Algorab is a pale yellow and purple double star in the right wing of constellation Corvus the Crow, currently at 13.36 Libra. The stories that have come down to us about this star tell us it has a nasty side. Venus conjunct Mars on 20 August is on Algorab by just 8 minutes.
The constellation of the Crow lies just south of constellation Virgo and it sits on Hydra, the Water Snake. A small constellation, it stretches only 8 degrees in longitude between 10 and 18 degrees Libra.
“mythology having made the bird sacred to Phoebus Apollo in connection with his prophetic functions”. [1]
“certain mystical powers and in particular the ability to foresee the future: hense its caw played a special part in rites of divination”. [2]
“Her-na is its name in the Denderah Zodiac. Her, means the enemy; and Na, means breaking up or failing. That is to say, this scene represents the breaking up of the enemy.” [3]
“According to Ptolemy, Corvus is like Mars and Saturn. It is said to give craftiness, greediness, ingenuity, patience, revengefulness, passion, selfishness, lying, aggressiveness, and material instincts, and sometimes causes its natives to become agitators.” [4]
Corvus (Witness of the Stars)
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Fixed Star Algorab
The name Algorab is Arabic (Al Goreb) from the Hebrew Oreb, the Raven. [3] Even though it is the delta star of Corvus (4th brightest), it is the only one of the stars in the Crow with extensive interpretations handed down to us:
Algorab marks the 11th Hindu Lunar Mansion (nakshatra) where it is called Hasta, “The Hand. Regent, Savitar, the Sun. Ruled by the Moon. A light asterism belonging to the Vaisya caste and favorable for sales, art, sculpture, learning, marital love, wearing of ornaments, medicine, and purchase of carriages when containing the Moon. Those born on the lunar day will be thieves, dealers in large animals, painters, merchants, handsome and religious. With Moon here at birth native will be active, resourceful, shameless, merciless, and a thief and drunkard. Rules tanks and the fingers.” [4]
“It gives destructiveness, malevolence, fiendishness, repulsiveness and lying, and is connected with scavenging.” [4]
“A Mars-Saturn star that can show up the more troublesome side of Libra, a variation on the truth when an excuse looks to be safer.” [5]
“Delays and restraint are indicated to come about by fiascoes, losses, wrong handling of matters and enmity in general. Accidents or injuries difficult to avoid.” [6]
Algorab is one of the 15 Behenian fixed stars of Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, associated with the gemstone Onyx and the herb Burdock “A seed, root and and leaf of burdock with the tongue of a frog (?) placed as aforesaid makes men angry, hostile, audacious and full of evil thoughts and speech; it makes those sleep who cannot sleep, drives away demons and is strong against men, demons and evil winds(?)”. [7]
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Algorab and Terrorist Attacks
Some young Croatian Astrologers I have chatted with noticed that Algorab was activated during attacks and assassinations during Croatian War of Independence (1991 to 1995) and also attacks and assassinations on journalists and politicians since that war. They called this star “Kill or be killed”. Robson says of Corvus “sometimes causes its natives to become agitators”. I have looked back at conjunctions to Algorab and there is definitely a link to terrorism. Below are just a few examples:
On 6 October 1981, president of Egypt, Anwar Sadat was assassinated with Sun on Algorab (07′) and Saturn on Algorab (20′). “A fatwa approving the assassination had been obtained from Omar Abdel-Rahman, a cleric later convicted in the US for his role in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing”. [wiki]
When the World Trade Center was bombed on 26 February 1993, Jupiter was conjunct Algorab by 04′. When the first plane struck the World Trade Center on 11 september 2001, Algorab was rising (56′) and Mercury was also conjunct Algorab (52′).
References:
[1] Star Names, Their Lore and Meaning, Richard Hinckley Allen, 1889, p.179.
[2] Dictionary of Symbols, J.E. Cirlot, 1962, p.71.
[3] Witness of the Stars, E. W. Bullinger, 1893.
[4] Fixed Stars and Constellations in Astrology, Vivian E. Robson, 1923, p. 41, 80.
[5] The Living Stars, Dr. Eric Morse, p.175.
[6] Fixed Stars and Their Interpretation, Elsbeth Ebertin, 1928, p.60.
[7] renaissanceastrology.com/hermesfixedstars.html
Home > Fixed Stars > Algorab.
Caw blimey! What a shiney eyed augery – Sabian symbol for this degree tells us :
“It is a symbol of IMAGINATIVE PLAY, which foreshadows the idea of “global man,” the man of plenitude.”
Big thanks once again Jamie – fascinating….
Actually, can you clear up a common error (especially for dough-brians such as myself) – when looking at a particular degree are we not to take the minutes into account and so 13.36 is infact the 14th degree of Libra?
If so (as I had thought but completely overlooked here – theres the doughy eveidence) then the symbol becomes :
“The need for recuperation within the social pattern of everyday activity.” with the emphasis on techniques of relaxation
er….
+ what are all those ads below this post??!
@rob
Perhaps, with respect to the Sabian messages, we need to be careful about getting carried away with our global fantasies and ideals. The Crow is a natural processor of dead matter as well as being considered ‘Keeper of the circle of Law’ in indigenous wisdoms – this bird is not to be messed with lightly!
