The Fixed Stars

Antares

Alpha Scorpii, Cor Scorpii, the Heart of the Scorpion

The rival of Ares, for the red of it matches Mars. It stands at about 10° Sagittarius (tropical).

One of the fifteen Behenian stars

The burning heart of the Scorpion, red enough to argue with Mars.

One of the great red stars of the sky and one of the four royal stars of the old Persian reckoning, the watcher of the west. Robson gives it the nature of Mars and Jupiter, honor and hazard together, generosity and broad-mindedness beside rashness and a headstrong streak that can undo its own gifts. It is a Behenian star of the talisman books, and the heart of both the Arabic mansion Al Qalb and the nakshatra Jyeshtha, where its authority is read as shelter for others rather than a crown for oneself.