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Compatibility
Leo Snake and Cancer Monkey

There may be some hesitancy early on, owing to the typically gradual development of closeness between firstwest and secondwest, but with the cherished pairing of the firsteast and secondeast to help them, these two have the potential to hit the highest of highs.

Western Zodiac sign, Leo
Western Zodiac sign, Cancer

Western Zodiac

Leo and Cancer

Compatibility overview

Next-door signs in Western astrology, like firstwest and secondwest, are often looked at with skepticism. Astrologers have traditionally thought of them as like real-life neighbors, who make each other nervous, and are best suited to respectful distance. In fact, however, there is considerable potential here. They may not let their guards down for a while, but these signs can ultimately become highly effective collaborators, and may share an enduring and rewarding bond.

Leo and Cancer - Relationship Horoscope

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

Read more about the LEO SNAKE and CANCER MONKEY combined zodiac signs...

Adjacent to each other on the Western zodiac wheel, Cancer and Leo form what is known as a Semi-sextile aspect. This so-called minor influence—one of only two, with the Quincunx—has a less pronounced effect than other connections, which contributes both freedom and aimlessness to the relationship.

Certainly at the beginning, differences between these signs are likely to be more apparent than synergies. For one thing, the elements here are notoriously difficult to reconcile. Cancer is a Water sign, highly sensitive and emotionally fluid. They incline towards interior peacefulness, and are vulnerable to being overborne when crowded or pressured by others. Fire sign Leo, on the other hand, tends to be as passionate and commanding as anyone in the zodiac—fiery and resolute when strong, furious or smoldering when uneasy. Thus Cancer may find it hard to maintain a sense of themselves, as they either get riled up by Leo's abundant energy, or feel disturbed and long for greater tranquility. Leo, meanwhile, may find Cancer wayward, inconsistent, or moody, which can make Leo worry that their independent spirit is under threat, or that their ambitions for honor and social connection could be compromised.

Sustained contact, however, may produce transformative results for this pair. Cancer and Leo share highly compatible modalities. Cancer is a Cardinal sign, expressing the pure energy of beginnings, initiation, and inception. This is beautifully compatible with Leo's Fixed nature, with its emphasis on realization and real-world accomplishment. Hence, in spite of initial nervousness, these two are capable of forging highly successful collaborations.

Independence and dialogue will be essential for these two, given their differences. Yet the contrasting natures of Cancer and Leo also open up a world of creative possibilities, if they are able to work together successfully. Semi-sextile energy is also well-known for being conducive to bonds that strengthen and deepen over time. However frosty or standoffish Cancer and Leo are early in their relationship, they may ultimately forge one of the most dependable and nourishing alliances in the zodiac.

Celebrity Leo/Cancer Pairings*

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

Courtney Love and Edward Norton
Courtney Love and Edward Norton (click for attribution/s)

Courtney Love (7/9/1964, Cancer Dragon), Edward Norton (8/18/1969, Leo Rooster) : The actor and musician dated between 1996 and 1999, after they appeared together in The People Versus Larry Flynt (1996). Love has continued to speak fondly about Norton and to express regret about their separation. In 2006, she said: "I should have married Norton...I left him for a bad man who stole all my money. I left Ed Norton, who was good and wonderful, for an average bad man who was in A+R. It’s upsetting."

Vin Diesel (7/18/1967, Cancer Sheep), Paloma Jimenez (8/22/1983, Leo Pig) : The actor and model have been together since 2007 and have three children. Though they have said little about their relationship in public, Diesel has said: "While I was doing [The Pacifier (2005)], it really started to bring out this desire to have a child. It took a couple years after that to find the right person and to hopefully be mature enough to be a great father which is really all you want to do." About Jimenez, he has described: "She's so stunningly beautiful, but the thing people don't realize is she's my rock, so she's so stunningly beautiful on the inside. She's just so wonderful in so many ways."

Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall
Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall (click for attribution/s)

Jerry Hall (7/2/1956, Cancer Monkey), Mick Jagger (7/26/1943, Leo Sheep) : The Rolling Stones frontman and model/actor were together from 1977 to 1999 and had four children. (An ostensible 'marriage' in Indonesia in 1990 was later annulled.) Their relationship was frequently interrupted by Jagger's infidelities. Hall described in 2003: "[Jagger is] a sick, addictive womanizer who made me very unhappy...[Now he] lives next door and doesn't have a kitchen. I'm trying to get him to get his own place -- with a kitchen...He's the most fabulous ex- husband. He's extremely generous. We never argue about the children. We adore each other."

Anjelica Huston (7/8/1951, Cancer Rabbit), John Huston (8/5/1906, Leo Horse) : The director and actor were father and daughter. Anjelica Huston has described: "[My father] was often not with my mother and often not with me, which didn't alter in any way my profound love for him...That was what he did. He was an adventurer, and he lived in a grand style, and everything around him and everything he did was a grand gesture." In her memoir, Watch Me (2014), she recalled their first collaboration, A Walk with Love and Death (1969) as, "[A] personal, commercial, and professional disappointment." Describing the success of their later film, Prizzi's Honor (1985) (for which she won an Oscar), she wrote: "For Dad and me, it was proof that if you believe in each other, are willing to risk humiliation, and put your heart on the line, miracles can happen."

