Do you use Arabic Parts?

[melinda]

I've dabbled with Arabic parts in the past, but I haven't done nearly enough research into them, primarily because you need exact birth times for them. Sure, I can use my own and a few other charts with exact TOB, but that's hardly compelling.

What is your experience in using Arabic parts? Do you find them reliable? If so, which aspects besides the conjunction do you notice? I'm assuming the opposition would be valid, but how about the square? I also wonder about orbs. I would keep them tight since they are points - maybe 2 degrees or is that even too much?

[Don Borkowski]

My experience with Arabic parts is somewhat unorthodox.  I use them to provide better descriptions of situations.  For example, my 2001 solar return showed that my marriage would end suddently and unexpectedly.  By the use of Arabic Parts, I was able to forecast, accurately, that my marriage would end by death, rather than divorce, and that my wife, rather than myself, would be the one to die.

Arabic Parts are interesting because there is absolutely NO consistency in how they work.  Not all parts work for all people.  You just have to find the ones that are reliable for you.  This takes a lot of intensive work.

My personal experience shows that Arabic Parts are most meaningful by the houses that they occupy.  You do not need exact birth times for them.  All astrology is helped by the exactitude of birth times.  I have a boatload of Virgo in my chart.  The biggest lesson in my life is that perfection is an impossible ideal.  

I co-authored a book on Arabic Parts 35 years ago.  If you can find a copy of Signs and Parts in Plain English, buy it.

Don Borkowski

[melinda]

I'm so sorry about your wife.  

I use SR's very often and find them very accurate.

Were you using the AP's for the SR or your natal to figure out which it would be? I'm guessing you looked for points and transits to your part of divorce and part of death of spouse. Which planet hit it?

For a lot of the calculations you need to know AC or house cusp which makes it hard to get accurate AP's for some. There are quite a few that don't use cusps and they're useful w/o tob.

I'm interested in how the houses they occupy are important. I always thought a planet had to touch it off. Can you explain how this works more?

I'll look into the book, thanks.

[Don Borkowski]

After I ran the solar return chart, I just calculated the salient Arabic Parts and saw how they were situated in the solar return chart.  You seem to have some rigid preconceived notions about Arabic Parts.  As my late wife was fond of saying, you need to be able to think beyond the period at the and of the sentence.  Arabic Parts can be a lot of fun.  They do not function in any form of consistent manner.

If you click on the green circle under my picture, you will be sent automatically to my blog.  There is an article from February 2011 called "A Fresh Look at Solar Returns."  As a learning exercise, you can replicate the steps I took when I analyzed those charts for myself.

 

[Barbara Ybarra]

Don, you crack me up.  If you use the red lettering here it looks like Noel has intervened.  But he wouldn't do that, not that way.  Made me laugh, though.

I don't generally use Arabic parts, except sometimes just for fun (?).  I had a consultation with a woman who was adopting a baby by whatever means could drop one into her lap (no pun intended because she sadly could not give birth), and she wanted to know ahead of time when it would happen.  I didn't see much coming up within the year except a slow planet hitting her MC which I assumed was her change in status from a non-parent to a parent.  So I gave her the date, and then she wanted to know if it would be a boy or a girl (apparently you cannot just order these things and get them on your door stoop).   I had no clue what to look for so I resorted to Arabic Parts and found that tr Jupiter, around the time the other planet was hitting the MC, conjuncting her "Part of Son".  My Winstar also had Part of Daughter measurement.  I was thrilled to be able to tell her something.

It turned out a couple of months later that the pregnant girl who had signed an adoption agreement with them was giving birth to a girl.  The funny part is, but maybe not so funny, two and a half years later, the mother has asked me to look at her daughter's chart because her daughter has begun to insist that she is a boy.  No one is especially worried that it will be a problem, but because she says it a lot, the mother wanted to know what that was about.  The little girl has Mars in Leo (Regulus) near the DSC and loves interacting agressively.  She also has Pluto square Saturn ruling her MC and ASC respectively.  Quite a powerful profile, and not traditionally feminine.   She is very smart and has acknowledged that she has girl "parts" which she is quite happy with, but still insists that she is a boy anyway.   I told the mom that she probably notices the difference between herself and the other girls at daycare, because she behaves more like the boys do.  So, Arabic parts was partly correct.

