| SCHEDIR | |
| Alpha Cassiopeia | |
| 06TAU24 | 07TAU47 |
| +55.59' | +56.31' |
| 00h40m | +46.37' |
| K0 | 2.5 |
History of the star: A multiple and slightly variable, 2.2 to 2.8, pale rose on Cassiopeia the Ethiopian Queen. Schedar is first found in the Alfonsine Tables, and was Schedir with Hevelius; Shadar, Schedar, Shedar, Sheder, Seder, Shedis, Zedaron, etc., elsewhere; and all supposed to be from Al Sadr, the Breast, which the star marks in the figure. Some, however, have asserted that they are from the Persian Shuter for the constellation. Ulug Beg called it Al Dhat al Kursiyy from the whole, which Riccioli changed to Dath Elkarti. Smyth said that it was known as Lucida Cassiopea, — a matter-of-fact statement, as the brightest star in any sky figure is the lucida.
[Star
Names,
Their Lore and Meaning, Richard Hinchley Allen,
1889. P. 145-146]
The astrological influences of the constellation: Haughtiness, boastfulness, exaggerated pride and at the same time power of commanding respect. The Ethiopian Queen is associated the Hebrew letter Beth and the 2nd Tarot Trump "The High Priestess". (Robson).
The astrological influences of the constellation given by Manilius:
"Cassiope will produce goldsmiths who can turn their work into a thousand different shapes, endow the precious substance with yet greater value, and add thereto the vivid hue of Jewels. From Cassiope come the gifts of Augustus which gleam in the temples he consecrated, where the blaze of gold rivals the sun's brightness and the fires of gems flash forth light out of shadow. From Cassiope come the memorials of Pompey's triumph of old and the trophies which bear the features of Mithridates: they remain to this very day, spoils undimmed by the passage of time, their sparkle as fresh as ever.
"From Cassiope
come the enhancement of beauty and devices for adorning the
body: from gold has been sought the means to give grace to the
appearance; precious stones have been spread over head, neck,
and hands and golden chains have shone on snow-white feet. What
products would a grand lady like Cassiope prefer her sons to
handle rather than those she could turn to her own
employments? And that material for such employment should not be
lacking, she bids men look for gold beneath the ground, uproot
all which nature stealthily conceals, and turn earth upside down
in search of gain; she bids them detect the treasure in lumps of
ore and finally, for all its reluctance, expose it to a sky it
has never seen. The son of Cassiope will also count greedily the
yellow sands, and drench a dripping beach with a new flood; he
will make small weights to measure the tiny grains, or else will
collect the wealth of gold-foaming Pactolus; or he will smelt
lumps of silver, separating the hidden metal and causing the
mineral to flow forth in a running stream; otherwise he will
become a trader of the metals produced by these two craftsmen,
ever ready to change coinage of the one metal into wares of the
other. Such are the inclinations which Cassiope will fashion in
those born under her" [Manilius,
Astronomica, book 5, 1st century AD, p.343.]