Kaus Australis
Epsilon Sagittarii — the southern part of the bow
- Position (J2000)
- 5°05′ Capricorn
- Magnitude
- 1.85
- Colour
- Blue-white
- Spectrum
- B9.5 III
- Distance
- 143 light-years
- Nature
- Jupiter · Mars
In the sky
Kaus Australis is the brightest star in Sagittarius at magnitude 1.85, a blue-white giant 143 light-years away, with a faint companion beside it. It marks the southern end of the Archer's bow and the lower corner of the Teapot, the shape most people see in these stars today. The Archer stands near the bright centre of our galaxy, and on clear nights the Milky Way rises from his bow like steam.
The name joins two languages: the Arabic for a bow and the Latin for southern. Kaus Australis is the southern part of the bow, as Kaus Borealis is the northern part and Kaus Media the middle.
The myth
The Archer is a centaur, sometimes said to be Chiron, the wise teacher of heroes, and in another telling Crotus, the son of Pan, who lived among the Muses, invented archery, and was the first to applaud their songs by clapping his hands. The Muses asked Zeus to place him among the stars. In the sky the Archer's arrow is aimed at Antares, the heart of the Scorpion.
Ptolemy gave the stars of the bow the nature of Jupiter and Mars: aim and purpose joined to the force that looses the arrow. The star is read as the quiver held ready, with the arrows kept until the true shot. It asks for patience that is not hesitation, and a willingness to let the shot be loosed by whoever is best placed to make it.
What it gives
- Aim The native knows what the effort is for, and holds a clear target in view over long distances.
- Patience for the true shot The native can wait without losing focus, and acts when the moment is clean rather than when the pressure is greatest.
- Purpose and the long view Jupiter gives a philosophical bent, a love of the far horizon and a sense that a life is a journey with an end in mind.
- Generosity with the bow Like Crotus, the native can applaud another's good shot, and is willing to hand the arrow to whoever can loose it best.
What to watch for
- Aim taken forever Waiting for the perfect moment can become an arrow never released. The gift is fulfilled when the native accepts a good moment as the true one.
- The quiver emptied at shadows Mars can spend the arrows on every passing target. Keeping them for the one that matters is the star's discipline.
- Needing to be the archer The native may insist on making every shot personally. Letting a companion loose the arrow can bring the target down sooner.
- The target as the whole world A fixed aim can narrow the view until everything else is missed. Looking up from the target now and then keeps the long view truly long.
How to work with it
Name the one target that matters in any undertaking, and let the lesser ones go.
Decide in advance what will count as the right moment, so that patience has a clear signal to end.
Share the arrows: give others the chance to make the shot, and applaud it when they do.
Keep a practice of study, travel or reflection that feeds the long view between the shots.
In brief
Kaus Australis is the southern part of the Archer's bow and the brightest star in Sagittarius. It gives a clear aim, patience for the true shot, a love of the long view and generosity in sharing the bow. Its risks are an aim held forever, arrows spent on shadows, the need to make every shot oneself, and a target that narrows the whole world. The placement works best where the arrows are kept close until the shot is clean, and then loosed without regret.