Points & axes

Lots (Arabic parts)

Also known as: part of fortunelot of fortunepars fortunaearabic partsarabic lotslot of spiritpart of spirithermetic lotskleroikleroslots in astrologypart of fortune calculatorlot of fortune calculatorpart of fortune meaningpart of fortune in signspart of fortune in houseslot of eroslot of necessitylot of victorylot of couragelot of nemesispaulus alexandrinus lots

A lot (Greek kleros, Arabic part) is a sensitive point of the chart found by adding to the Ascendant the arc between two other points, usually two planets. The best known are the Lot of Fortune, which the tradition links with the body and circumstances, and the Lot of Spirit, linked with the mind and actions, together with five more Hermetic lots.

A lot, in Greek kleros, is a point of the chart that is not a planet or a star but a place worked out by arithmetic. The idea is simple. Take the distance along the zodiac between two points, for example the Sun and the Moon, and measure the same distance forward from the Ascendant. The degree where it ends is the lot. Medieval Arabic writers used the same method widely, which is why lots are also called Arabic parts, and in Latin the best known of them is pars fortunae, the Part of Fortune.

Paulus Alexandrinus, in the fourth century, set out seven lots that are called Hermetic because they come from a text attributed to Hermes. By day the formulas are these. Fortune is the Ascendant plus the Moon minus the Sun. Spirit is the Ascendant plus the Sun minus the Moon. Eros is the Ascendant plus Venus minus Spirit. Necessity is the Ascendant plus Fortune minus Mercury. Courage is the Ascendant plus Fortune minus Mars. Victory is the Ascendant plus Jupiter minus Spirit. Nemesis is the Ascendant plus Fortune minus Saturn.

In a night chart the formulas are reversed, so that the two points in each pair swap places. Valens and most modern practice reverse all seven lots. Ptolemy is the well-known exception: he did not reverse the Lot of Fortune and counted it from the Sun to the Moon in every chart. The reversal depends on sect, the division into day and night charts, which is why the sect has to be known before any lot is placed.

In the tradition the Lot of Fortune stands for the body and for circumstances: health, material situation and what happens to a person. The Lot of Spirit stands for the mind and for actions: intention, work and what a person chooses to do. The two are mirror images of each other, and many authors read them together. The other five lots take the themes of love, necessity, courage, victory and retribution, and each is read through the sign it falls in, its ruler and the house.

The Part of Fortune in the signs is read in the tradition through the ruler and the element of the sign. In a fire sign (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius) the emphasis falls on action and visibility, with Mars, the Sun or Jupiter as lord of the lot. In an earth sign (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn) it falls on work, resources and the practical side of the body, with Venus, Mercury or Saturn as lord. In an air sign (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius) it falls on exchange, contacts and agreements, with Mercury, Venus or Saturn as lord. In a water sign (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces) it falls on home, feeling and belonging, with the Moon, Mars or Jupiter as lord. The house the lot occupies adds the area of life, and the condition of its lord adds the tone.

Lots are a tradition, not a science. They describe how ancient astrologers organised the chart and are not advice or a forecast about anyone's life.

AstroSensus has a free Part of Fortune calculator. It decides the sect, then calculates the Lot of Fortune and the Lot of Spirit and gives each its sign, degree, whole-sign house and ruler. It also calculates the other five Hermetic lots. A birth time is needed, because the Ascendant is the starting point of every lot.