The original plan was to cover the Hermetic Lots in the order of the planets but fuck it, I'm a free agent. Last night I made a tweet about Eros that got some attention. Today is Venus' day (Friday). So, why the hell not?
If you don't know anything about Lots, go check out my other posts which explain what they are, where they came from, how and why they're calculated that way, etc.
Today we're gonna talk specifically about what the Lot of Eros is, how it's calculated, and an example!
The Lot of Eros: Calculation
Before we even start talking about what Eros is, we need to make sure you're looking at the right thing. There are two formulas for the Lot of Eros so you need to be sure you're using the right one, which is Paulus'. Don't worry, I'll show you the easy way to find it too.
We only use Paulus' calculation for the Lot of Eros!
Paulus' Calculation for the Lot of Eros
Take the distance from the degree of the Lot of Spirit to the degree of Venus, then project that distance from the ascendant, by day. For those born at night, flip Spirit and Venus.
Here's a visual demonstration using one of our example charts.
The Calculation for the Lot of Eros we don't fuck with
From the Lot of Fortune to the Lot of Spirit, then projected from the ascendant, by day.
I'm including the calculation we don't fuck with so I can explain why we don't fuck with it.
Hop on over to my post about the symbolism behind the formulas for a refresher on why the Lot formulas are structured like that. https://www.oracularjake.com/post/casting-lots-the-symbolism-behind-the-formulas
Once you understand the symbolism, it becomes real obvious that trying to find the Hermetic Lot of Venus without using the planet Venus, is whack.
The Easy Way to Calculate the Lot of Eros
· Go to astro.com
· Go to Free Horoscopes
· Click Extended Chart Selection
· Change the Chart Drawing Style to "Hellenistic"
· Generate the chart & it's labeled "Eros"
The Lot of Eros: Significations
If you read my post about the symbolism behind the formulas then you may remember me saying that it's important to look at the formula itself, not just the name of a Lot.
Most people probably see the word "Eros" and "Venus," jump straight to "erotic," and conclude that The Lot of Eros must signify romantic relationships. That's not wrong exactly, but it's also not right either.
Thinking about the formula, we're moving from Spirit (mind, intellect, soul, faith) to Venus (pleasurable things).
The Lot of Eros signifies things that are pleasing to your Spirit.
That sounds vague though so let's explore that.
What does something pleasing to your Spirit even mean? Well, it's basically things that make you happy, things that make you feel entertained, things that make you feel good, things that you choose, willingly.
Technically, your Lot of Eros should be your favorite sign based on the idea that it's what you willingly choose. Lol It's more complicated than that so don't get too caught up on the sign but this is one easy way you can see it come up.
Let's look at some examples of the Lot of Eros and things people enjoy!
Lot of Eros Hobby Examples
Winona Ryder
During her acting hiatus, Winona became interested in constitutional law, etymology, and linguistics. These are some pretty strikingly weird hobbies but hey, whatever pleases your Spirit.
Winona has the Lot of Eros in her 4th house in Pisces, ruled by Jupiter in Sagittarius in her 1st house. If we just think about Eros being in Pisces we would never get to those hobbies. However, as someone with her Lot of Eros being ruled by Jupiter, we could say that she enjoys the deeper level of understanding that we associate with Jupiter.
Let's think about Eros in the 4th house with its ruler in the 1st house for a second. The 4th house can signify ancestry or history and the 1st house signifies self. We could say that Winona enjoys learning about her roots, specifically the linguistic ones.
The 4th house also signifies land in general and the homeland. Jupiter signifies justice and law. Winona enjoyed studying constitutional law, the law of the land.
We can also get to constitutional law and the history of words from the fact that Winona has Saturn (history, rules, land) retrograde in Gemini (words, information) opposing Jupiter (understanding, justice) in Sagittarius
Jessica Lange
Jessica Lange does photography as a hobby and has published books of photographs. In particular, I'm interested in her book "Highway 61." Basically, Highway 61 is near where Lange grew up and her photography work is a way to document the changes and to tell stories.
Lange's interest in photography was sparked around 5 or 6 years old while she was looking through photos in her grandparents' attic. One picture was of a man staring into the camera in a way that made her feel as though they were connecting.
