Polaris
Alpha Ursae Minoris · Ursa Minor
Last updated
Position (2026)
♊ 28°56′ Gemini
Magnitude
1.97
Planetary Nature
Saturn / Venus (Robson)
Spectral Type
F7:Ib-IIv SB
Appearance
A yellow-white supergiant and Cepheid variable at the tip of the Little Bear's tail, currently marking the north celestial pole
Name Origin
Language
Latin
Original Form
Stella Polaris
Meaning
The Pole Star
Alpha Ursae Minoris. The modern name dates from the Renaissance, when precession had brought this star close to the celestial north pole. Allen records dozens of older names reflecting its navigational importance: the Anglo-Saxon Scip-steorra (Ship Star), the Greek Kynosoura (Dog's Tail, from the constellation), and the Arabic Al Qiblah (the Direction, toward which one turns). It was not always the pole star; Thuban (Alpha Draconis) held that role in Egyptian times.
Known As
Sailors found north by Polaris, the Steering Star at the Lesser Bear's tail. One story identifies the Bear with Cynosura, the Cretan nymph who reared the infant Jupiter. That nurse's sustained care carries into the star's reading, a mission of looking after others that later astrologers offer tentatively. The Saturn and Venus mixture of the old lists includes trouble and damaged standing, even difficulty attached to an inheritance. Dependability can become so much a part of identity that uncertainty feels like failure. Polaris concerns the strain of being relied upon, especially when the person giving direction also needs help.
Being the person others look to for direction is an uncomfortable position when you are unsure yourself. Robson describes trouble and damaged standing; Brady reports Ebertin's sense of guidance and tentatively proposes an emotional or nurturing mission of her own. [4] [5] With a close Polaris contact, look at how much room you have to admit uncertainty when others rely on you.
Robson gives Polaris Saturn and Venus, following the older assignment to the bright stars of Ursa Minor. [4] A reputation for dependability sometimes leaves you carrying more than you know how to manage. Being committed to someone else's welfare leaves open the possibility that you do not yet know what would help them.
Allen's steering-star names and Brady's nurturing mission put sustained care at the center of the interpretation. [1] [5] If the Sun or Moon makes a close contact, ask who helps you when you need direction. Habitually being the guide makes it harder to let someone else see that need.
Polaris by birth year
On 1 January 2026, Polaris stood at ♊ 28°56′ Gemini in the tropical zodiac.
It has been in Gemini since before the year 1000 and reaches Cancer in 2102.
Positions are for 1 January of each year; a star moves about 50 arcseconds a year, so a birth late in the decade sits close to the next row.
| Born in | Position |
|---|---|
| 1900 | ♊ 27°10′ Gemini |
| 1910 | ♊ 27°18′ Gemini |
| 1920 | ♊ 27°27′ Gemini |
| 1930 | ♊ 27°35′ Gemini |
| 1940 | ♊ 27°44′ Gemini |
| 1950 | ♊ 27°52′ Gemini |
| 1960 | ♊ 28°00′ Gemini |
| 1970 | ♊ 28°09′ Gemini |
| 1980 | ♊ 28°17′ Gemini |
| 1990 | ♊ 28°26′ Gemini |
| 2000 | ♊ 28°34′ Gemini |
| 2010 | ♊ 28°43′ Gemini |
| 2020 | ♊ 28°51′ Gemini |
| 2030 | ♊ 29°00′ Gemini |
From latitudes poleward of 0.6° S it never rises, and from latitudes poleward of 0.6° N it never sets (geometric horizon, refraction ignored).
Computed by the Augurine engine on the apparent equinox of date from HYG coordinates with proper motion applied (engine build 1c1cc33).
Polaris as Steering Star and the pursued goat
Allen records the Anglo-Saxon Scip-steorra, or Ship Star, and the Steering Star of early English navigators. He also gives the Latin Navigatoria. In his Arabic account, Al Kiblah helps travelers find compass directions and the direction of Mecca. [1] People used the visible star to find their way. In a natal reading, ask who looks to you for guidance and whether you know enough about their situation to give it.
