Astrocartography is the study of the astrological energy in cities, states and countries around the world. First outlined by Jim Lewis in the 1970s, his book The Psychology of Astrocartography, goes into depth about the ACG lines and parans (crossings) in your personal map and what effects are likely when you visit the different ACG lines and parans.
There are several influences to consider when determining what the energy will be like in a place, the most salient being which planets are angular, and how close the city is to a planetary line (measured in miles). Each individual has a planetary line for the sun, moon and planets, and each of these is on the ASC, DSC, MC and IC for a total of 40 lines. Not all of these lines run through countries, some will run through the ocean, and perhaps not give an effect if they are too far from a country. Some astrologers include nodal lines as well. The planet will give effects according to its nature (e.g. Venus and romance, Mercury and communications), combined with its angle. The ascendant is about the energy you consciously have and are projecting into the world, the descendant is about how other people treat you, the MC is career and social status, the IC is home and family. Traditionally, if your Venus is well-placed by sign and aspect, moving to a country where Venus is angular, particularly if it is close to the descendant, may help you find a happy romance.
Parans are another critical component to consider, these are latitude crossings composed of two planets, or a planet and a node, and they modify the effects of the major line such that moving even a few hours north or south of where you are can result in a different experience even if you are equally close to the same ACG line. A nice paran can soften the effects of a difficult ACG line the same way a difficult paran can mitigate the effects of an otherwise lucky ACG line. It is possible you can have more than one paran line effecting a city, or you may have none at all. Parans composed of a combination of Venus, Jupiter, the Moon and Mercury tend to be nicer than parans composed of a combination of Mars, Pluto, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
For ACG lines, less than 200 miles would be an intense effect and 200 to 300 miles would be a moderate effect. Anything larger than 300 miles would be a weaker effect. To feel the effects in a conscious way, I believe you should not be more than about 250 miles away from a line, though they still might have a weaker influence past that. Parans should be within 70 miles of the line but ideally less than 25 miles to notice their effects in a strong way. Priyanka Chopra, probably the most financially successful crossover star from Bollywood to Hollywood, has her Sun-MC line less than 10 miles from Los Angeles California, making the influence the most powerful that it can possibly be. Sun-MC lines are best for fame. Moving to a Sun line will get you noticed but whether it is in a way you enjoy will depend on the overall condition of the Sun in your chart. Priyanka has a successful TV series Quantico where she played the lead character for 3 seasons, in addition to multiple Hollywood films. She has signed a multimillion dollar deal with Amazon prime video to produce content by first time BIPOC and female filmmakers.
The relocated chart for that city is cast as if you were actually born there, taking into account the time difference. This chart will take longer to be felt, so may not be detectable on a short trip. Some astrologers believe that to fully feel the effects of the relocated chart, it can take up to two years. The longer the time difference between your birthplace and the new city, the more likely the planets will shift houses. When travelling or living in another country, you also have to consider the transits and progressions to the relocated chart as well as your birth chart. Right now, Jupiter is at 17 degrees taurus, so if you have 17 degrees taurus as your ascendant in the city you are currently travelling in or living in (away from your birth place), you will feel the effects as if Jupiter were travelling over your ascendant. I always suggest timing travels to coincide with fortunate transits. For example, I have my Venus-Ascendant line running within 200 miles of Maui, Hawai. My chart for Maui has 28 degrees taurus on the ascendant and Venus at 0 degrees gemini. I will be there from May 17th to June 4th 2024, at this time transiting Jupiter is making an exact conjunction to the ascendant and makes a conjunction to my Venus at 0 degrees gemini. I experience my venus return while on the trip, and transiting Sun also makes a conjunction to Venus.
The principle of remote activation is that you do not actually have to physically be in a place to experience its energy. It can be brought to you by someone who was born there, raised there or who spent a significant portion of their life there. It can also be brought to you by engaging with people who live there at present, or getting involved with that culture through speaking the language, watching movies, reading literature, eating the food and engaging in other aspects unique to that culture. For example, Chicago is about 270 miles from my Jupiter-MC line. Jupiter is fortune and MC is career. My very first client, two days after starting my psychotherapy business, was an employee assistance program based in Chicago, who dealt with employees in an Ontario company. They called me first, without me soliciting their business, and even to this day I do business with them, and have sent me thousands of dollars’ worth of client referrals.
