Bellatrix star meaning: the female warrior and al-Najīd
The Bellatrix star meaning begins in Latin: bellātrix, "female warrior". The name first appears in the medieval Latin versions of Abū Maʿshar, where it named another star, Capella. Astronomers of the Vienna school moved it to Gamma Orionis in the fifteenth century, and the Bellatrix fixed star has kept it since: the third-brightest star of Orion, the hunter's left shoulder.
Canopy gives it the Arabic name al-Najīd, printed beside it on the Chart tab, the Today screen and the talisman screens. Its natal reading glosses that "The Conqueror", a gloss from nineteenth-century star lore that studies of Arabic star names have not confirmed.
Where the Bellatrix fixed star sits: 21° Gemini
By tropical longitude Bellatrix stood at 21°18′ Gemini in 2025; on October 25, 2026, its star page in Canopy shows 21°19′ and magnitude 1.64. The degree lies in the seventh lunar mansion, al-Dhirāʿ, the Forearm.
Two more of Canopy's stars lie within two degrees of it. Capella, al-ʿAyyūq, stands 52′ beyond it at 22°10′ Gemini, so the star that first bore the name Bellatrix now sits less than a degree from the star that took it. El Nath, al-Naṭḥ, the tip of the Bull's northern horn, follows at 22°55′. In the sky they lie far apart: Capella rides 40 degrees north of Bellatrix, which sits almost 17 degrees south of the ecliptic.
Bellatrix in astrology: Orion's shoulder, of Mars and Mercury
In Bellatrix astrology Canopy files the star as Martial, of the natures of Mars and Mercury: the badge on its star page, the chip "Star: Martial" on the Chart tab, "Star nature: Mars–Mercury" on the Today screen. The pairing agrees with Ptolemy: the Tetrabiblos (I.9) gives Mars and Mercury to the stars on Orion's shoulders, Bellatrix and Betelgeuse, and the same two planets to the bright stars of Auriga, Capella among them, so both stars called "female warrior" share that temperament, though Canopy reads Capella by Jupiter and Saturn.
Bellatrix's Traditional Uses line reads: "Talismans for courage in conflict, swift victory over adversaries, and the quick resolution of disputes through decisive force." When Bellatrix leads the Today screen's fixed-star contacts, the card adds "Seek: bold action, military success" and "Avoid: peaceful negotiation, long-term commitments". Canopy's purpose searches keep that warning: a window anchored by a Martial star such as Bellatrix on the Ascendant or Midheaven is set aside in a negotiation, contract signing or wedding search.
Bellatrix conjunct the Sun, Moon, Ascendant or Midheaven
Canopy calculates your chart from your birth date, time and place and reads Bellatrix by conjunction. When the star, precessed to your birth date, lies within three degrees of one of the seven classical planets, the Ascendant, the Midheaven, the Vertex or a lunar Node, the Chart tab lists it under Other Conjunctions, and the star page gives the reading, drawn from the classical sources: "Al-Najīd (The Conqueror) is the left shoulder of Orion, carrying a Mars-Mercury nature that sharpens both the sword arm and the strategist's mind. When conjunct a natal planet, you have exceptional boldness and quick tactical wit — success comes through decisive action rather than prolonged deliberation." It adds military honors and renown, and a warning: rashness that outruns the mind brings early reversals.
One reading serves Bellatrix conjunct the Sun, the Moon, the Ascendant, the Midheaven or any other point. A natal Sun in orb means a birth from about June 8 to 15. A natal point between about 20° and 24° Gemini is conjunct Capella and El Nath as well, each listed with its own orb and reading, Capella under Behenian Fixed Stars. Transits reach the Today screen within two degrees and the full reading's Fixed Star Influences.
How to make a Bellatrix talisman: hematite and nettle
Canopy pairs Bellatrix with hematite and nettle, the Gemstone and Herb rows of the Correspondences card on the star's own page. The classical Behenian lists, which gave fifteen stars a stone and an herb, do not include Bellatrix, so the pairing is Canopy's own. A window's About & Correspondences page does not repeat it: its summary reads "Bellatrix (al-Najīd) is a martial fixed star of the nature of Mars and Mercury." and links to the star page. Canopy gives the materials and the minutes, no procedure; for the planets' own talismans, see the Mars talisman and the Mercury talisman.