Kyra Sedgwick and Kevin Bacon
Kyra Sedgwick and Kevin Bacon (click for attribution/s)

Kevin Bacon (7/8/1958, Cancer Dog), Kyra Sedgwick (8/19/1965, Leo Snake) : The two actors share one of the most enduring Hollywood relationships, having married in 1988. They have two children. Bacon has said that that when they met on the set of Lemon Sky (1988), "I found her, you know, really very beautiful and sexy and aloof. And I was just immediately in love with her and she was just immediately put off by me." Sedgwick has described: "[Bacon] was very friendly and sweet and every night after work he would say, ‘Who wants to go out to dinner?' And the whole cast would say yes except for me. And later on he told me that the only person he wanted to say yes was me and I never said yes and he was always stuck with the check, poor guy...I had no great role models in terms of healthy marriages...but [after we got together] I knew in my heart and soul that he was the right person. It was an unquestionable truth of mine. I've never had anything like that before or after."

Darren de Gallo (7/21/1974, Cancer Tiger), Amy Adams (8/20/1974, Leo Tiger) : The two actors began dating a year after they met in an acting class, and after a seven-year engagement married in 2015. They have one child. Adams has described: "[de Gallo] has sacrificed a lot. But he travels with me and helps to keep the family together, and I really do appreciate that. But I don’t value it because he’s a man doing it, I value it because he’s my partner… My husband is an extremely competent caregiver."

Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger
Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger (click for attribution/s)

Sylvester Stallone (7/6/1946, Cancer Dog), Arnold Schwarzenegger (7/30/1947, Leo Pig) : The two actors shared a high-profile rivalry as muscle-bound action stars in the 1980s and 1990s. Stallone has said that for a time the pair, "[C]ouldn't stand to be in the same galaxy...We truly, truly loathed each other." A low point, confirmed by Schwarzenegger, was when he feigned interest in Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot (1992), to lure Stallone into making a likely unsuccessful film. However, the two have since become strong friends. Stallone described in 2022: "Arnold’s very wise and he loves to talk about philosophies which have got him to where he is. It’s good to talk to a man who actually has put his money where his mouth is, and he’s achieved that. Then we start goofing around and being crazy — just laughing at the old times. I told him: 'We are the last two tyrannosaurus.' We’re the last two meat eaters, and there’s not much beef left out there. So we better enjoy each other."

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Chinese Zodiac sign, the Snake
Chinese Zodiac sign, the Monkey

Chinese Zodiac

Snake and Monkey

Compatibility overview

And the winner is...! If relationship energy could be graded, this Soulmate connection would be one of the Chinese zodiac's "A+" matches. In the right circumstances, the firsteast and secondeast can develop together into true kindred spirits, a perfect combination of excitement with security, and devotion with selflessness.

Snake and Monkey - Relationship Horoscope

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

Read more about the LEO SNAKE and CANCER MONKEY combined zodiac signs...

This is one of the Chinese zodiac's prized Soulmate matches.

Quite simply, these two complement each other perfectly. The Monkey can discover that their sprightly cleverness is at once calmed and given true purpose by the profound, philosophical Snake. The Snake, meanwhile, finds endless delight in the Monkey's brilliant skills and frisky enthusiasm. Together, a union between these two tends to express the very best of their respective attributes. It is outwardly a spectacular blend of ingenuity, wisdom, and allure. For the parties themselves, the relationship can prove a once-in-a-lifetime source of security, reassurance, and selfless devotion.

Of course, all this potential does not come without cost. Soulmate energy can prove demanding. The Monkey and Snake may find their time together so absorbing that the relationship puts pressure on other parts of their lives. The potential for jealousy or disappointment, if either party is distracted, can be greater than with other harmonious combinations that are less intense or exclusive in orientation.

Ultimately, if this relationship is given the space it needs to breathe and grow, the rewards are likely to be nothing short of extraordinary.

Celebrity Snake/Monkey Pairings*

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

Johnny Cash and June Carter
Johnny Cash and June Carter (click for attribution/s)

June Carter (6/23/1929, Cancer Snake), Johnny Cash (2/26/1932, Pisces Monkey) : After a difficult courtship—both were religious and married to other people when they met—these two legendary country music stars were married from 1968 until 2003. They collaborated extensively, including on the albums, Carryin' On With Johnny Cash & June Carter (1967), Johnny Cash and His Woman (1973), Return to the Promised Land (2000), and Duets (2006). According to one biographer, Cash's first words on meeting Carter were, "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash and I'm going to marry you someday."