Remote activation is good news if you have lucky lines running through countries that you would not feel comfortable travelling or relocating to because associating with people from that culture can bring that energy to you. At the same time, even if you avoid going to your more difficult lines, you will notice that energy while associating with people from there. Note that you would consider where someone was born and raised more than their ethnic background. My family roots are from South India but since I spent almost all my life in Mississauga, Ontario, people would experience me as the energy of the line they have running through Mississauga and not through South India. If you were born in one country but spent a significant portion of your life in another country, people may experience you as two different energies depending on which lines they have running through the countries.
The natal chart is always studied with the ACG map. You must consider the quality of the sign and the aspects a planet makes. As a result, if your Venus or Jupiter is not in good condition, they will not give good results. A planet exalted or in its own sign, making easy aspects and sometimes conjunctions (depending on the planet it is conjunct) and not in one of the more difficult houses, will generally give better results than a planet in detriment or fall, making mostly difficult aspects and in a difficult house (6, 8, 12). This means that though Mars, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto tend to give more challenging influences in an overall way according to the nature of that planet, if they are well-placed in your horoscope, they can function on the higher end of the spectrum. A well-placed Saturn can make you more ambitious, hard-working, persistent and determined than usual when living near its line. Of course, the obstacles, seriousness and at times pessimistic nature of Saturn will be felt along with it. A well-placed Neptune can assist you in succeeding in artistic, musical, spiritual and creative fields.
To illustrate these principles, let's look at the horoscope of Oscar winning actress Halle Berry. Halle has been living in California on a Uranus-DSC line for decades. The Uranus-DSC line can bring totally unexpected experiences, often with partners who are significantly different from you in terms of age, race, country of origin, native language, socioeconomic status, and other demographic factors. It is also a separative influence in relationships, as Uranus craves for freedom and hates feeling smothered or restricted, so the tendency for separation or divorce is higher. Halle has been married and divorced four times to four men and has been with her long term boyfriend Van Hunt since 2020. In general, Uranus is more individualistic than relational, and people living on a Uranus-DSC line may find themselves in unconventional relationships, with unconventional partners, relationships with partners significantly different from them, and/or having the tendency to get into several relationships that breakup. It also brings experiences in relationships that are outside the norm, often unexpected and erratic, and sometimes events occur within the relationship where it feels like the rug has been pulled out from under you. Halle has had several high profile relationships and marriages that have ended in divorce. A key point in Astrocartography is that it is not just the line you are under, but the quality of the planet and the natal aspects it makes. In her case, Uranus is conjunct Pluto by 1 degree, Pluto is also made stronger than it normally would be at 17 degrees virgo, 4 degrees and 17 degrees of a sign being critical degrees for mutable signs. The conjunction to Pluto has the proclivity to make her relationship experiences be characterized by power struggles for control and dominance. Hard aspects to Pluto can bring competitive, ruthless and even violent energy. Uranus is also challenged by exact semisquares to the moon and mercury, which can bring emotional difficulties and a tendency towards making shocking or deliberately provocative speech. For example, the father of her child Gabriel Aubry is a French Canadian, Caucasian man who is 10 years younger than Halle. Although he is a supermodel, socioeconomically they were and continue to be vastly apart in social status and career success. Halle and Gabriel were locked in a bitter child custody battle, with both making explosive claims about the other. Halle was outraged that she had to pay what she felt to be an excessive amount in child support for over a decade, as she felt he was taking advantage and not working as a result. At one point, Gabriel and Halle’s fourth husband Olivier Martinez got into a physical fight as Olivier felt angry that Gabriel would not allow Halle and their daughter to move to France where he lived. Previous partners of Halle have commented publicly upon what they have felt to be a ruthless, vindictive and harsh temper from her. Halle has been a victim of violence, where she claimed that one abusive partner punctured her eardrum and caused her to lose the majority of hearing in her left ear.
Ready to find out what the dominant astrological influences are in your next vacation destination? Or fortunate places for you to relocate for career success, relationships, romance, family happiness or wealth? I offer Astrocartography consultations to assist you in finding the places most beneficial for your goals.