How to Read Your Astrocartography Map Step by Step {An Easy Guide}

If you’ve been curious to read your astrocartography map but don’t yet know how to do it correctly (because let’s be real: there are a lot of lifestyle bloggers out there who don’t know astrology and are teaching it on social media 😬) then you’ve come to the right place!

Hey there, I’m Helena. I’ve been studying astrology for over 10 years, practicing with clients since late 2021 and when it comes to astrocartography and relocation astrology – I’m your gal!

I became fascinated with astrocartography maps in 2018 when I moved to Strasbourg France and felt home for the first time in my life. I didn’t know that we each had an individualized map that showed us not only the energies of places, but also the natal promise that places contain for us.

That’s right: the natal promise.

When you were born, your birth chart contained a promise of what is to come in your life. Our intuition knows. Our soul knows. Where we feel called is a reflection of what we already know. Our chart is just a mirror of what we are living and experiencing.

Just like we have a birth chart, we also have relocated birth charts for multiple places in the world. Charts that show different stories and activations of different themes in the world.

And then from those charts came…..the astrocartography map.

In today’s blog post, I’m going to be giving you a step-by-step easy to guide on how to read your astrocartography map. 

But also, I have a ton of free blog posts and plenty more tips and examples in my email newsletter which you can join for free here! 

Let’s get into how to read your astrocartography map.

Relocated Charts = Astrocartography

Know that your astrocartography map is based on your relocated birth charts. That’s the first, most important thing to know. Your birth chart shifts depending on where you are in the world. Meaning you have MANY charts for all of the places in the world! The natal planet and aspects of your chart don’t change, but the houses (areas of life), angles and aspects to those angles do. When you’re pulling up your astrocartography map, you’ll notice you have 44 lines criss-crossing across the globe. These lines show where the planets were situated on angles in the relocated chart. In other words: you are existing simultaneously, everywhere, all at once.

There’s an orb of influence; measure the lines

Note where you have planetary lines and measure 150-200 miles surrounding it to see the strongest orb of influence. Once you’ve pulled up your map and cross-referenced it with your relocated chart (which is basically your birth chart, but you shift the birth location to the place you’re considering, and adjust the time accordingly to the time difference. Most softwares do this for you easily with a click of a button.), you then want to measure the distance around the astrocartography lines. Most people don’t know this: your astrocartography lines have an orb of influence. You do not have to be situated right on a line to activate that story. You don’t have to live on a cruise ship and venture to the ocean to experience your astrocartography lines. You’ll need to measure the distance, which is why I recommend using a software like Solar Fire where you can measure the distances between all of the lines using a professional measuring tool. Precision is key with astrocartography maps. 

 

I’ve included a list of the orbs of influence with the astrocartography lines in my email newsletter here.

Weak – Intense Strength of Astrocartography Lines

Jim Lewis, the creator of Astrocartography, used an 800 mile orb of an influence. But as we now have made improvements in the field and also don’t rely on paper printouts as astrologers used to in the 1970s now that we use computers, most astrologers use an orb of 600 miles maximum. I have noticed in my research that the intense strength of a line is around 150-200 miles maximum. The further away you venture from a line, the lessened the intensity. Not everyone will want to live directly on a line. Depending on the phase of life you’re in, you might desire more stillness and calm than the strength and power of living directly on an astrocartography line. Reflect on your needs and desires and contemplate whether you want the full effect of a powerful line in your energetic story. 

But what do the astrocartography lines mean?

Here’s my free astrocartography cheatsheet where you can get all the meanings of the different lines and angles! I made it for any beginners who are just getting started with understanding astrology and astrocartography maps. Your lines depend on your personal natal planets and how they are situated in your chart, and I’ve written this blog post to help you find your best planets.

Should I be East or West of an Astrocartography Line?

Is it better to be east or west of a line? There’s a saying by Jim Lewis that “west was best” but it’s been said that moving west of a planetary line makes that planetary line more angular and dynamic, and moving east of a line places it in a more cadent position, which is less powerful. Relocated charts give us this insight as well.

