SYRIUS. Sirius is the alpha or brightest star of the constellation Canis Major, the Greater Dog, known also as Orion's Dog. It lies in a descending line from Orion's belt, and is the brightest star in the heavens, best seen in winter and in summer. It thus rules the extremes of heat and cold, and the scorching heat of Sirius the dog star was thought to account for the "dog days" of summer.

Boethius remarks that the seeds sown when Arcturus was high in the sky grow to high ears when Sirius scorches them, Bo I, Metr 5.26-28. [Alhabor]