The Great Almanac
Pricing Register Free trial: 7 days free, then $12/month, payment details required
Free trial: 7 days free, then $12/month, payment details required
Menu
My Almanac The Great Almanac
The Oracle Readings The Road of AgesThe turning points of your whole life Almanac Astrology Numerology Faith & Discernment
Knowledge
THE GREAT ALMANAC LIBRARYExplore the knowledge base
Open Dictionary & Knowledge Base →
Sky & Time

The observable sky, calendars, seasons, and celestial events.

Live Sky Today Moon Today Celestial Events Space Weather Ephemeris
Astrology

Signs, charts, houses, transits, timing, and relationships.

Zodiac Signs Birth Chart Astrological Houses Transits Compatibility Daily Almanac
Numerology

Core numbers, personal cycles, names, and biblical discernment.

Numerology Guide Life Path Numbers Personal Cycles Name Numbers Biblical Numerology Angel Numbers
Christian Foundations

Created order, Scripture, prayer, free will, and responsible use.

Christian Astrology Signs & Seasons Zodiac in the Bible Prayer Before a Reading Astrology & Free Will
God First, Watchers & Enoch

The governing faith boundary, sacred texts, and forbidden knowledge.

Topic Hub God First The Watchers Book of Enoch Fallen Angels The Unseen World
Discernment & Spiritual Boundaries

Test mixed practices, spiritual claims, technology, and their fruit.

Discernment Framework Syncretism Test a Spiritual Sign AI Spiritual Tools Spiritual Safety Online Faith & Astrology
Dictionary & Reference

Definitions, source-led reference pages, and long-form guides.

Dictionary Home Sky Science & Time Astrology Terms Biblical Symbols Hidden Books Almanac System Articles & Journal
Tools Lecture Hall News Community
Start my 7 days free View Pricing Register

Astrology

Lot of Courage

Direct answer

Lot of Courage: The Lot of Courage is the Hermetic lot paired with Mars, found by day from Mars to the Lot of Fortune and by night the reverse, laid off from the Ascendant, and read for boldness and daring.

AstrologyThe Great Almanac DictionaryUpdated 2026-09-26

Get my personal reading

7 days free, $0 today. Your reading is written from your chart, then opens with a Seeker trial: payment details required, then $12/month. We email you 2 days before it ends; cancel on your billing page before then and you pay nothing.

At a glance

Also called
part of courage, lot of boldness, lot of daring, tolma lot
In astrology
Because it is measured from Mars to Fortune, it depends on Fortune, which itself depends on the Sun, the Moon and the Ascendant.
Found in
Astrology
Related
Hermetic Lots, Part of Fortune, Mars, Lot of Victory
Chart geometry · visual guide Lot of Courage

The Lot of Courage is the Hermetic lot paired with Mars, found by day from Mars to the Lot of Fortune and by night the reverse, laid off from the Ascendant, and read for boldness and daring.

A structural orientation; exact placements depend on the chart or technique being discussed.

From the reference page to your own chart

What does your own chart say about you?

Choose love, work or purpose. Your reading is written from your chart. Your reading uses your own birth details.

Get my personal reading 7 days free, $0 today. Your reading is written from your chart, then opens with a Seeker trial: payment details required, then $12/month. We email you 2 days before it ends; cancel on your billing page before then and you pay nothing.
Walk through Alex’s whole example first
The Road of AgesSee the turning points of your whole life, from your birth date See your road's shape
Prefer to explore first?
Member tools The 2026 book Lectures
School updates

Free opening announcements. Unsubscribe any time.

The Road of AgesThe turning points of your whole life, from your own chart Walk my road

What is the Lot of Courage?

The Lot of Courage (Greek tolma, daring) is one of the seven Hermetic lots of Paulus Alexandrinus and the one paired with Mars. By day, measure the arc from Mars to the Lot of Fortune and lay it off from the Ascendant; by night, from Fortune to Mars.

Paulus reads it for daring, strength and boldness, and also for plots and wrongdoing, the two sides of Mars in the old texts. Read today, it is the topic of how a person takes risks and stands their ground.

A one-minute story

The Book of the Sky

How people learned to read the sky, from Babylon to the day you were born.

Long before books, people read the sky.

The formula

Each lot is found the same way: measure the arc from the first point to the second, always forward through the signs, and lay that arc off from the Ascendant. In longitude, "from A to B" is the Ascendant plus B minus A, reduced to the circle. By night the two points swap places.

The worked example, the same invented day chart on every lot page (longitudes counted from 0 Aries in brackets): Ascendant 10 Libra (190), Sun 20 Aries (20), Moon 5 Gemini (65), Mercury 2 Aries (2), Venus 14 Taurus (44), Mars 8 Leo (128), Jupiter 25 Sagittarius (265) and Saturn 12 Capricorn (282). The Sun is above the horizon, so it is a day chart. Fortune is 235 by day and 145 by night.

