Did you know that your birth chart contains secret charts within it? Beyond the familiar wheel of planets, signs, and houses, ancient astrologers worked with an additional and far more subtle layer of interpretation. These hidden structures, known as Lots (or Arabic Parts), reveal dimensions of life that often remain invisible in modern astrology, yet were once considered essential tools for understanding fate, purpose, and the unfolding of the soul.
In ancient astrology, Lots were calculated points derived from mathematical formulas that combined planetary positions. Unlike planets, Lots are not physical bodies in the sky. Instead, they are symbolic intersections — places where planetary meanings converge to describe specific life topics. There are, quite literally, lots of Lots. Traditional texts describe the Lot of Fortune, the Lot of Spirit, the Lot of Marriage, the Lot of Children, the Lot of Illness, the Lot of Brothers, and many more. Some modern astrology software lists over a hundred of them, each tied to a distinct human concern.
So how do you find the hidden charts within your birth chart with Lots? Once you calculate and locate a Lot in your natal chart, you can activate it by creating an entirely new chart from that position. This is done by treating the Lot as a new Ascendant and then overlaying a full, Whole Sign house chart from that point forward. In effect, the original birth chart becomes layered, revealing multiple charts nested within it like cosmic Russian Dolls. Each one tells a different story about how life unfolds from a particular angle.
This technique reflects a core belief of ancient astrology: that human life is multifaceted and cannot be fully understood through a single, deterministic lens. One chart might describe material circumstances, another bodily health, another relationships, and another the trajectory of the soul itself. The Lots serve as doorways into these alternate perspectives, allowing astrologers to focus on specific themes with stunning insight.
Among all the Lots, the one I‘m most fascinated with is the Lot of Spirit. I’ve closely followed the work of the great Rob Hand on this subject. While the Lot of Fortune has traditionally been associated with material conditions, bodily circumstances, and what happens to us, the Lot of Spirit describes what arises from us. It is a potentiated chart that speaks to who you become at your highest level of development — psychologically, spiritually, and creatively. Some older sources go so far as to say that the Lot of Spirit indicates life purpose itself.
The Lot of Spirit is based on the Sun, which is significant. In astrology, the Sun represents consciousness, vitality, identity, and the animating force of the self. It is the principle of intention and awareness, as opposed to the Moon’s realm of habit, instinct and body. When the Sun is used as the foundation for an entire chart, its symbolism expands outward. Instead of merely describing personality traits, it outlines a path of becoming — a story of growth, agency, and self-directed evolution. Just think about what the Sun means in astrology, and then extrapolate a whole chart from there.
When you turn the Lot of Spirit into a new Ascendant, the chart that emerges feels less about circumstance and more about who you are becoming. The Houses no longer describe where things happen to you, but where you actively engage with life. Career is not just about what you do, but who you are. Relationships become conscious bonds. Challenges become initiations rather than obstacles. Rob Hand told me that as people become more self-actualized, the Lot of Spirit describes them more faithfully than their original birth chart.
Start by locating your Lot of Spirit — you can either use your home astrology software or websites like Astro.com. Note its sign, the Whole Sign house it resides in your Natal Chart, as well as aspects made to this new Ascendant. Is your Lot of Spirit in Libra in your Natal Chart’s 4th House? Then you may find you are becoming more ‘Libran’ as you get older. Maybe you are more social, diplomatic, and aesthetically oriented. Maybe you are more focused on your home and family. What if you had Mercury trining your Lot of Spirit? Then you are becoming more curious, busy, active, and fascinated with learning as you mature.
Working with the Lot of Spirit reminds us that astrology is not purely predictive. It is developmental. It recognizes that a person is not static, but unfolding over time. The secret charts hidden within the birth chart offer a way to trace that unfolding — to see not just where you started, but where you are capable of going.
In a sense, these hidden charts restore a lost dimension of astrology: the birth chart shows the terrain, but the Lot of Spirit reveals the path you choose to walk through it. And once you learn how to read it, you may discover that the most important story in your chart was there all along, quietly waiting to be actualized.
