Regulus, Qalb al-Asad: the fixed star in astrology, its talisman and its election

Regulus star meaning: the Heart of the Lion

Regulus is Latin for "little king" or "prince", and its Arabic name, Qalb al-Asad, means "the heart of the lion", after the Greek Kardia Leontos. Between them the two names hold the Regulus star meaning that Regulus astrology has kept: kingship, set in the heart of Leo. Canopy lists the Regulus fixed star beside its Arabic name, marks it Royal, gives it the natures of Mars and Jupiter, and counts it among the fifteen Behenian stars of the talismanic tradition.

The Babylonians called it Sharru, "the King". In Indian astronomy it is the chief star of the nakshatra Maghā, "the bountiful"; Canopy works with the 28 Arabian lunar mansions instead, where the tenth, al-Jabha, the Forehead, is named for the stars at the Lion's brow, Regulus among them.

The Regulus fixed star degree, on the cusp of Leo and Virgo

By tropical longitude Regulus stands at the very start of Virgo: about 0°09′ for 2025 and 00°10′ Virgo on its star page's Current Position card on October 25, 2026, moved on for precession at 50.29″ a year, about a degree in 72 years. That drift took its degree out of tropical Leo during the 2010s, though the star is still Alpha Leonis, the brightest in the constellation Leo. Canopy measures natal contacts from the star's place on your birth date: about 29°15′ Leo for a birth in 1960, about 29°40′ Leo for 1990. The degree now lies in the twelfth mansion, al-Ṣarfa, the Changer (21°26′ Leo – 4°17′ Virgo), two beyond al-Jabha.

Regulus lies only 0.465° from the ecliptic, the closest of the bright stars, so the Moon often passes in front of it, in runs that recur about every 9.3 years. It rises wherever people live, failing to rise only beyond about 78° south. Canopy shows it at magnitude 1.40.

Regulus in astrology: a Royal star of Mars and Jupiter

Regulus in astrology begins with the star's nature. Canopy's badge reads Royal and its planetary natures are Mars and Jupiter, and here the app and Ptolemy agree: the Tetrabiblos gives "the bright star upon the heart, called Regulus" the nature of Mars and Jupiter. A Regulus window's About & Correspondences page opens with the label "Royal Star · Watcher of the North"; Aldebaran and Antares carry the Royal badge as watchers of the East and the West. The star page lists Seek: kingship, dominion, royal favor, and Avoid: submission, hidden work. They describe the star and do not rank star-talisman windows.

Canopy's purpose searches do use Regulus. With Sirius, it is one of only two stars sought by the Authority & Work family: Seeking Authority & Approval, Job Applications & Resumes and Job Interviews & Career Meetings. When its degree is within one degree of the Ascendant, Midheaven or Descendant in those searches, "Why this time?" lists "Regulus is sought for this election" beside the star's own angle and Royal-nature rows, all counting in the window's favor. No purpose avoids it, and a Royal star never triggers Canopy's veto on a malefic star at an angle.

Regulus conjunct the Sun, Moon, Ascendant or Midheaven

Canopy checks Regulus against each natal planet, the Ascendant, the Midheaven, the Vertex and both lunar Nodes, within three degrees. A contact shows on the Chart tab under Fixed Star Conjunctions, among the Behenian stars, as a row naming the point, Regulus and Qalb al-Asad, tagged "Star: Royal", and on the star page under In Your Chart.

One reading serves every point, so Regulus conjunct the Sun, the Moon, Mars or the South Node reads alike. Drawn from the classical sources, it calls Regulus "the most regal of the fixed stars, conferring nobility, ambition, and great success if you avoid revenge", and on a natal planet "it grants natural authority and the ability to command respect. Loss comes only through pettiness." The star page's Planetary Nature text ranks Regulus on the Ascendant, Midheaven, Sun or Moon among the strongest testimonies of worldly greatness, on the same condition.

The Sun reaches the star's degree around August 22 or 23, so births from about August 19 to 26 carry a Sun contact; Moon and angle contacts need the birth hour and place. On transit, the Today card picks up a planet within two degrees, and the full reading lists wider aspects.

How to make a Regulus talisman

Canopy's answer to how to make a Regulus talisman is a short list of materials and a moment. The Correspondences card on any Regulus window gives:

• Gemstone (al-Jawhar): garnet.
• Herb (al-Ḥashīsha): celandine.
• Planetary Nature: Mars and Jupiter.

The star page agrees under Stone, Plant and Planetary Natures, and its Traditional Uses line names the purpose: "Talismans for kingly power, victory, and commanding presence, using garnet and celandine." Canopy stops at the materials and the moment.

When to make a Regulus talisman: the Regulus election

The old instructions worked under a star as it rose or culminated, and Canopy makes that a test of degrees: a Regulus window needs the star's ecliptic degree within one degree of the Ascendant or the Midheaven, never the Descendant or the IC, and the Moon applying to Regulus by conjunction, sextile or trine within two degrees. Canopy does not check whether the star itself has risen, but Regulus sits so near the ecliptic that the star and its degree rise minutes apart.

Because Regulus stands just ten minutes into Virgo, every approach the Moon makes to it straddles a sign boundary: late Leo into Virgo for the conjunction, late Gemini into Cancer or late Libra into Scorpio for a sextile, late Aries into Taurus or late Sagittarius into Capricorn for a trine. Where an approach ends in Scorpio or Capricorn, her fall and detriment, its last minutes are set aside, and a Moon conjoining the star always lodges in al-Ṣarfa.

The shared tests, set out under fixed-star talisman windows, also apply: a combust Moon, or one applying by square or opposition to one of the five planets, by conjunction to an afflicted planet, to an undignified Mars or Saturn, or to the South Node, sets a moment aside, and no window is offered while Mars, Saturn, the South Node or an afflicted planet is within three degrees of the star. The Nodes move slowly, so that last test can close Regulus windows for months.

Canopy scores a passing moment out of ten: six when the Moon conjoins the star, three for a sextile or trine, two for the angle, and two more for a Moon both waxing and not void of course, or one for either alone. Regulus windows therefore score 50 to 100 percent, and 70 or more is Excellent; the Royal nature adds nothing in this lane. Each lasts minutes, never more than thirty either side of the exact time.

Two imagined Regulus moments

In one imagined sky, near noon around August 20, the Regulus degree culminates as the Moon at 29° Leo closes on it, but the Sun at 28° Leo makes her combust: set aside. In another, the degree is rising and a waxing Moon, far from the Sun and not void of course, applies by trine from 29° Aries, clear of the South Node, of any undignified malefic and of any applying square or opposition, with Mars and Saturn far from the star. It passes at 70 percent, Excellent: three for the trine, two for the Ascendant, two for the Moon. From the far side, at 0°05′ Capricorn, the same trine would fall to her detriment.

Finding Regulus in Canopy

Fixed Stars on the Elections tab and Fixed Star Talismans on the Talismans tab open the same star search; only the headings differ, with an Elections window titled "Regulus Election". The picker shows all 35 stars with their Arabic names, the Behenian fifteen already ticked: clear them with None and choose Regulus. Set the place, because the angles shift from city to city, give the search up to six months, and tap Search Stars; it needs an active subscription.

Canopy keeps the best-scored windows for each star, so expect a short list, sorted Soonest or Top Rated, with filters for the Moon, the angle and the mansion. Each opens on a Regulus Talisman page, Qalb al-Asad beneath, with its score, a TIMING block (exact time, start and end, hour and day rulers), "Why this time?" and About & Correspondences.

Questions