Yed Prior
Delta Ophiuchi · Ophiuchus
Position (2026)
♐ 2°40' Sagittarius
Magnitude
2.73
Planetary Nature
Saturn / Venus (robson)
Robson: Saturn and Venus. Delta Ophiuchi, the hand of the Serpent Bearer.
Spectral Type
M1III
Yed Prior in Astrology
Yed Prior, in the left hand of Ophiuchus the Serpent Bearer, carries Saturn-Venus energy that bestows a melancholic sensitivity and the capacity for handling powerful, sometimes dangerous forces with refined awareness. It grants the native a somber beauty of character and the willingness to engage with difficult material that others avoid.
Mythology & History
Yed Prior, or Delta Ophiuchi, takes its name from the Arabic yad, meaning 'hand,' combined with the Latin prior, meaning 'the preceding one,' as it rises before its companion Yed Posterior. The star marks the left hand of Ophiuchus, the Serpent Bearer, the hand that grasps the body of the snake. In traditional astrology, Yed Prior carries a Saturn-Venus nature associated with moral contamination, involvement with poisons or dubious substances, and the risks that come from handling dangerous things. However, this handling is purposeful: the serpent bearer controls the snake rather than being controlled by it.
Ophiuchus Context
Yed Prior sits in the left hand of Ophiuchus, the constellation identified with Asclepius, the greatest healer of Greek mythology. Ophiuchus stands with one foot on Scorpius, holding the serpent Serpens in both hands. This dramatic pose represents the mastery of death through the healing arts. Yed Prior in the grasping hand represents the point of contact between healer and danger, the moment where one must take hold of something harmful in order to transform it into something beneficial. The constellation's position straddling the ecliptic near Scorpius places it in a region of intense transformative energy.
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