Regulus

Regulus occupies the heart of the Nemean Lion, whose coat resisted weapons until Hercules killed it with his arms. Its Mars and Jupiter nature joins command with generosity. The wish for distinction has responsibilities attached, and the tradition places public honor beside an uncertain hold on power. A later reading connects the star with Feridun, a king whose revenge on his sons ended his kingdom. Resentment can consume the attention that authority requires. Regulus also has a talismanic image of an honorable seated figure, intended to calm anger. Temperance belongs to this star as fully as the appetite to lead.

Regulus by birth year

On 1 January 2026, Regulus stood at ♍ 0°12′ Virgo in the tropical zodiac.

It entered Virgo in December 2011.

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.

From latitudes poleward of 78.2° S it never rises, and from latitudes poleward of 78.2° 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).

Command and rivalry at the Lion's heart

Hephaistio repeats the pairing as Ares and Zeus. The Anonymous of 379 describes people suited to command when Regulus rises or culminates, capable of administering cities and nations, yet contentious and uncertain of a good ending. He is describing someone with people to govern and opponents to contend with. In a natal chart, read both the authority you already exercise and your willingness to accept someone else's. ^{[4] [5]}

Robson's general description includes independence and generosity alongside destructiveness. His violent outcomes express the fatalism of his 1923 delineations; read the conflict against the whole chart rather than treating those outcomes as predictions. Brady places the danger in what you choose to do after succeeding. ^{[6] [7]}

Brady connects Regulus with the mythical king Feridun and returns to the pressure to succeed in her heliacal rising interpretation. ^[7] A lost position alone tells you little about a person's conduct. Watch for the point where winning a dispute starts to consume the time needed for the work that earned the position.

Bonatti's 145th consideration of Cor Leonis

Robson quotes Bonatti's 145th consideration under Regulus rising. Bonatti describes an exceptional rise from modest parentage when Cor Leonis is at the Ascendant or in the tenth, even without help from the benefics. His specified range extends one degree above the eastern line and three below it, with a comparable range in the tenth. Day births receive the stronger promise; benefics improve it and malefics diminish it. ^[6]

In Robson's quotation, Bonatti gives Regulus enough weight to describe advancement before the benefics contribute. He nevertheless ends with the possible loss of greatness. ^[6] With angular Regulus, compare your starting circumstances with the authority you have acquired, even if the rest of the chart seems unremarkable for status. Then look at who supports you in the position and how secure that support is.

Firmicus offers a related royal image in VI.2.2, where a waxing Moon at a bright fifth-degree Leo star on the Ascendant or Midheaven describes imperial power. He leaves the star unnamed; VIII.31.4 gives a different, second-degree Leo star. ^[8] The fifth-degree account is a possible Regulus comparison. Keep that uncertainty attached to Firmicus's unnamed star when comparing it with Robson's explicitly named Cor Leonis rule. ^[6]

Where Regulus seeks authority in the natal chart

On the Midheaven, Regulus concerns visible responsibility. Robson's public office and the Anonymous's administrators describe the wish to make consequential decisions. On the Ascendant, that appetite for command is closer to how you meet people and take the initiative. Robson adds favor from influential people to his rising description. ^{[5] [6]} Watch what you do with the first person who questions your authority. Their objection still needs an answer when you have the power to dismiss it. ^[7]

With the Sun, start with ambition and the wish to have influence. Robson puts authority and riches beside reversals in standing. ^[6] Much depends on how someone so invested in being respected responds when respect is withheld. Through Brady's approach, the point to watch is the urge to use an achieved position to settle an earlier slight. A constructive expression is to keep making decisions for the work itself, even when there is an opportunity to embarrass a rival. ^[7]

With the Moon, being supported matters personally. Robson's friends and enemies sit beside public prominence in the same sentence. ^[6] An ally's withdrawal leaves you exposed in a role where you expected their help. Read with Brady, the point to watch is your response to that disappointment. An ally who disagrees with you has given you a disagreement to address; turning it into a test of loyalty puts the whole alliance at risk. ^[7]

With Mercury, Robson describes honorable conduct and popularity, with generosity open to abuse by opponents. Brady's named example is Bob Hawke, whose Mercury she pairs with Regulus setting. ^{[6] [7]} A Mercury contact concerns speech and judgment, especially where public credibility is at stake. Answer the argument clearly. If you are still campaigning against the speaker after answering their objection, the quarrel has taken on a life beyond the original issue.

Robson's Mars emphasizes command and public prominence; his Jupiter favors high office, including military or religious settings. Venus has a more difficult list of disappointments and intense attachments. ^[6] With Mars or Jupiter, ambition needs work large enough to occupy it. With Venus, the wish for recognition enters the relationship, and affection becomes harder to receive when it must also confirm your importance. Robson gives Saturn scholarship and success in law or the Church, with support from friends. ^[6] Authority here is earned through sustained work within an institution. Augurine's calculator uses a 1°30′ conjunction orb for Regulus.

