Lot of Courage

greek: Τόλμα (Tolma)

Definition

The Lot of Courage is one of the seven Hermetic lots — calculated points in a chart — and it is the lot belonging to Mars in the Panaretos system; its Greek name is Tolma. For a day birth you measure from the Lot of Fortune to Mars and project that arc from the rising degree; for a night birth the formula flips. The lot points to boldness, competitive drive, the capacity for conflict, and the part of life where you are willing to fight or take a risk.

In Tradition

Astrologers read the Lot of Courage as Mars's home base in the chart — the area of life where you show the martial qualities of confrontation, initiative, contention, and daring. Brennan, Crane, and Greenbaum, drawing on Vettius Valens and Paulus Alexandrinus, read the lot's sign, its ruling planet, and its house as concentrating Mars's combative themes more sharply than Mars's own natal position does.

In Practice

You work out the Lot of Courage by sect — whether the birth was by day or by night. For a day birth: rising degree + Mars - Lot of Fortune. For a night birth the Mars-to-Fortune arc reverses: rising degree + Lot of Fortune - Mars. Plot the resulting degree, and its house shows where bold action and confrontation are most alive in the life. The condition of the planet ruling the lot's sign — its dignity, sect agreement, aspects, and whether it is angular — tells you whether that courage tends to deliver smoothly or with friction. Mars in close aspect to the lot sharpens its themes; a benefic aspecting it softens the boldness. Because Courage belongs to a malefic planet, it is built from the Lot of Fortune rather than the Lot of Spirit, tying its martial themes to circumstance and body rather than conscious vocation. Some Hellenistic time-lord work scans the lot for years when contentious or daring matters come forward.

Historical Origin

The formula for the Lot of Courage is attested in Vettius Valens' Anthologiae Book II (c. 145-175 CE) and Paulus Alexandrinus' Introductory Matters Ch. 23 (4th c. CE), with later reception in Hephaistio and the Arabic-Persian transmission. The seven-lot Panaretos cluster carries the credit to Hermes Trismegistus in the tradition. Modern English readers reach it through Project Hindsight (Schmidt) translations and the synthesis in Crane, Brennan, and Greenbaum.

Etymology

Origin: Greek. Meaning: Boldness, daring, audacity.

Definition

In Tradition

In Practice

Historical Origin

Etymology

Further Reading