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Compatibility
Leo Rat and Capricorn Dog

The strangely captivating allure between firstwest and secondwest may enhance the caring and respectful, if at times distant, connection between the firsteast and secondeast.

Western Zodiac sign, Leo
Western Zodiac sign, Capricorn

Western Zodiac

Leo and Capricorn

Compatibility overview

This mysterious, yet often enchanting, combination is one of the most curious in the Western zodiac. firstwest and secondwest can seem like chalk and cheese, and historically many astrologers have been skeptical about their connection. But there is often a surprising depth of feeling between these two, and close personal or creative partnerships can prove to be delightfully warm and rewarding.

Leo and Capricorn - Relationship Horoscope

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

Read more about the LEO RAT and CAPRICORN DOG combined zodiac signs...

An interval of five signs in the Western zodiac, as there is between Leo and Capricorn, is called a Quincunx (or inconjunct). This is one of only two minor aspects (with the Semi-sextile), meaning the energy here is gentler, more open to variation, than other aspects.

Classical astrologers were wary of the Quincunx, believing that an angle of 150° meant these two signs were total strangers. Certainly the respective elements here create some key disparities. Fire sign Leo is typically a blazing individual, dynamic and impactful when at full roar, but apt to dwindle into smoke when neglected or disappointed. Capricorn, by contrast, manifests the steady dependability of Earth, preferring incremental development, restraint, and patience. Hence Leo can often find Capricorn to be an unadventurous hand brake, while Capricorn sees Leo as unpredictable and high maintenance. Though equally strong-minded, these signs' instincts could hardly be more contrary when it comes to their public profiles. Leo is a natural-born show-person, rarely as comfortable as when displaying their prodigious talents on as wide a stage as possible. Capricorn, on the other hand, tends to believe that real power is exercised behind the scenes, and that public performance, when necessary, is purely a means to an end.

The strange magic of the Quincunx, however, means that the tensions in this relationship are often not experienced as disturbing. Indeed, Capricorn and Leo often find their differences charming or entertaining. Feelings of near-spontaneous friendship or attraction are common here. More importantly, the respective modalities augur well for longer-term teamwork. Capricorn's pure Cardinal modality brings an always-beginning receptiveness to new ideas and directions, while Leo's Fixed energy provides the productive force necessary for accomplishment and resolution. Collaborative endeavors—creative projects especially, but extending to home and family—can harness the contrasting qualities of these signs into an intriguing and effective union.

Capricorn and Leo may face ongoing challenges meeting in the middle. This pair could find they manage best taking individual responsibility for different aspects of shared projects, rather than working hand in glove. They should also address disputes or frustrations immediately—Quincunx energy is too indeterminate to cope well with built-up resentment. With some independence and open communication, however, this can prove to be a thrillingly enjoyable, rewarding, and successful relationship.

Celebrity Leo/Capricorn Pairings*

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

Barack Obama and Michelle Obama
Barack Obama and Michelle Obama (click for attribution/s)

Barack Obama (8/4/1961, Leo Ox), Michelle Obama (1/17/1964, Capricorn Rabbit) : The 44th US President and First Lady have been married since 1992 and have two children. In 2017, Michelle Obama described: "I loved the life we had built for our girls. I deeply loved the man I had built that life with…and I didn’t want that to change if he became president. I loved Barack just the way he was. You see, even though back then Barack was a senator and a presidential candidate…to me, he was still the guy who’d picked me up for our dates in a car that was so rusted out I could actually see the pavement going by through a hole in the passenger side door. He was the guy whose proudest possession was a coffee table he’d found in a dumpster, and whose only pair of decent shoes was half a size too small."

Helen Mirren (7/26/1945, Leo Rooster), Taylor Hackford (12/31/1944, Capricorn Monkey) : The actor and director have been married since 1997. Mirren has described: "A really important part of love is to maintain your own sense of identity. In a way, that's the most important thing of all, to not subsume yourself into someone else, far from it. Be honestly and authentically who you are...It's work. And it's very important to allow the person you love to be who they are — even if [sometimes] you don't like it very much."

John Huston and Ava Gardner
John Huston and Ava Gardner (click for attribution/s)

John Huston (8/5/1906, Leo Horse), Ava Gardner (12/24/1922, Capricorn Dog) : The actor and director became lifelong friends after they worked together on The Night of the Iguana (1964). Gardner described: "I have only one rule in acting—trust the director and give him heart and soul. And the director I trusted most of all was John Huston. Working with him gave me the only real joy I’ve ever had in movies…[Huston] felt the character, especially the way I played her, was warmer, more human, a better person than [writer] Tennessee [Williams’] original ending allowed, and he had the scene rewritten to emphasize that point. Tennessee was never happy with that, but anyone seeing the film knows that John’s choice was the only one that fit."

