Regulus
Royal StarAlpha Leonis · Leo
Position (2026)
♍ 0°12' Virgo
Magnitude
1.36
Planetary Nature
Mars / Jupiter (robson)
Alvidas: Sun / Uranus (Sun in good aspect to Uranus)
Spectral Type
B7V
Appearance
A blue-white multiple star on the heart of the Lion, the faintest of the first-magnitude stars and one of the four ancient Royal Stars
Behenian Correspondences
Gemstone
Granite, garnet
Plant
Mugwort
Read: The 15 Behenian Stars → background on Agrippa's list, the magical tradition, and how each star was historically used.
Name Origin
Language
Latin
Original Form
Rēgulus
Meaning
The Little King
Diminutive of Rex (king), bestowed by Copernicus. The Greeks called it Basiliskos (Βασιλίσκος), also meaning 'little king.' The Babylonians knew it as Sharru (the King). In Persia it was Venant, the Watcher of the North, one of the four Royal Stars. Ptolemy assigned it the nature of Mars and Jupiter. The older Latin name was Cor Leonis (Heart of the Lion).
Known As
Regulus in Astrology
Regulus, the Heart of the Lion, is the most royal of all fixed stars. It bestows ambition, authority, and the drive toward visible achievement. You are marked for leadership, fame, or positions of influence, though the price of Regulus is that success often comes with tests of integrity. The Mars-Jupiter nature grants both the courage to act and the vision to lead.
When Regulus Is Angular
Regulus carries additional weight when it falls on one of the chart angles, independent of any planet conjunction.
If Rising
Regulus rising confers an unmistakable aura of authority, ambition, and personal magnetism that draws the native toward positions of leadership and public visibility. Wealth and honor follow, but so do tests of character: this star demands absolute integrity, and any act of pettiness or vengeance can trigger a spectacular loss of everything it has granted. The native tends to attract both powerful allies and formidable enemies, with health vulnerabilities, especially fevers and acute conditions, requiring attention.
If Culminating
Regulus culminating at the Midheaven is among the most powerful placements for professional achievement, public office, and military distinction in all of stellar astrology. The native is virtually guaranteed significant recognition and authority, particularly when benefic planets join the configuration. Yet Regulus never forgets its warning: the crown can be lost as dramatically as it was won, and the height of power is precisely where the test of integrity becomes most severe.
Mythology & History
Known as Qalb al-Asad, the Heart of the Lion, Regulus was honored across cultures as the supreme star of kingship. The Babylonians called it Sharru, the King, and timed coronation rites to its heliacal rising. In Persia it was Venant, the Watcher of the North, a Royal Star presiding over the summer solstice. Every tradition that named this star warned that its gift of sovereignty demanded absolute integrity, and that those who ruled through vengeance would lose everything it had bestowed.
Regulus derives from the Latin for 'little king,' a diminutive bestowed by Copernicus. The Babylonians knew it as Sharru, the King, and the Greeks called it Basiliskos, also meaning kinglet. In ancient Persia it was Venant, the Watcher of the North, another of the four Royal Stars guarding the celestial quarters. Arab astronomers named it Qalb al-Asad, the Heart of the Lion. Ancient Chinese astronomy placed it as the Yellow Emperor Star, the celestial counterpart of imperial authority. Across nearly every ancient culture, Regulus was associated with sovereignty, divine right, and the power to rule.
Regulus was the most universally honored star of kingship in the ancient world. The Babylonians used its heliacal rising to time royal ceremonies and coronation rites. In Persian star religion, it marked the summer solstice and presided over the northern sky as a guardian of cosmic order. Ptolemy assigned it the nature of Mars and Jupiter, confirming its association with commanding authority backed by force. Medieval astrologers considered Regulus the single most powerful star for success, but warned that it demanded absolute integrity: any act of vengeance or pettiness could cause you to lose everything Regulus had granted.
Leo Context
Regulus sits at the heart of Leo the Lion, the constellation that Greeks associated with the Nemean Lion slain by Heracles as the first of his twelve labors. The lion's hide was impervious to weapons, and only the hero's supernatural strength could overcome it. This mythology imbues Leo with themes of invincibility, royal courage, and the demonstration of worthiness through supreme effort. Regulus, positioned at the lion's chest, represents the vital center of this regal power.
Learn more about Leo and its stars.
Natal Conjunctions
Find your conjunctions →Regulus Conjunct Sun
Regulus conjunct the Sun bestows natural authority and a powerful public identity. You are often drawn to positions of leadership and command respect effortlessly. There is a regal quality to the personality, though the lesson of Regulus, that power without humility leads to downfall, must be heeded.
Regulus Conjunct Moon
Regulus conjunct the Moon grants instinctive sovereignty, an emotional bearing so naturally commanding that others defer to your moods without being asked. Your nurturing style is regal rather than soft -- you protect those in your care with the fierce, dignified authority of a monarch guarding their household. Emotional reactions carry royal weight, and when you are wounded, the response is not retreat but a proud, leonine reassertion of your right to be honored.