Allen's Polaris also has a less reassuring role. Under the name Al Jadi, the Young He Goat, it is the killer of the dead man carried on the Great Bear's bier. The mourning children circle it in pursuit. [1] Polaris is the object of their grievance. If you find yourself at the center of a recurring dispute, establish how you became involved and what the others want from you.
Cynosura began as a name for the whole Lesser Bear, according to Allen, and was later restricted to Polaris. He records Dog's Tail as the usual translation while doubting its origin. Robson gives two stories for Ursa Minor, Arcas or the Cretan nymph Cynosura who reared Jupiter; Allen places Arcas in Boötes. [1] [4] Cynosura's nursing and Brady's proposed nurturing mission both concern sustained care. [5] Taking someone under your protection commits you beyond the moment when help is first needed.
The people who rely on your Polaris Sun or Moon
Influence. Of the nature of Saturn and Venus. It causes much sickness, trouble, loss of fortune, disgrace and great affliction, and may give legacies and inheritances attended by much evil.
Even the inheritance in Robson's general list comes with difficulty. His Saturn/Venus label develops Ptolemy's assignment of Saturn with a smaller share of Venus to the bright stars of the Lesser Bear; Hephaistio repeats that weighting. [4] [2] [3] Treat Robson's literal dangers as historical predictions and weigh his account against the whole chart. In a natal consultation, examine the obligations that accompany an apparent benefit. An inheritance leaves responsibilities as well as something received.
With Sun. Many troubles and evils.
With Polaris conjunct your Sun, being reliable easily becomes a measure of personal worth. Then uncertainty feels like failure, even when the role genuinely exceeds what you know. Brady reports Ebertin's guidance reading and Rigor's pioneering interpretation alongside her own proposed nurturing mission. [5] Ask what your chosen role requires and where your responsibility ends. Admitting that you need advice gives the people depending on you a clearer account of what you have to offer.
With Moon. Hatred of the vulgar, ill-will of women and danger from thieves.
With the Moon, trust becomes personal. Robson describes social hostility. [4] Examine the feeling that others might take advantage of you without treating his prejudice about women as a description of the people in your life. In Brady's nurturing reading, care becomes complicated when you expect the other person to keep needing you. [5] Accepting help asks you to give up being the one who always knows what to do.
Robson's individual combinations stop at the Sun and Moon. [4] Extending guidance to a Midheaven longitude contact puts the emphasis on public responsibility. Others know you as someone who gives direction, even while you are privately unsure what to advise. At the Ascendant, a self-possessed manner risks hiding the need for assistance. Let others know when you are uncertain instead of maintaining the impression that you have already decided.
Polaris is about 66° north of the ecliptic, so those angle contacts are zodiacal projections. Augurine's calculator uses a conjunction orb of 22′30″. Brady finds no way to use Polaris in her visual-paran method, and the Anonymous of 379 gives it no individual reading. Robert Hand's introduction to the Anonymous discusses the disagreement over projecting distant stars into the zodiac. [5] [6] Give these projected contacts modest weight and check them against the rest of the chart.
Polaris in Robson's tenth magical entry
Rules. Lodestone, succory, mugwort, periwinkle flowers, and the tooth of a wolf.
Image. A pensive man, a bull, or a calf. It protects against spells and renders the wearer secure in travel.
Robson names Polaris in item 10 of Magical Influences of Fixed Stars, with lodestone and succory among its correspondences. [4] Augurine's catalog badges Alkaid, at the Great Bear's tail, and gives it lodestone and chicory. The site's Behenian badge follows the Great Bear reading, so Polaris has no badge here despite being the star Robson names.
