Fixed Star Kochab

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Kochab at 13°19′ Leo has an orb of 2°10′
Fixed Star Polaris

Ursa Minor Constellation [Stellarium]

The Sun joins Kochab on August 6

Fixed star Kochab, Beta Ursae Minoris (β UMi), is a 2nd-magnitude single star on the front hip of the Little Bear, Ursa Minor Constellation.
      Magnitude 2.08, spectral type K4 III, color orange. [1]

β UMi is officially named Kochab.
      Applied to β UMi in Renaissance times and of uncertain derivation. It is probably from one of the names Alrucaba, Rucaba, etc., [“the knee (of the Greater Bear)”] that were first applied to θ UMa, then to α UMi, in medieval times. However, the name may also be from the Arabic word kaukab, or the Hebrew word kōkhābh, both meaning “star.” [2]

Kochab is a name that appeared at the end of the 16th century. This name does not come from the Arabic kaucab-al-Shemali, as Camille Flammarion, followed by Richard Hinckley Allen, believed, but it results from the convergence of two phenomena. The first is the alteration of the name given to α UMi, by transforming r into kRucaba > Kuca[b], again by shifting the name الركبة al-Rukba, “the Knee,” which corresponds, in the Greco-Arabic representation, that is, the one that Arab astronomers borrowed from the Greeks in the 9th century, to the star θ UMa. The second phenomenon is the influence, in the search for a Hebrew origin for this Arabic name, dear to Renaissance philologists, of kochab, a then common spelling of the transcription of the Hebrew כוכב kokab, “star.”
      Kochab forms with γ UMi (Pherkad) a small asterism called, in popular imagination, the Guards, or the Guardians of the Pole (north).
      In Mesopotamia, this star MAR.GÍD.DA.AN.NA = Eriqq samē, “The Celestial Chariot.” It is associated with the goddess Damkina, the equivalent of the Sumerian DAM.GAL.NUN.NA, literally “the Wife of the Great Prince,” or NINKI, “Lady Earth.” It appears in the Enūma Eliš, the Epic of Creation, compiled and arranged at the end of the 12th century BCE in Babylon, when Marduk, whom the Greeks saw as the equivalent of Zeus, gained preeminence over the other gods: “Marduk was born / Aea, his father, ‖ And gave birth to him / His mother, Damkina.” ENKI = Aea, is “the Lord of the Earth,” the god of the Earth and Waters, of Wisdom, of Fertility, the one who invented writing, the Guardian of Divine Laws, and the Creator of human beings. Damkina is the Mother Goddess, the mother of Marduk, who at that time became the principal god in Babylon, whom the Greeks would later recognize, and who, in Enūma Eliš, fathered Marduk with ENKI = Ea. The symbolic value given to this star is understandable, as its circular path at the summit of the celestial sphere allows it to dominate the latter. This star is the origin of the figure MAR.GÍD.DA.AN.NA = Eriqq samē, which the Greeks inherited under the name Άμαξα. We know from Diogenes Laertius that Callimachus of Cyrene (ca. 305- ca. 240) wrote about Thales of Miletus (ca. 625- 620- ca. 548-545): “It was he, it is said, who recognized ‘the constellation of the Chariot [ Άμαξα in the text] / on which the Phoenicians regulate their navigation.” [3]

β, 2, reddish. Kochab is from the Arabic title that it shared with α UMi, and it was perhaps this star that the Greek astronomers called Πόλος, “Pole,” for it was near the pole 1000 years before our era.
      Alrucaba, variously written, is also common to it and Polaris, as well as to its constellation, Smyth saying that this was the Alfonsine Reicchabba.
      Nā᾽ir al Farḳadāin and Anwār al Farḳadāin, “the Bright One,” and “the Lights,” “of the Two Calves,” were titles in the Desert for this star, from an early figure here, in the Fold, of these timid creatures keeping close to their mother. β was often designated by pre-Islamic poets as the faithful and, from its ever-visible position, the constant companion of the night traveler. Indeed, the Badāwiyy claimed that they had a perpetual treaty with Al Farḳad to this effect, and their poets made the Two Pherkads, β and γ Umi, symbols of constancy. Chilmead cited Alferkathan.
      α, β, γ¹, γ², δ, and ε UMi constituted the group Circitores, Saltatores, Ludentes, or Ludiones, “the Circlers, Leapers, or Dancers” around the early pole, well known from classical times to late astronomy. [4]