Barbara Ybarra 

[Don Borkowski]

Barbara,

Those are some great observations.  Whenever any of my friends have new daughters, I tell them that little girls like toy cars, too, just like little boys.  I think that nowdays there is more room for assertive girls.  I think "Dora the Explorer" is a good cartoon role model.

Perhaps I should ephasize my points in orange, so as not to confuse people.

Don

[james m]

melinda,

i can't remember if i shared these links to informative articles somewhere here in the forum or not.. you and others here might enjoy them and find it educational.. i see many parallels with work with midpoints, harmonics and arabic parts.. these articles do  a much better job of raising an awareness of these similarities than i am going to be able, so here are the links..

http://www.astrosoftware.com/HarmonicProperties.htm

http://www.astrosoftware.com/ArabicParts.htm

[Alice Portman]

I use Arabic Lots extensively in all my work and find them excellent for timing.

The Lots are mostly derived from Equilibrium charts and I have written about these here: http://aliceportman.com/category/arabic-parts/

I have also demonstrated how they can be used in my articles on the timing of marriage and the timing of death
http://aliceportman.com/determining-the-time-of-marriage-from-a-horoscope/   http://aliceportman.com/determining-death-from-a-horoscope/ and many other articles on my site.

The Arabic Lots are just as valid as midpoints as they too are derived from the interaction of three separate points in the zodiac.  They mostly have the Ascendant as their base, but in some house cusps are used and in some the MC.

Alice

[Don Borkowski]

I have written a blog entry about my discovery of the Part of Sex Drive.  See my blog at www.dgborkowski.blogspot.com.

Don Borkowski

[james m]

don, that would explain a lot with t neptune at my part of sex drive at the moment!

thanks also for the laugh on the chiron thread where you mention a few really funny things.. i agree with you, the lady didn't have to listen and could have just left.. cheers james

[waterbird]

If Donbee's book is unavailable then there could be a chance of obtaining Robert Zoller's 'The Arabic Parts in Astrology. The Lost Timing to Prediction'. The Translation from the 13th Century Latin Text by famed Court Astrologer Bonatti gives quite a deal of information.

water bird

[Alice Portman]

If Donbee's book is unavailable then there could be a chance of obtaining Robert Zoller's 'The Arabic Parts in Astrology. The Lost Timing to Prediction'. The Translation from the 13th Century Latin Text by famed Court Astrologer Bonatti gives quite a deal of information.

water bird

I've got it but hardly ever read it let alone use it!  Talk about convoluted!  My favourite of older books has always been "The Fortunes of Astrology" by Robert Hurtz Granite.  I have Don's book "Signs and Parts in Plain English" which is excellent.  I also have "Arabian Parts for the 21st Century" by Peggy Schick which presents new formulas for modern medicine, technology and social areas.  "The Arabian Parts Decoded" by Lind Weber is a very thorough work that I enjoyed.

Alice

[Don Borkowski]

Thanks, Alice!  I remember when I first bought Robert Zoller's book.  I could hardly wait to bring it home fom the bookstore.  Then I started to read it.  I was soon hurt, frustrated and angry because whenever Zoller was ready to make an important point--he would lapse into Latin.  That did me no good whatsoever.  I don't know how many people recall Popular Mechanics' old slogan, "written so you can understand it," but I sure wish more astrologers would take it to heart.

[waterbird]

Alice, Donbee,

I know the frustration of Latin translations! It is the hardest thing I have ever tried to learn!

Alce I have not heard of those books you mention so thank you for this info.

water bird