Detailed Answers to Four Common AstroCartography Questions
What is the best AstroCartography line to live on?
Let's start with another question: what are you looking for? Home, community, focus, magic, excitement, opportunity, learning, love, ambition, inner development? The best line(s) are determined by the individual whose map we are looking at, and what that person’s intentions are for the place. For example: business, relocation, travel, retreat, homesteading, spiritual exploration, etc. And most importantly, the professional looking at your map (hi, nice to meet you!) needs to have a deep understanding of the person’s native energy patterns.
To explain further, someone who struggles with maintaining focus—but has a heightened sense of magic and synchronicity—would not benefit from living near lines that accentuate this energy. This energy is strong within the individual, and will be present in their life no matter the location. It may, however, be extremely advantageous to live near a line that bolsters focus and commitment. This could supply balance and gravity, and make the person’s extra-sensory experience more grounded and embodied—a consistent power to be harnessed rather than a source of escapism or flightiness.
What do the AstroCartography lines mean?
Each of the 1320 AstroCartography lines that I use has a different meaning, depending on the planet(s) involved and the ways that those planets are interacting with the rising, setting, culminating, and anti-culminating angles of the relocated birth chart. So let’s look at the baseline significations of each planet, with the caveat that these interpretations become far more nuanced once we can see the planets in a person’s birth chart.
Planetary Baselines:
- What does the Sun line mean?
- The Sun indicates the ideal energies of your everyday life. Health and vitality, as well as a shining quality, are shown with favorable Sun lines.
- What does the Moon line mean?
- The Moon speaks to topics of life around home, community, food, culture, family (both blood and chosen), and subtle connection to place.
- What does the Mercury line mean?
- Mercury indicates an emphasis on learning and communication.
- What does the Venus line mean?
- Venus lines often speak to the topics of love, romance, pleasure, beautiful living, ease, and creativity.
- What does the Mars line mean?
- Mars lines tell you where you’re busy with tasks, or where you may have adversaries. Mars’ main energy is that of action. If you’re on a Mars line, you will be on the go.
- What does the Jupiter line mean?
- A Jupiter line shows where you will find opportunities to expand, as well as the optimism to keep going.
- What does the Saturn line mean?
- A Saturn line indicates determination and focus, as well as a life of responsibility and duty. The Saturn line can have a lot of gravity, so that these places are difficult to depart from.
- What does the Uranus line mean?
- A Uranus line is indicative of an unstable environment, but also a place that could be a lot of fun. Expect the unexpected, as they say, and be careful of your impulses and mindful of the potential consequences of following through.
- What does the Neptune line mean?
- The Neptune line carries a sense of dreaminess, awe, and wonder. There is good energy for spiritual seeking and connection with other realms and ways of being, but not for getting your feet set and meeting your needs or the needs of your dependents.
- What does the Pluto line mean?
- The Pluto line indicates a swell of energy around power, obsession, mortality, difficulties and regrets from one’s past, and the birth-death-rebirth cycle. Pluto is not for the feint of heart.
So what about a reading?
Know your map in incredible detail!
How do you read Astro chart lines?
First off, if you want to read your astro map, you should know your birth chart in and out. If you don’t, then chances are, you are missing quite a bit of detail about the energies that a given place holds for you.
In terms of the power and influence of lines, it should be noted that the nearer you are to a line, the more powerful it is. Likewise, as you get further from a line, its power diminishes. Let’s call the range of a line’s power it’s Orb of Influence.
The Orb of Influence of an angular line—any planet making an action on the AC, MC, DC, or IC—is 200-250 miles, vibrating in both directions from the line. These are the strongest lines, and as you get closer to them, their power can overshadow a lot of subtler lines in the area.
The major aspect lines—planets making squares and trines to the AC, MC, DC, or IC—have an orb of 150-200 miles in both directions.
From there, we step into finer aspects and midpoints, which can have a huge effect on a place, but you have to be closer to the line—within 100-150 miles.
The aspects I’m referring to are: semisextiles, semisquares, quintiles, septiles, and noviles.
Keep in mind that just like with a birth chart, each line is distinct to the native. In my practice, I employ 1320 lines.
Does your AstroCartography map change over time?
I love this question. Simply, the answer is no. The astro map that relates to your birth chart does not change over time. Just like your birth chart, it is a picture of a moment, and that picture is a story that unfolds over the course of your life. When you look at your birth chart, I hope you don’t see a bevy of set-in-stone traits and characteristics. What’s really there is an incredibly complex volume of stories, all weaving together in the distinct form of You and Your Life.
There are alternative forms of the astro map that do change. In particular, there is the astro map of the secondary progressed chart. This application of AstroCartography is still in beta phase. I don’t find it particularly dependable; moreso, it can bobble the clarity presented in the original astro map that is based on one’s birth chart.
Another important thing to note is that although your astro map does not change over time, Earth and its places do. You know how your hometown isn’t the same as the one you grew up in? Did you know that Washington D.C. used to be a marshy wetland? The longer we live, the more potential there is for any and all places to change, especially in our time of rapid development.
So if your astro map looks fantastic in Seattle and you were born during the grunge rock explosion of the 90s, you should take into account that Seattle is now part of the West Coast technology corridor and hosts major corportations such as The Big One: Amazon. The character of Seattle has drastically changed. And this is true for many places, and should always be accounted for in any decision around relocating. Even with the amazing insights of ACG, it is highly inadvisable to relocate to a place that you haven’t visited yet.
Curious to learn more?
Watch how I read an AstroCartography map.