Regulus Conjunct Mercury
Regulus conjunct Mercury confers a commanding intellect and the ability to speak with authority. The mind gravitates toward leadership positions and strategic thinking. Communication carries weight, and you are often sought out for counsel on matters of importance.
Regulus Conjunct Venus
Regulus conjunct Venus attracts wealth, grandeur, and partners of influence, but carries the Lion's warning: relationships built on status rather than authentic love are the surest path to the fall from grace. You must distinguish between genuinely valuing beauty and using glamour as a throne. When you love for power's sake, Regulus withdraws its gifts; when you love with the generosity of a true sovereign, your partnerships become your greatest source of lasting strength.
Regulus Conjunct Mars
Regulus conjunct Mars produces a formidable leader with both the courage to act and the ambition to conquer. Military or competitive prowess is enhanced, and you thrive in arenas requiring decisive authority. The challenge is tempering ruthlessness with nobility.
Regulus Conjunct Jupiter
Regulus conjunct Jupiter amplifies fortune, generosity, and the capacity for wise rule. You are drawn to philosophy, law, or governance and often achieve positions of broad influence. Success comes through combining vision with magnanimity.
Regulus Conjunct Saturn
Regulus conjunct Saturn tests the relationship between power and responsibility. Authority is earned slowly through disciplined effort, and you must demonstrate that you can bear the weight of leadership without crumbling. Enduring success requires humility before the demands of duty.
Regulus Conjunct Uranus
Regulus conjunct Uranus channels royal ambition into revolutionary or unconventional arenas. You lead through innovation rather than tradition and often disrupt established hierarchies to create new power structures. Fame comes through originality.
Regulus Conjunct Neptune
Regulus conjunct Neptune creates a profound tension between the sovereign self and the dissolved self. Neptune wants to erase all boundaries and merge with the infinite; Regulus demands you sit visibly on your throne. You are pulled between ego-transcendence and the need for individual recognition, and your authority, when you find it, operates through inspiration, art, or spiritual vision rather than force. The danger is mistaking delusions of grandeur for genuine mystical insight, or losing your royal identity in a fog of escapism.
Regulus Conjunct Pluto
Regulus conjunct Pluto intensifies the drive for power to a transformative degree. You confront the shadow side of authority and undergo profound metamorphosis through your relationship with dominance and control. True power emerges only through surrender of ego.
Regulus Conjunct North Node
Regulus conjunct the North Node destines you for visible leadership and public prominence. The soul's evolution requires learning to wield authority with grace, using power to elevate rather than dominate.
Regulus Conjunct Ascendant
Regulus on the Ascendant bestows a magnetic, commanding presence that others instinctively defer to. You carry yourself with dignity and project an aura of natural authority. Life demands visible engagement with themes of power and leadership.
Regulus Conjunct Midheaven
Regulus on the Midheaven marks a career trajectory aimed at the highest levels of achievement and public recognition. Professional success is powerfully indicated, though maintaining it requires the Regulus test: power held with integrity endures, power corrupted by arrogance falls.
Paran Interpretations
Parans describe what happens when Regulus and a planet simultaneously occupy the four angles (rising, culminating, setting, nadir) at a given location.
Regulus in Paran with Sun
Rising
Regulus rising with the Sun marks a life destined for visibility and public recognition from an early age.
Culminating
Regulus culminating with the Sun indicates peak public achievement and a career defined by authority.
Setting
Regulus setting with the Sun suggests recognition that arrives late or a legacy that outlasts you.
At the Nadir
Regulus at the nadir with the Sun points to private ambition and hidden sources of personal power.
Regulus in Paran with Moon
Rising
Regulus rising with the Moon awakens ambitious instincts early, with emotional drives oriented toward achievement and status.
Culminating
Regulus culminating with the Moon brings emotional fulfillment through public recognition and positions of care-taking authority.
Setting
Regulus setting with the Moon indicates that emotional maturity and inner authority crystallize in the latter half of life.
At the Nadir
Regulus at the nadir with the Moon reveals a deeply ambitious emotional core hidden beneath an outwardly modest presentation.
Regulus in Paran with Mercury
Rising
Regulus rising with Mercury bestows early intellectual authority and a commanding voice that others listen to from youth.
Culminating
Regulus culminating with Mercury places intellectual leadership at the career apex, often in advisory or strategic roles.
Setting
Regulus setting with Mercury indicates growing wisdom and communicative authority that deepens through life experience.
At the Nadir
Regulus at the nadir with Mercury conceals a strategically brilliant mind that operates best from behind the scenes.
Regulus in Paran with Venus
Rising
Regulus rising with Venus attracts wealth and beauty early, with a natural magnetism that opens doors of privilege.
Culminating
Regulus culminating with Venus achieves peak recognition through artistic expression, luxury, or social grace.
Setting
Regulus setting with Venus brings enduring partnerships with powerful individuals and aesthetic refinement that matures over time.
At the Nadir
Regulus at the nadir with Venus conceals deep appreciation for beauty and luxury beneath a dignified exterior.
