The history of the star Arrakis

from p.211 of Star Names, Richard Hinckley Allen, 1889.
[A scanned copy can be viewed on this webpage]

Mu (μ) Draco, Arrakis, "the Dancer", is a binary star, 5 and 5.1, brilliant white and pale white marking the nose or tongue of the Dragon.

Al Rakis, from the 15th century Tartar astronomer Ulug Beg's catalogue, turned into Arrakis and Errakis, generally has been thought to signify the Dancer, perhaps to the neighboring Lute-player, the star beta (β Alwaid); but here probably the Trotting Camel, one of the group of those animals located in this spot. The German astronomer Ideler (1766-1846) added for it Al Rafad, the Camel Pasturing Freely, that the original, differently pointed, may mean. The little star in the centre of the group of Camels, beta (β Alwaid), gamma (γ Etamin), mu (μ this star Arrakis), nu (ν Kuma), and xi (ξ Grumium), is named Al Ruba' on the Borgian globe, although almost invisible; but did not appear in the catalogues till Giuseppe Piazzi, Italian astronomer (1746-1826)'s time, except with Julius Schiller in his Coelum Stellatum Christianum of 1627, where it is the 37th star in his constellation of the Holy Innocents.

Assemani mentioned mu (μ this star Arrakis) as Al Ca'ab, the Little Shield or Salver, but gave no reason for this, and its inappropriateness renders the claim very doubtful.

In modern drawings it marks the nose or tongue of Draco.

[Star Names, Their Lore and Meaning, Richard Hinckley Allen, 1889].

The astrological influences of the constellation Draco

Legend: Draco represents the dragon that guarded the golden apples in the garden of the Hesperides. According to other accounts, however, it is either the dragon thrown by the giants at Minerva in their war with the Gods, or the serpent Python slain by Apollo after the deluge. [Robson*, p.43.]

Influences: According to Ptolemy the bright stars are like Saturn and Mars. Draco gives an artistic and emotional but somber nature, a penetrating and analytical mind, much travel and many friends but danger of robbery and of accidental poisoning. It was said by the Ancients that when a comet was here poison was scattered over the world. By the Kabalists it is associated with the Hebrew letter Mem and the 13th Tarot Trump "Death." [Robson*, p.43.]