Dog Days – Astrology and Astrometorology

Sirius – The Dog Star – And You?
By Dikki-Jo Mullen
Astro-meteorology? ( That’s the astrology of the weather) and the Dog Star. The Dog Star, Sirius, has quite a collection of cosmology, dating back to the Ancient Egyptian mysticism and its focus on the annual rising of this star.
Dog days definition is – Did You Know? It’s the period between early July and early September when the hot sultry weather of summer usually occurs in the northern hemisphere.
Dog Days were historically the period following the heliacal rising of the star system Sirius, which Greek and Roman astrology connected with heat, drought, sudden thunderstorms, lethargy, fever, mad dogs, and bad luck.
“Dog Days bright and clear,
Indicate a happy year;
But when accompanied by rain,
For better times our hopes are vain.”
–Proverb
Here is excerpt from “The Witches’ Almanac” 2019 -2020, presented with the kind permission of that publication. Each year The Witches’ Almanac offers a different one of my Fixed Star Features.
Sirius – The Dog Star
By Dikki-Jo Mullen
The fixed star featured this year is Sirius, the famous Dog Star. Currently located at 14 degrees 05’ minutes of Cancer, star gazers can observe it sparkling in the mouth of the Greater Dog, Alpha Canis Major. Sirius is a brilliant white and yellow binary star and emits the brightest starlight in the heavens. Some sources even say that the polite form of address, “Sir”, derives from the name Sirius. Honor, renown, good will, the power to pacify leaders, devotion and faithful love are linked to the Dog Star when it is favorably placed. Its heavenly glow offers a reminder of hope and encouragement during these times of personal and earthly changes.
Sirius is one of the 15 Behenian Stars which were invoked in Medieval magic practices. These special stars were thought to be the power sources for planetary energies. Hermes Trismegistus and Cornelius Agrippa were among the legendary practitioners who used special diagrams to call upon the celestial energy of Sirius and the other Behenian Stars. One manuscript states that in Sirius “The Beloved appears in perfect purity”. It was honored with an image of a hound with a small virgin. But Virgil related Sirius to” a pestilence in the sky” when it was afflicted. Homer also wrote that the Dog Star’s “burning breath taints the red air with fever and plagues.” In more ancient times, in Akkadia, Sirius was seen as angelic and associated with the heavenly host.
Chinese astrologers also felt Sirius was a celestial canine deity as well as a star of great significance. They named it Tseen Lang, the heavenly wolf. When it was especially brilliant, Sirius, Chinese astrologer-magicians observed, would bring protection from evil doers. The name Sirius also suggests Seiros, a root word meaning sparkling or scorching. Long ago it was revered a source of Jupiter’s benevolent energy and a blessing from the Egyptian Gods Osirus and Thoth. Sirius is illustrated in the ancient zodiac discovered in the Temple of Hathor in Dendera, Egypt. Sirius rises during the legendary ‘dog days’ of summer, in July and August, signifying great heat and the need to adapt to seasonal changes.
Whether Sirius functions as a favorable fixed star influence or not depends upon the astrological energies it is linked with at a given time. Each year on July 5th, during the early to mid 21st Century, Sirius will be exactly conjunct the Sun. Using an orb of two degrees this extends to also impact the dates of July 3rd through the 7th., promising great success and an overall positive personal destiny or turn of events. For the whole story, though, it’s necessary to factor in all of the transits aspecting the 12th -16th degrees of Cancer , remembering to consider that 2 degree orb.
A Guide To Interpreting Sirius
With the Sun – great success, wealth and status
With the Moon – good health, intimate relationships, a beneficial parent and home.
With Mercury – business success, but a tendency toward stress and worry can cause illness and accidents are possible
With Venus – A life of ease, luxury, inherited wealth
With Mars or Pluto – recklessness, adventurous, turmoil, work in manufacturing or the military, injury from blades, power tools or natural disasters
With Jupiter – travel, great success, helpful people, connection with churches or higher education
With Saturn – perseverance and the passage of time brings progress, a favorable heritage and legacies are accented
With Uranus – gain through connections and networking, interesting friends and associates, sudden changes in fortune
With Neptune – spiritual and occult inclinations, intuitive, creativity, ease in old age
Sirius rising with Mars can indicate competition, anger, impatience and injury. Sirius at the mid-heaven is very fortunate, drawing protective friends and fame. Linked to the 8th house Sirius indicates longevity and/or honors after death as well as great wealth.
It is intriguing to note that significant Sirius transits can quite literally relate to dogs. Stories of heroic rescue dogs, fortunate pet adoptions, scandals about puppy mills and dog fights as well as incidents of dangerous attack mode behavior in dogs are all a part of the astrology of Sirius, the Dog Star.
In Agrippa’s “ Three Books Of Occult Philosophy” the beryl is a stone used in ritual magic to court the favor of Sirius and Juniper is a herb favored by this star. Agrippa related Sirius to Venus in magical workings.
During 2019 -early 2020 the eclipses on July 2, 2019 and January 10, 2020 will be quite close to the orb allowed with conjunctions with Sirius and will be marginally impacted by the Dog Star. July 13 – 17, 2019 finds transit Venus conjunct Sirius, this can be quite fortunate cycle for many.
(note: Check with your astrologer to see which planets or zodiacal house in your own personal horoscope span 12 – 16 degrees of Cancer for more insight into exactly how you can recognize the influence of Sirius, this powerful, faithful and heavenly canine companion, in your own life.)