The swift Hare: constellation Lepus
Swift athletes, tricksters and shape-shifters
Lepus, the Hare, is a small constellation that sits under Orion1. Currently, the alpha star, Arneb, is projected at 21° Gemini, while the beta star Nihal is projected at 20° Gemini.
My colleague and friend Leigh, aka Mantodea, has been researching Lepus and as someone with natal Lepus emphasis, I’ve been excited to discuss this with her. I highly recommend booking with her if you want to explore your own Lepus connections!
My posts on here are almost always too long for emails, but this one is especially lengthy, because there was a lot to cover. First, we’ll go over astronomical considerations, and since Lepus stars are not referenced in the parans file available through Astrodienst nor Bernadette Brady’s website, I’ve included a (non-paywalled) sample of Heliacal Rising and Setting dates across a variety of locations for convenience. Then we’ll dive into folklore around hares, from Roman customs to French and Irish tales around witches and the Fair Folk. Finally, we’ll see what we can derive in the way of astrological delineations from source texts as well as personal gnosis and research, and explore some example charts. My hope is that this article can help get to know Lepus, or deepen your understanding of this awe-inspiring constellation. Looking forward to your feedback, as always!
Astronomy
In Babylonian Star-Lore, Gavin White shares that the constellation we now know as Lepus appears in the Babylonian star-map as The Rooster, a walking bird following at the heels of the True Shepherd of Anu (Orion). There are various constellations and stars currently associated with roosters, among which Procyon of Canis Minor and Alphecca of Corona Borealis; and when looking for birth charts tied to roosters and hens, that’s what came up for me. However, I find it interesting to keep in mind that Lepus was previously known as a Rooster, and already tied into stories with surrounding constellations (more on this later).
Lepus was one of the 48 constellations listed as such by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations. Ptolemy wrote of the constellation as the Hare2, and various delineations derive from Lepus setting as the Eagle, Aquila, rises — the hare running from the eagle. Manilius also mentions the hare as running from the lion, Leo. Aratus describes Lepus as grey and bright-eyed, and says: “Beneath both feet of Orion is the Hare pursued continually through all time, while Sirius behind for ever borne as in pursuit. Close behind he rises and as he sets he eyes the setting Hare.” Indeed, Lepus is situated next to Canis Major, near Orion’s feet. Its stars are relatively faint, and the constellation has been identified as a Hare among other things; a thirsty camel drinking at the Milky Way, Osiris’ boat, the Shed.
Interestingly, the Egyptian hieroglyph for the verb "to be" or "existing" was a hare crouched over a squiggly line of water. In Starlight, Bernadette Brady writes:
In Egyptian mythology there is a Sacred Hare whose role was to guard or collect and/or deliver the sacred egg for the goddess. The egg was life itself and in this capacity the hare was seen as a messenger for the goddess. In modern times we now call the Great Sacred Hare the Easter Bunny and he or she is still busy with the eggs of life.
The name of the western constellation in modern Chinese is 天兔座 (tiān tù zuò), meaning "the celestial rabbit constellation". The constellation is also associated with the Moon rabbit; hares are by and large considered Lunar animals, across a variety of cultures. The idiom “mad as a March hare” is but a synonym for “lunatic”, referring to the hares’ mating period, during which they behave excitedly, fight each other vigorously — in short, appear to be in a frenzy.
Arneb and Nihal are the two named stars in the constellation; Arneb is in the middle of the hare’s body, while Nihal sits below its belly. Arneb (أرنب ’arnab), means "hare" in Arabic, while Nihal comes from the Arabic for “quenching their thirst”.
Arneb is much younger than Nihal, and brighter. Indeed, Arneb has a mass about 14 times that of the Sun, 129 times the Solar radius, and it is 32,000 times more luminous, but is believed to be about 13 million years old, a very old star in the final stages of its life. It is either still expanding or has passed through the supergiant stage and is in the process of contracting and heating up. Arneb is expected to meet its end as a supernova. On the other hand, Nihal has 3.5 Solar masses and 16 times the Solar radius, and believed to be about 240 million years old. It is is a double star system and possibly a binary star. It is composed of two stars separated by 2.58 arc-seconds. The companion star is a suspected variable.
Heliacal Rising dates
Arneb and Nihal become Heliacal Rising stars shortly one after the other (in that order, unless otherwise specified), in the summer. I’ve compiled precise dates for a sample of locations in 2025:
Singapore, Singapore: June 15th, June 16th
Bangkok, Thailand: June 25th, June 26th (Nihal first)
Dakar, Senegal: June 26th3
Mexico, Mexico and Port-au-Prince, Haiti: June 29th
Calcutta, India: July 3rd
Austin, TX: July 9th
Cairo, Egypt: July 9th, July 10th
Marrakech, Morocco and Shanghai, China: July 10th, July 11th
Los Angeles, CA: July 12th, July 13th
Tehran, Iran: July 14th, July 15th
Tokyo, Japan: July 14th, July 16th
Athens, Greece: July 16th, July 18th
New York, NY: July 19th, July 21st
Istanbul, Turkey: July 20th, Just 21st
Chicago, IL and Madrid, Spain: July 20th, July 22nd
Rome, Italy: July 21st, July 22nd
Vladivostok, Russia: July 22nd, July 24th
Bordeaux, France: July 24th, July 26th
Lyon, France: July 25th, July 27th
Nantes, France: July 27th, July 29th
Vienna, Austria: July 28th, July 30th
Paris, France and Vancouver, Canada: July 29th, July 31st
Brussels, Belgium: July 31st, August 3rd
London, England: August 1st, August 4th
Berlin, Germany: August 3rd, August 5th
Dublin, Ireland and Unalaska, AK: August 4th, August 7th
Copenhagen, Denmark: August 7th, August 10th
Moscow, Russia: August 7th, August 11th
Stockholm, Sweden: August 13th, August 17th
Reykjavik, Iceland: August 22nd, August 27th
Heliacal Setting dates
In some locations in the Southern hemisphere, Arneb and Nihal do not appear as Heliacal Rising stars, but do as Heliacal Setting stars during the winter. Here are the dates for 2024-2025:
Kigali, Rwanda: December 16th, December 17th (Nihal first)
Kinshasa, Congo: December 18th, December 19th (Nihal first)
Luanda, Angola: December 21th
Lima, Peru: December 23rd, December 24th (Nihal first)
Antananarivo, Madagascar: December 29th
Perth, Australia: January 9th, January 10th
Santiago, Chile and Cape Town, South Africa: January 10th, January 11th
Sydney, Australia and Buenos Aires, Argentina: January 11th, January 12th
Melbourne, Australia: January 14th, January 16th
Wellington, New-Zealand: January 18th, January 19th
Punta Arenas, Chile: January 31st, February 3rd