
Cancer and Leo are the Moon and the Sun of Astrology. They are two different beings, needing and experiencing life within opposite lenses, but there is something to say about how they come together. The Cancer woman is a water sign to her core and lives within the depths of her emotions. The Leo man is the confident fire sign and lives within the flames of his pride. They both have heart but they need different sustenance to fill it.
Leo Man Cancer Woman Love Compatibility
If they can see the gifts of this type of opposition and balance the ebb and flow of their different needs at play, they can discover a relationship of support and purpose.
What attracts a Leo man to a Cancer woman?
The Cancer woman and Leo man are attracted to each other’s personalities right away. They find each other different from who they are or what they are used to but are also drawn by the sense of confidence and self-assurance they both exude. The Cancer woman is expressive with her emotions, and the Leo man adores a woman who doesn’t hold back.
He finds her demeanor hilarious, and her emotions aren’t too much to someone even more emotionally self-expressive than she is. The Cancer woman is attracted to the sense of regalness the Leo man gives off and she sees him as someone who would be a good person to be in a partnership with.
Meeting each other may be a different story, however, as they typically run in different crowds and would be out doing different things. The Leo man prefers social events, the Cancer woman prefers to be a homebody. The way these two are most likely to meet each other is either through mutual friends, online, or a chance encounter. The Cancer woman’s sweet demeanor is instantly intriguing to the Leo man, and he is typically the first one to make a move here.
What is the relationship like between a Cancer woman and a Leo man?
The relationship between the Cancer woman and Leo man is loving, supportive, and fulfilling, but it can also be very hot and cold for these individuals. This is a relationship of extremes, and things are usually either going really well or really not. When they are at their best, this is a relationship that has a good balance of spending one-on-one quality time together, and really building a life and a family or support system together. While also having a relationship where they go out, go on dates, have fun, and maintain their social contacts as well. They both will often want to do different things but will find a compromise and be able to have the best of both worlds if they are working together well.
On the other hand, this relationship can feel like a roller coaster because they are both more highly reactive and emotionally impulsive than most. The Cancer woman is sensitive to her emotions and shelters her heart in a safe place. She trusts the Leo man because he seems to always present himself as he is, but later finds out there is more to the surface of him than all fun and sunshine. The Cancer woman doesn’t mind emotional depth, but one mixed with pride leaves a bad taste in her mouth.
The Leo man loves the nurturing nature of the Cancer woman but can also start to feel a little stuffy if he is at home for too long. A fire can only burn for so long in water, and compatibility in this relationship takes work.
What is the sex like between a Leo man and a Cancer woman?
The sex life between the Cancer woman and Leo man is either there or it’s not. Sometimes, this can turn out to be one of the most sexually compatible and magical partnerships, but other times it can be hard to get on the same page in bed. They will need to be expressive and communicative on what they want and need rather than just basing everything solely on emotions and assumptions here. They will have a good balance between being submissive or dominant, however, and have fun here.
The biggest issue that will arise with the sex life of the Cancer woman and Leo man is timing. They aren’t typically on the same emotional time frame and will want to do and be intimate at different times.
Typically, the Leo man is a morning person, and the Cancer woman prefers night. How well the communication is in the relationship will be a big determining factor on how well the sex life is with these two. There is a lot of potential here, but it is important for these two to get to know each other first.
What makes a relationship between a Cancer woman and a Leo man work?
This relationship works because they both serve a purpose in the relationship. Their natural gifts and skills within partnership and love complement each other well, and there is a good give and take in the relationship. The Cancer woman is the nurturer, the giver, and the dreamer. The Leo man is the fire, the power, and the charisma. They are like the missing pieces to each other’s puzzle and take off where each other leaves off. They both bring something different to the table so there is no stepping on each other's toes here.
The Sun and the Moon are in perfect sync for a reason, and this is representative of the relationship these two can have.
