These are the global energies of a mercury in Leo or in 5th House that must be nuanced according to your chart, see the article Mercury in signs; see also the article on the general meaning of the planet Mercury.
You will also have to take into account whether the Sun is in this sign, in Cancer, or in Virgo.
The planet mercury can also indicate the type of Projection of mental qualities in the colors of the occupied sign.
Leo thinks with the heart
Mercury in this position makes people impressive, confident, dynamic, determined, and even authoritarian in some ways. People with this Mercury will have an extroverted, outgoing personality, and are not afraid to lay down the law or consider themselves to be intellectually superior. Their analysis of various situations is keen, and their ego is disproportionately large compared to when Mercury is in a more “neutral” position. Mercury in Leo unites intellect and heart, in a way such that the two can no longer be separated.
The people with this position in their chart have some amount of charisma and find themselves at ease when communicating, both in general, in any social setting and in the social theater. They are warm, generous, honorable, dignified, sincere, idealistic, and just. They have some degree of sophistication and nobility, but they can also be domineering, aggressive, eccentric, arrogant, boastful, pretentious, and manipulative. They always want to be right about everything as a result of their fierce pride, and they may be lacking in tolerance.
With a generally optimistic and enthusiastic mindset, they have a good “feel” for things : they know how to make connections and attract attention to themselves. They want to be admired by those around them for their ideas, their knowledge, and their work. In addition, they do not hesitate to communicate their thoughts to anyone who will listen. Their candidness is part of how they assert themselves, and they also have a superior ability to persuade others and are able to make very convincing arguments (which are also funny and ironic !). They are capable of easily establishing close, warm friendships with great levels of trust, which allows them to convince others of things simply with their presence (or their “aura”, we could say) without always needing rational proof. They are, as we might say, “good salespeople”. But I have to wish you good luck if you want to make them change their mind; they may not be as stubborn “Mercury in Taurus” people, but Leo is also a Fixed sign that can be obstinate.
Mercury in Leo people have the mindset of a leader. They like to be dominant and give the orders, and they like mapping out the key features of a project and then delegating tasks to their “subordinates” (who are also close friends and family in some cases). They simply do not take on the role of assistant, as this meticulous, detail-oriented part of the work often bores them. They prefer making “big plans” with a “big scope” which they enthusiastically put forth in “big speeches” (even if it means overselling themselves), and they are able to get a swarm of “assistants” to help them.
It’s more the creative, intellectual aspects of things that they find attractive and that allow them to express their individuality (they often have a great capacity for this). They very much do not like being “anonymous” and taking a back seat doing the “grunt work”, where they cannot, in their mind, express all of the strengths of their ego.
They are very playful and like to mess around, laugh, mock things, and play with words. Their only limit in this area is probably a lack of self-deprecation and perspective on themselves (especially if they are young); for example, they have trouble tolerating other people who mock them or their image too much. Their behavior may show them to be melodramatic, and they are grandiloquent, very talkative, and passionate. They are born actors, and in extreme cases they may lock themselves into a role and hold themselves to it even if it goes against the reality of their situation.
Beyond doubt, one of the best learning techniques for them is games ! Everything is about games.
For a child with Mercury in this position, it’s important to educate them using playfulness, challenges, riddles, activities, diversions, board games, or even role plays (they love acting). It’s necessary to pique their curiosity and at the same time fan the flames of competition and their desire to win (and incidentally encourage the part of them that is a sore loser ! 😉 ). Their tendency to dramatize things should be seen as a natural social advantage.
As adults they do not change much in this respect. Their games are just a bit more mature (or perhaps not even that has changed), but the fundamental, underlying mechanisms are the same, in professional and probably also romantic contexts : entertainment, challenges, playfulness, etc. They still like to tease.
The worst part is that this is all very contagious, so these people are able to influence the significant others of all of the other Signs with their attitude towards life, and it may be a never-ending cycle.
The need for creative self-expression is a dominant feature of a Mercury in Leo personality. In fact, these people function fundamentally “with their heart”, so it’s their heart rather than their head that dictates their words and their actions. This may often lead them to exaggerate, but it’s also what makes them charming.
Mercury retrograde in Leo
Retrograde motion in this sign tends to give Mercury some of Virgo’s energies : people become more introverted, less confident (and possibly shyer ?), more measured, meticulous, helpful, and more precise and hung up on controlling all aspects of their work (that is to say, they have more trouble delegating).
These people will have more trouble asserting themselves, but they will also be more tolerant and so what others think of them will be less important to them. Their warm nature is more hidden and internal, a bit like Pluto’s passions.
They will also probably be more anxious and much less superficial by nature than people with Mercury direct in Leo.
Their learning process may also be somewhat delayed, less spontaneous and direct, more tortuous and tending towards dreams, abstraction, and escapism, and more resistant to change.
Celebrities with Mercury in Leo
Robin Williams, Napoleon 1st, Nelson Mandela, Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Michael Jackson, Mick Jagger, Ben Affleck, Charlize Theron, Sylvester Stallone, Roger Federer, Mike Tyson, Ernest Hemingway, Fidel Castro, Benito Mussolini…