BETELGEUSE (Alpha Orionis). The great star Betelgeuse is one of the two that dominate mighty Orion of northern winter, the other Rigel, the pair respectively also called Alpha and Beta Orionis.
The name Betelgeuse is a corruption of the Arabic “yad al jauza,” which means the “hand of al-jauza,” al-jauza the ancient Arabs’ “Central One,” a mysterious woman.