I Turned to Astrocartography to Choose My Next Travel Destination—Here’s What Happened.

Have you ever felt an instant connection to a place? Or been inexplicably attracted to a culture? There might be a reason behind it. Astrocartography is a travel astrology technique that helps identify ideal destinations based on the positions of celestial bodies at your birth. A branch of traditional astrology, it gained traction in the 1970s thanks to Jim Lewis, who authored The Astro Carto Graphy Book of Maps: The Astrology of Relocation (Llewellyn Publications, 1981). The premise is that visiting places where significant planetary alignments occurred during your birth can enhance your travel experiences. For enthusiasts, this approach is valuable for pinpointing locations suited for various travel purposes, from vacations to relocations.

With 2024 around the corner, I sought to understand my astrocartography chart to determine which destinations to focus on in the upcoming year. To assist me, I consulted astrologers Clarisse Monahan, known as Venus in Retrograde, and Lisa Stardust, author of Saturn Return Survival Guide (Hardie Grant Books, 2021). They offered insights, strategies, and guidelines for interpreting my astrocartography chart to plan my next adventure.

Here’s what I discovered about leveraging astrocartography for my travel plans.

Understanding Astrocartography Fundamentals

Navigating the complexities of astrocartography can be challenging, but a few key points are essential to understand.

At its core, astrocartography revolves around lines. Each celestial body, including the sun and moon, generates paths across the globe—known as planetary lines—determined by their positions in the sky at your moment of birth. These lines indicate where each planet exerts its strongest influence. When analyzing your astrocartography chart, it’s crucial to note where these lines fall, as they reveal locations where you’re likely to experience the most significant effects from the associated planetary energies.

For instance, traveling along a Venus line can enhance feelings of confidence, beauty, romance, harmony, and ease. In contrast, Mercury is linked to communication, curiosity, and social interaction, making trips along this line ideal for learning and engaging with writing projects.

Location is also a vital factor. As Stardust highlighted, if one of your lines passes through Los Angeles, its influence will be most potent in the city itself, but you’ll still feel its effects up to 150 miles away, reaching areas like Orange County or San Diego.

While planning a trip directly along a line offers the greatest influence, it’s not the only way to harness its energy. For example, if a line runs through Thailand, you might find yourself particularly attracted to Thai cuisine, culture, music, and people, regardless of your location. Thus, you don’t need to completely uproot your life to feel the effects of a powerful line; you can explore new cultures locally instead, a concept known as remote activation.

Third, having some foundational knowledge of your birth chart can enhance your astrocartography reading. You can generate your chart using a birth chart calculator like this one, which requires your birth date, time, and location for accuracy.

How to access your astrocartography chart

Monahan and Stardust suggest visiting the user-friendly site astro.com to retrieve your astrocartography chart.

While the map displaying numerous lines and curves might seem daunting, Monahan advises starting with a straightforward approach: focus on the lines that intersect with places you love or feel drawn to, and reflect on your feelings during those visits. “Chances are you’ve encountered some of your lines,” Monahan points out. “Use your personal experiences as evidence: did that visit resonate positively or negatively with you?”

Each line is marked with various symbols at its beginning and end that require interpretation. Some of these symbols correspond to planets, and by referring to a planet symbol key, you can gain insight into the energies associated with each planet. For instance, astrocartographers associate Neptune with dreamy, spiritual experiences, whereas Saturn's influence is linked to restriction, discipline, and control.

Additionally, there are cardinal points (AC, DC, MC, IC), which are the letter symbols located beneath each planetary symbol. These points indicate the direction in which each planet was moving at the time of your birth and represent the most significant aspects of your astrocartography chart. To begin, focus on your Ascendant (AC) line and Descendant (DC) line. The Ascendant line is considered the most personal and empowering, reflecting internal energy, whereas the Descendant line pertains to relationships and how others perceive you.

When applying this information for travel guidance, Stardust advises concentrating on the Ascendant line and the locations it intersects, as it provides insight into how you'll feel in those areas.

Insights gained from my personal astrocartography readings

My primary goal during my astrocartography readings was to assess whether my current home base in New York is truly beneficial for me. Jupiter lines symbolize growth, fortune, wealth, and generosity, and fortunately, my Jupiter Descendant line falls within a 200-mile radius of New York, allowing me to connect with others and maintain a positive outlook while I’m here. My Venus Ascendant crosses through Vancouver, Boise, Salt Lake City, and El Paso, indicating these are places where things come easily to me, especially regarding attracting wealth and love.

I also discovered that I am often drawn to locations where my Venus line (representing confidence and enjoyment) intersects with my Saturn line (symbolizing structure and discipline), such as Mexico City, which I’ve visited twice, and Madrid, Spain, where I studied abroad in college. Monahan noted that this could be my way of seeking balance between adding structure to my life and enjoying myself.

Interestingly, due to my Uranus Moon line, both Monahan and Stardust predicted I would encounter fun yet peculiar experiences in Rome, Berlin, and Copenhagen. This could manifest as mingling with eclectic locals or pushing myself to try new things while traveling.

Most captivating to me is my North Node IC (associated with introspection, security, and building a home) that spans Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco (where my Venus Ascendant also travels). These lines imply I am meant to be in this region and that something significant for my growth may occur there. Whether it’s a major life transition, discovering my purpose, or meeting my soulmate, I can’t help but consider planning a trip to Vancouver in the upcoming year.

What lies ahead for me

After learning the basics of astrocartography from Monahan and Stardust and exploring my own chart, I am definitely planning to utilize astrocartography as a tool for future trip planning. However, Stardust emphasizes that, regardless of the energies present on your lines, free will remains a significant factor: “Astrology can indicate the energy at play, but we have the power to choose how we engage with it.”

It's crucial to recognize when to seek professional guidance. Monahan advises, “If you're considering a permanent move or facing life challenges where astrocartography could facilitate a significant change, consulting an astrologer to analyze your birth chart is advisable.”

Lastly, even if your lines hint at potential challenges or transformative experiences in a certain place, it doesn't mean you should entirely steer clear of it. Both Monahan and Stardust highlight that there are no inherently negative destinations; rather, it's beneficial to understand the energy that may greet you upon arrival.