Darrelyn Gunzburg
February 2006
The Heart of the Lion
The Royal Stars of Persia. The name alone opens doorways in our imagination which lead down corridors of palm trees, exotic perfumes in the air and silk dresses and shawls.
The Royal Stars of Persia refer to four particular stars – Antares, Aldebaran, Regulus and Fomalhaut – each one guarding one of the four compass points of the heavens. All four Royal Stars are connected with the supreme Persian deity Ahura Mazda, father of Spenta Mainyu, beneficent spirit, and Angra Mainyu, the destructor. Each star promises glory, achievement and success but each star only gives this glory if the dark destructor can be avoided.
Thus to have your chart connected in some way with a Royal Star means that there will always be this duality between light and destruction interwoven into your earthly journey. Thus great glory is promised to you but only if you can overcome the nemesis which can destroy. Last issue we considered Antares. In this issue of the VAN I am focusing on Regulus, the Watcher of the North.
Regulus as the natal Heliacal Rising or Setting Star
The Persians saw Regulus, known as the Heart of the Lion, and the alpha star of the constellation Leo, as the Watcher of the North and Brady (1999) links this star to the Persian stories of the mythological king Feridun who, it is told, once ruled the entire known world. Feridun came to adulthood by winning a great battle and claimed the throne of the kingdom for himself. He brought civilisation and laws to his people and the land benefited and prospered. Thus his reign was filled with success. As he moved into eldership, he gave much thought about how to pass on his lands and eventually decided to divide his flourishing kingdom into equal portions amongst his three sons. However, in their greed, his two eldest sons murdered their younger brother and seized his lands for themselves. Such a heartless, avaricious act shocked and grieved Feridun. He seethed with anger. He fumed with the desire for revenge. Once more he rode into battle, this time against his two sons. The war of revenge bought total decimation to the kingdom. All that Feridun had achieved turned to dust and the golden days of his rule abruptly came to an end.
The nemesis of Regulus is revenge and if Regulus connects into you chart by paran or as a helical rising or setting star, then you will gain great success in your chosen field. However, you will also be tempted in some manner shape or form at some stage of your life, to take revenge. If you choose to take this road, then like Feridun, all for which you have strived and all that has given you success turns to dust.
I used Starlight to scan my files for charts that contained Regulus as the heliacal setting star (see August, 2005 issue of this newsletter for more information concerning the heliacal rising and setting stars) and found the following names:
| Heliacal Setting: A strong belief in the correctness of one’s position, or path. The father of physics, Galileo Galileo. Political figure Mary Tudor was known as Bloody Mary for her persecution of Protestants. Sir Thomas More, author of Utpoia. Oliver Cromwell Osama Ben Laden alleged terrorist linked with 9/11. | Heliacal Rising A strong belief in the correctness of one’s position, or path. (only able to occur for people in the southern hemisphere) Dawn Fraser – Australian Olympic swimmer |
The heliacal rising star, as well as the heliacal setting star, are themes in the person’s life. They help to build the person’s philosophies and can at times, take on a vocational pulse. Regulus with its mythology and in this position, appears to compel a person to succeed, to shine, to move forward with their life. To have Regulus as one’s heliacal rising or setting star indicates that you will be strongly focused to aim high in your life but you must be open and alert to what could result from taking revenge [1].
In the example above, Australian Olympic swimmer Dawn Fraser, considered by some to be the greatest Australian Olympian ever, won four gold medals in three successive Olympic Games between 1956 and 1964 and was the first woman to swim the 100 metres in less than a minute. Here is Regulus, as her heliacal rising star, pushing her to gain the heights of success in her field of talent – swimming – and giving her the blaze of glory and success.
Being Regulus, however, she will be tempted to take revenge for an act of injustice or betrayal. At the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, Fraser was banned from competition for ten years for allegedly climbed a flagpole in Emperor Hirohito’s palace and taking the Olympic flag (this was later proved false). So here is Regulus giving her great success but also presenting her with an opportunity to take revenge. Instead Fraser retired from swimming and became a publican and a swimming coach. In 1988, she was presented with an Order of Australia (AO) and the government named her a National Living Treasure. At the Opening Ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympics, she was given the honour of being a torch-bearer.
