Phecda
Gamma Ursae Majoris · Ursa Major
Position (2026)
♍ 0°51' Virgo
Magnitude
2.41
Planetary Nature
Mars (robson)
Robson: Mars. Ptolemy gives stars in the loins of the Great Bear as Mars.
Spectral Type
A0V SB
Appearance
A white spectroscopic binary at the lower-left corner of the Big Dipper's bowl
Name Origin
Language
Arabic
Original Form
Al Fakhidh
Meaning
The Thigh (of the Bear)
Gamma Ursae Majoris. From the Arabic Al Fakhidh al-Dubb, the Thigh of the Bear. One of the four stars forming the bowl of the Big Dipper. Part of the Ursa Major Moving Group, a physical stellar association.
Known As
Phecda in Astrology
Phecda, in the thigh of the Great Bear, carries Mars energy that bestows a deep instinct for genuine connection and collective belonging. It grants you a steady, foundational strength oriented toward building and defending community rather than personal conquest. The Mars nature here is directed outward in service of the group, and you thrive when your energy sustains the bonds that hold people together.
Mythology & History
Phecda, also spelled Phad or Phekda, derives from the Arabic fakhidh al-dubb, meaning 'the thigh of the bear,' describing its anatomical position on Ursa Major. As one of the four stars forming the bowl of the Big Dipper, Phecda is part of the most recognized asterism in the northern sky. Unlike Alkaid and Dubhe, Phecda is a genuine member of the Ursa Major Moving Group, a physical association of stars traveling together through space, giving it an additional association with belonging to a genuine collective.
Ursa Major Context
Phecda marks the lower-left corner of the Big Dipper's bowl in Ursa Major. The Great Bear constellation has been recognized by cultures across the Northern Hemisphere for thousands of years: Native American traditions often see a bear, sometimes with hunters in pursuit represented by the handle stars. The bowl stars of the Dipper form the bear's body, with Phecda at the left haunch. Phecda's membership in the physical star cluster gives it an interesting astrological dimension: it is genuinely connected to its neighbors, not merely an optical alignment.
Learn more about Ursa Major and its stars.
Natal Conjunctions
Find your conjunctions →Phecda Conjunct Sun
Phecda conjunct the Sun produces a personality oriented toward genuine connection and collective belonging. You possess a deep instinct for community and the capacity for building groups where everyone feels they truly belong. Identity gains meaning through membership rather than isolation.
Phecda Conjunct Moon
Phecda conjunct the Moon creates emotional instincts of communal warmth and the need for genuine collective belonging. Your feelings orient naturally toward group harmony, and emotional security comes through being part of something larger than yourself.
Phecda Conjunct Mercury
Phecda conjunct Mercury gives a mind oriented toward collective communication and the facilitation of genuine group understanding. You think in terms of shared knowledge and possess a talent for helping groups arrive at mutual comprehension.
Phecda Conjunct Venus
Phecda conjunct Venus brings communal warmth and collective beauty to love and creative expression. You create most naturally as part of a group and are attracted to art and relationships that express genuine belonging.
Phecda Conjunct Mars
Phecda conjunct Mars channels assertive energy into the defense and strengthening of communal bonds. You fight for the group rather than for individual glory, and your courage expresses as the willingness to protect collective well-being.
Phecda Conjunct Jupiter
Phecda conjunct Jupiter expands communal instincts into broad, generously inclusive collective leadership. You build large communities of genuine belonging and possess the scope to maintain warmth across expanding social networks.
Phecda Conjunct Saturn
Phecda conjunct Saturn grounds communal belonging in structured, reliably sustained group commitments. You build lasting communal institutions and earn collective authority through decades of demonstrated commitment to shared purpose.
Phecda Conjunct Uranus
Phecda conjunct Uranus brings unexpected communal innovations and surprising forms of genuine collective connection. You discover new ways for people to belong that conventional social structures had not imagined.
Phecda Conjunct Neptune
Phecda conjunct Neptune infuses communal belonging with spiritual sensitivity and the capacity for transcendent group experience. You sense the deeper, sacred dimension of genuine community and create spaces where collective belonging approaches the mystical.
Phecda Conjunct Pluto
Phecda conjunct Pluto transforms communal belonging into profoundly powerful collective experience. Groups you participate in undergo fundamental transformation, and the bonds you create carry the intensity of shared initiation.
Phecda Conjunct North Node
Phecda conjunct the North Node orients destiny toward developing the capacity for genuine communal belonging and the skills to build groups where people truly connect.
Phecda Conjunct Ascendant
Phecda on the Ascendant gives a warm, communally oriented presence that makes others feel they belong. You project an inclusive quality that creates instant group cohesion wherever you go.
