What is the Part of Fortune?
'The Part of the Moon' also known as 'The Part of Fortune'
The Part of fortune is a mathematically calculated point. It is one of the many Arabic Parts that are calculated by comparing the arc distance between three points in the chart: the Sun, the Moon and the Ascendant. (*Despite it’s name the parts were actually used as early as by the Greeks) The Part of Fortune is the most common (if any) of the Arabic Parts for Astrologers to use.
Robert Zoller’s translation of Bonatti’s treatise on the Parts gives us a reason for why this is so..’
‘This part is preferred above all the other parts in the same way as the luminaries are preferred to all the other stars. And this part contains all the other parts just as the luminaries contain all the other stars. . Similarly the Sun is more splendid than all the other stars and is called the diurnal luminary because day occurs by his rising and is removed and made night by his setting. The Sun signifies the natural life and the other things … and the Moon is the luminary of the night and the benefic significatrix of bodies and of all things…
and on the significations of the Part of Fortune Bonatti says this…
“This part signifies the life, the body and also its soul, its strength, fortune, substance and profit, i.e. wealth and poverty, gold and silver, heaviness or lightness of things bought in the marketplace, praise and good reputation and honors and recognition, good and evil, present and future, hidden and manifest and it has signification over everything. It serves more for rich men and magnates than for others. Nevertheless it signifies for every man according to the condition of each of those things. And if this part and the luminaries are well disposed in nativities or revolutions, it will be notably good. This part is called the part of the Moon or the ascendant of the Moon and it signifies good fortune.”
Robert Zoller, The Arabic Parts in Astrology: A Lost Key to Prediction (p.85).
Part of Fortune about Luck?
Sometimes because of it’s name, ‘The Part of Fortune’ can be taken as literally a fortunate or a lucky spot in the astrological chart. I have seen it referenced as a ‘place of increase’. However, I have not always found this to be particularly helpful in interpreting charts. In Bonatti’s treatise, a wide range of topics are given for the part from it signifying ‘the life’, to ‘good and evil’, to ‘present and future’. I think the reason he gives such a wide range of descriptions is because the part can be useful in many different types of charts: natal charts, solar return charts, progressed natal charts, mundane charts and even the transit chart. In each chart the part of fortune can be interpreted as an ‘index of the soli-lunar relationship’ (Dane Rudhyar, The Lunation Cycle). The luminaries will always be important parts of any chart because they play such a central role in life and the ascendant ties that together with a specific moment of time in a specific place on earth. Rudhyar reminds us in his book The Lunation Cycle that ‘a part’ is just a means to evaluate, at any moment of a cycle of relationship created by the motions of two celestial bodies, the status and purpose of this relationship.’
'That Which is Brought'...
When looking at the etymology of the word ‘fortune’, I found the root word ‘behr‘ which is then further broken down to ‘that which is brought‘. I find this to actually be a fairly good description of what the part of fortune indicates in a chart. In a Natal chart for example I look for (a summary) of ‘that which is brought’ by the person’s life, in a solar return chart I look for (a summary) of ‘that which is brought’ by the year, in a transit chart I look for (a summary of the energy) of ‘that which is brought’ by the moment.
Rudhyar says that ‘the Part of Fortune is the most characteristic indication of the type of “personality” which an individual may succeed in developing and projecting (in a natal chart). He then defines this as ‘ the special quality and radiation which emanates from the personality of a particular individual- a quality projected by the entity. Personality in a sense is the tone-quality and timbre of the whole person. It is also the way this whole person resonates to ‘life’.” I find this to also be a very good description for the Natal Chart and the Progressed Natal chart in many cases.