Clearly such a story would not have had such a happy ending if she had taken her revenge against the Australian Swimming Union. She got on with her life and allowed time to unfold its truth for her without taking retaliation.
Regulus in paran with a planet
I also used Starlight to search for people who had Regulus in paran with a planet or luminary and found the following people.
Regulus in paran with the Sun
Regulus with the Sun:
“To receive honours and awards, provided one avoids matters of vengeance.”
| George Custer US military officer.George Stephenson, English engineer and principal inventor of the railroad locomotive.Marilyn Monroe, actress. | Aubrey Beardsley British illustrator.Leni Riefenstahl film maker famous for her documentary films of the Nazi movement. |
Regulus with the Moon:
“A natural leader, who leads by love and devotion, rather than by power and authority”
James Cook, explorer.Jules Verne, French author and one of the founders of modern science fiction. | George Eastman, manufacturer, introduced the first Kodak camera.H.G.Wells, English novelist, The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds. |
Regulus with the Mercury:
“Receiving recognition for noble ideas, provided one avoids intrigue”
| Raphael master painter and architect.Jonas Edward Salk, physician and medical researcher. | Hermann Rorschach psychiatrist.Alan Turing code breaker. |
Regulus with the Venus:
“A creative person who receives honours, or a diplomat”
| John Keats, poet.Ivan Pavlov, physiologist. | Raoul Wallenberg Swedish businessman and diplomat who rescued Hungarian Jews during World War II.Gerry Adams politician and President of Sinn Fein. |
Regulus with the Mars:
“Maintaining faith in one’s skills”
Osama Ben Laden alleged terrorist linked with 9/11 Mao Tse-Tung, statesman and leader. | Mary Baker Eddy founder of the Christian Science movement.Tom Stoppard, playwright. |
Regulus with the Jupiter:
“To be involved with those who hold high office”
| Albert Einstein, scientist.Voltaire French writer and philosopher. | Saint Bernadette Soubiros, known for the visions which led to the foundation of the shrine at Lourdes.A. A. Milne, humourist and children’s writer. |
Regulus with the Saturn:
“Seeing the big picture, but struggling to bring the vision to fruition”
| Vincent Van Gogh, painter.Maggie Thatcher, British Prime Minister. | Annie Oakley, markswoman |
One would have to look at each person’s chart in order to understand the nature of the theme being expressed by that planet / luminary and hence the way that the desire for revenge may have underwritten that theme. But this general look at Regulus, either as the heliacal rising or setting star or in connection with a planet / luminary in the charts of the well-known, gives us an indication of the nature of Regulus, the Royal Star, the Watcher of the North, that promises glory as long as one is strong enough not to take revenge when thwarted.
Most of the people above have been able to generate that integrity in their work, pushing into areas where their best talents lie and achieving success. We won’t necessarily be privy to the times when revenge is offered but one thing is for certain – they will have been there and caused a dilemma for each of these people in connection with the planet or luminary or angle with which Regulus makes contact.
For the Royal Stars concretize this duality between Spenta Mainyu and Angra Mainyu. In the case of Regulus, the shadow side embodied by Angra Mainyu, the destructor, takes the form of the desire for retribution. But as has been noted in the past: revenge is a dish best eaten cold, when the heat of the moment has cooled and the actions one wishes to take can be put into perspective and resisted.
With other Royal Stars the form is different and we will meet these in future editions of the VAN.
So if you have Regulus in paran with a planet in your chart, recognize it can give you glory, the glory metaphorically symbolized by rooms lined with porphyry, necklaces of lapis lazuli, bracelets of carnelian and rings of turquoise, a market place of magic carpets, tapestries and silks and the magnificent decorative reliefs, glinting mosaics and the rich gold work of ancient Persian architecture. But do not use the status that your talents and your successes give you to plan how you may bring your enemies low, for your nemesis is destructive revenge.
[1]Brady, Bernadette. (1999). Brady’s Book of Fixed Stars, Samuel Weiser Inc: York Beach, Maine.
Note: All the meanings of star and planet parans quoted are taken from Starlight Software. © Barnswood Ltd and Bernadette Brady.
