--- title: "Denebola Fixed Star: Meaning, Talisman & Election — Canopy" description: "Denebola fixed star: Dhanab al-Asad, the Lion's tail, a Malefic star of Saturn and Venus at 21° Virgo. Its astrology, natal contacts, talisman and election." canonical: https://canopyastro.com/denebola.html markdown: https://canopyastro.com/denebola.md date_modified: 2026-10-25 publisher: Stellar Apps LLC app: "Canopy: Arabian Astrology (iPhone, iPhone Duo and Android)" --- A fixed star in Canopy # Denebola, Dhanab al-Asad: the fixed star in astrology, its talisman and its election Dhanab al-Asad — the tail of the lion, Denebola, Beta Leonis 6 min read · From the classical sources · Updated October 25, 2026 ## Denebola star meaning: the tail of the Lion The **Denebola** fixed star marks the tip of the Lion's tail. Its name is a worn-down form of the Arabic *Dhanab al-Asad*, "the tail of the lion", the name Canopy gives it. Astronomers call it Beta Leonis, and in 2016 the International Astronomical Union adopted Denebola as its proper name. The Lion's heart, at the other end of the figure, is [Regulus](https://canopyastro.com/regulus.html), *Qalb al-Asad*. *Dhanab*, tail, recurs in [Deneb](https://canopyastro.com/deneb.html) and [Deneb Algedi](https://canopyastro.com/deneb-algedi.html), the tails of the hen and the goat. Denebola also carried a second Arabic name, *al-Ṣarfa*, "the changer", understood as the changer of the weather, and the twelfth lunar mansion, which this one star marked, bears it too: [*al-Ṣarfa*](https://canopyastro.com/lunar-mansions.html#al-sarfa), the Changer. Denebola is not one of the fifteen [Behenian stars](https://canopyastro.com/fixed-stars.html#the-fifteen-behenian-stars); it is one of the twenty others among Canopy's 35. ## Where the Denebola fixed star sits By tropical longitude Denebola stood at 21°57′ Virgo in 2025; its star page, moved on for precession, reads 21°58′ in late October 2026, at magnitude 2.14. A white star about 36 light-years away, it lies some twelve degrees north of the ecliptic, beyond the Moon's reach, so neither Sun nor Moon ever covers it. The star and its zodiac degree reach the horizon at different moments; Canopy reads only the degree. Late Virgo is crowded. [Cor Caroli](https://canopyastro.com/cor-caroli.html), at 24°55′, lies just under three degrees away, so a natal point between about 22° and 25° Virgo is conjunct both, and one near 24½° also reaches [Alkaid](https://canopyastro.com/alkaid.html), at 27°17′. ## Denebola in astrology: a Malefic star of Saturn and Venus Canopy files Denebola as a Malefic star of Saturn and Venus: the badge on its star page, the chip "Star: Malefic" on the Chart tab, "Star nature: Saturn–Venus" on the Today screen. The pairing is Ptolemy's; the *Tetrabiblos* gives the bright star in the Lion's tail the temperament of Saturn and Venus. Of Canopy's four Malefic stars, with [Algol](https://canopyastro.com/algol.html), [Algorab](https://canopyastro.com/algorab.html) and [Zuben Elgenubi](https://canopyastro.com/zuben-elgenubi.html), Denebola alone joins Saturn to a benefic rather than to Mars. The app's words for it turn on judgment and endings. Its Traditional Uses line reads: "Talismans requiring careful use, associated with endings and judgment." On a day Denebola leads the Today screen's fixed-star card, the card adds "Seek: swift judgment, endings" and "Avoid: rash decisions, public exposure". ## Denebola conjunct the Sun, Moon, Ascendant or Midheaven Canopy calculates your chart from your birth date, time and place and reads Denebola by conjunction alone. When the star, precessed to your birth date, falls within three degrees of a classical planet, the Ascendant, the Midheaven, the Vertex or a lunar Node, the Chart tab lists the contact under Other Conjunctions and the star page gives the reading, drawn from the classical sources: "Dhanab al-Asad (Tail of the Lion) brings swift judgment and criticism, with potential for public disgrace if Saturn's darker qualities manifest. When conjunct a natal planet, you may experience reversals