station 5: haq'a
orion's head in the clouds
Hi y’all,
Today I’m happy to share my essay on al-Haq’a, the 5th lunar station which falls towards the latter half of Gemini these days, from approximately 16º30 Gemini to 29º23 Gemini!
This station is near and dear to my heart because it is place that my fiance’s natal Moon falls. Eli’s been here with my through nearly my entire journey with astrology and magic so I’ve had eye on this station for many years and been lucky to have quite a number of experiences working with and venerating it. It’s name is variously translated as “the White Spot” or “the Hair Whorl” but I’ve come to affectionately think of it as “Orion’s Head in the Clouds” or “Orion’s White Cowlick.”
Before I jump all the way in, I also want to take a minute to shout out this really cool project my friend Hawk made!
They shared this post on their blog recently that I’m really jazzed about: Sidereal Lunar Mansions using the Tropical Zodiac. They built a calculator on Google Sheets that will calculate the boundaries of the sidereal mansions using the tropical zodiac. I’ve mentioned before that it’s kind of logistical nightmare to keep track of. Probably one of the greatest barriers to this blended approach of tropical signs + sidereal stations is just keeping all the calculations straight and I’m really excited that Hawk has given us a new tool to do that. Thank you, Hawkie!!
Okay so: Haq’a !
The magic of the 5th station is quite multivalent and, generally speaking, moderate in temperament. This station can be used in magic related to studies and travels (especially the safe return from travels) and petitioning those in a place of authority. It’s not all so highbrow though. Al-Buni says that when the Moon is in this station you should “
do good works and not-so-good works.” We can petition the king under Haq’a but we can also poison friendships. This one is an erudite trickster.
In this essay, we will explore the following themes:
The head is a core symbol of the 5th lunar station, whether as a head in the clouds, a head in the books, or the head of a deer fleeing away.
This station is associated with scholarly pursuits, recognition by authority, care for the body (especially hair/skin/nails) and spiritual protection.
What can we see when we plunge our heads into the mist and fog? Haq’a attenuates us to the dream world, imagination and other forms of liminal states.
Haq’a leans slightly beneficent (and slightly masculine) but is essentially neutral. Perhaps we could call “open-mindedness” a characteristic of this station.
There is perhaps an association with agriculture and/or foraging that can be explored with this station.
A collection of Haq’a correspondences
Tropical coordinates: approximately 16º30 Gemini - 29º23 Gemini
Letter: ه hā’
Indicator: Meissa, λ Orionis most specifically, but this station is indicated by the entire constellation of Orion
Plants: Generally white ones, but there’s not much to go on in the literature. Personally, I suspect this station has a special relationship with incense resins as a whole. Al-Buni gives an incense for each station, but for Haq’a gives an especially long list of “nidd” (see notes on my blog), aloeswood, frankincense, benzoin, mastic. Also consider plants with milky white leaves or flowers as well as glaucous plants which have a whitish coating on their leaves/fruits.
Substances: Anything white is a good place to start. From my own experimentation, possibly milky, adularescent stones such as moonstone and soft, white stones like selenite or alabaster. This station is also associated with anything used for care of the hair, skin and nails (which is a signification you can go wild with).
Animals: Swift and flighty animals like deer and antelope and swooping birds of prey, most especially the falcon. Animals that quest and search and run/fly away from humans when we approach carelessly.
Angel: Iqbāl إقبال
Inloes’ al-Buni gives “hair whorl” as a translation of Haq’a (I interpret this to mean something like a cowlick) while most other European sources (like Volguine or Allen, for example) give something like “white spot.” Whatever it means, it’s a pretty rare word that I haven’t been able to investigate much with my level of Arabic knowledge.
Want to read more? Check out the rest on my site!