Merak
Beta Ursae Majoris · Ursa Major
Position (2026)
♌ 19°48' Leo
Magnitude
2.34
Planetary Nature
Mars (robson)
Robson: Mars. Ptolemy: stars in the body of the Great Bear have Mars nature.
Spectral Type
A1V
Appearance
A white star at the bottom of the Big Dipper's bowl, forming the lower Pointer star toward Polaris
Name Origin
Language
Arabic
Original Form
Al Maraqq
Meaning
The Flank, the Loins (of the Bear)
Beta Ursae Majoris. From the Arabic Al Maraqq, the flank or loins of the Bear. With Dubhe, forms the Pointer Stars directing the eye to Polaris. This practical use made the pair among the most important navigational stars in the northern hemisphere.
Known As
Merak in Astrology
Merak, the flank of the Great Bear in Ursa Major, carries Mars energy that bestows a sturdy, reliable fighting spirit and the capacity for sustained defensive action. It grants physical endurance and the instinct to protect your territory with fierce determination. You are a steadfast guardian who does not retreat.
Mythology & History
Merak takes its name from the Arabic al-Maraqq, meaning 'the loins' or 'the flank,' describing the position of this star on the belly of the Great Bear. Together with Dubhe, Merak forms the pointer pair that guides observers to Polaris. While Dubhe provides the direction, Merak provides the baseline from which to measure: the two stars together create the vector that points to true north. Merak's Mars nature gives it an assertive, propulsive quality, the driving force behind the pointer function.
Merak forms the lower of the two Pointer Stars with Dubhe, together providing the most widely used method for locating Polaris and true north in the night sky. This wayfinding technique has been taught to navigators, scouts, and travelers for centuries across every culture with access to the northern sky.
Ursa Major Context
Merak sits at the lower-right corner of the Big Dipper's bowl, paired with Dubhe above it as the pointer stars. In the bear mythology, Merak marks the bear's belly or flank, a vulnerable area contrasting with the strength of the back (Dubhe). The pointer function depends equally on both stars, and Merak's contribution is the foundation: it is the star from which the line begins. Its Mars nature propels the observer's gaze upward along the line toward the pole.
Learn more about Ursa Major and its stars.
Natal Conjunctions
Find your conjunctions →Merak Conjunct Sun
Merak conjunct the Sun produces a personality of sturdy, reliable fighting spirit and the capacity for sustaining foundational effort. You possess a grounding quality that supports others' more visible efforts, and your identity draws meaning from providing the propulsive force beneath larger enterprises.
Merak Conjunct Moon
Merak conjunct the Moon creates emotional instincts of sturdy, reliable support and foundational strength. Your feelings provide a stable, driving baseline that others depend on, and emotional security comes through knowing your foundational energy is needed and valued.
Merak Conjunct Mercury
Merak conjunct Mercury gives a mind of sturdy, practical directness and foundational analytical clarity. You think in terms of what supports and sustains rather than what dazzles, and communication carries the reliable quality of something solidly grounded.
Merak Conjunct Venus
Merak conjunct Venus brings grounded, sturdy beauty and foundational devotion to love and creative expression. You find beauty in what is solidly built and reliably sustaining, and relationships are valued for their foundational strength.
Merak Conjunct Mars
Merak conjunct Mars doubles the sturdy, propulsive fighting spirit into exceptional foundational physical force. You possess the driving energy that keeps enterprises moving forward and the stamina to sustain effort long after others have exhausted themselves.
Merak Conjunct Jupiter
Merak conjunct Jupiter expands foundational drive into broad, reliably sustaining leadership. You possess the propulsive energy to keep large enterprises moving and the grounding quality that prevents ambitious projects from losing their foundation.
Merak Conjunct Saturn
Merak conjunct Saturn deepens foundational reliability into permanent, structurally absolute support. You build the base upon which others construct, and your authority comes from the proven, decade-tested reliability of your sustaining work.
Merak Conjunct Uranus
Merak conjunct Uranus brings unexpected propulsive energy and surprising foundational innovations. You discover new ways to sustain and support enterprises that conventional approaches could not maintain.
Merak Conjunct Neptune
Merak conjunct Neptune infuses foundational drive with intuitive support and the capacity for sustaining efforts through feel rather than force alone. You sense where the foundation needs reinforcement before visible cracks appear.
Merak Conjunct Pluto
Merak conjunct Pluto transforms foundational support into the power to sustain enterprises through total, radical transformation. You provide the driving energy that keeps things moving when everything else is changing.
Merak Conjunct North Node
Merak conjunct the North Node orients destiny toward developing the sturdy, reliable driving force and foundational strength that sustain enterprises larger than yourself.
Merak Conjunct Ascendant
Merak on the Ascendant gives a sturdy, reliably grounded presence that communicates foundational strength. Others sense your propulsive, sustaining energy and are reassured by your solid, driving quality.