of fortune and should guard against hasty decisions." That one reading serves every contact, Denebola conjunct the Sun, the Moon, the Ascendant or the Midheaven alike: a counsel against haste, not a forecast. A natal Sun in orb means a birth from about September 11 to 17; an Ascendant in orb, roughly 19° to 25° of Virgo rising. ## How to make a Denebola talisman: amethyst and vervain Canopy pairs Denebola with amethyst and vervain, the Gemstone and Herb rows of the Correspondences card on its star page. The classical Behenian lists, which gave a stone and an herb to fifteen stars, leave it out, so the pairing is Canopy's own; a Denebola window's About & Correspondences page does not repeat the pairing but links to the star page. Canopy gives no method of making beyond these, only the timing. The planets of its nature have their own pages: the [Saturn talisman](https://canopyastro.com/saturn-talisman.html) and the [Venus talisman](https://canopyastro.com/venus-talisman.html). ## When to make a Denebola talisman: the Denebola election The Denebola talisman and the Denebola election are one search in Canopy. A moment qualifies only while the star's degree, 21°57′ Virgo, is within one degree of the Ascendant or the Midheaven and the Moon applies to it within two degrees by conjunction, sextile or trine. That leaves three ways in: a conjunction from Virgo, a sextile from about 22° Cancer, the Moon's own sign, or a trine from about 22° Taurus, her exaltation; the sextile from Scorpio and the trine from Capricorn, her fall and detriment, are set aside. The afflictions that bar any star window apply too, among them a combust Moon, and Mars, Saturn, the South Node or an afflicted planet within three degrees of the star; Virgo sharpens two of them. From about September 4 to 22 a conjoining Moon is combust. And Virgo is the fall of Venus and the detriment of Jupiter, so either benefic within three degrees of the star sets its windows aside, as does a Moon applying to conjoin one of them there; Mercury, at home and exalted in Virgo, counts only when combust or retrograde. A passing moment scores out of ten: 6 for a Moon conjunction or 3 for a sextile or trine, 2 for the angle, and up to 2 for a waxing Moon not void of course; 70 percent or more reads Excellent, 50 Good. The Malefic nature does not count, and this search has no malefic-star veto. A waxing Moon at 21° Virgo, not void of course, conjoining the star as its degree culminates scores 100; a waning, void Moon trining it from 21° Taurus as its degree rises scores 50 and is still listed. Virgo rises slowly in northern latitudes, so an Ascendant window lasts about ten minutes at 40°N, against about seven at the Midheaven. In Canopy's purpose searches, a wedding or a launch, a Malefic star's degree on the Ascendant or Midheaven instead sets the moment aside (see [electional astrology](https://canopyastro.com/electional-astrology.html)). The rules all 35 stars share are under [fixed-star talisman windows in Canopy](https://canopyastro.com/talismanic-timing.html#fixed-star-talisman-windows-in-canopy). ## Finding a Denebola 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 with their Arabic names and arrives with the fifteen Behenian stars selected: tap None, choose Denebola, set the place and a range of up to six months, and tap Search Stars. The lunar-mansion filter narrows the results by the Moon's mansion at each window. Choose [*al-Simāk*](https://canopyastro.com/lunar-mansions.html#al-simak), 17°09′ Virgo to 0° Libra, and only the conjunctions remain; *al-Ṣarfa* now spans 21°26′ Leo to 4°17′ Virgo, behind the star. Each window opens as Denebola Talisman or Denebola Election, with *Dhanab al-Asad* beneath, its score and "Why this time?"; Canopy keeps the best few per star, so expect a short list. ![Canopy on iPhone Duo in Coffee Cream: the Today screen's fixed-star card, with the Moon applying a trine to a star, at left, and that star's own page, with its nature badge, magnitude and Planetary Nature card, at right](https://canopyastro.com/images/app/duo/coffee-cream/08-fixed-stars-today-800.webp) ![Canopy on iPhone Duo in Midnight: the Today screen's fixed-star card, with the Moon applying a trine to a star, at left, and that star's own page, with its nature badge, magnitude and Planetary Nature card, at right](https://canopyastro.com/images/app/duo/midnight/08-fixed-stars-today-800.webp) *On iPhone Duo: the day's fixed-star contact beside that star's page, here a Benefic star.