David O. Russell (8/20/1958, Leo Dog), Bradley Cooper (1/5/1975, Capricorn Tiger) : The director and actor famously collaborated (with Jennifer Lawrence) on three consecutive award-winning films: Silver Linings Playbook (2012), American Hustle (2013), and Joy (2015). Cooper described: "Now [Russell's] like my brother. That's not just because he's here, or because we're doing this interview. It's just the truth. I love working with David so much. Every day, I remind myself, 'You get to work with the greatest director around. And he asks you to collaborate with him.' There are times when you realize you're threading the needle in a beautiful way, which happened a lot with Richie DiMaso [the character Cooper played in American Hustle]. I love that character so much."

James Baldwin and Martin Luther King Jr.
James Baldwin and Martin Luther King Jr. (click for attribution/s)

James Baldwin (8/2/1924, Leo Rat), Martin Luther King Jr. (1/15/1929, Capricorn Dragon) : The writer and civil rights leader shared a mutually admiring relationship. In 1961, King wrote Baldwin: "Your analysis of the [race relations] problem is always creative and penetrating. Your honesty and courage in telling the truth to white Americans, even if it hurts, is most impressive." Baldwin described in a 1961 essay: "[T]he Reverend King is not like any preacher I have ever met before. For one thing, to state it baldly, I liked him. It is rare that one likes a world-famous man—by the time they become world-famous they rarely like themselves, which may account for this antipathy. Yet King is immediately and tremendously winning, there is really no other word for it...[T]he fact that King really loves the people he represents and has—therefore—no hidden, interior need to hate the white people who oppose him has had and will, I think, continue to have the most far-reaching and unpredictable repercussions on our racial situation."

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Chinese Zodiac sign, the Rat
Chinese Zodiac sign, the Dog

Chinese Zodiac

Rat and Dog

Compatibility overview

This is an intriguing, if occasionally inconsistent, combination. The energy between firsteast and secondeast is not classically recognized as either brilliant or dangerous, but there are some important synergies that in the right circumstances can lead to a supportive and successful bond.

Rat and Dog - Relationship Horoscope

Read more about the RAT and DOG zodiac signs...

Read more about the LEO RAT and CAPRICORN DOG combined zodiac signs...

In the Chinese zodiac, the 12 signs are divided into four Trine Families (much as the Western signs share four different elements). The respective families of the Dog (with the Horse and Tiger) and Rat (with the Monkey and Dragon) are not generally thought of as especially compatible—indeed, some matches across the two kinship groups can be potentially unstable (e.g. the Dog with the Dragon, or the Rat with the Horse). Relations between the Dog and Rat therefore need to rely on synergies between their individual characters, rather than a more mystical harmonious connection. Fortunately, these two can easily share some important ideals.

Homeliness and a desire for privacy are common for natives of both the Rat and Dog years. Perhaps more importantly, the Dog tends to pride themselves on their upright moral values, particularly the benefits of hard work, and ensuring that giftedness and effort is encouraged and rewarded. Given the Rat's usually prodigious cleverness and intuition, there is much for the Dog to admire and support. Natives of the Rat year tend to be more consistently cheerful and confident than the sometimes anxious Dog, so the Rat will have many opportunities to offer care and calming advice. The Dog's deeply-felt gratitude will make the Rat feel greatly appreciated.

There are some potential disturbances here as well, owing to the contrasting energies shared by the respective sign-families. The Dog can be extremely earnest, for example, in circumstances where the Rat's instincts are more pragmatic. Matters of shared resources or fidelity could be areas where the Rat is happy to take a more laissez-faire approach. While the Rat is sensitive to the Dog's worries up to a point, they may also find the Dog unnecessarily dour at times, which can make the Dog feel as if they are not being taken seriously.

Overall—especially if both parties have discrete areas of responsibility rather than trying to do everything together—there are real prospects for happiness and effective collaboration between these two signs.

Celebrity Rat/Dog Pairings*

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

Katy Perry and Nicki Minaj
Katy Perry and Nicki Minaj (click for attribution/s)

Katy Perry (10/25/1984, Scorpio Rat), Nicki Minaj (12/8/1982, Sagittarius Dog) : The singer and rapper are friends who collaborated on the song, "Swish Swish" (2017), and performed together at the 2010 VH1 Divas Salute the Troops concert ("Girls Just Wanna Have Fun"), and the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards. Minaj posted after the VMAs, "It was an honor to share the stage with my sister @katyperry last night. I love this little baby. She and I can go months w/o speaking or seeing each other but as soon as we link back up, it's nothing but genuine love & respect. I'm so proud of you Katy Kat."

