The so-called Royal fixed stars of Persia, part I

If you’re any curious about fixed stars, you likely have heard about the four stars called “Royal fixed stars of Persia”, that is Aldebaran (10° Gemini), Regulus (0° Virgo), Antares (10° Sagittarius), and Fomalhaut (4° Pisces).

Numerous contemporaries, whether astrologers or astromages, have taught about these four stars and their particular powers. They’re mentioned in books or classes by Bernadette Brady1, Diana K. Rosenberg2, Austin Coppock3, and many other contemporaries. While doing research not too long ago, I stumbled upon baffling information on that topic.

“Royal fixed stars of Persia” sounds ancient, but it’s not. The concept of “Royal fixed stars of Persia” does not actually hail from Persia, and certainly isn’t thousands of years old like some sources claim. It was born of extrapolations by 18th century French astronomers, mainly Jean-Sylvain Bailly and Charles-François Dupuis, who took shortcuts when studying a French translation of a Zoroastrian sacred text, the Zend-Avesta.

French astronomers, when reading a translation of Zoroastrian sacred texts, the Avesta, published in 1771 by Abraham Hyacinthe Anquetil-Duperron, jumped to conclusions in thinking the four “guardians” described as watching over East, West, North and South were four stars which marked the equinoxes and solstices in more ancient times: Aldebaran (East), Regulus (North), Antares (West) and Fomalhaut (South). The “Royal fixed stars of Persia” lore thus began, with a build-up of associated correspondences over time, such as archangels. But there is in fact no solid evidence that people in ancient Persia venerated Aldebaran, Regulus, Antares and Fomalhaut as Royal stars or “Watchers”.

More than that, the guardians described in the Avesta do not correspond to these four specific stars. In fact, they’re not all associated with specific stars in a clear-cut way, to this day. George A. Davis Jr., who published an article entitled The So-Called Royal Stars of Persia in 19454, proposed the following changes:

• Tištya/Taschter: Sirius, not Aldebaran

• Satavāesa/Satevis: Aquarius and Pisces Austrinus constellations (including Fomalhaut), not Antares

• Vanant/Venant: Scorpius constellation (including Antares), not Regulus

• Haptōiriṇga/Haftorang: Ursa Major constellation, not Fomalhaut5

However, the stellar identifications of these four guardians have been debated further. Tištrya being Sirius is subject to little doubt6, and Haptōiriṇga as Ursa Major seems firmly confirmed as well. On the other hand, some scholars consider Vanant to correspond to Vega, and Satavāesa to correspond to Fomalhaut, while other think Vanant could be Fomalhaut, and Satavāesa could be Antares or Canopus7. The likeliest seems to be the following, as far as I can tell:

• Tištrya: Sirius of Canis Major

• Satavāesa: Fomalhaut of Pisces Austrinus

• Vanant: Vega of Lyra

• Haptōiriṇga: Ursa Major

What seems straightforward so far is that neither Aldebaran nor Regulus are involved in this quatuor of guardians.

I personally do not consider all of this to imply that singling out Aldebaran, Regulus, Antares and Fomalhaut as “Royal fixed stars” is nonsensical, nor that the correspondences that have been established since the 18th century are entirely useless8. However, the “Persian” qualifier for the Royal stars seems to stem out of orientalism and poor scholarship, so I’ll definitely avoid it from now on.

I’m also taking this as vigorous encouragement to rely way less on secondary sources and to take with a grain of salt the historical claims astrologers make on average—especially if they cite Richard Allen Hinckley’s Star-Names and Their Meanings as a source. In 1979, Paul Kunitzsch explained that the book suffered from its author having no knowledge of Arabic, politely concluding that “with regard to the Arabic matter, Allen’s book was, and still is, of rather restricted value9”. The book has later been described as “an uncritical compilation from out-dated secondary sources” which “contains numerous errors; especially regarding Arabic, Mesopotamian, and Egyptian constellations and star names”10. Apparently, at the time of his death Allen was working on a revised edition but never had a chance to finish it. Paul Kunitzsch and Tim Smart published Short Guide to Modern Star Names and Their Derivations in 1986, revised into A Dictionary of Modern Star Names in 2006, and it is extremely easy to procure, which makes referring to Richard Allen Hinckley’s book all the more ludicrous.

It’s not like every astrological delineation needs to refer to myths from centuries BCE, but if we’re going to claim it does, I think we ought to be able to back it up with more than vague outdated references.

This is also my cue to tell you that if you spot something in my writing that appears to be ahistorical, I would love to hear about it. I welcome constructive criticism and do not consider myself above mistakes or inaccuracies, and I’m generally interested in discussing my potential blindspots.

In order to debunk the “Royal fixed stars of Persia” concept, I dug into the various texts quoted by Davis, including the Zend-Avesta, as well as more recent scholarship. I initially wanted to include more of my findings on this topic in this very article, but the draft got way too long so I decided to keep it for an upcoming part II or III. I will also likely write more about the Royal fixed stars further down the line—I already published articles about Regulus and Antares in English, and about all four of them in French11. In the meantime, feel free to let me know what you think in the comments, I’d be delighted to read you as always.

Until next time ✨

• The So-Called Royal Stars of Persia, George A. Davis Jr.

• A Dictionary of Modern Star Names, Paul Kunitzsch & Tim Smart

• Astral Sciences in Mesopotamia, Hunger & Pingree

• Zend-Avesta, ouvrage de Zoroastre, Abraham-Hyacinthe Anquetil-Duperron

• Le Zend-Avesta, James Darmesteter

• Histoire de l’astronomie ancienne, depuis son origine jusqu’à l’établissement de l’École d’Alexandrie, Jean Sylvain Bailly

• Origines de tous les cultes, Charles-François Dupuis

• Astronomie Populaire, Camille Flammarion

• Brady’s Book of Fixed Stars, Bernadette Brady

• Star and Planet Combinations, Bernadette Brady

• Secrets of the Ancient Skies, Diana K. Rosenberg