What does Part of Hope means? In Aries Conjunct Mercury (also in Aries)?

TAROT SUCKS!

I've never known the Part of Spirit signifies your personality. I know it signifies the way you can influence events, the way you can change your life, your own spirit and its power contrary to the opposite Part of Fortune which signifies powers that be against which we may do nothing. I also have my Spirit in Aries and don't see it changing me. Are you sure it's not your Mars or Ascendant or Sun, transiting/progressive (very probably), even progressive Moon changing your attitude?

As about conjunctions, my Fortune is conjunct Mercury (and Pluto for those using it) but I've found when she's activated in at least two ways, she produces chance events, good or bad, not necessarily related to Mercury. May be I missed the Mercury part though. Some of those events are very very minor, easy to miss if you're not into astrology and specifically watching for them.

TAROT SUCKS!

Sorry, I can't help with Hope. I do see my progressed chart working though. Down to the point. Good luck with deciphering.

Barkey Foreman said:

I mentioned in few previous threads I published an hour ago have my Part of Spirit in Aries and my personality has been transitioning into that of an Aries. According to stuff I found online, the Arabic Parts are useless if they don't conjunct a planet. I initially thought it was because my Part of Spirit is in Aries my personality has become more and more Aries lately because its so close to my Mercury in Aries. But its a dammnnn near miss (just a few a degree or two more for my Mercury in Aries and it would have conjunct my Part of Spirit!!!!).

But I just looked at my Parts right now and learned my Part of Hope in Aries actually conjuncts my Mercury! What would this signify?

I am really wondering if there is a reason according to astrological theory why my personality is really becoming that of an Aries.

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The 'Arabic Parts' developed the system of 'Lots' used by the Hellenistic Astrologers, since the dawn of Horoscopic Astrology. 'Developed' here means added to. Al-Biruni (1029) lists some 97 'Parts' of which the Part of Hope is one. As far as I'm aware, this Part was not included in the Hellenistic Lots and is an arab addition. Al-Biruni defined it as:

Asc + Mars - Moon (for a diurnal chart, reversed for a nocturnal one).

Al-Biruni used this Part in connection with Eleventh House issues - the eleventh being the House associated with hopes and aspirations. And it would be used to amplify issues relating to the eleventh in a reading (natal or horary).

On the point about Parts being useless unless in conjunction with a planet, this is purely a modern notion. The Hellenistic and Arab Astrologers would use one of the rulers of the Lot as it's significator - the Sign ruler, exaltation ruler, triplicity ruler, bound ruler or decan ruler - usually the arabic Astrolgoers would use either the sign or Bound ruler. That planet and it's condition would tell you what you need to know about the subject of the lot. So if your Part of Hope lies in Aries, you would examine Mars in terms of it's strength both essentially and by placement. Aspects to the ruler would be considered, whether from fortunes such as Venus and Jupiter or from infortunes, such as Saturn and Mars (in this case you would simply take the condition of Mars, as above).

If there was a planet conjunct the Lot/Part that might also influence the reading if it was a fortune or infortune.

On your comment about personality and the Lot of Spirit, that is very much a modern conception of Lynn's and I don't think it's widely held. Ronia's description is the historically more accurate one. It's reasonably clear that the arabic Astrologers did not believe in past lives, as a general statement (they were Muslims) and whilst there's evidence for some ideas of reincarnation in Greek philosophy (Plato's Timaeus for example) they did not have a concept of Karma in the sense of one life affecting the challenges of subsequent lives. They did have a strong concept of Fate, but within a person's lifetime. So is it because of a past life or because of what the Fates have decreed for your present life that a particular issues arises? I don't know how to answer that in any definitive sense. Interestingly Jyotish (Vedic Astrology) doesn't use Lots/Parts but it does focus very much on Karma.

There are several issues with Lots/Parts of which the main ones arre:

The Lot may have the same title over several authors but they might calculate it differently

The same calculation might have different names, either between authors or even with the same author - (Al-Biruni uses the same calculation for a Lot of Marriage for nocturnal births). This is because the planets don't just have one natural signification but are multi dimensional.

The Parts/Lots can incorporate the outer planets, new planets, or other objects, or house cusps or even other Parts/Lots - there's almost an industry in inventing new ones. That's one of the reasons why they fell out of use - they became discredited by over use and burgeoning numbers.

That being said, I do use the Lots quite a bit, though I keep to the Hellenistic ones and even then to a select few - the original Hermetic Lots plus ones relating to marriage and family.

TAROT SUCKS!

Barkey Foreman said:

Thank you very much!

EG Part of Marriage represents how you view marriage, Part of Art represents your tastes in art, Part of Worldliness how you view the world and cultures,etc...

Basically I assumed to interpret a part, you basically think of how a sign would react to that specific topic. I have for example Part of Marriage in Capricorn. Even though I am as dreamy when it comes to love as Venus Pisces are, my idea of a husband is one who is very Capricornish; .........
Am I correct in how to interpret Arabic Parts?Just thing how a sign would approach that topic?

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Whether you decide to accept the modern psychological approach to Astrology or not, you do need to realise that to understand the Lots/Parts you need to appreciate the Traditional approach.

Modern Astrology sees the chart as something of a mind map (both conscious and unconscious minds). Thus your description of the Lots/Parts does seem to gel with a modern approach. However that was not the way they were originally intended to be used. Indeed there are two major destinctions between your description and the original approach.

Firstly, traditionally the chart shows you (first house) and the external world. Thus for the modern Astrologer the tenth house relates to your views and perceptions of your mother or your career. The traditional view is that the tenth actually describes your mother or career in an objective sense For a greater treatment of that read Ben Dykes' 'Introduction to Traditional Astrology'

The second and even greater difference is that any Astrologer up to the late nineteenth century would have no understanding of your use of Signs - that is an invention of Alan Leo, though it has become the norm in the twentieth century. So no Astrologer who used the Lots/Parts on a day to day basis would seen your lot of Marriage as describing a 'Capricornish husband' The would see a 'Saturnine' element to the marriage but more particularly they would want to look at the condition of Saturn in your chart and its placement by house plus any relevant aspects. From those they would form a judgement about the success or otherwise of your marriage.

When looking at Traditional views you have to set aside modern conceptions about Astrology, if you hope to understand how it functions (whether you end up using it or not).

Once you do understand the traditional reasoning, then you can begin to blend some of the techniques into your practice, if you feel they are worthwhile.

Hi Barkey,
There's a book you might want to check out - The Complete Astrological Handbook for the 21st Century. It has a 75 page chapter on Arabic parts. I found it to be a very helpful and interesting book while learning a bit about Vedic astrology and found the chapter on the different parts interesting as well. As it turns out, lunar mansions have been more of what I've studied since that time, but I found the book useful for that topic as well, when I was comparing the Chinese, Vedic and Arabic lunar mansion systems. I can't add much here with regards to the different parts and their significance, but that book may be helpful for you. Good luck!