Chinese Astronomy

β UMi belongs to the Chinese asterism 北極 Běijí, “Northern Pole,” representing the Five Stars of the North Pole. It was traditionally named 北極二 Běijíèr, “2nd star of Northern Pole,” and 帝 , “The Emperor.” [5]

The Ziwei Enclosure

Ancient Chinese astronomers divided the sky into three enclosures and twenty-eight mansions to distinguish celestial phenomena. The Ziwei Enclosure is the central enclosure of the Three Enclosures, located in the northern sky and centered on the North Pole.
      The Ziwei Enclosure symbolizes the Heavenly Emperor’s residence and the emperor’s inner court. It was also called the Purple Palace Enclosure, the Central Palace, and the Ziwei Palace. Its stars were named after officials, forming a court astronomical model centered on the Emperor.
      The Ziwei Enclosure was closely tied to imperial politics and formed the core of the court’s astronomical system. Observations of meteors and celestial anomalies in this celestial region were used to divine matters concerning the imperial family. It was believed that changes in the stars in this region foreshadowed the emperor’s inner palace. The appearance of a shooting star indicated a loss in the inner palace, and unusual celestial phenomena indicated unrest there.
      The Ziwei Enclosure is north of the Big Dipper, arranged in a ring on the left and right, symbolizing protection and support. [6]

Nort Pole Asterism

Běijí Asterism, Nothern Pole

Běijí Asterism

Běijí, “Northern Pole,” is the first and central asterism of the Ziwei Enclosure. The five stars of the North Pole from the constellations Ursa Minor and Camelopardalis are:
      1.   γ UMi – Tài Zǐ, the Crown Prince.
      2.   β UMi – Dì, the Emperor.
      3.   5 UMi – Shù Zǐ, Son of Concubine.
      4.   4 UMi – Hòu Gōng, the Concubine.
      5.   HD112014 – Tiān Shū, the Celestial Pivot. [5]

The Ziwei Star

Of the five stars of the Běijí Asterism, the North Star Dì (Kochab) is the most revered, as it is the center of the heavens. Celestial bodies move endlessly, with the sun, moon, and stars illuminating each other, yet the North Star remains stationary.
      The North Star occupies a fixed position, and all the stars revolve around it. The North Star is at the center of the heavens. It governs the sun, representing the emperor, the seat of Taiyi (the supreme one), and is said to be the reddest and brightest star. [7]

Arc of Precession

Arc of Precession

The three Enclosures and twenty-eight Mansions of Chinese astronomy were developed in the mid-Shang dynasty, @1300 BC. The Pole Star at that time was β UMi (Kochab), and it was also the brightest of the Northern Pole stars, even brighter than Polaris. This is why β UMi was called the Ziwei Star and the Emperor Star.

2000*2050NameOrb
07♌3208♌14Asellus Borealis1°00′
08♌4309♌26Asellus Australis1°30′
13♌1914♌02Kochab2°10′
13♌3814♌21Acubens1°20′
15♌1215♌54Dubhe2°20′

Kochab Astrology

Fixed star Kochab has a spectral type of K4, indicating a planetary nature like that of Mars.

KOCHAB. β Ursae Minor.
      A giant orange star. Spectral class K4, in the small Bear. This star is 135 times the luminosity of the Sun.
      BASIC INFLUENCES:   This star imparts to its natives endless courage, martial gains, rashness, violence, a rise to authority, malicious mischief. This star in general, should be used with negative nativities. Use caution in delineation. [8]

Kochab, Beta Ursa Minoris
      Kochub, meaning in Arabic “Buck,” is in The Small Bear, or on the back of the Little Dipper. With an afflicted Sun, suicide is indicated. This star has not been researched much and, therefore, is only briefly mentioned here. [9]