Another thing that makes a relationship between a Cancer woman and Leo man work so well, is that they are both very protective of the people they love. They are probably the most protective out of the zodiac signs, and this energy is very much put into their relationship. Once these two form a commitment to each other it’s something they will both fight for and will not easily give up on. Cancer naturally provides a sense of security in the relationship and Leo provides a sense of joy and lightness. They work so well because they both have a purpose that fulfills the whole of the relationship together.
What may cause a Leo man and a Cancer woman to break up?
As good as this relationship can be and for the evolved Cancer and Leo, will be, this relationship can also be a rollercoaster. There is so much emotional activity within the lives of the Cancer woman and Leo man, that things can get unnecessarily hectic here. The Cancer woman may begin to realize in the relationship that some of her needs that aren’t so straightforward aren’t being met. She needs an emotional connection and receptivity that the Leo man may be too much in his ego or pride to give.
Whereas the Leo man may want to experience life with a little more independence, something that makes the Cancer woman question why isn’t what they are building together enough. They both see love and relationships differently, and neither of them is wrong at the end of the day.
This relationship is an example of opposites attracting, but we all know that doesn’t always play out the way we want it to. They can become quite controlling and possessive of one another, and the relationship can turn toxic if they are not checking themselves and each other before reacting. This relationship longevity will depend on the individuals at hand, and how willing they are to meet in the middle and let go a little.
Summary: Is a Cancer woman and Leo man compatible?
This relationship is one of loyalty, passion, support, and a little chaos. They will either end up at the altar or choose to remain friends, and there is no in-between here. The potential of this relationship is one where there are a lot of laughs, quality time, and emotional security. They can live a life of fulfillment due to being so different in what they bring to the table.
The downfall of this relationship will be impulse and egos, and they may push each other’s buttons without even trying. But, what would the Moon do without the Sun and vice versa? If science proves anything, it’s that these two were meant to be in each other’s orbit.
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This Is How To Keep 'Holiday Season Stress' From Infecting Your Relationship
Hmph. Maybe it’s just me, but it seems like there is something really weird happening in the fall season air (because winter doesn’t officially begin until December 21) that cuddle season is in full swing while break-up season is as well. In fact, did you know that break-ups are so popular during the holiday season that December 11 is deemed Break-Up Day?
The reasons why relationships shift around this time vary; however, I did both roll my eyes and chuckle when I read that a very popular one is because it’s an easy way to get out of getting one’s significant other a Christmas present. SMDH.
Anyway, I personally think that the less shallow folks out here may contemplate calling things “quits” or they at least distance themselves a bit from their partner (and what I’m referring to is serious relationships) due to all of the stress and strain that oftentimes comes with the holidays whether it be financial, familial, due to their tight schedules or something else.
Listen, I would hate for you and your man to miss the fun and happiness of experiencing this time of year, all because you are so overwhelmed or irritated that you can’t really enjoy it. That’s why I have a few practical tips for how to avoid allowing the typical holiday season stress from INFECTING your relationship.
Manage Your Expectations
GiphyUnmanaged expectations. If there is a main reason why the holiday season tends to be so stress-filled for so many people, I’d bet good money that this is the cause. And when you’re in a long-term relationship, expectations can manifest themselves in all sorts of cryptic and/or unexpected ways. You might have relatives who assume that you are going to be with them for Thanksgiving or Christmas when you have other plans in mind. You might be thinking that you are going to spend one amount for presents while your man is thinking something totally different. When it comes to scheduling, your signals may be crossed.
And you know what? To all of these scenarios, this is where clear and consistent communication come in. Don’t assume anything. Don’t dictate anything either. From now until New Year’s, mutually decide to check in once a week, just to make sure that you are both on the same page as it relates to the holidays and what you both are thinking will come along with it. The less blindsided you both feel, the less stressed out you will be. Trust me on this.
Set (and Keep) a Budget
GiphyOkay, so I read that last year, 36 percent of Americans incurred some type of holiday-related debt. Hmph. Last year, there was still some sense of normalcy in this country, chile, so I can only imagine what finances are gonna look like over the next several weeks. That said, since I don’t know a lot of people who don’t find being broke stressful, make sure that you and your bae set a budget and then stick to it this year — no ifs, ands or buts.
