The Lots: a thread

Lots in astrology, aka Arabic Parts, are part of a Hellenistic technique that uses particular calculations to determine the luck or fortune (in a neutral sense) of various topics

The technique is closely tied to the idea of chance

You can kinda think of it like Bingo

Your birth chart is your Bingo card and the Lot calculations are like the person calling out numbers

Depending on your Bingo card, some numbers that get called help you and some don't. It's a game of chance

The name "Lots" refers to the idea of a lottery and this random element of chance is ascribed to fate

Think about the phrase "someone's lot in life"

It refers to situations and circumstances outside of one's control

There are tons of Lot calculations

Many were used in trading like the Lot of Olives or the Lot of Legumes

The most commonly known lots are Fortune and Spirit which represent the moon and the sun respectively

There are many really practical lots tho!

The Lots I've used the most are Marriage, Siblings, Mother, Father, and Friends

There are tons of obscure lots. Some are about subjective things like Hope. Some are just vague. Some aren't really relevant

It ultimately depends on what you wanna know

The way you interpret lots is the same across the board so I'd suggest starting with the more objective ones you can verify like parents/siblings till you're more comfortable

Otherwise you could just be talking out your ass about Hope lol

Interpreting Lots

Lots are calculated points so they don't function like planets

Lots cannot make aspects to planets, planets can only make aspects to lots

Lots also occupy an entire sign. The specific degree isn't all that important

Once you've found the sign a lot is in, evaluate the dignity of planets in that sign and the ruler of that sign

Using whole sign aspects, does the ruler of the lot aspect it? Soft aspects are good. Hard aspects are better than nothing. No aspect isn't good

It's also really important to consider whole sign aspects from the lot to the ascendant as well as from the lot you're looking at to the Lot of Fortune

Maybe your Lot of Father is in aversion to your Asc and you literally don't see him often

Pay attention to whole sign aspects from benefics (Jup & Venus) and malefics (Saturn & Mars)

Benefics make things better, malefics make things worse

Malefics, even in the best condition, tend to make things rough. Don't let a domiciled, in sect malefic trip you up

Think symbolically!

If your Lot of Mother is ruled by Mercury is she always on the go? Maybe she works in retail? Maybe she's really smart? Funny? Talkative?

Maybe the Lot is in the 9H and your mom travels a lot or has a long commute?

Maybe your Lot of Father is in your Asc or with your Asc ruler and you look just like him

Maybe that planet is a malefic so your relationship is strained

Maybe your Lot of Friends is in the 6H and you only hang out with coworkers or gym buddies

Like anything in astrology, there are tons of factors to consider and it's not always easy to put everything together

Life is complicated. Most things are a mix of both good and bad

It might not all make sense at first but hopefully this is enough to get you started

To start playing around with Lots you can pull up a bunch on astro .com

Go to extended chart selection

Open "chart drawing style" and select "Arabic Points/Al-Biruni"

Generate the chart. Then click on "PDF" at the top and click "PDF Additional tables"

I don't use all of the lots that come up with this list btw

You'll eventually wanna be more discerning about the calculations you use since there are a lot of variations but this is a good starting point