Rex, Regulus, and the Lion's Heart

Regulus means Little King, from the earlier Latin Rex; Allen credits Copernicus with the diminutive. The royal name has an older counterpart in Babylonian MUL.LUGAL, Šarru or King, identified as Regulus by Gerd Graßhoff. Allen also records Cor Leonis and Arabic forms of the Lion's Heart. ^{[1] [2]}

Allen identifies Leo with the Nemean Lion, as does Goold's editorial inventory in Manilius. ^{[1] [9]} Read the heart as the confidence to act at whatever level of responsibility you hold. Royal names alone promise no exceptional status.

Allen records a different scheme through Dupuis and Flammarion, with Venant and Regulus assigned south, and notes disagreement over the directions. The northern Watcher is Robson's version of the royal grouping. ^{[1] [6]}

Regulus in Virgo since December 2011

Regulus entered tropical Virgo in December 2011. Its 2026 position is 0°12′ Virgo, while Robson printed 28°43′ Leo for 1920. ^[6] A twentieth-century chart needs the Leo position for its birth year. For example, Regulus was at 29°42′ Leo in 1990 and 29°58′ Leo in 2010. Using a current Virgo degree for those births can change whether a close conjunction is found.

The Mars and Jupiter mixture still governs a Virgo conjunction. Ptolemy names the heart of the constellation Leo, and Hephaistio repeats that assignment. ^{[3] [4]} Virgo gives the tropical zodiacal address for recent births; the star is still at the Lion's heart. Read an early-Virgo planet in its natal house and condition, with Regulus's ambition and command alongside it.

The seated figure and Regulus's temperance

Robson's talismanic Regulus has a quieter purpose than his natal account of honors and reversals. He describes an image intended to encourage temperance and favor while soothing anger. ^[6] The figure is seated, with no contest underway. When anger consumes the attention needed for a position of responsibility, leave the quarrel alone long enough to resume the work. Name the decision waiting on your attention and deal with it before answering the provocation.

The Nemean Lion and Feridun's divided kingdom

The Nemean Lion laid waste to the countryside around Nemea. Hercules had to kill it as one of his labors, but its coat resisted sword and spear. He cornered the animal, wrapped his arms around its back and squeezed it to death. Brady tells this version of the encounter. ^[7]

Leo pictures the Nemean Lion, slain by Hercules and carried back to heaven with him. Allen gives the creature an earlier home on the Moon, before its life on earth. Regulus sits at this Lion's heart. ^{[1] [3]}

Brady connects Regulus with the mythical king Feridun. He had won his throne in battle and given laws to his people. In old age, he divided the lands among his three sons. The elder sons murdered their younger brother for his lands. Feridun took revenge on them, and the resulting battle ended his kingdom. ^[7]

How the authors read Regulus

Regulus Heliacal Rising

The heliacal question is separate from this star's zodiacal contact with your chart. To see whether Regulus was returning to dawn visibility near your birth date and location, use the Regulus heliacal rising scan. This page explains conjunctions, parans, mythology, and fixed-star meaning.

Paran Interpretations

Parans describe what happens when Regulus and a planet simultaneously occupy the four angles (rising, culminating, setting, nadir) at a given location.

Star Connections

Notable Charts

Sources

1. Richard Hinckley Allen, Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning, Dover Publications, Inc., 1899. Used for Rex and Lion's Heart names, the Nemean Lion and differing Watcher assignments.
2. Alan C. Bowen and Francesca Rochberg (editors), Hellenistic Astronomy: The Science in Its Contexts, Koninklijke Brill NV, 2020. Used for Gerd Graßhoff's identification of Babylonian MUL.LUGAL as Regulus.
3. Claudius Ptolemy, Tetrabiblos, translated by Frank Egleston Robbins, 1940. Used for the Mars and Jupiter nature of Leo's heart in Book 1.9.
4. Hephaistio of Thebes, Apotelesmatics, Book I, translated by Robert Schmidt, The Golden Hind Press, 1994. Used for the Ares and Zeus heart-star assignment in Book 1.3.
5. Anonymous of 379, The Treatise on the Bright Fixed Stars, translated by Robert Schmidt, The Golden Hind Press, 1993. Used for the rising and culminating Zeus and Ares group.
6. Vivian E. Robson, The Fixed Stars and Constellations in Astrology, American Federation of Astrologers, Inc., 1923. Used for entry 86, Bonatti's 145th consideration, the 1920 longitude and the talismanic image.

   Text of the 1923 edition; the site quotes a 2017 reprint.

7. Bernadette Brady, Brady's Book of Fixed Stars, Samuel Weiser, Inc., 1998. Used for the Nemean Lion and Feridun stories, revenge and success, Bob Hawke's Mercury paired with Regulus setting, and heliacal rising.
8. Firmicus Maternus, Ancient Astrology: Theory and Practice, translated by Jean Rhys Bram, Noyes Press, 1975. Used for the unnamed Leo stars in VI.2.2 and VIII.31.4.
9. Marcus Manilius, Astronomica, translated by G. P. Goold, Harvard University Press and William Heinemann Ltd, 1977. Used for Goold's editorial identification of the Nemean Lion.