Baldur's Stars: The One Who Kneels
Nearly all cultures called this constellation “The Kneeler”, except for one Arab nomad group who referred to it as “The Dancer”. There are various myths laid onto it to explain its kneeling/dancing posture, or in some cases not to bother to explain it at all. The Greeks called it Hercules after their hero, although that seems to be more because of earlier Babylonian astrologers calling it
Its meanings are also a mixed bag. On the one hand, the Athenian Greeks associated it with heroism and warlike behavior, glory and strength of character. Medieval astrologers associated it with risky business and tightrope walking. On the other hand. On the other hand, other Grecian astrologers named him Prometheus chained to a rock, or Ixion bound to a wheel, or a weeping Lycaon mourning Kallisto, or a variously named solar hero, or Eidolon—meaning phantom or ghost. The Phoenicians named him Melkarth after their sea-god. If you put all the names together, you get not just a hero but a sacrificed hero. Even Hercules himself was, in the end, burnt alive and resurrected as a divine hero.
Finally, Bernadette Brady points out that the constellation resembles the Egyptian hieroglyph for someone kneeling to give service to the Gods, and its main star, Ras Algethi (‘the head of the kneeler”), indicates bowing to the natural order of the world, seeking the correct order in things, and a spontaneous need to submit to something larger.
On our side, “Baldur the Bright” is a solar figure, a euhemerized warrior-hero in an early saga and a sacrificial prince in a later one. He is loved by all of Asgard, his mother walks the world making everything swear not to harm him, but of course he is killed anyway. His death follows in the footsteps of many sacred kings, but beyond that the Gods are unable to bring him back from death, even when they try. Baldur must kneel and be sacrificed to the natural order, which includes Death—in a way, he dies so that the other Gods can live on. Like the constellation, he goes from a symbol of heroism to a kneeling sacrifice. This star is the Mistletoe Dart that takes his life and makes him into the Light in Darkness who is prayed to today.
There are other stars in Hercules which are named and noted. One is Kajam, “the club”, which is the weapon in the upraised arm. It indicates danger about to strike, and it is Hoder’s Arm which threw the mistletoe dart, aimed by Loki in his role as Breaker of Worlds. Hoder was killed by Váli and became the blind Guide in Darkness. Additionally, the actual brightest star in the constellation is Kornephoros, “club-bearer”, which belongs to Baldur’s wife Nanna. She threw herself onto his pyre to be with him, and became the goddess of Love In Darkness.