Lange took up photography seriously in 1990 when her partner, Sam Shepard, bought her a Leica camera. At first she wanted to take quality pictures of their kids and her photography just went from there.
Jessica Lange has the Lot of Eros in her 7th house in Aquarius, conjunct the moon and Jupiter, and ruled by Saturn retrograde in Leo in her 1st house.
The first thing you may notice is that with her Lot of Eros in the 7th house, she began doing photography seriously after her partner bought her a camera.
Unlike Winona, Jessica Lange has actually done work in the area of her hobby. Lange has published books of her work, has her photos hanging up in Sarah Paulsen's house, and has had her work in galleries. Winona didn't publish a book or anything on her hobbies, that's the key distinction.
Lange's Lot of Spirit (faith, intellect, mind, career) is in her 3rd house (frequently traveled places) in Libra, ruled by Venus in Taurus in her 10th house. Venus in Taurus is making a whole sign, superior square to the ruler of her Lot of Eros, Saturn in Leo.
It makes massive amounts of sense that she wanted to take photos of Highway 61 (3rd house) to make visible/show other people (10th house) the stories/history/land (Saturn in Leo) that was deeply personal to her (1st house).
We can also look at the moon and Jupiter in her 7th house, conjunct the Lot of Eros, as a way to connect with others across space and time. They also oppose Saturn in Leo by whole sign and square Venus in Taurus by degree.
A couple important artistic notes about Lange's photography style. She doesn't use flash and she doesn't crop photos. Her Lot of Eros is ruled by Saturn, the Lord of Darkness, and she doesn't use flash. Like, come on! I could keep going but let me stop here lol.
The Lot of Eros: More than just Relationships
Before we move on to the romantic shit, I really want to drive home this point that the Lot of Eros encompasses everything you enjoy, not just people.
If you have complicated or weird feelings about relationships that's ok. You can be asexual, aromantic, or whatever the case may be and still use it. The Lot of Eros is for everybody.
The Lot of Eros: Relationships
While the Lot of Eros signifies more than JUST relationships, it does still signify them. All of them, in fact; romantic and platonic. The Lot of Eros can signify traits that you're drawn to in people in general. This comes up with synastry constantly but remember, we're not just talking about sun signs, we're talking about all the planets.
For example, I have the Lot of Eros in Gemini, ruled by Mercury in Sagittarius.
My best friend's moon is in Gemini, her Lot of Eros is in Cancer, and my moon is in Cancer.
My longest relationship was with someone who has Venus and the Lot of Eros in Gemini.
I get along really well with my mom who has her ascendant and moon in Sagittarius.
Last year I made a new Gemini rising friend with his ascendant and Mars in Gemini, during the Venus retrograde in Gemini.
Other than the Lot of Eros and a couple other Lots, Gemini is my 6th house and it's empty. Gemini is in aversion to both my ascendant and my Venus in Scorpio. Without using the Lots, there's no reason I should enjoy anything Gemini-ish.
The Lot of Eros: Meghan Markle & Prince Harry
What better couple to use as an example, right? I'm not entirely sure the appropriate way to refer to them since they were just stripped of their royal titles, but whatever, they're cute.
First, Let's look at Meghan's chart
Meghan Markle
Meghan has her Lot of Eros in the 1st house in Cancer, ruled by the moon in Libra in the 4th house. We can see a couple other planets in her 4th house so let's look at those.
She has the ruler of her 7th house (partners/spouse), Saturn, exalted in Libra. With Saturn ruling the 7th house of partnerships, it's basically signifying her spouse, Harry. The ruler of the 7th exalted in the 4th is a perfect example for marrying into the royal family, especially one with a long line considering we're talking about Saturn.
Just thinking about the Lord of Eros, the Lord of the 7th house, and Jupiter together, this really sounds like true love. There's nothing strategic or political about this partnership. They may have to make those kind of moves because that's the world they live in; but they're doing it so they can be together, not being together so they can make moves.
That's all well and good but let's take a look at some of the unpleasant shit because as much as Meghan and Harry may be in love, this hasn't been easy for them.