Reading it without fear

The old texts give Mars two faces, the courage to act and the readiness to harm, and Paulus puts both under this lot. A modern reading keeps the first and treats the second as a caution: where the lot falls shows an area of life that asks for nerve, and its ruler shows the resources for it. It never says a person will be violent or a victim.

The story behind Lot of Courage

Paulus Alexandrinus gives the Lot of Courage in chapter 23 of his Introductory Matters (378) with the other Hermetic lots. The medieval "part of boldness" in Arabic and Latin authors descends from it.

Lot of Courage in astrology

It is read by its sign, the ruler of that sign and the condition of Mars.

Lot of Courage in practice: an example

In the worked example, a day chart with Mars at 8 degrees of Leo and Fortune at 25 degrees of Scorpio, the Lot of Courage falls at 27 degrees of Capricorn.

Sources and editorial method

This entry summarizes the tradition in the Almanac's own words; where no source is listed, it is an editorial summary rather than a primary text, and symbolic readings are named as the tradition's, not as fact.

Source
The Great Almanac Dictionary
Category
Astrology
Aliases
part of courage, lot of boldness, lot of daring, tolma lot, lot of mars hellenistic
Last updated
2026-09-26

See Lot of Courage in your personal almanac

Lot of Courage in a book is one thing; Lot of Courage in your own birth chart is your life. The Oracle casts your real chart and tells you what it means for your love, your work, and your year ahead, in conversation. Your first ten written questions are answered free.

Speak with the Oracle

How Lot of Courage lives in your own chart across your year, in love, in work, in timing, is written in the Cosmic Codex: the whole year, once. Open the Cosmic Codex

Hermetic LotsThe Hermetic lots are seven calculated points in a birth chart, one for each visible planet, that Paulus Alexandrinus gave in the fourth century: Fortune, Spirit, Eros, Necessity, Courage, Victory and Nemesis. Part of FortunePart of Fortune is a calculated lot tied to fortune, body, livelihood, and practical ease. MarsMars represents action, courage, conflict, desire, and drive. Lot of VictoryThe Lot of Victory is the Hermetic lot paired with Jupiter, found by day from the Lot of Spirit to Jupiter and by night the reverse, laid off from the Ascendant, and read for faith, hope and success. Lot of NemesisThe Lot of Nemesis is the Hermetic lot paired with Saturn, found by day from Saturn to the Lot of Fortune and by night the reverse, laid off from the Ascendant, and read for what is hidden and what cannot be avoided.

More in Astrology

From the reference page to your own chart

Every word here
is in your own chart.

  • A personal reading about love, work or purpose, written from your chart
  • A practical next step to consider
  • It opens with 7 days free, with the AI Oracle and daily guidance
Get my personal reading

7 days free, $0 today. Your reading is written from your chart, then opens with a Seeker trial: payment details required, then $12/month. We email you 2 days before it ends; cancel on your billing page before then and you pay nothing.

Common questions

What is the Lot of Courage?

The Lot of Courage is the Hermetic lot paired with Mars, found by day from Mars to the Lot of Fortune and by night the reverse, laid off from the Ascendant, and read for boldness and daring.

How do you calculate the Lot of Courage?

By day, the Ascendant plus the Lot of Fortune minus Mars. By night, the Ascendant plus Mars minus Fortune. You need Fortune first.

What does the Lot of Courage mean?

Paulus reads it for daring, strength and boldness, and also for plots and wrongdoing. The Great Almanac reads it as how a person takes risks and stands their ground.

Is the Lot of Courage the same as the part of boldness?

Yes. The medieval part of boldness is the same lot under a Latin name.

Read more

Explore more Almanac guides

Keep moving through the archive: signs, compatibility, chart timing, faith-aware discernment, and practical daily guidance.

Sky & TimeLive planetary positions, Moon phases, celestial events, and space weather. Birth ChartSun, Moon, rising, houses, and natal placements. CompatibilityEvery sign pairing, with strengths and friction points. Daily AlmanacMove from generic horoscopes into personal timing. NumerologyLife path numbers, personal years, and faith-aware number symbolism. DictionaryClear definitions for astrology, numerology, angels, symbols, prophecy, and Almanac concepts. SyncretismHow to test mixed spiritual practices by authority and fruit. God FirstA faith boundary for signs, seasons, and discernment. The WatchersEnochic tradition, fallen angels, and forbidden knowledge. BlogFresh articles and long-form celestial reflections. Worldwide WatchThe live sky, space weather, universal numbers, and collective themes. Explore the Tool CabinetFocused instruments plus quick calculators for common questions.