The astrological natures of the stars are akin to those of the planets. They are given by Ptolemy in Tetrabiblos, albeit in a most cursory manner. He writes:
      “…the bright stars in the constellation of the Little Bear have a similar quality to that of Saturn, and to a lesser degree, to that of Venus.”
      Modern astrologers have taken this to mean that since Polaris (α UMi) is the brightest star of those in the Little Bear, it must therefore have the nature of both Saturn and Venus.
      To begin with, Ptolemy did not even consdier Polaris the brightest star in Ursa Minor, listing it as dimmer than both Kochab (β UMi) and Pherkad (γ UMi). The star closest to the north pole at the time Ptolemy wrote was Kochab, and Polaris was not even mentioned in the literature until after 500 A.D. Furthermore, reading classical astrology in context indicates that the classicists did not consdier the stars in general to have the natures of a multiude of planets individually. What Ptolemy meant is that in the constellation of Little Bear there are star with the nature of Saturn and that there are other stars of the nature of Venus. But Ptolemy mentions very few stars by name, and some of these do have mutiple natures. Hence the confusion that permeates modern astrology in this matter.
      In addition to assigning (erroneously) a dual nature of Saturn and Venus to Polaris, Robson (in Fixed Stars and Constellations in Astrology) also asserts that “the Arabs were of the opinion that the contemplation of Polaris cured ophthalmia.” He got this wrong, too, as it was the star Al-Kiblah (or Kochab) for which this power was asserted. [10]

Kochab, β U-Minoris, takes its name from the Arabic Al Kaukab, simply “The Star,” for beyond 1000 years ago it was more nearly our Pole Star than the one we use now. And the same name was used, only a little differently spelled, in Babylonian and other pre-Arabic tongues. The Earth’s tilt has been changing gradually ever since the Disaster, so our present Pole Star has only acquired its status (and name) by succession from a long lineage of polar indicators. Kochab is close in longitude to α Cancri, Acubens. It is noteworthy that the latter star has just the Saturn-Mercury simile that goes with a guiding quality, like the Saturn-venus of Polaris, so that, in the absence of attention from Ptolemy, Kochab can be given either of those ratings. Being in the (Leo)–Cancer region, it will often show in people a more reliable capacity for guiding than the less mature, Geminarian, Polaris. [11]

Constellation Ursa Minor

URSA MINOR. The Lesser Bear.
      Legend.   According to some accounts this constellation represents Arcas, son of Callisto and Jupiter (see BOÖTES 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.
      Influence.   According to Ptolemy the bright stars are like Saturn and in some degree like Venus. It is said to give indifference and improvidence of spirit, and to lead to many troubles. By the Kabalists it is associated with the Hebrew letter Tau and the 21st Tarot Trump “The Universe.” [12]

Astrologically both Bears were said to presage an evil influence. They are particularly injurious as regards to the affairs of nations and kings. [10]

Beta Ursae Minoris, Kochab

Beta Ursae Minoris, Kochab [SIMBAD]

Fixed Star Kochab Conjunctions

Ascendant conjunct Kochab: Wealth, power, courage, generosity, ingenuity, rise to authority, martial success, subject to cuts, wounds, accidents, sores and injuries to the face, pains in the head and fevers (Mars nature.) [12]

Neville Heath 0°02′, Carson Daly 0°08′, Giorgia Meloni 0°17′ (and Saturn),  Johnny Depp 0°20′, Alan Whicker 0°23′, Harper Beckham 0°24 (and Mercury)′, Vicki Morgan 0°24′, Marilyn 0°33′ (and Mars), Andy Kaufman 0°38′, Anthony Eden 0°38′, Holly Parker 0°39′ (and Venus, Mars, Jupiter), Alice A. Bailey 0°39′, Augusta Foss Heindel 0°47′, Daniel Gooch 0°47′, Marilyn Monroe 0°49′, Jake Gyllenhaal 0°50′ (and N. Node), John Hurt 1°00′, Glenn Close 1°00′ (and Pluto), Andy Warhol 2°07′ (and Sun), James Earl Ray 2°09′.

