PART OFFORTUNE
The part of fortune, an imaginary point in an astrological chart, can be determined in
two different ways. The first way is to measure the angular distance between the Sun
and the Moon, and then find the point in the chart where the Moon would fall if—
keeping the angular distance constant—the Sun were to be moved to the ascendant
(the sign and degree of the zodiac on the eastern horizon at the moment of birth). The
point where the Moon would then fall is the part of fortune. To clarify this with a con-
crete example, if in a given natal chart the Sun is at 10° Aries and the Moon at 20°
Taurus (Aries and Taurus are successive signs), then the Sun-Moon angle (i.e., the
angular distance between the Sun and Moon) is 40°. In this same chart the ascendant
is located at 5° Libra. If the chart is then imaginarily rotated until the Sun is at 5°
Libra, the Moon would be at 15° Scorpio (40° away from 5° Libra). Thus, the part of
fortune would be located at 15° Scorpio. This method of locating the part of fortune is
actually a simplification of the older method for finding this part.
In the more traditional approach, the above example is correct for daytime
births (i.e., for when the Sun is above the horizon). For nighttime births, however,
one imaginarily rotates the chart until the Moon rather than the Sun is on the ascen-
dant. Where the Sun then falls is then where one locates the part of fortune. For
example, re-envision the above example with the ascendant at 15° Libra. Whereas in
the first example the Sun was just above the horizon, in this new example the Sun is
just below the horizon. The angular distance between the Sun and the Moon is still
40°, but the part of fortune is now 40° above rather than 40° below the ascendant.
Thus in the second chart, the part is located at 5° Virgo.
The house and sign placement of the part of fortune indicate, as the name inti-
mates, good fortune. The placements also indicate areas and activities in which the
native finds enjoyment. The part of fortune is but one member of a system of points
referred to as the Arabian parts, but which in fact antedates the flowering of Arabic
astrology (the part of fortune as well as the other parts were utilized in the pre-Islamic
Mediterranean world). Western astrologers, impressed by the compendium of parts
written by the great Muslim scholar Al-Biruni, called them the Arabic parts, and the
name stuck. The many other parts discussed by Al-Biruni—death, children, com-
merce, and so forth, which are calculated by measuring the angular distance between
various planets and placing one planet or the other on the ascendant or on another
house cusp—are rarely used by contemporary astrologers. The part of fortune, howev-
er, is utilized by most modern astrologers. Many chart-casting programs can calculate
the other parts in an instant, making experimentation with them relatively easy.
Thus, a revival of the whole system in the not-too-distant future is possible.
Sources:
DeVore, Nicholas. Encyclopedia of Astrology.New York: Philosophical Library, 1947.
Granite, Robert Hurzt. The Fortunes of Astrology.San Diego: Astro Computing Services, 1980.
PARTILE
The astrological aspects—the angles between the planets, such as squares and trines—
do not have to be exact (e.g., exactly 90° [square] or exactly 120° [trine]) to be count-
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