How to Calculate the Part of Fortune (for a Day Chart)
‘Diurnal’ or Day Chart Example
(This is a day chart because the sun is above the line of the horizon)
Convert all degrees to 360º (as below)
Sun is at 20° Gemini 47′ = 20° 47′ + 60° 00 = 80º 47′
Moon is at 26° Leo 00’= 26°00′ + 120°00’=146° 00′
Ascendant 00° Leo 06’= 00°06′ + 120° 00′ =120° 06′
‘Take the place of the Sun from the place of the Moon…
(Moon’s place) 146°00′ – (Sun’s place) 80° 47’= 65° 13′
And then add that to the Ascendant…
120° 06′ (Ascendant)+ 65° 13’= 185° 19′
Convert back into the zodiacal degrees
185° 19′ – 180° 00′ (0 °Libra)= 05° Libra 19′ Part of Fortune
How to Calculate the Part of Fortune (for a Night Chart)
‘Nocturnal’ or Night Chart Example
(This is a night chart because the sun is below the line of the horizon)
Convert all degrees to 360º (as below)
Sun is at 09° Pisces 59′ = 09° 59′ + 330° 00 = 339º 59′
Moon is at 22° Cancer 45’= 22°45′ + 90°00’=112° 45′
Ascendant 26° Libra 52’= 26°52′ + 180° 00′ =206° 52′
‘Take the place of the Moon from the place of the Sun…
(Sun’s place) 339°59′ – (Moon’s place) 112° 45’= 227° 14′
And then add that to the Ascendant…
206° 52′ (Ascendant)+ 227° 14’= 434° 06′
*minus 360 if the sum is over 360 (434°06′-360°00’=74°06′)
Convert back into the zodiacal degrees
74° 06′ – 60° 00′ (0 °Gemini)= 14° Gemini 06′ Part of Fortune
An Example of the Part of Fortune
Anne Frank
Anne Frank was a young writer and one of the most-discussed Jewish victims of the Holocaust. She lived in hiding from the Nazi party from 1942-1944 in Amsterdam with her family. She kept a diary of her experience while in hiding. On the 4th of August 1944 her family (as well as others in hiding with them) were discovered and arrested. All of Anne’s family were sent to concentration camps and the only one to survive the war was her father, Otto Frank. Miep Gies, who had helped hide the family from the Nazis, had saved Anne’s diary for her. She returned it to Otto Frank when the war was over. Her father (Otto Frank) published Anne’s diary posthumously to fulfill her greatest wish of becoming a writer.
The Sun (showing the soul’s purpose) in Anne Frank’s chart is suitably placed in Gemini (the sign of perception and writing), in the 11th house (of shared hopes/social activism) ruling the first house of self development.
The Moon (representing the daily life) as well as the Ascendant (showing the primary motivation for the soul) are aptly place in Leo (the sign of expression, that desires to leave tangible evidence of its existence behind).
The Part of fortune in Anne Frank’s Natal chart is at 5° Libra 18′ in the 3rd house (of communication). If we consider this placement from the aspect of what was ‘brought forth in the life’ it seems symbolically appropriate for the the Part of Fortune to be in the third house of communication since what she is most famous for is her published diary. But what rationale is there for the sign of Libra? (Harmony and Balance)… here I would have to lean further towards Libra indicating what is ‘brought forth’ rather than her ‘personality’. In all accounts of her personality that i have read she was quite gregarious, emotional and strong which seems to be described more by her Ascendant in Leo (with stellium of Mars/Moon/Neptune) than the sign Libra.
Anne Frank’s writing is unique in many ways; but amongst the most important is that the youth of many current and future generations can learn about what happened during the holocaust from someone their own age. In this way they learn the importance of tolerance and acceptance (Harmony and Balance) for all people in a very powerful way.
Quotes from fifth graders at Anne Frank Elementary in Philadelphia after they finished reading Anne Frank, Diary of a Young Girl...
Alexander Dolgikh: “I guess my favorite part was when like, they had hope. Anne Frank, she found hope in every single thing, even the horrible things that that Nazi[s] did, she sees the good in everything.”
Taslim Sabil: “Anne had a dream in the book, she said she wanted to keep her memory going alive and I feel like, um, that our school, after it was named after Anne Frank, I feel like, it could spread the message too.”
Sebastian Gonzalez: “Anne Frank, she still lives in all the staff and students in their hearts. We still remember her as if she was still alive and that we should never forget her because we don’t want this to happen again.”
Lauren Migaki NPR, 80 Years Later Anne Frank’s Diary Still Has Much To Teach
Resources:
https://www.astro.com/astrology/in_fortune_e.htm (Rob Hand)
Rudhyar, Dane. (1982) The Lunation Cycle: A Key to the Understanding of the Personality. Santa Fe, New Mexico: Aurora Press.
Valens, Vettius. The Anthologies of Vettius Valens of Antioch: Book IV.
Zoller, Rob. (1980) The Arabic Parts in Astrology: A Lost Key to Prediction. Rochester, Vermont: Inner Traditions International
* Note, Anne Frank’s chart was chosen randomly, not specifically for the part of fortune.
