The Part of Fortune

 

July 2, 2004

 

http://cainer.com/ericfrancis/july2.html

 

Dear Eric:

I've had my chart done by Jonathon and on another on-line website. That second website also gives you a day-by-day chart with your planets/the current status of the transit planets. I'm writing this letter because it looks to me that Sun/Moon/Mercury were all conjunct at the recent New Moon on 17 June 2004 with something in my personal chart -- called the PF. What is the PF and what could this mean?

 

Thanks, Kathleen

 

 

Dear Kathleen,

The PF is the Part of Fortune. It is not a planet but rather a calculated point, which combines the Sun, the Moon and the ascendant into one location, using a mathematical formula. There are many ways to use the Part of Fortune; as the name suggests, it is generally a helpful point. Aspects to the Fortune suggest how good fortune can manifest for you; in other words, if it's in aspect to Saturn, by consistent, devoted work; if in aspect to the Moon, in regular cycles; if in aspect to Jupiter, by luck, travel or learning; if in aspect to Uranus, spontaneously. Martin Schulman wrote a good little book about it; click here for the Amazon link.

 

The Part of Fortune is a relic of a much older system of Arabic astrology that used many such calculated points. I have seen programs that (using resurrected ancient knowledge) calculate up to 70 such points, including things like the parts of Mother, Father, Children, and so on, all of which use various formulas to determine the point.

 

The interesting thing I learned one year at a conference on ancient astrology is that these Arabic parts were used as an artificial ascendant in reference to matters involving the parts. So let's say your Part of Fortune is at 23 Aries. You would use the degree of 23 Aries as a "false ascendant" and work with the chart from that angle in all matters where you were seeking information about your fortunes. The Part of Fortune would be the beginning of your "first house of fortune" and you would then count around the chart for the additional houses.

In the event (in your case) of a New Moon conjunct Mercury on your Part of Fortune, this is occurring on your first house of fortune! It is very personal! I would propose that you're in a major renewal cycle and that, given the signification of both Mercury and Gemini, that your fortunes depend largely on your devotion to communication and may involve a communication field.

 

Or, you could say, if you play it smart and feel which way the wind is blowing, good things are coming to you.