When to make a Bellatrix talisman: the Bellatrix election
In Canopy the Bellatrix talisman and the Bellatrix election are one search. A moment qualifies only while the star's zodiac degree, not the star above the horizon, is within one degree of the Ascendant or the Midheaven, and the Moon applies to it by conjunction, sextile or trine within two degrees: from about 19° to 21° of Gemini, Aries, Leo, Libra or Aquarius.
A moment is set aside if the Moon is within 8.5° of the Sun, applies by square or opposition to one of the five planets, or by conjunction to an afflicted planet, an undignified Mars or Saturn or the South Node, or if Mars, Saturn, the South Node or an afflicted planet stands within three degrees of the star. Two of these follow from its degree. From about June 1 to 20 a Moon conjoining Bellatrix is combust, so that month's conjunction windows are lost. And Jupiter is in its detriment in Gemini: while it stands within three degrees of the star, a passage that comes about once in twelve years, every Bellatrix moment is set aside.
A moment that passes scores out of ten: 6 for a Moon conjunction or 3 for a sextile or trine, 2 for the angle, and 1 each for a waxing Moon and a Moon not void of course; 70 percent reads Excellent, 50 Good. The Martial nature counts for nothing here. A waxing Moon at 20° Aquarius, not void, trining the star as its degree culminates scores 3 + 2 + 2, 70 percent; put Jupiter at 22° Gemini in that sky and the moment is set aside.
Either angle carries the degree through its two-degree gate in about eight minutes, and for about half of them Capella's degree is on it too. The shared rules are under fixed-star talisman windows in Canopy; the purpose searches, under electional astrology.
Finding a Bellatrix window in Canopy
Open the Talismans tab and choose Fixed Star Talismans, or Fixed Stars in the Elections tab. The picker lists all 35 stars and preselects the fifteen Behenian, Capella among them: tap None before choosing Bellatrix, unless you want Capella's near-simultaneous windows too. Set the place and a range of up to about six months, and tap Search Stars.
Results sort Soonest or Top Rated and filter by the Moon's phase and motion, the angle and the lunar mansion. Each window opens as Bellatrix Talisman or Bellatrix Election, with al-Najīd beneath, its score and "Why this time?". Canopy keeps the best-scored windows per star, so expect a short list.
Find Bellatrix in your chart, and the next minutes its degree holds an angle.
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Questions
What is the meaning of the Bellatrix star?
Bellatrix is Latin for "female warrior", a name first given to Capella and moved to Gamma Orionis in the fifteenth century. Canopy calls it al-Najīd, a Martial star of Mars and Mercury, read for boldness and decisive action.
What constellation is Bellatrix in?
Orion. Bellatrix, Gamma Orionis, is the hunter's left shoulder; Betelgeuse is the other. Its zodiac degree is about 21° Gemini, beside Capella and El Nath.
What does Bellatrix conjunct the Sun, Moon, Ascendant or Midheaven mean?
One reading serves any contact within three degrees, to a planet, the Ascendant, the Midheaven, the Vertex or a Node: exceptional boldness and quick tactical wit, success through decisive action. A natal Sun in orb means a birth from about June 8 to 15.
How do you make a Bellatrix talisman?
Canopy gives the materials and the moment, not a procedure: hematite and nettle, paired with Bellatrix on its star page, and the minutes when its degree holds an angle as the Moon applies to it.
When is the best time to make a Bellatrix talisman?
When its degree, about 21° Gemini, is within one degree of the Ascendant or Midheaven and an unafflicted Moon applies to it within two degrees, with Mars, Saturn, the South Node and any afflicted planet, Jupiter in Gemini included, over three degrees away.
Is Bellatrix a Behenian star?
No. Canopy tracks it as one of twenty classical stars outside the fifteen Behenian; Capella, the star that first bore its name, is one of the fifteen.