Paul Simon (10/13/1941, Libra Snake), Carrie Fisher (10/21/1956, Libra Monkey) : The actor and musician were in an intimate relationship for 12 years, off and on, including a short-lived marriage. Fisher wrote in her memoir, Wishful Drinking: "Paul and I dated for six years, married for two, divorced for one, and then we had good memories of each other so what do you think we did? ... We dated again."

Gisele Bündchen and Tom Brady
Gisele Bündchen and Tom Brady (click for attribution/s)

Tom Brady (8/3/1977, Leo Snake), Gisele Bündchen (7/20/1980, Cancer Monkey) : The model and NFL legend meet in 2006 were married from 2009 to 20022. They have two children, and Bündchen is stepmother to Brady's child from a previous relationship (with Bridget Moynahan). Bündchen described early in their relationship: "You know that feeling of, like, you can’t get enough? From the first day we met, we’ve never spent one day without speaking to each other." Their break-up followed Brady's decision to return to playing NFL football only six weeks after announcing his retirement in February 2022. Shortly before their separation was announced, Bündchen described: "Obviously, I have my concerns—this is a very violent sport, and I have my children and I would like [Brady] to be more present. I have definitely had those conversations with him over and over again."

René Angélil (1/16/1942, Capricorn Snake), Celine Dion (3/30/1968, Aries Monkey) : The music producer and singer first met when Angélil heard a demo Dion recorded as a 12-year old. As well as business partners, the pair were married from 1994 until his death in 2016, and had twins together. Dion said in 2013, "We laugh. We joke. We kid each other. We want our marriage to last forever. Talk over everything and you’ll find you are still on the honeymoon. Communication — it’s the most important. It’s the secret."

Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez
Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez (click for attribution/s)

Taylor Swift (12/13/1989, Sagittarius Snake), Selena Gomez (7/22/1992, Cancer Monkey) : The superstar musician and singer/actor have been close friends since 2008. Swift described in a joint interview: "There has always been this quality of sisterhood, and I don't say that in a basic way. I knew from when I met [Gomez] I would always have her back. In my life, I have the ability to forgive people who have hurt me. But I don't know if I can forgive someone who hurts her." Gomez added: "There's so much of my friendship with Taylor that people don't know about because we don't necessarily feel the need to post about everything we do. She has showed up for me in ways that I would have never expected. Flown in because I was hurt and was going through something. Stuff that was going on with my family. It's been proven year after year and in every moment of my life that she is one of my best friends in the world. We don't agree on everything, but we respect each other with everything."

Robin Dearden (12/4/1953, Sagittarius Snake), Bryan Cranston (3/7/1956, Pisces Monkey) : The two actors have been married since 1989. A year after Cranston held Dearden at gunpoint in an episode of Airwolf, they met up again and spontaneously shared a lingering kiss. Cranston has recounted, "We were both like, 'Wait that was too long, wasn’t it?'...And that is really what happened."

Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie
Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie (click for attribution/s)

Dizzy Gillespie (10/21/1917, Libra Snake), Charlie Parker (8/29/1920, Virgo Monkey) : The two jazz legends collaborated extensively during the 1940s, becoming pivotal contributors to the development of bebop and modern jazz. Gillespie's memoir, To Be or Not to Bop (1985) described: "[Charlie 'Yardbird' Parker] made a gigantic contribution, which really added a new dimension to the music. It’s hard to describe it exactly, he contributed so many different elements...'Bird' has some notes in his melodies, the lines that he wrote, that are deep, deep notes, as deep as anything Beethoven ever wrote. And he had little things that he used to play inside. He’d play other tunes inside the chords of the original melody, and they were always right...Charlie Parker was something else."

Björk (11/21/1965, Scorpio Snake), Thom Yorke (10/7/1968, Libra Monkey) : The two musicians collaborated on the track "I’ve Seen It All" (with Sjón and Lars von Trier) from the soundtrack for Dancer in the Dark (2000). Bjork described at the time: "I respect [Yorke] very much. He’s very shy and uncertain and doesn’t [reveal] too much of himself. That’s why it’s quite hard for me to explain what he’s like. I can’t do him justice. But he’s a very special person. When he enters a room he affects the whole atmosphere in a very positive way...His work is based on communication and understanding. He’s very down-to-earth and not egocentric at all. We worked together for three or four days, which I’m very grateful about. We worked together with songs, which I had worked on during three years not knowing what to do with them. Thanks to him these songs saw a new light of day and that was a wonderful experience." In 2006, Yorke said Bjork's "Unravel" was, "[O]ne of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard."


Combined Relationship Horoscope

Final Words

The semi-Sextile combination of firstwest and secondwest has a reputation for beginning slowly, but even if the early going proves a bit tough, there is great potential for collaboration and tenderness in the longer term. In this relationship, however, arguably the most fortunate element is the gift of the Soulmate connection between firsteast and secondeast. As long as these two have bandwidth in their lives to manage a true kindred spirit, the sky's the limit for these two in any context.

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