* See whether the Lion's tail touches your chart, and when its degree next holds an angle. [Download on the App Store](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/canopy-ancient-arabian-astro/id6780314504?pt=638207&ct=seo-in-denebola&mt=8&ppid=27c6fd93-918a-48f6-b7e0-0ee4b89bf83b) [Get it on Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=stellarappsllc.com.canopy&referrer=utm_source%3Dcanopyastro%26utm_medium%3Dseo%26utm_campaign%3Dinline-denebola&listing=timing-planets-stars) Free to download · 7-day free trial where offered · then a subscription · **Supports iPhone Duo** ## Questions **What does Denebola mean in astrology?** Its name is the Arabic *Dhanab al-Asad*, the tail of the Lion. Canopy reads it as a Malefic star of Saturn and Venus at about 22° Virgo; its natal reading warns against haste. **What does the name Denebola mean?** A shortened form of the Arabic *Dhanab al-Asad*, the tail of the lion, for the star at the tip of Leo's tail. Its second Arabic name, *al-Ṣarfa*, the changer of the weather, also names the twelfth lunar mansion. **What does Denebola conjunct the Sun, Moon or Ascendant mean?** Canopy gives one reading for every natal contact within three degrees, the Sun, Moon and Ascendant included: "When conjunct a natal planet, you may experience reversals of fortune and should guard against hasty decisions." A Sun in orb means a birth from about September 11 to 17. **How do you make a Denebola talisman?** Canopy gives its stone and herb, amethyst and vervain, on the star's own page, and finds the minutes when its degree holds the Ascendant or Midheaven as the Moon applies to it. The classical Behenian lists do not include Denebola. **When is the best time to make a Denebola talisman?** When its degree, about 22° Virgo, is within one degree of the Ascendant or Midheaven and an unafflicted Moon applies to it within two degrees, by conjunction from Virgo, sextile from Cancer or trine from Taurus, with Mars, Saturn, Venus, Jupiter and the South Node clear of the star. **Is Denebola a malefic star?** Yes. Canopy labels it Malefic, of Saturn and Venus, one of four such stars among its 35. Purpose searches such as a wedding set aside moments when its degree holds the Ascendant or Midheaven; the Fixed Star Talismans search does not. ## Keep reading - [The fixed stars](https://canopyastro.com/fixed-stars.html) — al-kawākib al-thābita - [Regulus](https://canopyastro.com/regulus.html) — Qalb al-Asad - [Cor Caroli](https://canopyastro.com/cor-caroli.html) — Qalb Sharūl ## The Lion's tail, read against your chart. Canopy sets Denebola and thirty-four other classical fixed stars against your birth chart and the day's sky, and finds the minutes each one's degree holds an angle where you are, every reading drawn from the classical sources. [Download on the App Store](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/canopy-ancient-arabian-astro/id6780314504?pt=638207&ct=seo-denebola&mt=8&ppid=27c6fd93-918a-48f6-b7e0-0ee4b89bf83b) [Get it on Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=stellarappsllc.com.canopy&referrer=utm_source%3Dcanopyastro%26utm_medium%3Dseo%26utm_campaign%3Ddenebola&listing=timing-planets-stars) ![QR code that opens Canopy in the App Store or Google Play](https://canopyastro.com/images/qr-get-canopy.svg) On a computer? Scan with your phone's camera to get Canopy. Featured in [Thrive Insider](https://thriveinsider.com/business/canopy-ancient-arabian-astrology-app/) --- *Markdown rendering of https://canopyastro.com/denebola.html. Readings in Canopy are drawn from the classical Arabic sources; the HTML page is the canonical version.*