Because really, y’all — it doesn’t make sense to deplete savings and/or max out credit cards for a few days of giggles only to be damn near losing your mind because you don’t know how to make ends meet come Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
And by the way, this tip doesn’t just speak to things like food and gifts; I also mean travel. If it doesn’t make a ton of sense (or cents) to be all over the place this year — DON’T BE.
Keep Matthew 5:37 at the Forefront
GiphyIf off the top of your head, you don’t know what Matthew 5:37 says, no worries, here ya go: “But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.” That verse right there? Oh, it’s a boundaries lifesaver! I say that because do you see “maybe” or “I’ll think about it” in there? Nope. LOL. It says that you should tell people “yes” or “no” and leave it at that — and that complements Anne Lamott’s quote, “’No’ is a complete sentence” impeccably well. Yeah, you’ve got to remember that anything beyond a yes or no to a request is privileged information; you don’t owe anyone details or an explanation.
Besides, if you are really honest with yourself, when someone asks you something and you give a “Umm, let me think about it” kind of reply, more times than not, you already know what your answer is going to be — so why not let you both off of the hook? Give your response. Commit to that. And let everyone (including yourself) get on with their lives and schedules.
I promise you that when it comes to those holiday parties, you are pissing more folks off by not RSVP’ing or doing so and not showing up than just saying, “Thank you but not this year” off the rip.
Remember That Your Personal Space Is Privilege Not a Right
GiphyA friend of mine recently bought a new house and invited me over to come see it. He’s a single man with no children, so as I was taking in all of the space that he had, especially as I walked through his finished basement, I joked about relatives coming to live with him. “Hell no” and “absolutely not” were pretty much his immediate responses as he went on to say that some folks even had the nerve to be offended when he told them that he had no intentions on taking DNA in.
Ain’t it wild how people think that your stuff is their right? And yes, that brings me to my next point. Your home is your sanctuary space. If you want to host folks this year — cool. If not, ALSO COOL. Please don’t let folks (family included) guilt you into how they want you to act or even into what they would do if the shoe was on the other foot. You are not them — and as one of my favorite quotes states, “If two people were exactly alike, one of them would be unnecessary.” (A man by the name Larry Dixon said that.)
Hell, my friends? They know that I am good for sending them random things that they need or even want all throughout the year. Coming over to hang out at my pace, though. Uh-uh. Chalk it up to being a card-carrying member of the ambivert club yet I like keeping my living space personal — and I sleep like a baby, each and every night, for feeling that way.
Always remember that your space, your time, your resources, your energy and shoot, yourself period (including your relationship), are all things that are your own. You get to choose how, when and why you want to share them. The holiday season is certainly no exception.
Cultivate Some “You Two Only” Traditions
GiphyIt’s not uncommon for some couples to hit me up after the holiday season to “detox.” Sometimes it’s due to the financial drama (and sometimes trauma) that they experienced. Sometimes it’s because they allowed their relatives (especially in-laws) to get more into their personal business than they should’ve. More than anything, though, it tends to be because they didn’t get enough quality time together and so ended up feeling “disconnected.”
Please don’t let that happen. Listen, I’m not even a holidays kind of woman and yet, I will absolutely sit myself down with some hot chocolate and chocolate chip cookies to enjoy a Hallmark holiday film or two. Aside from the fact that most of them are lighthearted and sweet, I also like that they usually focus on couples loving on each other amidst all of the holiday beauty and ambiance — which is something that all couples should set aside some time to do.
Maybe it’s a vacation. Maybe it’s a staycation. Or maybe it’s my personal favorite, A SEXCATION. Whether it’s for a few days, the weekend or even overnight — don’t you let the holidays go by without setting aside time for you and your man to celebrate one another. Don’t you dare (check out “Are You Ready To Have Some Very Merry 'Christmas Sex'?”).
GET. SOME. REST.