Robson's protective image and his difficult natal interpretation concern different practices. The wearer seeks security during travel through an image made for that purpose; the natal Sun and Moon paragraphs describe a birth chart. [4] A protective image gives no basis for promising safe travel from a natal conjunction.
Allen describes people finding direction from the star, while Robson describes protection sought through its image. [1] [4] Both accounts concern security away from familiar surroundings. Keep the navigational use distinct from the magical instruction when explaining the travel correspondence.
The changing pole and Polaris's January 2102 ingress
The North Star's apparent steadiness needs a timescale. Robson describes the pole moving among the stars over about 26,000 years, and Allen explains why an ancient reference to a pole star might name a different star from Polaris. [4] [1] In a natal reading, dependability has a context too. Knowing how to guide someone in one situation does not oblige you to direct them in every situation.
Polaris, Alpha Ursae Minoris, sits in the Lesser Bear's tail. [4] It is at 28°56′ Gemini in 2026 and reaches tropical Cancer in January 2102. Robson printed 27°27′ Gemini in 1920. [4] Use the degree for the birth date. Brady proposed her nurturing interpretation while writing about a Gemini degree; it comes from her account of Polaris rather than its future tropical sign. [5]
Polaris, Cynosura's care, and the Ship Star
According to some accounts this constellation represents Arcas, son of Callisto and Jupiter (see BOOTES and URSA MAJOR). Other writers state that it is meant to represent Cynosura, one of the Nymphs of Crete who reared the infant Jupiter; the other, Helice, being Ursa Major.
Arcas was about to kill his own mother without recognizing her after her transformation. Jove transferred his son to the sky. Allen identifies Arcas with Boötes and rejects his identification with the Lesser Bear. Cynosura named the whole Lesser Bear before later writers restricted it to Polaris. [1]
At the Lesser Bear's tail, Polaris is the Young He Goat of the Arabian tale. He killed the man on the Great Bear's bier, and the dead man's children circle him in pursuit. Mizar holds her infant Alcor as the family seeks revenge. Allen tells this story under the goat's name, Al Jadi. [4] [1]
Sailors also looked to Polaris to find their way. The Anglo-Saxon Scip-steorra was the Ship Star, and early English navigators called it the Steering Star. Allen preserves their dependence on its light in a line about knowing north only when the Pole Star shone. [1]
How the authors read Polaris
| Source | Nature | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Ptolemy | Saturn, with a lesser share of Venus | Tetrabiblos Book 1, section 9 gives this weighted mixture to the bright stars of Ursa Minor. [2] |
| Hephaistio | Kronos, somewhat Aphrodite | Apotelesmatics Book 1, section 4 repeats the Lesser Bear's nature with the Greek planet names. [3] |
| Robson | Saturn/Venus | His Polaris entry is adverse, including its Sun and Moon combinations; his magical image seeks protection during travel. [4] |
| Brady | no planetary mixture given | She tentatively reads an emotional or nurturing mission, while finding no way to use Polaris in visual parans. [5] |
Natal Conjunctions
Find your conjunctions →Polaris Conjunct Sun
Others may expect certainty that you do not feel when they turn to you for direction. Robson's Sun entry describes trouble in severe but very general terms; Brady tentatively proposes a nurturing mission for Polaris. Together, these readings concern the strain of a role you have made central to your identity. Notice how much you are expected to know before offering guidance. Reliability can include asking for time or assistance when the situation exceeds your experience.
Polaris Conjunct Moon
The wish to care for someone sits beside a concern about being used in this reading. Robson's Moon list concerns social hostility and fear of theft; its prejudice about women adds nothing useful to the reading. Brady's tentative nurturing mission gives a better way to examine the emotional exchange. You may give support while quietly expecting continued dependence in return. Look at whether help can move in both directions, with enough trust to receive care yourself.
Polaris Conjunct Mercury
When people assume you know the way forward, an opinion can acquire more authority than you intended. Brady reports Ebertin's guidance reading for Polaris; applying it to Mercury concerns how you communicate what you know and where your understanding stops. You may feel pressure to maintain an answer after the circumstances change. A revised explanation can still be dependable. Say what prompted the revision so that others can assess the advice for their own situation.
