Astrology Lot Analysis FAQ
“Lots tell you where to put your energy.” - Stephen P., Durango, CO
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“This is incredibly valuable information!” - Scott O., Steamboat Springs, CO
Lot of Fortune
Where to put your energy
Antidote for feeling not good enough
Do this if success feels elusive
Lot of Spirit
How to improve your mental health
Antidote for the blues
Do this when you struggle to be happy
Lot of Eros
What motivates and interests you
Antidote for boredom
Do this if you're not feeling inspired
What are astrological lots?
Why are they called that?
Have you ever heard the expression “It's just your lot in life”? It's like that.
Lots are an ancient technique that gives astrologers a way to estimate each individual's fate or fortune in different life areas. You might know some people who always have incredible relationships but can't keep any job to save their lives, while others are the exact opposite. These differences can often be traced back to the lots in their natal charts.
Medieval Arabic astrologers believed that everyone had a potential band of success. Not everyone could be king. Not everyone could be an athletic champion. But everybody had the ability to achieve a certain level of wealth, health, and happiness. However, bad decisions or uninformed choices could cause people to fall short of their top potential.
Astrologers use lots to evaluate a person’s level of potential and make recommendations on how to maximize that.
So they're called lots because they indicate your "lot" or allotment in areas like health, love, and finance. They are sometimes also called “parts,” so you may see the term Part of Fortune instead of Lot of Fortune.
"A woman in harmony with her spirit is like a river flowing. She goes where she will without pretense and arrives at her destination prepared to be herself and only herself."
Maya Angelou
The earliest written references occur in Greek language astrological texts from the 1st century CE. They were obviously well-established in Hellenistic astrology by then, so they probably date back even earlier, perhaps to Mesopotamian or Babylonian sources.
They've been used for the last 2,000 years. But some astrological traditions like Islamicate astrology and medieval Western astrology significantly expanded their use.
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Lots can help you understand why certain areas of your life seem to go really well while others are a perpetual struggle or slog – and indicate what you can do about that. They show where to focus your energies to get the best return and what activities will help when life feels blah or you've lost your enthusiasm.
They indicate where in the world you'll find your best success, where to move to improve health or finances. They answer questions like why you gravitate to your favorite vacation spot or why your business fell apart when you moved across the country (that's my personal example!)
And they also can explain quirky life patterns that might otherwise be perplexing (like why I do my most original work when I'm unprepared.)
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We're now using lots to understand mental and emotional health and provide helpful prescriptive advice for topics like depression, anxiety, and lack of enthusiasm for life.
Also, in today's mobile society, lots are extremely helpful to understand how relocations for a job, education, vacation or retirement might affect a person’s health and success.
Getting a lot analysis of your natal chart puts you on the cutting edge of astrology, using ancient techniques in a brand new, modern context
Where do lots come from?
What can lots tell you about yourself?
"And Fortune signifies everything that concerns the body, and what one does through the course of life. It becomes indicative of possessions, reputation, and privilege."
Paulus Alexandrinus
Astrologer, 4th century CE
How are lots calculated?
How does lot astrology relate to the planetary astrology you normally hear about?
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Find the distance between two placements – like a planet or a light or even another lot – in an astrology chart, and then move that many degrees forward from the ascendant (that is the tropical zodiac degree that's rising on the eastern horizon at the time the chart is cast.) This is why you need an accurate birth time within about 20 minutes to find your lots.
For example, your Lot of Fortune is based on the distance between the Sun and the Moon in your natal chart. So if you were born when the Moon was 180° from the Sun, then your Lot of Fortune would be 180° from your ascendant.
The Board Game Analogy
You know how in a board game, you roll a dice, and then move that many spaces forward from the starting point.
It's the same idea with lots, except instead of rolling a random number on the dice, you use the number of degrees between two points in your chart. Then you move forward that many degrees from your ascendant. If two planets are 90° apart, then you find the lot associated with them by moving 90° forward from your ascendant, which is 1/4 of the chart.
There are hundreds of potential lots, depending on what life topic you're trying to evaluate. Most people start with the Lots of Fortune and Spirit which apply to the core topics of physical, mental, and emotional health and success.
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There's a lot of overlap with planetary astrology. Lots also occur in signs and houses, and they receive aspects or angles from planets. They work together with your natal planetary astrology.
However, the lots can be more personal than the planets. Everyone born on the same day has many similar planetary placements. Since the lots take the angles between the planets and then project them from the ascendant, they are much more personalized to an individual's time of birth.
This is part of why twins can have such different life paths even though their planets look very similar. Their lots can be very different, changing quickly over a span of 20 minutes to an hour between the two births.
So the lots can answer a lot of personal life questions about the nuances of your individual experiences even though everybody born on your birthday has similar planets.
"Fortune brings in some boats that are not steered."
William Shakespeare
How Lot Analysis Works
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How do you figure out whether a lot is in good condition or not?
We will look at three areas:
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The house the lot falls into
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The sign the lot falls into
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The planet that rules that sign, and its house and sign
For all three, we will consider the following:
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Are the house and sign pleasant or challenging?
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Is the ruling planet able to support the lot?
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How do pleasant or challenging planets interact with the lot and the ruling planet?
Conventional wisdom says you just have to accept that some areas of your life will suck, but, actually, this analysis helps you figure out what you can do to bolster those challenging areas.
The Airbnb Analogy
Anyone who's used a vacation rental website knows that two sets of factors determine whether what looked good online is actually a nice place to stay!
One is the accommodation itself.
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Is it in good condition?
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Is it in a good location?
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Do adverse factors like noisy neighbors or a busy street make it an unpleasant place to stay?
The second is the quality of the host.
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A good host is close enough to be available if there's a problem but not so close as to be constantly underfoot.
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Some hosts are great at communicating and can easily recommend a restaurant or find a plumber if needed.
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But other hosts are hard to get in touch with or ineffective problem-solvers when something goes wrong.
(Once in London, we were mystified about why our host took eight hours to answer our messages and couldn't find anyone to fix the bathroom leak. It turned out he was vacationing in Canada!)
Lots are like Air BnBs. In order to have things go well, you need the lot to be in a good location, and you need its host – in astrology, that's the ruling planet – to be in a strong position.
Most life struggles can be traced to a problem in one or both of those areas.
How do you improve the condition of a lot in the natal chart?
Working with the energies - once you understand where the lot is and how it functions, it may be easier to maximize the best energies that it's capable of. This doesn't always fix all problems, but it can make the best of the situation and significantly improve the lot's function in your life.
Remediation - if the problem stems from a ruling planet that's not in good condition, there are traditional remedies that can improve that planet’s function. These are typically not too expensive or onerous and involve things like changing the foods you eat, the colors you wear, and adding in some extra ritual or spiritual activities.
Location - a difficult sign or a weak ruling planet can often be improved by a change in location. This may involve an actual move, but it can also be effective to vacation in a different spot, pursue partnerships or remote projects in a better place for you, or simply add remote elements into your daily life, like setting a picture of the better location as the home screen on your cell phone.
Your natal chart lot analysis will include recommendations for any of these that apply to your situation.