Thanks Rob. These stars move forward through the zodiac at 5 minutes every 6 years, so by 2030 we will need a new Sabian symbol. But stars themselves evolve just like everything else so it is interesting. I didn’t talk about the prophetic side to this star which has been mentioned in the mythology and symbology, but I do know someone rather well with Moon on Algorab and she does fit that description. Also forgot to mention the story about the ravens or crows in the Tower of London, didn’t get to do that tourist trip when I was over ther, maybe next time.
Hopefully those adds have gone now. I was experimenting with another plugin for realted sites. I also added a different one for our favourite blogs which shows the latest post.
Wow, even in Australian Aboriginal mythology the Crow is the trickster: “Crow often is a trickster character, in sharp contrast to his more sombre moiety counterpart, Bunjil the eaglehawk. A Koori myth from Victoria tells how Crow stole fire from the seven women guardians. In the Dreamtime only these seven women knew the secret of fire and refused to divulge how it was made. Crow decided that he would get their secret. he made friends with the women and found out that they carried fire at the ends of their digging sticks. He also found out that the women were found of termites, but afraid of snakes. He buried a number of snakes in a termite mound, then told the women he had found a large next of termites. They followed him to the spot and broke open the mound. The snakes attacked them and they defended themselves with their digging sticks. This caused fire to fall from the sticks. Quickly, Crow picked uip the fire between two pieces of bark and ran away. Now Crow in his turn refused to share fire with anyone. every time someone asked him, he mockingly called out, ‘Waa, waa.’ He caused so much strife that even he at last lost his temper and threw coals at some of the men who were pestering him for fire. the coals caused a bushfire in which he supposedly was burnt to death, but the eternal trickster came to life and the survivors heard his mocking ‘Waa, waa’ echoing from a large tree.” janesoceania.com/australia_aboriginal_mythology/index1.htm
@funkastrology on 20th conj in Mansion 13. Venus should put that fire out! bigger delights antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap98062…
Hello
There ‘s a nice poem, by Leconte de Lille, about a crow, on the side -kind of you first read at school when you’sisteen, french and waiting for summer (smile)… tricky to translate: ‘Le Cœur de Hialmar’…
A sort of barbaric & romantic trip, with a crow as the ultimate messenger to carry the still bleeding heart of a dying warrior, up to his beloved one, somewhere in a castle, around, reachable by air…
I will be very interested to see if what happened to me omen-wise will come to a head when Mars and Venus hit the Crow.
About 2 months ago I was upside down in a yoga pose while thinking about two friends I had recently split up with. At one time we were a three, but they split with each other first and I felt torn between them. I was thinking whether I should get back with one of them when suddenly I heard a thud on my patio doors. I came down from position to in time to see a shocked looking crow on my decking and then two more swoop down and chase it off. They all flew of together making an almighty screeching sound.
I saw it as an omen, so I decided to keep away…
Recently the friend I had been thinking about made contact. I had been missing her. She said she just wanted to wish me well. Although I hinted at making contact in the flesh at some point, she said we weren’t really on “hanging out terms.”
I did a chart for the crow hitting my window and there was a Lilith Yod (triangular relationships) If I remember rightly the moon of one the friends and the mars of the other was conjunct points on this Yod which I though was pretty amazing.
I’m still unsure as to the message tho!
Great article-would like to publish in my free newsletter for seniors but was wondering if the information applies to Washington residents as well?
Interesting stuff. We had a dark day at yoga last nite and my music classes not going well with enemies of a younger generation, so I thought ah Mercury in stellium. Also noted how I tuned into “Dark Star Astrology” now too. What does the title mean? In the stellium, Moon Saturn interpretation I once read is “Important women leaving your life now and new one’s entering”. and the health asteroid conj. mercury suggests health issues. Mental health. A shock according to one avante guarde health expert supposed to set off illnesses.
I also read recently that jupiter/uranus supposed to be awakening to abundance. I find that mystifying as in 2000 my situation changed considerable to greater wealth and I felt the abundance. At one point of happiness and beauty surrounding me I would watch the crows. They love to “Play” as Rob said of Sabian symbol. Dropping sticks and swooping underneath to pick them up again. One time I went to investigate their outcry and a falcon had a small bird under it’s claw, which as I approached it let go of and one happy bird got away. They warn of disturbances but I imagine you are all talking mythological terms. In any case, due to bed bugs I lost most of my belonging but not before I had transcended to a much greater understanding or place after climbing mountains for two years. But I’d like to know what happened to the original abundance as the world seems on a down path? I am feeling the need for recuperation within the social patterns of everyday living as Rob then said. I was also reminded of my art class years ago doing an icon with my hands as focal point which teach put up on the wall. So interesting read. thanks. still love this site.
This description of the star is very fitting to my ex-mother in law, who’s sun is at Libra 15 degrees. She is one of the most evil people I have ever known of, intigatging a custody battle between her son and me, brainwashing my eldest children. My family and my reputation has been destroyed by her. I even ended up homeless for over two years, and my three youngest children were taken away from me for 18 months.
My life was so much better before she moved into our city.
Crafty, plotting,devious,maninpulative,greedy, liar…and al the while playing the role of an innocent victim.
“Venomous snake” is how I would sum it up.
http://theconversation.edu.au/can-crows-read-3740 this fits right here! Crows!!!
Hi thank you for everything on your website during the upcoming solar and lunar eclipses my jupiter will conjunct this star sagittarius is the ruler of my 4th house and cancer is the ruler of my 11th house i’m a cancer sun sign i have the sun,,moon,venus and ceres in my sign what should i accept?