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How To Read Your Astrocartography Chart

Astrocartography, sometimes known as astrogeography, locational Astrology, or relocation Astrology; is the art of delineating what a certain place may feel like for you based on your personal Natal Chart placements. By seeing which Planetary lines cross where, you can determine what kind of experiences will be activated when you visit or live in these places (or even interact with people from there)!

It’s a wonderful complementary tool when deciding where to relocate to, go on holiday, or bring insight to the stories behind past places you’ve lived in or visited. It can help show us where we might feel most at home in the world, where we can thrive and find community, self-expression, and more.

It’s a relatively new concept of zenith astrology, developed by Astrologer Jim Lewis in the 1970s, working on findings from the 1940s, and is a really fascinating branch of Astrology that has proved extremely enlightening for me, my clients, and hundreds of people across the globe!

Here’s how to read your own astrocartography chart:

How To Do An Astrocartography Reading

An Astrocartography chart is created by mapping out your own personal planetary lines from your Natal Chart on to the globe. Depending on which line crosses a point can indicate different things. You can get your free astrocartography chart done here (as always, for an accurate reading your exact birth time will be needed and it takes some skill to learn how to properly decipher it in depth).

By looking at certain areas of the birth chart, known as the angular houses, and the Planetary aspects, as well as so-called “parans” of crossing (Astrological regions of the same latitude found on an Astrocartography chart), we can potentially find the best place on Earth to visit, live and thrive for different intentions we may have.

Here is what the Planetary lines represent:

SUN ☉: This can be a place where you will feel self-actualised and like your fullest self (generally one of the overall best lines to choose, depending on the nature of your Natal Sun). Basically you will shine here and come into your sense of self more.
MOON ☾: This can represent places you will be emotionally tied to or engaged in, but that can also encompass the full spectrum of emotions. On the whole, this place will naturally feel like home and comforting. It could be a good place if your intention is to start a family.
MERCURY ☿: This would be a good place for intellectual stimulation, communication/expression, or social activity, as well as creativity and connections.
VENUS ♀: This is where your heart lies, it can generally represent somewhere you are fond of and will always hold a special place for you (this is another good option to go for in general- IF Venus is well-placed in your Chart)! It may even give your love life or finances a boost.
MARS ♂: This could be a place that is good for energy, drive, and ambition, but can also be frustrating and lead to triggering anger, inflammation, or burnout in the long run.
JUPITER ♃: Overall this would be considered a lucky and beneficial place, especially for Day Charts! It can also be a place of growth and expansion, where we can feel all-round abundant and tap into a greater sense of hope, wisdom, and expansion.
SATURN ♄: This would be a place that would generally feel like hard work and perhaps a bit of a slog, but will ultimately help you build something sturdy and long lasting. It can also lead to stronger structures and boundaries, more so for Day Charts.
URANUS ♅: This place would be anyone’s guess! Overall it could lead to unexpected circumstances and sudden change, as well as rebellion, freedom, and authenticity. If you are seeking drastic change and innovation, this could be a good place for you but it may feel destabilising in the long-run.
NEPTUNE ♆: While this placement could foster creativity and spirituality, it could also bring with it illusion and confusion. Artistic and musical pursuits would do well here, but perhaps not a good place for the long run as we may fall into rose-tinted glasses.
PLUTO ♇: This is a place of profound tests and transformations, it may bring cataclysmic or catalytic growth and rebirths (but not without a power struggle or two)!
CHIRON: Overall, this could be a place that will bring healing and a sense of nourishment (its glyph looks like a key), but can also be tender.
NORTH NODE: This would be a great place for soul growth, to feel destined or fated in a place (its symbol is like a stylised n or horseshoe, an upright version of the South Node).
SOUTH NODE: This is a good place to release anything that no longer serves or past versions of yourself, as well as potentially ancestral or karmic experiences (its glyph is like a stylised u or nose ring).

For more information on the Planets, check out our post on The Planetary Characteristics, or get our Beginner’s Guide to Astrology!

Generally, when picking a place for where to live, on the whole you my feel happiest where your Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, or Jupiter lines cross, depending on how they are in your own Natal Chart- within up to a 300 mile radius or 500km, or orb of influence (for all the lines), some Astrologers say up to 700 miles but I would personally like to keep it as close as possible.

Lines that are both within range of 300 miles will have there effects blended. So for example if you are within reach of a Sun and Pluto line, you may come into a truer sense of self, like peeling back the layers, but also have your character tested and triggers come up from the depths. Through this power and transformation can be achieved but it may come with both highs and lows.

Then, you can choose a place based on a specific intention, for example if you wanted to make significant headway in your career and aren’t afraid of the grind, places along your Saturn line could suit you well, or even Mars (again, depending on their nature in your Chart and if you have a Day or Night Chart).

If you want to visit a place that will be deeply healing for you and are keen to get to the core wounding, your Chiron line could be a good option; and if you are ready to do some deep, intense transformation- you can go for the Pluto line if you’re brave enough (I lived on a Pluto line before discovering Astrocartography and it was no cake walk but also brought extreme growth)! If you want to write a book, go to your Mercury line! The opportunities are endless.

It is important to note within this, that the context of your Astrocartography chart must always be taken into consideration with your own Natal Chart. What is the nature of these Planets for you natally?

If relationships are your intention, but your Natal Venus is challenged (say with a square to Neptune or Pluto), it may be more constructive for you to move to the line of your 7th House ruler instead. If you are a Sagittarius Rising, this could be your Mercury line (as your 7th House would be in Gemini and Mercury is the ruler of Gemini) if it is well-placed in your Chart (in Virgo in the 10th House for example).

