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Astrocartography map: where in the world you thrive
The world map with planetary lines running across it is astrocartography (Astro*Carto*Graphy), devised by the American astrologer Jim Lewis. Enter your birth date, time and place to see where each planet's lines run, tap anywhere to read that place, rank cities for love, career, money, home and health, and see your relocated chart in the Uranian way.
What is astrocartography?
If you have seen a world map crossed by coloured straight and curved lines with planet symbols, that is astrocartography (Astro*Carto*Graphy, or ACG), published by Jim Lewis (1941–1995) in 1976. At the moment you were born, every planet was rising, setting, culminating or anti-culminating exactly somewhere on Earth. Joining those places gives each planet's lines across the map. In Lewis's approach a planet on an angle of the chart is at its most powerful, so living or travelling near its line brings that planet's themes forward in your life.
It is also called locational astrology and is used for questions such as which country to move to, where to study or work, where to rest on holiday, or where you are more likely to meet a partner.
The four kinds of line: MC, IC, ASC, DSC
- MC (culminating): a north–south straight line where the planet stood highest in the sky at your birth. Career, reputation, aims and being known.
- IC (anti-culminating): the straight line opposite the MC, where the planet was underfoot. Home, family, roots and private life.
- ASC (rising): a curve where the planet was rising in the east. Self, body, vitality and how others see you.
- DSC (setting): a curve where the planet was setting in the west. Partners, associates and the people you meet.
On this map MC lines are solid verticals, IC lines long dashes, ASC lines solid curves and DSC lines dotted curves. Labels give the planet and line, so ♃MC is Jupiter's culminating line.
What each planet's lines mean
Benefic planets such as Venus and Jupiter tend to give supportive lines; challenging ones such as Saturn, Mars and Pluto give heavier lines that can still serve certain kinds of work. These are this site's own descriptions, the same ones the tool shows.
Sun lines
| Line | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Sun MC | The line of recognition and success: you stand out at work and get noticed. Good for building a career and leading, though constant visibility brings pressure. |
| Sun IC | A place that feels like home, with energy for roots, family and inner confidence. Good for buying a home and settling down. |
| Sun AS | High vitality and confidence: you can be fully yourself, feel healthy and make an impression. |
| Sun DS | Attracts strong partners and associates; important relationships often begin here, though the other person may take centre stage. |
Moon lines
| Line | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Moon MC | Public popularity; work with people, care, food or homes shines, but your standing may rise and fall with the public mood. |
| Moon IC | One of the best lines for home and family: safe, warm and restful, with ties to the past or your mother. |
| Moon AS | Open, sensitive feelings and people feel at ease with you. Good for service and caring work; watch for mood swings. |
| Moon DS | Warm, caring relationships: you attract nurturing partners, or become the nurturer. |
Mercury lines
| Line | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Mercury MC | Careers in communication, writing, teaching, trade and technology go well; your ideas are taken seriously. |
| Mercury IC | A home full of books, study and conversation; good for working from home, though the mind rarely rests. |
| Mercury AS | Quick thinking and fluent speech; you pick up languages and skills fast. Good for studying abroad. |
| Mercury DS | You meet thinking partners, business partners or lovers you can really talk to; negotiation and contracts stand out. |
Venus lines
| Line | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Venus MC | Charm at work and in society; art, beauty, fashion, hospitality and finance flourish, and people admire you. |
| Venus IC | A beautiful home, family harmony and personal comfort; good for raising a family or retiring. |
| Venus AS | You look good and are well liked, enjoying beauty and pleasure; beware overindulgence. |
| Venus DS | One of the best lines for love and marriage: a chance of gentle partners and harmonious relationships. |
Mars lines
| Line | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Mars MC | Strong ambition: good for competitive work, sport, the military, engineering or pioneering, but expect clashes with authority. |
| Mars IC | A lively, restless home with family arguments or constant repairs. Not a place to rest. |
| Mars AS | Courage, drive and physical strength; you love activity, but impatience raises the risk of accidents or injury. |
| Mars DS | Relationships run hot in passion and in fights; you attract forceful or competitive people. Set clear rules. |
Jupiter lines
| Line | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Jupiter MC | One of the best lines for career opportunity and reputation: fast growth, support and honours. |
| Jupiter IC | A spacious, happy home, growing property and a comfortable later life. Good for settling down. |
| Jupiter AS | Optimism, luck and good health, and people help you. Watch your weight and overspending. |
| Jupiter DS | Generous, lucky partners; business partnerships and legal matters go well. |
Saturn lines
| Line | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Saturn MC | Success through hard work and patience and a lasting position, but heavy pressure and responsibility. |
| Saturn IC | A quiet or distant home, loneliness or family duties, but good for disciplined long-term property building. |
| Saturn AS | Serious and responsible; the body may tire easily or feel the cold, and others see you as strict. |
| Saturn DS | Serious, lasting relationships that are cool, slow or have an age gap; better for long contracts than romance. |
Uranus lines
| Line | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Uranus MC | Unconventional careers, technology, innovation or freelancing; fame comes quickly but unpredictably, with frequent job changes. |
| Uranus IC | Frequent moves and an unsettled private life; you may feel rootless. |
| Uranus AS | Freedom, excitement and a thirst for the new; you become uniquely yourself, but nerves fray easily. |
| Uranus DS | Relationships start and end fast and you attract unusual or freedom-loving people. Not ideal for commitment. |
Neptune lines
| Line | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Neptune MC | Good for art, music, film, spirituality or helping others, but career goals blur and you are easier to deceive. |
| Neptune IC | A home by the water or a quiet retreat inspires you, but family secrets or vagueness may surface; watch for water problems in the house. |
| Neptune AS | Strong imagination and sensitivity with a mysterious charm, but lower resistance and sensitivity to drugs and alcohol. |
| Neptune DS | Idealised, romantic love with a risk of disappointment or insincere partners. Look for the truth. |
Pluto lines
| Line | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Pluto MC | Great power and influence and deep career change; good for research, big finance or crisis management, but expect power struggles. |
| Pluto IC | Your private life transforms and buried family issues surface. A place for starting over completely. |
| Pluto AS | An intense, magnetic presence and deep personal change, but situations may be hard to control. |
| Pluto DS | Deep, life-changing relationships with issues of power, jealousy or control. |
Lines of the Uranian points and the Node
Switch on the Hamburg School's eight hypothetical points under “The eight Uranian points”. Their lines follow the same rules as the real planets and show things the real planets don't, such as the Cupido DSC line for marriage or the Kronos MC line for high office.
