Scheat

latin: Scheat · arabic: al-sāʿid (الساعد)

Definition

Scheat is the star marking the shoulder of the Horse in the constellation Pegasus, designated Beta Pegasi. The Arabic name al-sāʿid (الساعد, 'the upper arm') describes the star's position on the figure. In the Hellenistic-Egyptian Hermetic per-degree catalogs Scheat is fixed at 5°36' Pisces with a Mercury-and-Mars nature, opening the Chapter III fixed-star sequence for Pisces just after the latter parts of Pegasus enter the sign.

In Tradition

The Hellenistic-era Hermetic transmission preserved in the Liber Hermetis names Scheat as one of the per-degree stars of Pisces carrying a recorded planetary nature. The Mercury-Mars complexion places Scheat in the tradition's sharp-and-quick register, contrasting with the heavier Saturn-Jupiter or Saturn-Venus assignments of other named per-degree stars in the catalog.

In Practice

Astrologers reading Scheat anchor the star at 5°36' Pisces per the Liber Hermetis Chapter III catalog. The Mercury-Mars assignment is read as Scheat's planetary complexion when the star rises, culminates, or conjoins a natal point. Per-degree practice treats the rising minute as the operative threshold: 5°36' Pisces in the ascendant is when the Scheat signification activates. The Liber Hermetis surrounds Scheat with related per-degree stars — the latter parts of Pegasus at 1°-3° Pisces, the Tail of the Crocodile at 4°-6°, d Piscium (Nodus Piscium / the Thread) at 14°26' (Saturn-Venus nature), and the head of Pegasus at 13°-15° — together composing the per-sign catalog's mapping of early-to-mid Pisces. The star sits well north of the ecliptic, so paranatella and parallel-of-declination work supplement direct longitudinal aspect for practitioners reading Scheat at sensitive natal points.

Historical Origin

Scheat is named in the Liber Hermetis Chapter III per-sign fixed-star catalog for Pisces, preserved in the Gundel 1936 critical edition and translated by Robert Zoller for Project Hindsight. The Hermetic-corpus text is Hellenistic-era Greek-original (2nd c. BCE - 3rd c. CE) transmitted via Latin redaction; the Pisces section CLOSES the Chapter III twelve-sign fixed-star sequence. The Arabic name al-sāʿid is medieval Islamic-astronomical, inherited into the Western fixed-star tradition through medieval Latin transmission.

Etymology

Origin: Arabic. Meaning: From Arabic al-sāʿid (الساعد), 'the upper arm' or 'shin', describing the star's position on the figure of Pegasus..

Further Reading

  • Robert Zoller, Liber Hermetis (Project Hindsight)
  • Bernadette Brady, Brady's Book of Fixed Stars
  • Vivian E. Robson, The Fixed Stars and Constellations in Astrology