Phecda Conjunct Midheaven
Phecda on the Midheaven builds a career through community building and the creation of professional environments where genuine belonging drives collective achievement.
Paran Interpretations
Parans describe what happens when Phecda and a planet simultaneously occupy the four angles (rising, culminating, setting, nadir) at a given location.
Phecda in Paran with Sun
Rising
Phecda rising with the Sun marks someone who enters life with natural communal instincts and the gift for building belonging.
Culminating
Phecda culminating with the Sun places community building and collective leadership at the peak of public achievement.
Setting
Phecda setting with the Sun suggests a legacy of genuine communal connection and inclusive belonging honored over time.
At the Nadir
Phecda at the nadir with the Sun reveals a deeply private communal instinct that silently drives all outward social connection.
Phecda in Paran with Moon
Rising
Phecda rising with the Moon instills early emotional warmth and the instinct for creating genuine group belonging.
Culminating
Phecda culminating with the Moon brings communal emotional warmth to its most publicly visible and effective form.
Setting
Phecda setting with the Moon indicates communal emotional bonds that grow more deeply inclusive with life experience.
At the Nadir
Phecda at the nadir with the Moon conceals profound communal emotional warmth that operates as the hidden center of social life.
Phecda in Paran with Mercury
Rising
Phecda rising with Mercury bestows early communicative warmth and a talent for facilitating group understanding.
Culminating
Phecda culminating with Mercury elevates community-building communication to the highest professional distinction.
Setting
Phecda setting with Mercury suggests communication that grows more inclusively connecting with decades of communal practice.
At the Nadir
Phecda at the nadir with Mercury reveals hidden communal communicative warmth beneath individually visible conversation.
Phecda in Paran with Venus
Rising
Phecda rising with Venus shapes early love with communal warmth and the beauty of genuine collective belonging.
Culminating
Phecda culminating with Venus brings recognition for beauty and devotion expressed through communal creative achievement.
Setting
Phecda setting with Venus suggests love and creativity that grow more communally enriching with the passage of years.
At the Nadir
Phecda at the nadir with Venus conceals a private love of communal beauty and collective creative warmth.
Phecda in Paran with Mars
Rising
Phecda rising with Mars channels early energy into the spirited defense and strengthening of communal bonds.
Culminating
Phecda culminating with Mars places communally protective fighting spirit at the apex of collective achievement.
Setting
Phecda setting with Mars indicates communal fighting spirit that grows more effectively protective with maturity.
At the Nadir
Phecda at the nadir with Mars conceals reserves of communally protective energy that surface when group bonds are threatened.
Phecda in Paran with Jupiter
Rising
Phecda rising with Jupiter expands early communal instincts into broad, generously inclusive collective leadership.
Culminating
Phecda culminating with Jupiter brings peak achievement through expansive, warmly inclusive community building.
Setting
Phecda setting with Jupiter indicates growing communal scope and expanding inclusive influence in later years.
At the Nadir
Phecda at the nadir with Jupiter reveals vast inner communal warmth and inclusive philosophical vision that fuel all community work.
Phecda in Paran with Saturn
Rising
Phecda rising with Saturn demands early discipline in building structured, sustained communal commitments.
Culminating
Phecda culminating with Saturn achieves lasting communal authority through decades of demonstrated collective commitment.
Setting
Phecda setting with Saturn builds an enduring legacy of communal institutions and inclusive belonging across a lifetime.
At the Nadir
Phecda at the nadir with Saturn establishes inner reserves of disciplined communal commitment that sustain group building.
Phecda in Paran with Ascendant
Rising
Phecda rising with the Ascendant stamps the personality with warm, inclusively communal presence and visible belonging.
Culminating
Phecda culminating with the Ascendant projects communal warmth and inclusive belonging onto the broadest stage.
Setting
Phecda setting with the Ascendant draws others who sense your capacity for creating genuine group connection.
At the Nadir
Phecda at the nadir with the Ascendant grounds identity in deeply private communal warmth and belonging.
Phecda in Paran with Midheaven
Rising
Phecda rising with the Midheaven launches a career oriented toward community building and inclusive collective leadership.
Culminating
Phecda culminating with the Midheaven represents peak career achievement through genuine communal professional environments.
Setting
Phecda setting with the Midheaven indicates a career legacy of community building and inclusive belonging valued long after.
At the Nadir
Phecda at the nadir with the Midheaven builds career success on hidden foundations of communal commitment.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the name Phecda mean?
The name Phecda comes from Arabic: Al Fakhidh, meaning "The Thigh (of the Bear)." Gamma Ursae Majoris. The star is known by 3 different cultural names across world traditions.
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