Polaris Conjunct Venus
Duty and affection need to be considered together, especially when responsibility becomes the measure of devotion. Ptolemy gives the bright stars of Ursa Minor Saturn with a smaller share of Venus, the mixture behind this reading of care under constraint. A relationship may need more explicit agreement about what each person can give. Notice whether enjoyment has become difficult to justify beside duty. When a commitment asks for sustained practical support, shared pleasure is easily postponed until there is time left over.
Polaris Conjunct Mars
Other people have organised their plans around your position, so changing it might feel like letting them down. Robson's difficult Saturn and Venus reading gives this application to Mars a concern with the cost of continued effort. You may persist through opposition long after a different approach becomes possible. Examine what the commitment requires before treating any change as desertion. Effective action can include revising the plan while keeping the people affected informed.
Polaris Conjunct Jupiter
Look closely at the obligations accompanying an apparent benefit. Robson specifically describes troublesome legacies and inheritances in his general Polaris reading. Applied to Jupiter, that suggests examining what accompanies an opportunity before enlarging your commitments. You may be able to help more people yet have less freedom over your own time. A generous undertaking needs sufficient support and a clear account of the obligations you are accepting.
Polaris Conjunct Saturn
Continued responsibility is the central concern here, including the expectation that you remain available through uncertainty. Hephaistio assigns the Lesser Bear Saturn with some Venus; Robson develops a severe reading of difficulty from that mixture. With Saturn, examine the arrangement that makes you continually responsible for someone else's security. The work may be worthwhile and still require a different division of duties. A reliable commitment needs periods when another person can take charge.
Polaris Conjunct Uranus
A revised direction tests the expectations of people who have organised their plans around your position. Brady reports Rigor's pioneering reading of Polaris, which gives this application to Uranus a useful starting point. Trying a different course may be necessary, but others may need an explanation before they can change their own plans. Distinguish what has changed in the situation from what has changed in your preference. A considered departure lets people decide how their own plans need to respond.
Polaris Conjunct Neptune
Faced with someone else's distress, you might promise help before you know what fulfilling that promise involves. Brady's tentative nurturing mission supports this reading of Neptune through devotion and uncertainty. You may recognise the need for care while having little idea what form would help. An explicit request tells you what the person needs from your compassion. Agreeing to one manageable act of support can be more sustaining than accepting an undefined role in another person's life.
Polaris Conjunct Pluto
Who gets to decide is central when others believe they cannot manage without your direction. The responsibility reading turns here toward who gets to revise an arrangement and what happens when someone wants to leave it. You may fear that releasing your role would expose everyone to difficulty. Examine how that fear affects the choices available to the people concerned. Shared access to decisions can reduce the strain of being indispensable.
Polaris Conjunct North Node
Choosing a role that others depend on may repeatedly raise the question of your own support. This application to the Node concerns the commitments through which you develop a sense of direction. A position can look meaningful because someone needs it filled, even when its demands exceed what you can offer. Notice which affiliations allow you to learn as well as contribute. A commitment needs room for the questions you cannot yet answer and the support you need yourself.
Polaris Conjunct Ascendant
Meeting someone new with apparent self-possession gives them little reason to suspect that you need assistance. Brady's tentative nurturing reading gives this contact a concern with how readily you become the person others approach for support. A longitude conjunction to the Ascendant differs from Polaris's actual rising because the star lies so close to the north celestial pole. Give the projected contact modest weight, then examine whether your first response allows others to see when you need help.
Polaris Conjunct Midheaven
At work, you might be the person everyone consults, including when there is no certain answer. The guidance that Brady reports from Ebertin and her own tentative nurturing mission support this extension to the Midheaven. Your standing may depend on helping others decide what to do, with pressure to sound more certain than you feel. Knowing when to seek another opinion belongs to that professional responsibility. Colleagues can rely on a process that allows questions to remain open.