Jean-Michel Basquiat (12/22/1960, Capricorn Rat), Madonna (8/16/1958, Leo Dog) : The pop music icon and celebrated artist shared a brief romantic relationship in the early 1980s. Madonna has described: "I remember getting up in the middle of the night and [Basquiat] wouldn’t be in bed lying next to me; he’d be standing, painting, at four in the morning, this close to the canvas, in a trance. I was blown away by that, that he worked when he felt moved." About their break-up, she has said: "He wouldn’t stop doing heroin. He was an amazing man and deeply talented, I loved him...When I broke up with him he made me give [the paintings he gave me] back to him. And then he painted over them black."

Angela Bassett and Courtney B Vance
Angela Bassett and Courtney B Vance (click for attribution/s)

Courtney B Vance (3/12/1960, Pisces Rat), Angela Bassett (8/16/1958, Leo Dog) : The two actors first met in the 1980s when they were both studying at Yale University, then reconnected in the 1990s. They married in 1997 and have two children (twins). In 2020, Bassett described: "Staying together so long, whether in the industry or not, I think the important thing is that you gotta marry the right person. Make sure you're both looking in the same direction, basically. You're not clones of each other, but you have similar or closest similar belief systems and, you know, pleasant personalities. Because we all have strengths, strengths and weaknesses, and we want to support one another. But I think also recognizing that we are each individuals, we have our individual dreams and desires and hopes and ways of doing things."

David Fumero (12/29/1972, Capricorn Rat), Melissa Fumero (8/19/1982, Leo Dog) : The two actors met when they both appeared in the long-running soap opera, One Life to Live (1968-2012). They married in 2007, and have two children. Melissa Fumero described in 2020: "We've been married for a while, and it's not always rainbows and sunshine, but we really are best friends. [David] has endless energy and patience. I marvel at how long he can play with our 4-year-old. And he's a baby whisperer too. [8-month old] Axel will be crying, and David will swoop in, and the baby immediately starts laughing."

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck (click for attribution/s)

Ben Affleck (8/15/1972, Leo Rat), Matt Damon (10/8/1970, Libra Dog) : The two actors have been friends since childhood, sharing one of the highest profile "bromances" in the world. They have collaborated multiple times, including co-writing and co-starring in the film, Good Will Hunting (1997), and acting together in the films, Field of Dreams (1989, both uncredited), School Ties (1992), Chasing Amy (1997), Dogma (1999), Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001), Jay and Silent Bob Reboot (2019), and The Last Duel (2021). In 2007, Affleck described: "Before Matt, I was by myself. Acting was a solo activity where I'd just go off and do something, act in a little TV show or something, and no one understood it. None of the other kids knew what it was I did, how it worked, or anything. All of a sudden, I had this friend, Matt, and he gets it and wants to do it and thinks it's interesting and wants to talk about it. Soon both of us are doing it."

Eminem (10/17/1972, Libra Rat), Lil Wayne (9/27/1982, Libra Dog) : The two rappers are friends who have collaborated multiple times, including on the songs, "Drop the World" (2009), "Forever" (2009, with Drake and Kanye West), "No Love" (2010), and "If I Die Young" (2012). Interviewed by Wayne in 2020, Eminem said, "I never got a chance to tell you but, yo, ‘Mona Lisa,’ your two verses on that s—...gotta be one of the top five verses of all time...I love when rappers are able to tell a story and don’t compromise any of the punchlines. It’s great to see you and me still doing it." Wayne responded, "[T]hat right there alone, it shows the beauty of what we do, period." Wayne described in 2022, "I did a bunch of joints with Em, that’s ma man. When you get on that joint with Em it’s like a championship game, and you win it, and they ask you how does it feel. I came in with my game plan and I expected my game plan to work. When you send a song to Em you attack it like that, like Nah, yo not going to do me like this. Either we going be right here (level) with it, and we’re going to make a beautiful, wonderful great song, but you ain’t going do me that (above me). And that’s what we did. Can nobody say anybody got bodied. I just made sure that he didn’t body me, cause that boy is a monster."

Heidi Cruz and Ted Cruz
Heidi Cruz and Ted Cruz (click for attribution/s)

Heidi Cruz (8/7/1972, Leo Rat), Ted Cruz (12/22/1970, Capricorn Dog) : The US politician and businesswoman have been married since 2001, and have two children. Heidi Cruz described in 2013: "Ted is very much a visionary. He is very strategic, and he’s very practical, and he does what needs to be done, not what everybody wants him to do...I want to make sure that everybody is comfortable. I want to make sure that everybody is talking to each other."


Combined Relationship Horoscope

Final Words

Frequently as mysterious to the signs themselves as to outsiders, the Quincunx connection between firstwest and secondwest has the potential to translate ostensibly dramatic differences into a stimulating and exciting connection. This quality of enchantment may be especially useful here, for although the firsteast and secondeast can rely on each other for admiration and kindheartedness, they may need some help developing close trust and affection.

Woman and dog appearing to high-five with decorative starry background


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