For instance, if you have an MC line and you’re deciding whether to most west or east or that line, moving west of that astrocartography line would bring more 10th house significations (career, vocation, public image) and if you moved east of the MC line, it would bring more cadent significations such as learning, study, teaching, publishing, travel. “Angular”…”cadent”…this is all fancy astrology speak, but if you wanted to go deeper on relocation astrology and the charts, you can take my in-depth online course here.

Paran Lines are a Secondary (but IMPORTANT) Influence

Note the “parans” or the latitude lines that are within 70-75 miles north and south. These crossings of lines create latitude lines that are a blend of two planets. Parans are incredibly powerful and can make or break a place. Regardless if you’re on a supportive astrocartography line, if you have a difficult paran within orb, it can bring up more challenges. The further out you are from a paran, the lesser the intensity. These lines are not visible on free websites like Astro Dienst (but you can click “show details” in the top right hand corner of the astrocartography map page under the “Astro Click Travel” feature). But again – you’ll want a measuring tool for these parans. Remember: 75 miles max. 

Example of a Sun-Ceres paran in Tampa – Yellow latitude lines are the parans

 

Use Local Space Astrology for Exact Cities and Towns

Add the local space lines to see the energies and stories of exact cities and towns. Local Space is a separate system in relocation astrology (different from astrocartography which places the relocated chart planets/angles on a visual map). Local space does not use houses and it’s used to see the planetary energies directionally. There is no mileage and you don’t have to measure distance with these lines. You can also move them to your new base! I chat more about local space and how you can use it in your daily life in my vlog here.

 

Timing is Everything

Final advanced step: Add in the timing. You know that saying, “right place, right time?” Well, that’s true with astrocartography as well. We all have a fixed permanent astrocartography map based on when we were born. That never changes. But what does change is timing. Regardless if whether or not you’re in a nice location, if you have hard transits or progressions at that time, and hitting that location (and the angles of that new relocated chart), it will bring up challenging times. Progressions can last up to 3 years and transits can be as short as a few days to 3 years. Timing matters. Just as much as location. So if you’re wondering, “why am I having such a hard time in this location but I’m on a supported planetary line!” first ask yourself if you’ve looked at the relocated chart and parans, then ask yourself if you’ve looked at the timing.

How to Read Your Astrocartography Map Step-by-Step (recap)

1. Pull up map
2. Compare map with relocated chart for different locations
3. Note the astrocartography lines and measure out the distance. You do not have to live in the ocean to feel the effects of a line!
4. Don’t forget those parans.
5. Add in the local space feature
6. Add in timing to see the story of a location in regards to NOW

 

Want to read the meaning of the different astrocartography lines?

Click here to get my free cheetsheet with all the basic meanings!

Eager for More Astrocartography Learning?

If you wanted to dive deeper into understanding your astrocartography map, you can either book a private reading with me here or learn this amazing skill for yourself!

Astrocartography Online Courses (self-paced!)

I have two course offerings: one for that just want to read the basics of their map for fun (without relocated charts) and then my flagship program Relocation Astrology that goes deeper into local space, relocated charts AND timing! With dozens of hours of content, examples, live class call replays, you’ll walk away feeling solid and skilled. 

I’m on a mission to teach excellent astrocartographers in the age of misinformation. As tools become trendy, they become simplified. Not only have I read for nearly 2,000 clients, but I’ve taught 300 students in my astrology courses, and I am living this out in real time as I live abroad, traveling full-time to my different astrocartography lines around the world. (Currently I’m writing this from Abu Dhabi on my Sun ASC line and then next month, Sri Lanka on my Mercury ASC line!)

The Aligned Astrocartographers Directory

If you’d like to follow along on the adventure, subscribe to my astrocartography travel channel here!

I hope this information helps you on your own journey understanding your natal promise and the stories of your places.

Have a magical day and happy astro-travels!