Paran Interpretations
Parans describe what happens when Polaris and a planet simultaneously occupy the four angles (rising, culminating, setting, nadir) at a given location.
Polaris in Paran with Sun
Rising
Brady finds no practical visual-paran method for Polaris. These cells apply her general angle logic. Being a guide early in life might make uncertainty hard to admit.
Culminating
People look to you for direction at the height of public responsibility. The strain depends on whether support matches what the role expects of you.
Setting
A close partnership gives responsibility room to move in both directions as later life changes who seeks your guidance.
At the Nadir
Being dependable might still define how you see yourself away from an audience. Private reflection includes the times you needed direction.
Polaris in Paran with Moon
Rising
When you learn early to expect care to be misused, a present request needs reassurance before you can hear it on its own terms.
Culminating
Family care rests heavily on you in middle life, and others see the work involved. That responsibility becomes demanding when your own help is limited.
Setting
Receiving assistance can become a sensitive issue in later relationships. Familiarity offers a chance to accept care without treating dependence as failure.
At the Nadir
An unequal exchange of care might leave resentment unspoken at home. Naming the unmet need gives both people something specific to address.
Polaris in Paran with Mercury
Rising
Asked for answers early, you might learn to sound certain before you feel it. Learning to advise includes acknowledging what remains unclear.
Culminating
More people act on your advice during your most visible working years. Explaining your reasoning lets them assess its fit for their circumstances.
Setting
Experience may attract requests for guidance later in life. A longstanding conversation needs room for your answer to change as you learn.
At the Nadir
A question you keep to yourself might occupy considerable private thought. A trusted conversation could change the advice you are preparing to give.
Polaris in Paran with Venus
Rising
Helping someone early in life might become your way of showing affection. Ordinary enjoyment gives closeness room beyond the care you provide.
Culminating
Social commitments take time from close relationships during a period of public visibility. The pressure appears in how little attention remains for a partner.
Setting
Duty and pleasure need a fresh balance within an enduring partnership as you grow older. Companionship includes receiving the attention you usually give.
At the Nadir
Quiet devotion can sustain a household yet remain difficult to discuss. Expressing appreciation openly helps care feel reciprocal in private life.
Polaris in Paran with Mars
Rising
With others relying on you early, persisting might seem the only choice. Strain develops when the effort continues without enough support.
Culminating
Opposition tests sustained effort at the height of a demanding public role. Reassessing the plan matters before another round of resistance.
Setting
Partners may question a position you have defended for years. Later discussions can clarify which commitment still needs active support.
At the Nadir
Where duty leaves little private freedom, frustration has room to collect. Continued effort depends on regular periods away from responsibility.
Polaris in Paran with Jupiter
Rising
An opportunity accepted early includes responsibility for other people in this reading. Giving becomes difficult when you do not know how long the commitment lasts.
Culminating
As public influence widens, more people seek your guidance. Helping them depends on having enough assistance and knowing the limits of your remit.
Setting
An inheritance or mentoring role may warrant attention in later life, with its obligations affecting how much freedom you have to use the opportunity.
At the Nadir
What you arrange privately for another person's welfare shapes what you leave behind. Intended support needs terms its recipients can act on.
Polaris in Paran with Saturn
Rising
Before you feel ready, others might expect you to be reliable. Early responsibilities become more manageable with an experienced person available.
Culminating
Replacing you at work becomes difficult after long service. Relief during middle life depends on someone else being prepared to cover your duties.
Setting
A reduced role might be hard to accept after years of responsibility. Later life calls for dividing the duties that remain.
At the Nadir
Duty carried in private can become an organising habit, with rest remaining difficult even after another person has agreed to take responsibility.
