Geomancy’s Fortuna Major and Fortuna Minor in Arabic

My reluctant series on the Arabic meanings of the Geomantic figures continues with Fortuna Major and Fortuna Minor, considered the most positive figures.

In my work Stars and Stones, I listed the Medieval Arabic names but didn’t explain their meanings. I was more focused on highlighting the work of Christopher Cattan, a Medieval geomancer who was more interested in astrological and elemental attributions. As I pointed out here, Cattan, like many other European geomancers, might have been hamstrung by literal translations from the original Arabic.

Fortuna Major and Minor are the two best figures in a Geomantic reading. If you see these (particularly as a Judge), you know there will be some success.

Fortuna Major (Nusrat al-dakhīl)  Supporting one who enters

In medieval Arabic, the phrase “نُصْرَةُ الدَّخِيل”  (Nusrat al-dakhīl) was understood as “the protection or support of the outsider/foreigner/refugee.”

• نُصْرَةُ (nusrah) means help, support, or aid.
• الدَّخِيل (al-dakhīl) refers to a person who has entered a place seeking protection, often a foreigner, a refugee, or someone who has sought asylum or sanctuary.

In an Islamic or tribal context, this concept aligns with the long-standing Arab tradition of hospitality and asylum (ijārah), where an outsider or someone seeking refuge is granted protection, particularly in blood feuds or political exile. It was a key aspect of chivalry (muruwwa) and tribal honour, meaning that once someone was under one’s protection, they could not be harmed without dishonouring the host.

Helping a refugee, stranger, or oppressed person was believed to bring divine reward (thawāb) and blessings. Over time, protecting others led to divine favour, which may have contributed to the association with good fortune and prosperity.

• Qur’anic and Hadith Influence: The Qur’an emphasizes that helping others leads to barakah (blessing) and Allah’s support.
• Cultural Norms: A tribe or leader known for protecting others often gained prestige, alliances, and material rewards, reinforcing the link between protection and prosperity.

Thus, Nusrat al-dakhīl could metaphorically mean “a stroke of good luck or a great fortune,” symbolising divine assistance and favour.

In medieval times, providing asylum or protection to an important person (e.g., a deposed ruler, a wealthy merchant, a skilled artisan, or a famous scholar) could greatly benefit the protector in the form of political alliances, wealth and gifts, and knowledge and skills: Some refugees brought valuable expertise that enriched their host’s economy.

Nusrat al-dakhīl could shift from meaning “protecting an outsider” to “receiving a fortune due to taking someone in”.

The above meanings fit Cattan’s astrological attributions (Stable, Sun and Earth) reasonably well.

Fortuna Major meaning in a reading

The Arabic meaning would mean that you would receive “good fortune” from an outside source. In other words, you don’t have to do anything because what you seek will come to you. You must still provide support to what arrives. Your question may be resolved through another person’s aid. This kills off a lot of modern geomancers’ views that Fortuna Major is self-centred while Fortuna Minor is dependent on another.  Nusrat al-dakhīl depends on someone’s selfless act for another – either the querent or someone else. An outsider who has entered a new land, group, or situation will find protection, support, and success. In other situations it suggests that help will come from unexpected sources (if this figure moves to another house it might hint where that help comes from).

In the 12^th house it could mean that a hidden force, possibly a dangerous one, is being strengthened, and this could lead to loss or upheaval.

For an exile: A hopeful sign that they will find protection and support in a foreign land.

In relationships, Nusrat al-dakhīl would be positive as a person enters another’s life as a “dakhīl” (outsider, stranger) and unexpectedly brings joy, security, or purpose. In medieval Arabic poetry, love was often portrayed as an outside force—an intruder—that overtakes the heart. This parallels the idea of a “dakhīl” whose presence changes everything.

In medieval Arabic poetry, a lover is sometimes addressed as a sanctuary (ملجأ) or a shelter (ملاذ), reflecting the idea that love provides both physical and emotional security. A relationship that offers stability and care can be considered the greatest fortune.

In this sense, “nusrat al-dakhīl” in romance could mean finding someone who unexpectedly changes your life for the better—a partner who arrives as an outsider but becomes your greatest treasure.

