Lot of Expedition

Definition

Hephaistio preserves the Lot of Expedition (Greek klēros strateias) as a verse of Dorotheus on military campaigns. Measure the arc from Saturn (Phainon) to the Moon (Selene) and cast it from the Hour-marker, the Ascendant. When the lot reaches the domiciles of Mars (Scorpio or Aries) or of Saturn (Capricorn or Aquarius), the verse says the person will see campaigns.

In Tradition

Hephaistio of Thebes sets this lot, in a verse-fragment he credits to Dorotheus, within his discussion of the quality of action. The verse reads campaigning from the lot arriving in the war-planet's or Saturn's domiciles. It adds a further mark: when Mars holds a pivot and beholds the luminaries, with light present at the hour, the person even shares in the spoils. No one is glorious in war, it closes, without "a mixture of Kronos and Ares."

In Practice

Measure from Saturn to the Moon, count that arc forward from your Ascendant, and read the lot by the sign it occupies. Hephaistio's verse keys campaigning to the lot reaching the houses of Mars (Scorpio or Aries) or of Saturn (Capricorn or Aquarius). Then weigh Mars itself — whether it holds a pivot (an angle) and beholds the luminaries. The blend of Saturn and Mars is what the verse makes the condition for distinction in war. The source preserves no night-reversal here; the single Saturn-to-Moon arc serves both sects.

Historical Origin

The formula and reading come from Hephaistio of Thebes, Apotelesmatics Book II (Chapter 19), in Robert Schmidt's translation, quoting a verse of Dorotheus that — as Schmidt's annotation notes — does not survive in the Arabic Dorotheus. It belongs to the wider Hellenistic catalogue of topical lots.

Etymology

Origin: Greek. Meaning: lot of military expedition or campaign.

Further Reading

• Hephaistio of Thebes, Apotelesmatics Book II
• Chris Brennan, Hellenistic Astrology