Polaris in Paran with Ascendant
Rising
An appearance of self-possession receives early emphasis in the birth-angle reading. Letting others see uncertainty can make assistance available before expectations become fixed.
Culminating
A composed appearance attracts more public reliance as you mature. A visible request for help lets others reconsider how much they expect from you.
Setting
Those closest to you may learn to see beyond an apparently confident manner. Later intimacy can include allowing them to give direction occasionally.
At the Nadir
Competence can coexist with doubt, though you may need reassurance away from public expectations. A trusted household can make that admission ordinary.
Polaris in Paran with Midheaven
Rising
Responsibility enters your first public roles through the birth-angle emphasis. You learn to seek guidance while others begin to expect it from you.
Culminating
Others depend on your advice under uncertainty at the public height. A clear process gives them more to rely on than an appearance of certainty.
Setting
Stepping away from professional responsibility can alter longstanding relationships. Later recognition may concern the colleagues who learned to make decisions themselves.
At the Nadir
Behind a visible career are years of support received outside public view. A later account of the work can acknowledge that assistance.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Polaris conjunct the Sun mean?
With Polaris on your Sun, reliability risks becoming the measure of your worth. Brady's proposed emotional or nurturing mission puts care at the center of that responsibility. [5] Ask whether the role you have chosen allows you to admit uncertainty and receive support.
Is Polaris a malefic star?
Robson reads Polaris as adverse, with trouble and damaged standing in his general list. [4] Weigh those difficulties against the whole chart. Ask what obligations accompany the position you occupy, and whether others know when their expectations exceed what you are able to give.
What does Polaris on the Ascendant mean?
An Ascendant longitude conjunction points to a self-possessed manner that makes asking for help difficult. This extends guidance to the angle. Hand discusses the disputed use of stars far from the ecliptic, and Brady finds no use for Polaris in visual parans. [6] [5] Give the contact modest weight.
Why does Alkaid have the Behenian badge instead of Polaris?
Augurine's badge follows Alkaid at the Great Bear's tail and gives it lodestone and chicory. Robson's magical list names Polaris in item 10 and gives it lodestone and succory. [4] The catalog's Great Bear reading differs from Robson's identification.
Does Polaris protect travel in a natal chart?
The travel protection in Robson concerns a talismanic image and its wearer. His natal entry gives separate, adverse Sun and Moon readings. [4] Read the navigation history as an analogy for finding direction; the magical instructions concern an image made for travel.
What does the name Polaris mean?
The name Polaris comes from Latin: Stella Polaris, meaning "The Pole Star." Alpha Ursae Minoris. The star is known by 7 different cultural names across world traditions.
Sources
- Richard Hinckley Allen, Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning, Dover Publications, Inc., 1899. Used for Polaris names, navigation, the pursued goat, Cynosura, and changing pole-star identifications.
- Claudius Ptolemy, Tetrabiblos, translated by Frank Egleston Robbins, 1940. Used for the weighted Saturn and Venus nature of Ursa Minor in Book 1, section 9.
- Hephaistio of Thebes, Apotelesmatics, Book I, translated by Robert Schmidt, The Golden Hind Press, 1994. Used for the corresponding Kronos and Aphrodite nature in Book 1, section 4.
- Vivian E. Robson, The Fixed Stars and Constellations in Astrology, American Federation of Astrologers, Inc., 1923. Used for entry 76 and its 1920 longitude, Ursa Minor's legends, and Magical Influences of Fixed Stars, item 10.
Text of the 1923 edition; the site quotes a 2017 reprint.
- Bernadette Brady, Brady's Book of Fixed Stars, Samuel Weiser, Inc., 1998. Used for the nurturing mission, reported Ebertin and Rigor readings, and visual-paran limitation.
- Anonymous of 379, The Treatise on the Bright Fixed Stars, translated by Robert Schmidt, The Golden Hind Press, 1993. Used for Robert Hand's editorial discussion of stars far from the ecliptic and Polaris's absence from the roster.
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