GiphyI once read that 8 out of 10 people get stressed out over the holidays and 3 out of 10 lose sleep during to it — and when you’re stress-filled and sleep-deprived, that can absolutely lead to hypersensitivity, making mountains out of molehills and even not being in the mood for sex.
Your relationship can’t afford to go through any of this, so definitely make sure to prioritize rest. I don’t care how unrealistic it might seem during this time, sleep should never be seen as a luxury; it will always and forever be a great necessity.
That said, try to get no less than six hours of shut-eye in (check out “6 Fascinating Ways Sex And Sleep Definitely Go Hand In Hand”) and even ask your bae to take a nap with you sometimes (check out “Wanna Have Some Next-Level Sex? Take A Nap, Sis.”). Not only will sleep help to restore your mind, body and spirit but, when it’s with your partner, it’s an act of intimacy that can make you both feel super connected, even in the midst of what might feel like chaos.
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Holiday season stress is real. Still, never give it the permission or power to throw your relationship off. Put you and your man first and let the holidays be what they are gonna be, chile.
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A musician by the name of Trent Reznor once said something that I absolutely couldn’t agree with more: “Balance is good, because one extreme or the other leads to misery, and I've spent a lot of my life at one of those extremes.” Boy oh boy will that preach because, if there is one thing that society — especially “social media society” — likes to do, it’s live in extremes.
Think about it. If you don’t want to have kids, here come folks telling you that you must have some suppressed childhood trauma. If you’re not interested in marriage, it’s gotta be because you hate men. If you don’t go to church, without question, you are low-key agnostic or an atheist. EXTREMES.
And honestly, the holiday season isn’t exempt from this. I know from personal experience because, as someone who hasn’t observed any for many years now (without one regret), you’d be amazed by all of the theories that I’ve heard as to why that is the case. SMDH.
Chile, you don’t have the time and I don’t have the space to get into all of that nonsense. For now, I just want to provide a silver lining from my having to endure other people’s yapping by letting those of you who may not be super enthusiastic about the holidays this year (or any year) either that there is nothing wrong with that — or with you.
I’ll break down why and how I’ve come to that conclusion.
Not Being “on-10” Doesn’t Make You a Grinch
GiphyHonestly, I have some pretty solid memories about Christmastime. Because my mother grew up with an alcoholic father (and supreme spiritual hypocrite), she was very emotionally tied to the holiday because it was the only time that she recalled having real peace in her home. And so, we did the Christmas thing, pretty much to the hilt — fresh Christmas trees, baking Christmas-themed desserts, watching holiday movies, going caroling, stringing popcorn…you name it.
It wasn’t until I became an adult and I started doing research on the origin stories of holidays (check out “The History of Christmas” if you don’t already know about it), in general, that I became more and more detached. Plus, as a seventh-day Sabbath observer (Exodus 20:8-11, Hebrews 4, Matthew 28:1) — every Friday sunset through Saturday sunset was like a holiday in certain ways to me, so I never really “lived” for traditional calendar ones.
That doesn’t mean that I am all "Bah humbug" to folks who are totally into the holiday, though. For instance, my godchildren’s father acts like Christmas is a drug for him and so anything Christmas-like that he can think of is his fix. And although the girls (6 and 14) know that I don’t observe, I am good for getting them a “cold weather present” usually around the time the temps drop (in October) instead of an actual Christmas gift. And although I usually pass on hanging out with folks on Christmas Day, I’ll help bake a cookie or two in the days leading up to it.
So yeah, the first thing that folks who are pretty “meh” about Christmas need to be reminded of is that doesn’t automatically or necessarily make you a Grinch. If you recall the Grinch’s story, he did have some trauma and so he took it out on Christmas. Meanwhile, most of us who can take or leave the holidays, we aren’t “mad”…we’re just…for the most part…disinterested. The rest of y’all “do you,” though. And we mean that sincerely.
Not Being Thrilled Doesn’t Mean That You’re Depressed Either
GiphyI’ve shared before that there is someone in my world who gets so excited about Christmas that I almost want to see if there is a disorder linked to it. LOL. I mean from the start of October on, you are going to hear about her Christmas plans, plus, you are going to start seeing holiday décor up in her house — and she’s always been that way.
