What are the seven Hermetic lots?

A set of seven calculated points in a Hellenistic birth chart, one for each of the seven visible planets: the Lot of Fortune (Moon), Lot of Spirit (Sun), Lot of Eros (Venus), Lot of Necessity (Mercury), Lot of Courage (Mars), Lot of Victory (Jupiter) and Lot of Nemesis (Saturn).

How is the Lot of Eros calculated?

In a day chart, measure the zodiacal arc from the Lot of Spirit to Venus and project that same distance forward from the Ascendant. In a night chart, reverse the arc: measure from Venus to the Lot of Spirit and project from the Ascendant.

Why do the Hermetic lots use Fortune or Spirit in their formulas?

In Paulus Alexandrinus's system, the benefic lots of Spirit (Eros and Victory, linked to Venus and Jupiter) are measured from or to the Lot of Spirit, while the lots tied to Mercury, Mars and Saturn (Necessity, Courage and Nemesis) are measured from or to the Lot of Fortune.

Can you use the Hermetic lots for timing?

Yes. Vettius Valens and later authors profect from the lots and release from them in zodiacal releasing — most often from Spirit for career and purpose, Fortune for health and circumstances, and Eros for relationships.

The seven Hermetic lots

Beyond the Lot of Fortune and the Lot of Spirit, the Greek tradition computes five planetary lots attributed to Hermes — Eros, Necessity, Courage, Victory and Nemesis — together with the Lots of Basis and Exaltation.

The heptad of lots

In the twenty-third chapter of his Introductory Matters (378 CE), Paulus Alexandrinus preserves the system of seven lots attributed to the ancient book called Panaretos. Where the Lot of Fortune belongs to the Moon and the Lot of Spirit to the Sun, each of the five remaining wandering stars receives its own lot, measured as an arc from the planet to either Fortune or Spirit and projected from the rising degree (the horoskopos).

Because Fortune and Spirit themselves swap direction between a day chart and a night chart, the five planetary lots also reverse their arcs by night. Each lot lands in a whole-sign place and is judged by the condition of its domicile lord, its bound lord and the planets in configuration with it.

Formulas of the seven Hermetic lots

Lot	Planet	Day chart arc (from Ascendant)	Night chart arc (from Ascendant)	Chief topics
Fortune	Moon	Sun → Moon	Moon → Sun	The body, health, fortune, livelihood and what befalls a person from outside
Spirit	Sun	Moon → Sun	Sun → Moon	The soul, intellect, deliberate action, vocation and what one initiates
Eros	Venus	Spirit → Venus	Venus → Spirit	Desire, affection, friendship, appetite and chosen attachments
Necessity	Mercury	Fortune → Mercury	Mercury → Fortune	Constraint, obligations, rivalries, subordination and binding ties
Courage	Mars	Fortune → Mars	Mars → Fortune	Boldness, daring, conflict, rashness and military or physical exertion
Victory	Jupiter	Spirit → Jupiter	Jupiter → Spirit	Success, good faith, allies, enterprise, trust and favourable outcomes
Nemesis	Saturn	Fortune → Saturn	Saturn → Fortune	Hidden burdens, reckoning, exile, grief and what humbles or tests

Basis, Exaltation and the topical lots

Alongside the seven Hermetic lots, Vettius Valens (Anthology Book II) employs two structural lots and dozens of topical lots:

The Lot of Basis (Foundation). Reckoned across the shorter arc between Fortune and Spirit and projected from the Ascendant, tying the lunar and solar halves of the chart to a single anchor.
The Lot of Exaltation. Counted from the Sun to Aries (19° Aries, the Sun's exaltation) by day, and from the Moon to Taurus (3° Taurus, the Moon's exaltation) by night, then projected from the rising sign to show eminence and distinction.
The topical lots. The Lots of the Father, the Mother, Siblings, Children, Marriage, Debt, Accusation and Foreign Travel, read alongside the twelve whole-sign places so each topic has both a fixed house and a movable lot.

How Occult Astrology shows it

The Lots section of every birth chart computes Fortune, Spirit, all five planetary Hermetic lots, Basis, Exaltation and the topical lots of the family and life topics, naming each lot's sign, degree, whole-sign place from the Ascendant, domicile lord and bound lord. In zodiacal releasing, you can release time-lord periods from Spirit, Fortune or Eros.

Questions

What are the seven Hermetic lots?: A set of seven calculated points in a Hellenistic birth chart, one for each of the seven visible planets: the Lot of Fortune (Moon), Lot of Spirit (Sun), Lot of Eros (Venus), Lot of Necessity (Mercury), Lot of Courage (Mars), Lot of Victory (Jupiter) and Lot of Nemesis (Saturn).
How is the Lot of Eros calculated?: In a day chart, measure the zodiacal arc from the Lot of Spirit to Venus and project that same distance forward from the Ascendant. In a night chart, reverse the arc: measure from Venus to the Lot of Spirit and project from the Ascendant.
Why do the Hermetic lots use Fortune or Spirit in their formulas?: In Paulus Alexandrinus's system, the benefic lots of Spirit (Eros and Victory, linked to Venus and Jupiter) are measured from or to the Lot of Spirit, while the lots tied to Mercury, Mars and Saturn (Necessity, Courage and Nemesis) are measured from or to the Lot of Fortune.
Can you use the Hermetic lots for timing?: Yes. Vettius Valens and later authors profect from the lots and release from them in zodiacal releasing — most often from Spirit for career and purpose, Fortune for health and circumstances, and Eros for relationships.

Occult Astrology reads a birth chart the way the Greek-language astrologers of antiquity did. Cast a chart and compare it with a Vedic and a modern reading of the same sky.

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