Fortuna Minor Nusrat al-Khārij supporting someone who leaves

Fortuna Minor نُصْرَةُ الخَارِج (nusrat al-khārij) is similar to نُصْرَةُ الدَّخِيل (nusrat al-dakhīl), but with a key difference: While Nusrat al-Dakhīl refers to granting protection or aid to an outsider who seeks refuge, Nusrat al-Khārij means supporting someone who has gone out (khārij)—possibly referring to a rebel, a dissenter, an exile, or someone who has left their community or homeland.

The word خَارِج (khārij) could refer to someone who has gone out against authority, such as a rebellious warrior, political dissenter, or religious schismatic. The Kharijites were an early sect that broke away from mainstream Islam, and their name comes from the same root (kharaja = “to go out”). Supporting such a person could mean aiding a political or religious faction separated from the main power.

A medieval Arab might interpret “nusrat al-khārij” as supporting an exiled or outlawed leader—whether out of loyalty, shared ideology, or strategic benefit.

It could also mean someone expelled from their homeland or tribe—perhaps due to conflict, shame, or misfortune. Supporting such a person might be seen as an act of nobility, similar to granting refuge to a dakhīl (outsider).

If a poet or scholar was exiled from his home city, “nusrat al-khārij” could mean offering him patronage, protection, or a place to continue his work.

Some individuals leave their communities for religious, scholarly, or personal reasons. Helping a traveller, a seeker of knowledge, or a warrior fighting for a just cause could fall under “nusrat al-khārij.” The Koran clarifies that a person leaving their homeland to fight in a just war or to undertake a religious pilgrimage might be seen as “khārij,” and supporting them would be a virtuous act.

Depending on the context, the phrase could carry harmful (rebellion) and positive (noble exile, self-imposed hardship) connotations.  This might be one of the reasons that Fortuna Minor was not as good as Fortuna Major.  Cattan also said it was astrological, the Sun, Mobile and a Firey figure.

Fortuna Minor Meanings

Possible geomancy readings would be that if a person or group cast out, abandoned, or chosen to leave, an established system will find support, success, or vindication. They will soon receive aid and triumph. Metaphorically, a lone wanderer will not walk alone forever. Fortuna Minor suggests that your path leads away from where you once belonged, but a hand will reach out to lift you.

In a darker reading, Fortuna Minor suggests that someone outside the rightful order is being helped, which could be dangerous or destabilising. A rebel, defector, or disruptive force is gaining strength, which could lead to chaos or betrayal. Help or intervention will not come from within but from an external force, person, or event. If one is distressed, one should not expect assistance from one’s familiar circles but rather from an unexpected source.

In Arabic poetry, the lover (al-‘āshiq) is often seen as an exile, “cast out” by love. A person who supports him could practise nusrat al-khārij—standing with the one rejected by fate. This means that it would be a positive figure in romantic readings.

Overlap

There appears to be a lot of overlap between these figures with the central point being who is being helped (and why) and where that aid is coming from.

Key Differences

Example

This one comes from a friend of mine who is interested in a non-committed sexual relationship with a work college and needs the dice to tell him that it is a bad idea. In this case I think he stuffed up the question for reasons which will become obvious.

The court is Good with Via (the light bearer) agreeing with the querent, Puella.  So, this would suggest that the object of his lust might be interested in having casual sex with him. Via, however, disagrees with the fourth house, which indicates difficulty in bringing about the result (if it ever happens).

The sentence as Fortuna Minor suggests that the whole chart is about getting support for breaking the (office and society) rules. While this is possible, the rest of the chart will reveal the result.

The querent is Fortuna Major. This is positive for the reading as the woman might be able to fall for him. He is a stranger in her world and connecting to him might benefit her. However, that is how she sees him. Whether or not she wants the relationship on his terms needs to be seen in the rest of the chart. He does not move anywhere in this chart, nor is he in companionship with anything else.  This is not so much of a deal killer. Fortuna Major is about what you want coming to you, and the reading is about her.

She is Joy, a positive figure. She might be happy with the idea. However, she is likewise not in companionship with anything else and does not move. There is an extremely week occult translation of Conjuctio, which implies something could happen through regular meetings.

The cardines are all positive until the populous in the end, which suggests that societal norms will step in and prevent something from happening.

So in answer to the question. She might be interested in him, but it is not going to happen because they both work together.