The ruler of Meghan's 4th house, the dispositor of both her Lord of Eros and the Lord of her 7th, is Venus, fallen in Virgo in the 3rd house. Basically we have this lovely royal relationship that isn't being supported. The 3rd house signifies extended family and brothers, as well as "common" types of media. Think newspapers vs. books.
Now, while we already associate Venus in Virgo with the idea of being critical, Meghan has the Lot of Necessity in Virgo. The Lot of Necessity is the Hermetic Lot of Mercury. I'll do a separate post on Necessity later, but what you need to know is that it signifies negative things.
Necessity signifies enemies, contentions, hatred, etc. It's basically where this concentrated, critical, Mercury energy lands in your chart. Think about both benefics, Venus and Jupiter, being debilitated in Virgo, Mercury's exaltation.
Let's talk about the racism.
Meghan Markle has been subject to racist abuse from the UK media, and I have no doubt from others as well. Could we say it has to do with the Lord of her 4th house (home, family, ancestry) Venus, fallen in Virgo in the 3rd house (media), with the Lot of Necessity (criticism, pen-wielding enemies)? Maybe.
Delineating racism doesn't matter though. Meghan is a biracial woman with a configuration in her chart saying that she will be criticized by the media and her prominent spouse's family. Of course she experienced racism because it's everywhere. We have to address the racism because it's real and it's relevant but racism isn't an issue we need astrology for.
Would the media have not been racist if Meghan didn't have that configuration? No, I have no doubt they still would be. However, I believe the harassment would have been to a lesser degree.
Annual Profections
One way you can use the Lots is by incorporating them into annual profections. If you don't know what those are, I'm not typing all that shit out, but I got you. https://jogleason.com/intro-to-profections/
Basically, we're looking for the year that the sign the Lot of Eros is in gets activated or the year that the sign the Lord of Eros is in gets activated.
Meghan was 36 years old when she got married to Harry in 2018 which put her in a 1st house Cancer year. Meghan's Lot of Eros is in Cancer, the topic was activated, she got married. Pretty simple.
That doesn't mean everyone will get married when Eros or its Lord are activated, but it does mean that these topics will become more relevant.
Now let's look at her husband!
Prince Harry
Harry has the Lot of Eros in Gemini, in his 6th house, ruled by Mercury in Virgo in the 9th house.
The thing that immediately jumps out about this is the fact that Harry married a foreigner, an American. The 9th house signifies foreign people, places, and things.
Harry's 7th house is Cancer, ruled by the moon exalted in his 5th house in Taurus. What's really interesting about this exalted moon in Taurus is that it signifies both of them in different ways.
Something that isn't often talked about is the fact that the 5th house signifies ambassadors. Why would it be, right? It's not exactly relevant in most people's lives.
The idea is that the 5th house makes an inferior trine to the ascendant which means it signifies allies or positive things that have less authority than we do. Children are signified by the 5th house because the parent (ascendant) has to help them, not the other way around.
In turn, the 5th house is a subordinate ally to the ascendant. Thus, we arrive at the idea of representation by another. Which is how we get to the idea of ambassadors being a 5th house topic. (btw so are real estate brokers or anyone selling something on your behalf)
Meghan interned as an ambassador for the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires. She literally was an ambassador. However, Meghan didn't score high enough on the Foreign Service Officer Test to continue.
What's so interesting about this is that Meghan has the Lot of Nemesis, Saturn's Lot, in the 5th house in her chart. Nemesis signifies heavy, Saturnian topics. She was basically told "no" in this area of her life.
Mars rules not only her 5th house but also her 10th house and MC which are associated with career. Mars is fallen in Cancer but, it is of sect and has triplicity. This mixed condition demonstrates how she was told "no" to being an ambassador for the U.S. in the typical sense but she still ended up basically doing the same thing by marrying into the royal family.
I also feel the need to mention Meghan's miscarriage here. Last November, Meghan wrote an opinion piece for the NY Times, titled The Losses We Share, which reflects on the tremendous losses of 2020 as well as her own tremendous loss. In June of that year, Meghan had a miscarriage.
If we look at Meghan's annual profection from June of that year, she was in a 3rd house Virgo year, activating the Lot of Necessity. This is the same year that many of the articles came out addressing the racist abuse she was getting from the media.
Now, I don't have a medical degree, but stress isn't good for your body. Harassment is fucking stressful. Draw your own conclusions.