Beyond this, there are four main sensitive points in Astrology that will also come into play. These are:

The Midheaven (MC) line: This is your vocation, calling, sense of purpose, or aspects relating to career. It represents the highest point of your chart. So a Jupiter MC line could be extremely professionally beneficial and expansive!
The Imum Coeli (IC) line: This is the bottom of your Chart, the nadir, and represents your sense of home, where you belong, family, roots, and ancestry. A Moon IC line can be extremely soothing and naturally comforting, a place of belonging.
The Ascendant (AC) line: This is your default expression, how you show up in the world, it represents the Sign that was rising on the Eastern horizon at the moment you were born and is also how you come across as to others. It is a very important piece to your Natal puzzle (along with your Sun and Moon Sign). A Sun AC line can show us places where we can really peel back the layers to a more authentic self, a Venus AC line can bring a sense of beauty to our identity, for example.
The Descendant (DC) line: This is your key interactions with others, how you are in relationships, what your require from them and who you attract. A Uranus DC line can bring exciting people into our lives but can also be unsettling if you prefer stable, committed relationships.

Bringing all these aspects together, you can start to form a picture and link them together. For example, if your Venus Midheaven line falls near Paris, you may love living here and always find it beneficial for your career or sense of purpose (with a strong Venus natally). If it is also crossed by your Pluto or Saturn line, great change and transformation can come about but not without struggles.

If Chiron is here instead, it may feel extra nourishing for you, especially if your IC Moon line is here too, you may feel like you’ve always belonged here and bring about healing through tender wounds. If you’re planning a vacation and want a light-hearted fun vibe instead, you can look to a location where the Sun or Jupiter aspect your AC line.

Some other examples from my personal life include arriving in a spot where my Sun line is (Bali) and immediately feeling like myself and that I could really step into my fullest expression. My Venus line crossing where my family are from in Italy, and this place always being very dear to my heart. A place in Croatia where my Chiron line fell being very healing for me when we lived there, and my birth place (London) have no lines crossing it and me feeling no affinity for the UK!

In the same place as above where my Pluto line falls, my husband Sam has his Mars line, and it made him frustrated and angry there! And he is someone who never gets annoyed and has the patience of a saint haha, after 9 years together it was one of the few times I had ever see him get mad. He also has his Neptune line crossing the UK (where he is from) and has always had a confusing relationship with it.

However, full disclosure: I also lived in Paris and enjoyed my time there but have no lines anywhere near it, so that’s not to say you HAVE to have a line somewhere to appreciate it, it’s just that those that do may be more influential for you. Also, of course, the lived experience will always be different. When we are not near any major lines, there are always the parans as well, i.e. the same latitude of other line crossings that bring their influence.

You can also have really great lines in a place, and have the Planets well-placed in your Natal Chart, and not like the destination that much in actuality! You may be going through some difficult transits when you visit or it may simply be a nice place to go to but you don’t necessarily want to live there forever. Again, the lived experienced is always mitigated by many factors.

When you have several lines crossing a place, their influence will be blended. Generally the stronger ones will be felt first, and that are more prominent in your own Chart, with the others showing themselves over time.

You can also incorporate elements of these places without ever actually going there. If, for example, you’ve always been drawn to Morocco and have now discovered a significant line crossing it but can’t travel there, you can buy some authentic Moroccan pottery or tapestries; learn how to cook Moroccan food from local chefs; listen to traditional Moroccan music or watch films; learn about its history; make friends with Moroccan people etc (of course if you are drawn to a place and don’t have a line crossing it you can still always learn about and engage in its culture)- the reason you feel called to places are often not by chance!

The benefits of an Astrocartography line do not have to be lived on long term to be experienced. In business, it can be beneficial to connect with clients or target markets along your MC lines, for example.

To access your own custom Astrocartography chart and interpretation, book in an Astrocartography Reading with me!

So that’s how to give yourself a free astrocartography reading. Obviously, the subject has a lot more nuance and depth to it, but a good basic starting block is:

Taking the Sun line as where you may feel most authentic and yourself; you may love places along your Venus line; your Moon line placements can be emotionally engaging and feel homely; your Mercury line is good for communication and expression; your Mars line could push you into action but also trigger anger; Jupiter could be beneficial and bring you luck; Saturn can bring rewarding hard work but may be draining; your Uranus line will be full of surprises! Neptune places can bring confusion as well as creativity; Pluto places can catalyse transformation in intense and powerful ways; Chiron may be healing but tender; and the Nodal places can feel fated.

All of this must be read with your own Natal Chart in mind (and you can also relocate your own Natal Chart to see how you may express yourself when in that place)!

Of course, it goes without saying, that this is a tool to use in conjunction with your own intuition. If your gut instinct has an image of you living in New York but the Astrocartography Chart doesn’t seem to agree, listen to what your intuition says! Sometimes we just have to try things out for ourselves.

I hope this is useful for you, I’d love to hear examples of how your Astrocartography map has played out in your life :) if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to let me know in the comments section below, I’ll gladly try and answer them.

Or, if you would like me to personally look into the secrets of your personal Planetary placements in general, book in a Soul Natal Chart reading instead!

To uncover the secrets of the cosmos yourself, get our Astrology 101 course or our Beginner’s Astrology Guidebook and for monthly Astro magic- join us in the Spirit Subscription ✨