Regulus in Paran with Mars
Rising
Regulus rising with Mars launches a life of decisive action and competitive dominance from the earliest years.
Culminating
Regulus culminating with Mars places martial achievement at the career peak, excelling in leadership under pressure.
Setting
Regulus setting with Mars indicates battles won in later life and courage that strengthens with accumulated experience.
At the Nadir
Regulus at the nadir with Mars conceals tremendous reserves of willpower and competitive drive beneath a composed surface.
Regulus in Paran with Jupiter
Rising
Regulus rising with Jupiter bestows exceptional fortune and expansive vision from the beginning of life.
Culminating
Regulus culminating with Jupiter represents the peak of wise authority, achieving the highest positions through generosity and vision.
Setting
Regulus setting with Jupiter indicates philosophical depth and broad influence that expands in the mature years.
At the Nadir
Regulus at the nadir with Jupiter builds on a hidden foundation of vast inner faith and silent generosity.
Regulus in Paran with Saturn
Rising
Regulus rising with Saturn demands early discipline and responsibility as the price of future authority.
Culminating
Regulus culminating with Saturn achieves lasting authority through decades of patient, structured effort.
Setting
Regulus setting with Saturn builds a legacy of enduring institutional achievement recognized long after the work is done.
At the Nadir
Regulus at the nadir with Saturn constructs the deepest possible foundations of disciplined ambition beneath all public success.
Regulus in Paran with Ascendant
Rising
Regulus rising with the Ascendant stamps the entire life with royal bearing and natural command.
Culminating
Regulus culminating with the Ascendant projects personal authority onto the broadest possible stage.
Setting
Regulus setting with the Ascendant draws powerful allies and recognition from those who witness your character.
At the Nadir
Regulus at the nadir with the Ascendant grounds personal identity in deep, unshakable self-assurance.
Regulus in Paran with Midheaven
Rising
Regulus rising with the Midheaven launches a career destined for the highest levels of public visibility.
Culminating
Regulus culminating with the Midheaven is the signature of supreme career achievement and lasting fame.
Setting
Regulus setting with the Midheaven indicates a professional legacy that grows in stature after retirement.
At the Nadir
Regulus at the nadir with the Midheaven builds career success on foundations of private ambition and hidden preparation.
Star Connections
The Royal Star Resonance
Regulus and Aldebaran are both Royal Stars, and their combined activation in a chart amplifies themes of public authority and martial distinction. Together they confer commanding presence and high office, but also magnify the risk of catastrophic downfall if the native resorts to pettiness or vengeance.
The Scorpion's Warning
Regulus, when conjoined by Saturn or Mars while the Moon aligns with Antares or the Pleiades, activates one of the oldest compound conditions in astrology: the threat of blindness. The Lion's Heart, normally a star of supreme visibility and public prominence, paradoxically endangers the very faculty of sight when caught in this cross-pattern.
The Sisters and the Lion's Heart
Regulus's connection to the Pleiades echoes its link with Antares in the blindness compound. When Saturn or Mars conjoins Regulus while a luminary stands with the Pleiades, the Lion's Heart becomes paradoxically associated with the loss of sight. The star that confers supreme visibility warns that unchecked ambition may cost the native the very capacity to see clearly.
The Manger and the Throne
Regulus's compound condition with Praesepe reinforces the theme of endangered sight that runs through several of the Lion's Heart's cross-activations. When a malefic conjoins Regulus while the Moon stands with the celestial Manger, the king's star warns that power pursued without temperance may dim the very eyes that sought the throne.
Notable Charts
Donald Trump
Ascendant conjunct Regulus
Regulus rising gave an outsized public persona built on themes of kingship, dominance, and polarizing authority
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Regulus conjunct the Ascendant mean?
Regulus on the Ascendant marks a life defined by visibility and natural authority. You project a regal bearing and are often drawn to positions of power. This placement confers ambition, leadership ability, and public prominence, though Regulus demands that power be exercised with humility or risks reversal of fortune.
What zodiac degree is Regulus at in 2026?
Regulus is at approximately 0 degrees 17 minutes of Virgo in 2026, having precessed from 29 degrees Leo. Its ingress into Virgo around 2012 was considered symbolically significant, marking a shift from Leo's overt kingship themes toward Virgo's emphasis on service and discernment.
Why is Regulus called the Heart of the Lion?
Regulus marks the chest of the constellation Leo and has been associated with royal authority across nearly every ancient culture. The Babylonians called it Sharru (the King), the Greeks named it Basiliskos (the Little King), and the Persians designated it as Venant, one of the four Royal Watchers. Its Latin name Regulus, meaning 'little king,' was given by Copernicus.
What does the name Regulus mean?
The name Regulus comes from Latin: Rēgulus, meaning "The Little King." Diminutive of Rex (king), bestowed by Copernicus. The star is known by 8 different cultural names across world traditions.
Lunar Mansions
Regulus serves as the determinant star for these 2 lunar mansions across different traditions.
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