Stars of Protection

Exploring protection magic with the fixed stars

Fatima Ronquillo, Hand With Snake and Weeping Eye, 2016,

Stars are nothing if not complex. Despite the legion that dots our sky, each with their own distance, color, brightness, you will find an infinite richness in any one of them if you search deep enough. Each one is its own world, its own city, with diverse meanings, myths and powers all rolled into one star.

Rarely have I seen their full intricacy present in what I’ve read. That’s not critique of the sources we do have, but just a recognition that deeper nuance and understanding is needed beyond reading old books if we want to comprehend and work with these stars effectively.

More specifically, I am interested in thinking about how stars can be used magically and ritually to improve our lives. For millennia the stars and planets have been called down to bless and aid all manner of human life in myriad ways. But, the more you dive into the occult powers of the stars, the more confusing it can get. If you read Agrippa or Ficino’s description of the uses of the Behenians, there is much overlap and stars serving seemingly identical purposes. According to Agrippa, a Regulus talisman “giveth favour” while a Sirius one “bestoweth honor and good will, and the favor of men, and Aerial spirits” and a Capella talisman “maketh him who carrieth it acceptable, honored and exalted before Kings and Princes”.¹ How is one to know which one to choose, especially considering that each has a different flavor of garnering success with completely different aims and outcomes.

This essay intends to fill in that nuance and help you understand which star to work with depending on your needs and the specific flavor you are wishing to embody, particularly in the realm of protection. This class of stars and their distinctions therein have been quite on my mind lately and I feel like people are feeling particularly destabilized in this Age of Air. I want to offer you five bridges, five distinct ways to gird yourself depending on your specific needs and circumstances, that way the medicine fits the cure.

I will cover five protective stars:

• Deneb Algedi: The Tail of the Sea Goat 23º Aquarius

• Procyon: The Little Dog, 26º Cancer

• Rigel: The Foot of the Pharaoh, 17º Gemini

• Alkaid: The Tail of the Bear, 27º Virgo

• Algol: The Head of the Gorgon, 26º Taurus

I will explore the general feelings, virtues and specific uses of the protection of these stars so you can identify which defense works best for your purpose and the magnitude of the threat.

I love using astrology for magical rituals and the stars are some of my favorites to work with in this respect. I hope you begin to engage with one of these stars, even a little bit, if you feel called to. Even just drawing down a fixed star for protection by researching it or expressing curiosity in it can help it begin to permeate your life. I have had stunning effects just by turning my attention to a specific star.

If you want to learn more about the Fixed Stars, check out my Essay Collection, available now:

But first, let’s talk protection.

The word comes from the Late Latin protectionem "a covering over," or "protect, cover in front”. This definition of some form of covering is interesting, as a friend was just saying the other day how most protection is really just shielding or disguising yourself enough so that you blend in unnoticed. While being on the offensive is pointed, aggressive and active, the defense that protection magic offers is subtler, more concerned with repose, yet no less strong. Rather than making yourself known, protection magic allows you cover from scrutiny or detection, helping you evade attack in the first place.

When does protection actually strengthen us and when is it used to separate us from the world? When is a gentler star needed and when does something drastic seem more suited? I have no easy answers. I just ask that you reflect on this before you proceed.

Deneb Algedi: The Wise Elder

Primary astrological influences on protection: Physical structures and money; borders, evil eye, all manner of interpersonal boundaries and relationships, generalized protection

This star is approachable, versatile protection star, save for Alkaid. Its powers cover a wide range of purposes and, while not without his standards, relatively calm and gentle in approach, as opposed to Algol, whom I explore below. This is a great general star, a great beginner star and, if engaged earnestly, one often does not need to go beyond it to have your defensive needs met. The uses and gifts of this generous star are legion.

Deneb Algedi marks the watery tail of the goat, a being who is at home on the peaks of mountains as well as the depths of the vast ocean. In Mesopotamia, the Capricorn constellation was associated with Enki, Sumerian god of knowledge, culture, and craft. It was he who supposedly taught civilization to humanity and represents politics and law as they benefit and uplift the individual. Manilius tells us that from the stars in the tail of Capricorn “a more virtuous old age is promised by the conjoined fish below”. ² Some of this star’s key virtues are law and integrity. In my experience, this is a star of ancestors, of tapping into the strength of the collective force of justice and the lineage of beings who allowed your birth to occur.

There’s a stewarding quality to Deneb Algedi which, when combined with its penchant for codes and rules, means that part of this star’s protectiveness comes from its uprightness. Because you have the integrity of your own moral compass to provide a container for your behavior, you are less likely to be intruded upon or detected without needing to do much else. That does not mean you have to mindlessly follow the law when the law doesn’t align with your inner conscience. This star just asks that you act in accordance with your integrity and he will take care of the rest.

Deneb Algedi’s star-based protection magic is for protecting all manner of structures and vessels. He seems to have a special affinity for the home, one of our most vital containers, particularly in keeping it fortified against thieves and pesky neighbors. My friend Shuly also points out that anything physical or material can be fortified by this star. Call on this fixed star of protection magic for preventing the destruction of buildings, to protect your money or prevent identity theft. He is also useful in cases involving legal issues and when facing the criminal justice system.

My friend Hawk has also successfully worked with Deneb Algedi to shore up boundaries and borders not as oppressive man-made impositions but in alignment with the natural barriers and structures in nature, like a river dividing up the land. As such, use Deneb Algedi to find the natural contours between self and other, separating what is yours from what is not. There has also been a more recent connection made between this star and the nazar, the bright blue eye used in many cultures to ward off the evil eye. This connection belies Deneb Algedi’s ability to cleanse us of prying or vengeful eyes, those who scrutinize us and wish us to fail. Simply call upon Deneb Algedi and ask for his help warding off destructive gazes and he will happily cloak you.