Locational Astrology/Astrocartography

frac_ture

A non-astrologer acquaintance of mine recently paid for an Astrocartography report from a group that uses Jim Lewis' work to help clients determine which cities might be best for them should they decide to relocate. She asked me for any help I could give in grasping the main points of the report -- and the report is fairly long, so I was happy to give her any input I could.

Having now read it in its entirety, I believe I understand it pretty well... My biggest problem, though, is that it's only a textual write-up; no charts, maps, or other visual aids are included. This makes it almost impossible to try to apply what I know of astrology to the data, as I have nothing to go on that's not included in the report itself -- I can't tell what its creators chose to ignore as "unimportant," and I can't double-check whether their findings seem reasonable based on that data, either.

I ran this person's birth chart myself, as I figured it would help in this analysis, but I'm kind of coming up empty when searching for some way that might enable me to also create the kinds of maps that the people who generated the report must have used. I haven't found any free sites online that will crank out this kind of map, so I'm wondering if my only option would be purchasing some kind of software specifically geared for this kind of practice? So far, she's the only person who's ever asked me about locational Astrology, and I'm therefore not so keen on the idea of pouring any real money into this...so I thought I'd next take an informal poll of the more experienced astrologers here. Any tips or advice would be much welcomed and appreciated! Thanks for any help you can give!
 

kalliope

Doesn't Astro.com have an astrocartography option? Not sure if the resulting chart is printable, or of the sort you're looking for, though. I've definitely run such a chart for myself, and what you get is a flattened map of the world with planet lines running across it .
 

Minderwiz

I use Solar Fire, which does have an Astrocartography mapping option. The best approach seems to be to decide in advance what feature of your natal chart you want to correct, hiding a weak planet or bringing out a strong one for example. Then look for locations where the weak planet is nicely out of the way in a cadent house (twelfth, or sixth and perhaps third) or the strong planet becomes angular, (best in first or tenth for general purposes).

As a general rule, improving the situation with regard to one planet is likely to worsen it for another. So you might improve your chances of a successful career but reduce your chances of, for example, having children or getting married. Therefore some compromise might be in order, that improves one without weakening the other too much.

It's also worth remembering that the best place for your career, astrologically speaking, might be the middle of the Pacific Ocean - which might not be practically the best place :)

It's a fascinating topic and Martin Davis has a very good book, which pays tribute to Jim Lewis, called Astrolocality Astrology.
 

frac_ture

Thank you, kalliope and Minderwiz, for your input!

You know, kalliope, I checked Astro.com, but I guess I didn't look hard enough (or smart enough...) yet, as I wasn't able to find the kinds of maps you're talking about. Those are actually what I was hoping to locate someplace on the internet, so that I could run some for myself, and then compare them against the findings in the report that my acquaintance got -- that seemed like a good way to try to see if everything in her report looks reasonable.

Minderwiz, as always, your post is loaded with helpful info, and very practical tips on applying it (the part about trade-offs occurring among planets if one shifts focus from one city to another makes perfect sense!). I also appreciate the point about how one's "ideal" locale, astrologically speaking, might actually be somewhere in the middle of an ocean...

I'll take another pass at Astro.com this weekend when I have more time, and I might even try to get hold of a copy of that Davis book. Thanks again!
 

kalliope

You know, kalliope, I checked Astro.com, but I guess I didn't look hard enough (or smart enough...) yet, as I wasn't able to find the kinds of maps you're talking about. Those are actually what I was hoping to locate someplace on the internet, so that I could run some for myself, and then compare them against the findings in the report that my acquaintance got -- that seemed like a good way to try to see if everything in her report looks reasonable.

There are a couple of ways you can find them. If you choose the Extended Charts Selection option within the Free Horoscopes page, you can find a variety of Astromaps in the Special Charts list (not under Circular Charts, which is the default "Method" list).

Alternatively, from the Free Horoscopes page, you can pick the Astro Click Travel chart. You can view continent by continent, and if you click on a location (anywhere), if will give you an interpretation of the closest "power lines" (click on the "see details" link for additional chart info on lines that cross those power lines.)

Hope that helps!
 

Ronia

It's also worth remembering that the best place for your career, astrologically speaking, might be the middle of the Pacific Ocean - which might not be practically the best place :)

This is particularly true. If I want to place my best bet on career success and public acclaim and good money, I have two options: to move to Cuba in an area where there is neither village nor town or to simply work from a boat in the Caribbean Sea on the other side of the island, between Cuba and USA. :D

I've noticed though that staying closer to lines which are created by generally beneficial in the natal chart planets does help, even if the place is not one of the points of highest power.
 

frac_ture

Yes, thank you so much, kalliope, that got me to the right place -- these charts are exactly what I was hoping to find! You were right: I'd been stumbling about in the wrong section... Now I need to tear into my friend's report, and then look deeper into my own charts (not that I aim to move, but maybe I can work some of what I learn into my next bout of vacation planning...).

I hear you, Ronia: even a quick glance shows me that the only great place of power in these charts for me in my home continent of North America lies deep toward the southern ends of Mexico, and I don't believe the main locus is actually a city of any kind. When I have more time, though, I'm curious to see where else on the globe the charts are flagging for me...