Because she knows that “I’m good” on Christmas, there have been times when she’s asked me if it’s because my parents divorced when I was young or if it’s because my family lives overseas or if it’s because I am not married and never had children. Shellie, you’re way too excited for your birthday for you to just…not care about Christmas. I think you might be suppressing something.
Good lord, girl. LOL. I’m excited for birthdays because another year of life in my right mind is a blessing. Christmas, personally, doesn’t make a ton of sense to me (especially to be spending a lot of cents) and so, I’ll pass. It’s really not any deeper than that. Besides, it’s not like I’m sitting in the dark somewhere on Christmas Day rocking back and forth in a corner. If anything, I really appreciate how quiet the world seems to be (both online and off) while everyone else is doing their thing. THANK YOU.
So yeah, if Christmas — or the holiday season, period — doesn’t have you jumping up and down, don’t let other people’s enthusiasm gaslight you into thinking that you should see a therapist. That said, for the record, if someone has mentioned depression to you, here are some signs that mental health professionals say are associated with holiday-related depression:
- Feelings of hopelessness
- Trouble sleeping
- Anxiety
- Tension
- Internalized frustration
- Feeling lonely and isolated
- Not doing any of the things that you typically enjoy
Do you see not wanting to go to a holiday party, opting out of Christmas shopping with a bunch of friends or preferring to not have any Christmas decorations up in your house on the list? Yeah, me neither. Moral to the story: Please don’t let people get you down by trying to manipulate you into thinking that if you aren’t like them, something must be wrong with you. During the holiday seasons or otherwise, chile.
Use This Time (Unapologetically) for Yourself
GiphyRemember how I just said that one of the things I damn near adore about Christmas is, since everyone is focused on their own families, I can get some real quality time to myself? Although a lot of things are closed on Christmas Day, you can still order a favorite meal the day before, turn off your phone and sleep in on Christmas Day and, if you want to get out and about — I don’t know about y’all but one of my favorite things is to go to the movies alone and movie theaters are always open on Christmas.
You know, I’ve shared before that I once interviewed a Jewish woman who was married to a Christian man. Together, they observe Chrismukkah and there is something that she said about it that has always stayed with me (paraphrased): “I don’t believe in Christmas but anything that can bring peace, joy and goodwill to humanity, even for a day, that is something that I can get behind.” I agree. And sometimes, what we need to remind ourselves is we need to set aside time to bring peace, joy and goodwill to ourselves. Use the holiday season to do that, if nothing else. You won’t regret it.
Do Private Things More than Public Ones
GiphyEven beyond Christmas, specifically, what if the entire holiday season is something that you’re pretty ho-hum about because things like mall traffic, stressed out relatives and the busyness of it all aren’t your favorite things? My two cents would be to not put your head under the covers and just wait for January 2 to arrive. Instead, opt out of big celebrations and do “calmer and quieter” things with some of your favorite people.
Since pretty much from a couple of days before Christmas until kids go back to school, folks are not on their “usual schedule,” go to brunch with your favorite aunt (or uncle), host a sleepover with a couple of girlfriends and/or Zoom one of your buddies to create vision boards for the new year.
Listen, just because you may not be in the traditional holiday spirit, that doesn’t mean that you can’t take advantage of the time that it offers for you to do some quality things with people you care about. Just you and them. No one else.
Create Your Own Traditions
GiphyNot into the 12 Days of Christmas? Pamper yourself for the week leading into the New Year. Don’t want a Christmas tree? Have some roses or poinsettias sent to your house. Couldn’t care less about a ball dropping on New Year’s Eve? Rent out a huge Airbnb New Year’s Eve and enjoy a change of scenery.
Y’all, just because the holiday season comes with its own traditions, there is no written rule which says that you have to follow them — or that you can’t come up with some of your own. Hell, if you put enough thought into this tip, you might look up and realize that you absolutely adore this time of year — just for a totally different set of reasons than most. Beautiful.
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