Cancer and Leo can be a challenging match. You're more compatible than with many other signs, however this is still unlikely to be a smooth ride all the time. If you can both adapt to the others style then this is a relationship which will improve steadily over time, and eventually rival any other match.

Cancer and Leo Compatibility scores

These scores show the averages for data collected from my clients over the past 20 years. It's important to note however that individual relationships vary enormously. This is a summarized picture, a real compatibility reading is needed to judge a real relationship. It's also worth noting that Soulmates can be found in any sun sign match, even those which are statistically likely to have low compatibility.

Cancer and Leo compatibility

This article is in two halves, the first is written from the viewpoint of the Cancer man or Cancer woman, and the second is written from the viewpoint of the Leo man or Leo woman.

From the Cancer viewpoint

You can certainly make your Leo feel admired and adored (very important to them), however whether they can make you feel secure and emotionally connected (very important to you) may be a larger challenge. Most of the work in this respect is Leos.

Leo responds much better to praise than criticism, so if you can train yourself towards positive reinforcement of good behavior it will serve you much better than fault finding with this partner. This can't be stressed enough, as you're both very stubborn - so if this turns into a battle of wills no one will win.

As to a general comparison of temperaments and personalities, you're very different from your Leo. On the negative side, more than anything you'll probably find this partner to be egotistical and extravagant.

They like to be the center of attention and enjoy the admiration of others - often specifically including the opposite sex. Leo is typically a very faithful sign, though you may have trouble accepting that due to how outgoing and sometimes flirtatious your partner can be.

You both are likely to be comfortable with public acts of affection, so don't hold back when it comes to kissing or hugging at opportune moments to deter potential admirers! After seeing your Leos happy reaction you'll feel more comfortable with the setup.

On the positive side, Leo has the strength, confidence and sense of purpose you admire in a partner. They are nearly always ambitious, passionate, cheerful, optimistic and charismatic. A part of you will enjoy watching how your partner lives life to the fullest, while a part will cringe at the bill from doing so...

Money is likely to be an issue at times. You want to save it, and your Leo wants to spend it. Not only spend it, but spend it extravagantly often on highly impractical things! While it's likely many of these things may be gifts for you, you may need to remind your Leo that you prefer to have some savings for a rainy day also. Again, you may be better off praising small acts of frugality rather than criticizing acts of extravagance if you want to modify the behavior in the long term.

Cancer Leo sex

Leo may be a little too domineering for your taste, but that's minor in the scheme of things. Chemistry is likely to be good in this match, and if so it will make it a lot easier to compromise on the personality differences which could otherwise create a wedge.

As in all other areas, love and (most importantly!) admire your Leo in the bedroom and they'll be happy for a very long time.

It's important to note however that we're looking only at sun signs here. There are many other planets which can have an equal or greater effect on someone's personality. Makes sense, as ultimately everyone is of course unique. Generalizing too far based just on sun signs can therefore be misleading.

To fully understand someone or how compatible you are with them we need to calculate those other planet placements from their date of birth, and compare them to your own, and then interpret the results.

This unlocks the real power of astrology, and gives much more useful and specific information: everything from how they view you, how to turn them on, how to avoid arguments with them etc. If you would like to explore this further please see the compatibility readings page.

From the Leo viewpoint

Leo and Cancer Compatibility

The biggest individual factors as to whether this relationship will go smoothly are how confident your Cancer partner is, and how caring and committed you are towards them.

If you can make your Cancer feel secure and loved in this relationship, they can certainly make you feel admired and adored in return, and everyone will be happy.

Cancer is a highly sensitive, intuitive and emotional partner; you'll enjoy being pampered endlessly as long as you can keep them happy, so the rewards potentially are very high here.

The challenge in keeping your Cancer happy lays in their moodiness. This is typically an extremely moody sign, while you're nearly always optimistic and cheerful. While you can certainly cheer them up, the difficulty will be in determining when they want empathy rather than sunshine. Optimism and good will alone will only go so far with Cancer. Sometimes they want you to relate, sympathize and generally suffer alongside them - none of which come very naturally to you.

As to other areas of compatibility, your cancer will admire the way you live life to the fullest, and probably cringe at the bill for doing so. Money is very likely to be an issue sooner or later in this match. You'll want to spend and your partner will want to save. Compromise will probably do you both good. Try to avoid calling your cancer stingy or frugal if avoidable!

On this subject, Cancer is a worrier and an analyzer, often digging up ancient events to criticize. This nagging can go on for months, if not years, so you're better off establishing what annoys your partner early on, and sparing yourself by agreeing in advance on things. You'll find your partner is far more reasonable in advance than in hindsight!

You enjoy the attention of others, and your Cancer can be very sensitive to perceived flirting. You both like public displays of affection, so smooch on your crab periodically while you're lighting up the room.

Leo Cancer sex

There's likely to be some good sexual chemistry here initially, so the early days are nearly always good.

A great feature of this relationship, assuming your Cancer is content then they are very likely to be highly attentive to your needs. If someone will spoil you it's likely to be this partner (as long as you spoil them back!)

Conversely if your Cancer isn't happy, don't expect much in this direction! That whole nurturing thing you read about isn't automatic or universal, and can easily be turned off.

Cancer and Leo Compatibility Summary

So is this article conclusive? No! This article is based only on sun sign interaction. In order to provide a lot of people with information it's a convenient and fast way to generalize, but it's far from conclusive at this broad level. To get a complete picture we need to take all the other planets and their interactions into account for each of you, with a real astrology reading...

Cancer and Leo related pages

Leo man
Leo woman
Cancer man
Cancer woman

For details of the most common pros and cons of relationships with each of the other signs I have a separate index of articles on Cancer compatibility and Leo compatibility

Cancer and Leo compatibility readings

I specialize in providing fast and accurate relationship readings delivered by email. These are designed to show exactly how compatible you are with a given partner and explore everything about your relationship, including a detailed analysis of your personality and your partner's personality.