smoother sailing." Later the two actors dated for two years between 2005 and 2007, with Gosling saying at one point, "I mean, God bless The Notebook. It introduced me to one of the great loves of my life. But people do Rachel and me a disservice by assuming we were anything like the people in that movie. Rachel and my love story is a hell of a lot more romantic than that."

Ted Hughes (8/17/1930, Leo Horse), Sylvia Plath (10/27/1932, Scorpio Monkey) : The writers, two of the most celebrated poets of their generation, were married from 1956 until Plath's death by suicide in 1963. They had two children. The relationship remains controversial due to Hughes' infidelity and posthumous allegations of abuse, which Hughes has denied. Plath described about their courtship: "We kept writing poems to each other. Then it just grew out of that, I guess, a feeling that we both were writing so much and having such a fine time doing it, we decided that this should keep on."

Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova
Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova (click for attribution/s)

Chris Evert (12/21/1954, Sagittarius Horse), Martina Navratilova (10/18/1956, Libra Monkey) : The two legendary tennis players shared one of the most celebrated rivalries in the history of sports, winning 18 grand slam titles each between 1973 and 1988. In 2020, Evert described their evolution from rivals to friendship: "In the beginning, I was beating her; I was practicing with her; we were playing doubles together. Then she started beating me, and I broke up the doubles, because I felt like I was getting too close. We went our own ways...It really wasn't until the end of our careers, maybe the last five years, that we got along well...Martina is definitely one of my closest friends right now. We have no competition. There's no tension in our relationship whatsoever. It's a freeing kind of a feeling. I can really enjoy her and her personality now and she can really enjoy me.


Combined Relationship Horoscope

Final Words

firstwest and secondwest share a Square aspect that represents some of the most challenging energy in the Western zodiac—yet even as they struggle to reach agreement together, they can reap far-reaching benefits in terms of individual priorities, growth and direction. Complicating matters here is the combination of the firsteast and secondeast, who may admire and care deeply for one another, but who can also feel instinctively somewhat nervous or distant when together for extended periods. Ultimately, the best aspects of this relationship have terrific potential, and with requisite independence and clear communication, these two may achieve lasting personal growth and solidarity.

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