Midheaven conjunct Kochab: Martial eminence, success in trade and in occupations of a Mars nature. [12]

Upton Sinclair 0°17′ (and S. Node), Nastassja Kinski 0°18′, Robin Gibb 0°26′, Halsey 0°32′, Victor Hugo 0°33′, Johnny Carson 0°43′, Brody Jenner 0°44′, Paul Cézanne 0°45′, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto 0°47′, Lleyton Hewitt 0°50′, River Phoenix 0°55′, Robert Ambelain 0°59′, Charlton Heston 1°22′.

Descendant conjunct Kochab: Sri Sri Ravi Shankar 1°20′, Ayrton Senna 1°30′, Tori Spelling 2°04′.

Part of Fortune conjunct Kochab: Max Heindel 0°02′, Dolores O’Riordan 0°26′ (and S. Node), Robert Hand 0°53′, Michael Richards 1°17′, Rollie Fingers 1°29′ (and Moon, Mercury, Pluto).

Sun conjunct Kochab: Imparts to its natives activity, preferment in dealings with the public. The natives courage is endless, almost with a do-or-die attitude. There is danger of deceit. [8]

With an afflicted Sun, suicide is indicated. [9]

Harold Holt 0°03′, Louis Armstrong 0°06′, Kajol 0°08′, William Henry Ireland 0°09′, Marine Le Pen 0°11′ (and Mercury), Sydney Omar 0°11′, Barack Obama 0°12′, Loni Anderson 0°13′, Neil Armstrong 0°14′, Richard Kleindienst 0°14′ (and Mars), JonBenét Ramsey 0°20′, Kevin Mitnick 0°23′, William Rowan Hamilton 0°34′, Ever Carradine 0°42′, Maureen McCormick 0°44′, Bunny Breckinridge 0°49′, Martin Sheen 0°57′ (and Moon), Meghan, Duchess of Sussex 1°02′, Geri Halliwell 1°14′, Billy Bob Thorton 1°17′ (and Jupiter), Mary Decker 1°18′ (and Uranus), Sabbatai Zevi 1°22′, Andy Warhol 1°24′ (and AC).

Moon conjunct Kochab: The native is ‘bold’, daring in their approach to various situations as they arise and in their everyday affairs. High preferment in dealing with the public. Self-destruction is a possibility, this may be by way of health habits, actions in their career, or operations that affect others. [8]

Stephen Fry 0°06′, Elizabeth II 0°08′, Sonny Bono 0°16′, Brian Jones 0°25′, Kirsten Dunst 0°26′, Ted Danson 0°27′, Brian Eno 0°36′, Al Parker 0°43′, John III Sobieski 0°55′, Rollie Fingers 1°30′ (and Mercury, Pluto, POF), Martin Sheen 1°48 (and Sun), 

Mercury conjunct Kochab: The native, in a generally unobtrusive manner get what they go after, they are persistent to the end and can be very blunt in their speech when they deem it advisable. Some of these natives can be rash and some will experience domestic or romantic problems of a sort. [8]

If afflicting Mercury, deafness (Mars nature). [12]

Jim Keer 0°05′ (and Uranus), Alexis Arquette 0°05′, Georges Louis Duvernoy 0°07′ (and Jupiter), Bon Scott 0°07′ (and Pluto), Stuart Christie 0°13′, George Estregan 0°27′, Dana White 0°29′, Jerry Rubin 0°30′, L. Q. Jones 0°33′, Harper Beckham 0°39′ (and AC), Piero Manzoni 0°39′ (and Venus), Stephen Miller 0°42′, Amelia Earhart 0°47′, Gus Arriola 0°48′, Lindsay Swanberg 0°56′, Claude Bernard 1°03′ (and Jupiter, N. Node), Gerard Manley Hopkins 1°07′, Rollie Fingers 1°26′ (and Moon, Pluto, POF), Ray Bradbury 1°32′ (and Neptune), Marine Le Pen 2°04′ (and Sun).

