Astrocartography 101: A Beginner’s Guide to Locational Astrology
I remember the first time I heard about the existence of Astrocartography. I was chatting with someone about the place I just moved to, in Portugal. I’ll never forget her exact words: “I won’t stay here forever because I’m living on my Pluto line”. My exact words back: “Your what?”.
Astrology at that time was still very foreign to me. As many of us are, I was aware of my sun sign, Pisces in my case. My knowledge and experience lay in the frequent worldwide travel I had done as an athlete for many years, experiencing the shifts of how I felt as I moved around.
The moment I understood that there is a map with a visual representation of how we feel in different places around the world, it was like everything fell into place. I needed to know more.
In this article, we will have a look at the basics of astrocartography to understand what you’re looking at when opening your own map.
Already convinced that this is what you want? I’d love to guide you through your map!
What is Astrocartography
Astrocartography is a niche within Astrology, so we must first understand the concept of the birth chart, or natal chart.
The Birth Chart Connection
The birth chart shows us where the planets were at the moment of your birth. The planets are projected onto a wheel that reveals your personality, characteristics and key themes in life. Learn more about the importance of the birth chart in Astrocartography.
In order to receive an accurate astrocartography reading, it’s key to know your date, time and place of birth. Don’t know your birth time? Here’s what you can do.
The Astrocartography Map
Your Astrocartography map uses the same information of the birth chart, and now lays it out onto a world map. By seeing exactly where the planets were across the globe as you were born, the layer of location is added into the picture.
Astrocartography vs. Relocation Astrology
The first person who coined the term Astrocartography was Jim Lewis, who discovered this transformational tool in the 1970s. He called it: Astro*Carto*Graphy.
Since then it has taken on many forms that all roughly signify the same thing, including:
Astrocartography
Locational Astrology
Relocation Astrology
Astromapping
Astrotravel
Astro Locality
Astrogeography
Astrocartography in Everyday Life
Have you ever visited a place that everyone raved about, yet you just didn’t love it?
Have you ever felt a deep feeling of excitement or happiness in a place for no apparent reason?
Have you received multiple business opportunities from a specific city?
Have you felt intuitively pulled to visit a country for a long time?
Have you noticed that you keep meeting people from a random country?
These are all very simple and everyday ways that astrocartography works. The energy of our places present themselves in such gentle nudges that we often don’t immediately recognise it. However, looking back we notice the patterns of the places we have visited or lived in.
By understanding our locational astrology map, we can start to use this knowledge as a tool. We can take advantage of the places where we thrive, and avoid the places that bring unnecessary challenges.
We can find our best places for our career, finding love, self-growth, comfortable home and much more.
Personally, I have an amazing Jupiter career line going straight through London. Multiple business opportunities have come my way from that city, without even having to travel there myself.
The planetary lines on a free astrocartography map generated on astro.com
Understanding Planetary Lines
The first time you open your own map, the many colorful lines look exciting and overwhelming at the same time.
So where do you begin?
The Planets and Their Meanings
The lines on an astrocartography map are called planetary lines. As the name suggests, they represent the planets. General free maps will use the ten inner and outer planets in our solar system and one asteroid:
The Sun - Your essence and vitality. Where you shine and express individuality.
The Moon - Your emotions and needs. How you nurture and feel safe.
Mercury - Communication and thinking. How you learn, speak, and connect.
Venus - Love and attraction. How you relate, create harmony, and enjoy beauty.
Mars - Drive and motivation. How you act, assert, and pursue what you want.
Jupiter - Growth and optimism. Faith, abundance, and life philosophy.
Saturn - Lessons and discipline. Structure, responsibility, and long-term goals.
Uranus - Change and liberation. Innovation, rebellion, and awakening.
Neptune - Dreams and intuition. Imagination, spirituality, and illusion.
Pluto - Transformation and power. Depth, rebirth, and hidden truth.
Chiron (asteroid) - Healing and wisdom. Your wounds and how you heal them.
Each planet has a general meaning, such as Venus being known as the planet of love and abundance. By understanding the meaning of each planet, we can start to understand the lines on our map.
The Four Angles (AC, DC, MC, IC)
The next thing you will notice is that each planet has four lines on the astrocartography map, and they each have two letters written next to the planet: AC, DC, MC, and IC.
These are called the angles and apply to four common themes:
AS - Ascendant (the self)
DS - Descendant (partnerships)
MC - Midheaven (career and reputation)
IC - Imum Coeli (home and family)
Bringing It All Together
Bringing this together, a story starts to unfold. For example, sticking with our earlier example of the planet Venus, imagine you see a Venus AS line.
In this case the topics of love and abundance (Venus) apply to the self (Ascendant). Meaning that being on this line you might feel very loving within yourself. You feel abundant and it’s a great place to work on self-care.
When you generate your free map online, you can click on each planetary line to read a general description. This will help you on your way in discovering your power places.
The Difference Between a Free Map and a Professional Reading
When you research information about relocation astrology online, you will often come across trendy topics. “You’ll find love on your Venus line” is a very common statement made. Unfortunately astrology and astrocartography aren’t that simple (if only right?!).
The better you understand your own birth chart, the more in-depth you can read your astrocartography map. Venus is indeed generally a beautiful planet, but what does your Venus mean? A professional reader will take your unique birth chart into account when reading your map.
Additionally, the planetary lines are only the start of uncovering your best places in the world. Professional astrocartographers use specialised software. These softwares use multiple advanced layers of lines, as well as relocated charts, that are used to narrow down to your locations, down to the exact neighbourhood.
You’re Not Alone
I hope this article was helpful as you’re dipping your toes into the concept of locational astrology for the first time. If you’re curious to the problems Astrocartography can solve and what my sessions look like, have a look here.
If you’re ready to be guided through your own map, you can start your astrocartography journey today by booking a reading!
FAQs About Astrocartography
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They are terms that are used interchangeably. I use them interchangeably but personally prefer astrocartography. Relocation implies that it’s all about moving, while there is so much more we can use this tool for!
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Not at all! One of my favorite uses of astrocartography is uncovering the energies of your current home. Additionally we can connect to a location through travel, work, and people from that place.
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It is extremely accurate, just like your birth chart. Looking at places you have already visited is a great way to reflect on how astrocartography plays out for you.
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In my opinion it is a very practical and strategic tool. As an astrocartographer I personally believe in finding the right balance between spirituality and practicality. While the energy of place is not tangible, it is something we have all experienced and can relate to.