If you have Nemesis in the 5th house, please don't freak out and think that means you're going to have a miscarriage. This is taking into consideration layers of factors that are unique to Meghan. It's a possibility for any child-bearing person with Nemesis in the 5th house, but not always.
On a more positive note, this year, during Meghan's 4th house profection, she recently announced another pregnancy. It seems like the more overt harassment was handled the year before, while Necessity was activated, so things should work out better this time.
Now that Meghan is in a Libra year, activating the unsupportive Royal Family as indicated by Venus in Virgo, it seems that the worst of it is the fact that Harry and Meghan are being stripped of their royal titles. Which, I'm sure they're more than happy to be rid of at this point.
Anyways, now that my Mercury in Sagittarius has made the executive decision to talk about Meghan more than Harry under Harry's section, let's get back on topic lol.
More Annual Profections
On the day Meghan and Harry were wed, Harry was in a 10th house Libra profection, activating his natal Venus in Libra.
Remember how we mentioned how important Meghan's 4th house Libra stellium is to her marrying into this exalted family? They both had Libra activated by profection.
Harry had Libra activated directly, Meghan had Libra activated indirectly through her timelord, the moon in Libra.
Now, let's look back a little, to when they first started dating. The couple met in July of 2016.
At that time, Harry was in an 8th house Leo profection. However, Harry has his sun in Virgo with his Lord of Eros. So, we already see Eros being activated indirectly by the time they meet.
Fast forward a few months, Harry has his birthday/solar return and begins a Virgo profection. Now that we have a much more direct activation of the Lord of Eros, Harry put out an official statement regarding Meghan as his girlfriend and condemning the harassment that she was already starting to experience.
Link to the official statement: https://www.royal.uk/statement-communications-secretary-prince-harry
Looking at Meghan's profections when they met, she was in an 11th house Taurus year, with Venus in Virgo in the 3rd house activated as her timelord. It sounds like the couple met through a mutual friend which makes sense given that the 11th house signifies allies and the 3rd house signifies friends.
Jump forward a couple months to the date of Harry's statement and we see Meghan moves into a 12th house Gemini year, activating her Lot of Necessity in Virgo because they're both ruled by Mercury. This was likely the beginning of the harassment Meghan experienced.
Synastry
This is long af but I promise I'm wrapping it up. There's just so much to say!
I'm sure most people have already noticed the fact that their 1st houses-7th houses are swapped. Meghan's 7th house is Harry's 1st house, etc. That's cute.
Let's look at the fact that Meghan has Eros in Cancer, ruled by the moon in Libra. Meghan is attracted to people/things that are both lunar and Venusian. We could also add in Saturnian and Jupiterian for her Libra stellium.
Harry has the moon exalted in Taurus. This man is LITERALLY lunar and Venusian. He seems sweet, caring, protective, and like he actually gives a shit about inequity. That is the epitome of Meghan's type with her Lot of Eros.
Harry has Eros in Gemini, ruled by Mercury in Virgo copresent with the sun. Meghan's Lot of Fortune (aka the lunar ascendant, yes, it's THAT important) is in Gemini, basically making her an honorary Gemini rising. An honorary Gemini rising with Mercury in Leo, copresent and ruled by the sun in Leo.
Harry is attracted to this Mercurial/solar quality of Meghan which has, frankly, made her a leader. At age 11 Meghan wrote a letter to Proctor & Gamble to gender-neutralize a dishsoap commercial. That's who this woman is and that's who Harry fell in love with.
Final Thoughts
As I have now demonstrated, the Lot of Eros is a highly important Lot that can be used in both natal work and prediction, wholly aside from zodiacal releasing.
Check your Lot of Eros out, see if it lines up with annual profections and your relationships. See if it describes the hobbies and the activities you enjoy.
The Lot of Eros can help us understand what we really want; what truly makes us happy.
For me, my Lot of Eros signifies my love of games, learning, verbose people, mental stimulation, etc. I have accepted my role as an unabashed Gemini stan despite the fact that they also annoy the shit out of me (see, clingy Venus in Scorpio in aversion).
Pay attention to your Lots because they can place emphasis on planets and signs that you would never think to look at for certain topics otherwise!