Venus conjunct Kochab: The native seems to be very impartial, looking at life in a cold detached manner. This might appear as a ‘cold streak,’ but actually, while these natives have emotions, they can very well contain them. Some of these natives are totally insensitive to their environment. [8]

Piero Manzoni 0°48′ (and Mercury), Edward Snowden 1°37′, Holly Parker 1°43′ (and AC, Mars, Jupiter),

Mars conjunct Kochab: A tendency to be combative, almost explosive and forceful, creates enemies, generally not purposely. Some such natives are not above falsifying. Impulsive. [8]

Alexandra David-Néel 0°31′, Hera Mirtel 0°34′, Alex Ferrari 1°04′, J. P. Morgan 1°09′, Richard Kleindienst 1°09′ (and Sun), Albert Anastasia 1°38′, Marilyn 1°51′ (and AC), Holly Parker 2°19′ (and AC, Venus, Jupiter).

Jupiter conjunct Kochab: Preferment in careers dealing with public matters. These natives are opportunists and develop the ability to project themselves favorably. [8]

Holly Parker 0°36′ (and AC, Venus, Mars), Vera Atkins 0°37′, Simone de Beauvoir 0°47′, Billy Bob Thorton 1°31′ (and Sun), Jenna Ortega 1°43′, Georges Louis Duvernoy 1°58′ (and Mercury), Claude Bernard 2°26′ (and Mercury, N. Node).

Saturn conjunct Kochab: Kanye West 0°13′, Charlie Chaplin 1°41′, Giorgia Meloni 1°49′ (and AC).

Uranus conjunct Kochab: James Van Praagh 0°25′, Mary Decker 0°46′ (and Sun), Michael Jackson 0°47′, Andrea Bocelli 2°02′, Jim Keer 2°03′ (and Mercury).

Neptune conjunct Kochab: Ray Bradbury 0°12′ (and Mercury).

Pluto conjunct Kochab: Al Gore 0°05′, Queen Camilla 0°09′, Rollie Fingers 0°30′ (and Moon, Mercury, POF), Bernadette Peters 0°35′, Marina Abramović 0°44′, Clarence Thomas 0°45′, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva 0°47′, Glenn Close 1°19′ (and AC), Bon Scott 1°51′ (and Mercury).

North Node conjunct Kochab: Claude Bernard 0°03′ (and Mercury, Jupiter), Jake Gyllenhaal 0°04′ (and AC), Ed Gein 0°23′, Léon Degrelle 1°06′, Ilse Koch 1°24′, Oliver North 1°35′, Paris Hilton 2°08′.  

South Node conjunct Kochab: Machine Gun Kelly 0°06′, Princess Märtha Louise of Norway 0°38′, Upton Sinclair 0°50′ (and MC), Tatiana Schlossberg 1°22′, Dolores O’Riordan 1°24′ (and POF), Niccolo Machiavelli 1°27′, Benny Hinn 1°34′, Corey Feldman 1°48′.

References

  1. Kochab (Beta Ursae Minoris): Star Facts.
  2. A Dictionary of Modern Star Names, Kunitzch, Smart, 2006, p.58. 
  3. Beta Ursae Minoris – French Wikipedia.
  4. Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning, Richard H. Allen, 1889, p.458-59.
  5. Ursa Minor in Chinese astronomy – Wikipedia.
  6. Ziwei Enclosure – Baidu Encyclopedia.
  7. Beta Ursae Minoris – Baidu Encyclopedia.
  8. The Power of the Fixed Stars, Joseph E. Rigor, 1979, pp. 113-114.
  9. Fixed Stars and Their Interpretation, Elsbeth Ebertin, 1971, p.42.
  10. Fixed Stars and Judicial Astrology, George Noonan, 1990, p.3, 7.
  11. The Living Stars, Dr. Eric Morse, 1988, p.145.
  12. Fixed Stars and Constellations in Astrology, Vivian E. Robson, 1923, p. 66, 100.

2 thoughts on “Fixed Star Kochab

  1. Very helpful. I knew a sun conj Kochab well. That preferment thing, yes. But he was a nervous Nelly. A big part of him was undeveloped. I guess he didn’t have to do that part. His obituary said he was good at everything he did. Well I knew him beyond all that. It has helped me to understand the conditions of his existence and I can now let go of the residual pain.

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