It is our nature to seek pleasure and well-being. Even in infancy, we embrace our mother’s breast for nourishment, we want our back scratched, and we want to laugh and play. We may find different things pleasurable, but we all have one thing in common, and that is the ‘feel-good’ hormone dopamine. Dopamine is linked to addictive behaviors, and while dopamine itself is not addictive, many substances that trigger a dopamine release can become addictive. Social media use, shopping, exercise, drug use, alcohol use, playing video games, gambling, sex, and the consumption of comfort foods can all trigger large releases of dopamine. Most of these are fine unless taken to an extreme.
How do we find our dopamine triggers from our birth chart? Happiness is all over the birth chart. The Sun is your confidence, where you light up. The Moon represents your needs, how you feel safe and comforted. Similarly, the 4th house and its ruler is where you come home to the familiar and establish security. Mars is where we find our passion. The 5th house is where we find joy and fun. It wouldn’t be possible to show all of these without going over the whole birth chart, so to simplify, we’ll look at Venus and the Part of Fortune. The Venus house placement indicates where one finds pleasure in the chart—things we love that make us happy. The Part of Fortune is where you find your greatest success and joy.
Venus in the 1st house: They want to get physical, take action, do something risky, express their ego. Climb a mountain, go skydiving, play laser tag, anything competitive that gets them moving.
Venus in the 2nd house: Sensual, they want good food, maybe a massage, or go shop for fine things. They also want to go over their accounts because money makes them feel secure and happy. They may enjoy collecting valuable and/or beautiful things.
Venus in the 3rd house: Learning a new skill makes them happy, being out and about talking with people in their community. A weekend getaway with a good book would bring them contentment.
Venus in the 4th house: Want to be secure at home with family, working in their garden, or cooking in the kitchen, maybe researching their genealogy.
Venus in the 5th house: The house of joy, fun, and love. They want to be romanced, play with children, and maybe create some art. Going to an amusement park would bring them joy.
Venus in the 6th house: Love small animals, so pets make them happy, and they like to work and be in service to others. Health and healing are important to them, so attending a health fair would make them happy.
Venus in the 7th house: About partnership, they’ll want to be sharing whatever they do with their significant other. They like to cooperate and negotiate things with others. Situations being fair will make them happy.
Venus in the 8th house: They like to dig into the secret realms of things. Attending a metaphysical fair, exploring ancient ruins, or going treasure hunting at the beach—anything where they can explore the unknown.
Venus in the 9th house: Loves philosophy, you’ll find them around the campfire contemplating the meaning of life or traveling to some far-off lands to learn about other cultures, even if it’s just documentaries on National Geographic. They want to share their beliefs and knowledge with others.
Venus in the 10th house: Attending some networking event where they can make more social contacts and advance their reputation. Whatever helps them climb the professional ladder and gets them closer to their goal.
Venus in the 11th house: Friends and social connection make them happy, even better if it is for a humanitarian cause or for some innovative new technology. One example is the sorority holding a fundraiser for recycling cell phones.
Venus in the 12th house: Going on a retreat, meditating, doing dream analysis, anything that connects them to other realms. Bed pleasures and spiritual endeavors would make them happy. Also, visiting hospitals or institutions for the compassionate care of someone brings meaningful engagement for them.
These are mitigated by the sign Venus falls into, so while Venus in the 1st house may be about action, if it is in a sign like Pisces, it may be more about action of a musical or spiritual nature. Someone with Venus in the 4th may seem like they are happiest at home, but if it is in Aries, that home is going to have a lot of activity.
In Vedic astrology, they use the Part of Fortune, which is a formula between the Ascendant, Sun, and Moon. There are 360 degrees to the chart; the signs are divided by 30 degrees each, such as:
Aries 0/360, Libra 180
Taurus 30, Scorpio 210
Gemini 60, Sagittarius 240
Cancer 90, Capricorn 270
Leo 120, Aquarius 300
Virgo 150, Pisces 330
If you’re born during a.m., use the Day formula; if you’re born p.m., use the Night formula:
Daytime Example
Ascendant 9 Sagittarius 34’ 249
Moon 13 Leo 2’ +133 = 382
Sun 5 Scorpio 4’ -215
Part of Fortune 167 = 17 Virgo
Nighttime Example
Ascendant 9 Sagittarius 34’ 249
Sun 5 Scorpio 4’ +215 = 464
Moon 13 Leo 2’ -135
Part of Fortune 329 = 29 Pisces
Where you find your Part of Fortune is where you find your greatest happiness and success. This is by the sign, and the house is the area in your life where it will show up.
Aries: Taking the lead, being authentic, pioneering endeavor. Act first, question later; being impulsive works for you. Championing for a cause.
Taurus: Being patient and purposeful, building something that lasts. Connecting with nature is grounding for you.
Gemini: Being openly communicative, expressing new ideas with others through writing and public speaking. If these skills aren’t natural to you, then they need to be developed.
Cancer: Learn to self-nurture, support yourself as you do others. Success comes through the family—your ancestry or the family you raise.
Leo: You succeed when you are generous, creative, and shine with confidence. You need to be center stage. This can be as a performer, but any endeavor where you’re in the spotlight.
Virgo: You need a routine, attention to detail, and to be valued as an expert. It’s important you pay attention to your physical health through diet and exercise.
Libra: When you serve in a partnership, you receive in a balanced way. When you focus on the quality of relationships, opportunities come to you. You need beauty and peaceful surroundings.
Scorpio: Your ability to trust your intuition about people and situations will bring you the material wealth and emotional fulfillment you desire. When something isn’t working, you transform and start over again, building on the last experience.
Sagittarius: You need to explore and discover truth through travel and continuing education. Becoming open-minded to ideas helps you become the teacher.
Capricorn: Joy in taking a practical, logical approach toward goals and receiving recognition. You need to assert yourself into leadership positions.
Aquarius: You need to embrace your inner progressive rebel to reach new, innovative ideas. You find success pursuing humanitarian causes, and you can rally the masses for the greater good.
Pisces: You can tune into your psychic talents and innate spiritual leadership. You need to feel a deeper connection to invisible realities. Your happiness comes by tuning into higher consciousness.
There is a lot more to the Part of Fortune—this was just a quick glance at how it can help you find happiness in your chart. Happiness is all over your chart when you know where to look. There are ways to find a healthy dopamine release without the negative consequences of too much of a good thing. Follow your Venus, look at your Part of Fortune, and try some of the above activities that naturally align with who you are and what feeds your soul.