Merak Conjunct Midheaven
Merak on the Midheaven builds a career through reliable, foundational professional effort and the driving energy that sustains enterprises through difficult periods.
Paran Interpretations
Parans describe what happens when Merak and a planet simultaneously occupy the four angles (rising, culminating, setting, nadir) at a given location.
Merak in Paran with Sun
Rising
Merak rising with the Sun marks someone who enters life with sturdy, driving energy and natural foundational strength.
Culminating
Merak culminating with the Sun places reliable, propulsive effort at the peak of public career achievement.
Setting
Merak setting with the Sun suggests a legacy of foundational contributions and sustaining effort honored over time.
At the Nadir
Merak at the nadir with the Sun reveals deeply private reserves of driving foundational energy that power all outward effort.
Merak in Paran with Moon
Rising
Merak rising with the Moon instills early emotional sturdiness and reliable, foundational feeling.
Culminating
Merak culminating with the Moon brings sturdy emotional support to its most publicly visible and reassuring form.
Setting
Merak setting with the Moon indicates emotional foundational strength that grows more reliably sustaining with age.
At the Nadir
Merak at the nadir with the Moon conceals deep emotional driving force that operates as the hidden foundation of all feeling.
Merak in Paran with Mercury
Rising
Merak rising with Mercury bestows early practical directness and a talent for grounded, foundational communication.
Culminating
Merak culminating with Mercury elevates sturdy, reliably grounded thinking to professional distinction.
Setting
Merak setting with Mercury suggests a mind that grows more solidly foundational and practically effective with decades.
At the Nadir
Merak at the nadir with Mercury reveals hidden reserves of foundational analytical drive beneath practical communication.
Merak in Paran with Venus
Rising
Merak rising with Venus shapes early love with sturdy, grounded devotion and foundational beauty.
Culminating
Merak culminating with Venus brings recognition for beauty and devotion expressed with reliable, sustaining strength.
Setting
Merak setting with Venus suggests love that grows more foundationally strong and reliably sustaining with time.
At the Nadir
Merak at the nadir with Venus conceals a private, solidly grounded devotion that quietly sustains all creative life.
Merak in Paran with Mars
Rising
Merak rising with Mars produces exceptional early driving physical energy and foundational fighting spirit.
Culminating
Merak culminating with Mars places sturdy, propulsive competitive force at the absolute peak of achievement.
Setting
Merak setting with Mars indicates foundational fighting spirit that grows more reliably sustaining with experience.
At the Nadir
Merak at the nadir with Mars conceals extraordinary reserves of driving foundational energy deployed for sustained effort.
Merak in Paran with Jupiter
Rising
Merak rising with Jupiter expands early foundational drive into broad, reliably sustaining leadership.
Culminating
Merak culminating with Jupiter brings peak achievement through expansive, foundationally strong propulsive leadership.
Setting
Merak setting with Jupiter indicates growing foundational scope and expanding sustaining influence in later years.
At the Nadir
Merak at the nadir with Jupiter reveals vast inner driving energy and foundational philosophical strength that fuel all output.
Merak in Paran with Saturn
Rising
Merak rising with Saturn demands early discipline in developing the sturdy, reliably sustained foundational effort of maturity.
Culminating
Merak culminating with Saturn achieves the deepest authority through decades of reliably foundational professional work.
Setting
Merak setting with Saturn builds an enduring legacy of foundational contributions and sustaining effort across a lifetime.
At the Nadir
Merak at the nadir with Saturn establishes the deepest inner reserves of sturdy foundational discipline and driving persistence.
Merak in Paran with Ascendant
Rising
Merak rising with the Ascendant stamps the personality with sturdy, grounded presence and visible driving energy.
Culminating
Merak culminating with the Ascendant projects foundational strength and reliable propulsive force onto the broadest stage.
Setting
Merak setting with the Ascendant draws others who depend on your sturdy, reliably sustaining foundational presence.
At the Nadir
Merak at the nadir with the Ascendant grounds identity in deeply private reserves of driving foundational energy.
Merak in Paran with Midheaven
Rising
Merak rising with the Midheaven launches a career built on reliable foundational effort and sturdy driving energy.
Culminating
Merak culminating with the Midheaven represents peak career achievement through foundationally strong, sustaining professional work.
Setting
Merak setting with the Midheaven indicates a career legacy of reliable foundational contributions that endure.
At the Nadir
Merak at the nadir with the Midheaven builds career success on hidden foundations of sturdy driving effort.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the name Merak mean?
The name Merak comes from Arabic: Al Maraqq, meaning "The Flank, the Loins (of the Bear)." Beta Ursae Majoris. The star is known by 3 different cultural names across world traditions.
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