Astrology Secrets Revealed by ERIC FRANCIS

Astro*Carto*Graphy and Relocated Charts

 

June 9, 2006

 

http://cainer.com/ericfrancis/june9.html

 

Dear Eric:

 

I'm curious about astro-cartography. I know that theoretically there's a study of this whole notion of the astrological impact of certain places on the earth on people but I have no idea about the mechanics. I just read a horoscope that mentioned a "relocated" chart. As I'm about to move to a whole new country, I'm wondering how I might be able to interpret the impact this new place might have on my chart but don't know the first thing about how to start. Does one simply cast a birth chart but with a new birthplace? Or does this have anything to do with planetary power lines of the new location and how they match up to my natal chart? If so, how do you find them and what do they even mean?

 

Tell me how it works and then I can go and do the interpretation on my own birth chart by myself. The move is set to take place in early August.

 

Thanks!

-- A.M.

 

 

Dear A.M.

 

One thing about the current revision of the world is that we have a lot of choice about where to be. Many people still tend to stay fairly close to where they were born, but we do have the option to be elsewhere. The issue of "where" is vital to astrology, both for the casting of charts, and when we can do something about the place we live. I've addressed the theme of locational astrology before in this column in this edition, but I'll add a few points for you.

 

First, in terms of what locational astrology is: it's the chart cast for the same time but the new place. This is super duper important: the time does not change and the time zone does not change. The idea is to end up with the exact same Greenwich Mean Time or Universal Time (same basic idea) but the new geographic coordinates.

 

What you get is a chart with the same planetary positions, but different angles and houses. This is called your relocated chart and it gives a picture of your life in the new place. In my prior response, I emphasized the issue of considering the culture of the place you are considering as being a helpful factor in interpreting the chart for that place. Places with very similar (i.e., identical for most purposes) charts can have very different feelings, for example, the strip in Las Vegas, or the open desert a 10 minute drive from town.

 

If you're looking at Belgium, for example, you'll probably have the same chart for Brussels and Antwerp. However, in one town, you'll speak French or English; and in the other, you'll speak Dutch and people will look at you like you have three heads if you start speaking French. So, culture is a big factor that today's modern worldly astrologer factors into the discussion.

 

The lines you see on the Astro*Carto*Graphy chart are where the different planets would fall on the ascendant and midheaven for any given place. If you get the chart and then experiment with a locational chart for that place, you'll be able to put the two together and see what's going on. In other words, if your Mars in Leo ascendant line goes through Moscow and you cast a relocated chart for Moscow, you'll see Mars in Leo rising.

 

A relocated chart is different than your Astro*Carto*Graphy chart. This is a chart (now done by other programs as well) that gives you an overview of the entire world. You use this chart to see the spots you like, and then you investigate further with the precise locational chart.

 

To get an Astro*Carto*Graphy chart, you go to the website of the originator, Astrocartography.com. If you're in London you can walk into the Astrology Shop in Covent Garden and they will make up your chart while you're standing there.

 

Other programs, such as Io Edition for Mac and Solar Fire for PC, do the same function, it just looks a little different. Some include Chiron and others do not.

 

Now, my usual word of caution about materials written by Jim Lewis, with apologies since he is not here to defend himself or edit his work, but they are pretty negative. In other words, he tends to emphasize everything that can go wrong on a particular line, the kinds of diseases you're going to get, and so on. This is not only not true, it's not necessary. Every place we live presents problems and opportunities. We need to take a balanced view, considering the chart, the person and the place with equal weight.

 

Last, about who you should get to do your locational astrology: I highly recommend astrologers who have actually lived many places. Astrology works a lot better when the astrologer feels it working, and the way to feel locational astrology working is to live places. It's not enough to travel and visit. You have to live in a place long enough to have transits and the kinds of life experiences that only happen with time.

 

Last point: the actual natal chart (original place) for whoever is considering relocation is always a helpful chart, and there are transits and placements that indicate the kind of place we might like to live; it can hint at whether we might wander far from home; and transits can tell us when we might be more inclined to move. In this respect, Saturn is one of the most useful planets I can think of, as well as any and all transits to the 4th house, the 9th house, and their ruling planets.