Lunar Node lines
| Line | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Lunar Node MC | Meetings that help your career; a wide network linking you to important people. |
| Lunar Node IC | Links with family, relatives or the local community. |
| Lunar Node AS | You meet new people easily and mix well. |
| Lunar Node DS | Relationships and alliances form easily; a chance to meet partners. |
Cupido lines
| Line | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Cupido MC | Work in art, community, organisations or family business shines; recognition within the group. |
| Cupido IC | A warm family and reunions; good for raising a large family. |
| Cupido AS | Liked by the group, with joy in art and social life. |
| Cupido DS | The Uranian marriage line: relationships that lead to family life. |
Hades lines
| Line | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Hades MC | Suited to research, archaeology, medicine or care for the disadvantaged, but your reputation may be overshadowed. |
| Hades IC | An old home or unfinished past business and a sombre mood; mind the hygiene of where you live. |
| Hades AS | Low energy and a sense of being overlooked, but good for withdrawing to study deep subjects. |
| Hades DS | Relationships with troubled or secretive people; beware being taken advantage of. |
Zeus lines
| Line | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Zeus MC | Leadership and purposeful action; good for founding ventures, engineering, machinery or energy. |
| Zeus IC | Building or renovating a home; a creatively energetic family. |
| Zeus AS | High enthusiasm and boldness; good for launching new projects. |
| Zeus DS | Driven, action-ready partners and relationships with a shared goal. |
Kronos lines
| Line | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Kronos MC | The line of high office and expertise, recognised by authorities. Good for management, government and specialist work. |
| Kronos IC | A solid home where you are respected in the family. |
| Kronos AS | Confidence and presence; people trust your ability. |
| Kronos DS | Partners in high positions, or older and established. |
Apollon lines
| Line | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Apollon MC | Trade, business expansion and wide fame; good for scholarship, science and international commerce. |
| Apollon IC | An open, abundant home and a peaceful, happy family. |
| Apollon AS | A broad outlook, lots of learning, and acceptance and praise from others. |
| Apollon DS | Good trading partners and relationships that widen your world. |
Admetos lines
| Line | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Admetos MC | Slow but deep progress; suited to property, farming, mining or long, patient work. |
| Admetos IC | Good for buying land and settling for good, but life may feel static or stuck. |
| Admetos AS | A steady but slow body and mind; you may feel restricted. |
| Admetos DS | Stable but static relationships, or ones slow to start. |
Vulkanus lines
| Line | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Vulkanus MC | Immense power and influence at work; suited to big, forceful undertakings or heavy industry, under very high pressure. |
| Vulkanus IC | An intensely powerful family, or major events reshaping private life. |
| Vulkanus AS | Very strong physical and mental energy for hard work; keep your temper in check. |
| Vulkanus DS | Powerful, intense relationships, or strong rivals. |
Poseidon lines
| Line | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Poseidon MC | Suited to teaching, religion, philosophy, media and spreading knowledge; recognised for your ideas. |
| Poseidon IC | A peaceful home, ideal for spiritual practice, meditation and rest. |
| Poseidon AS | A clear mind that sees the truth, and spiritual inspiration. |
| Poseidon DS | Meeting idealistic, deep-thinking people; spiritual relationships. |
How far a line reaches
A line is strongest close by and fades with distance. This page grades it as very strong within 250 km, strong within 500 km, moderate within 900 km and faint within 1,300 km. Distance to an ASC or DSC line comes from the planet's height above or below the horizon at that place; distance to an MC or IC line is measured along a great circle to the planet's meridian.
Parans
A paran is a latitude where two planets are on angles at the same moment, for example the Sun rising while Jupiter culminates. It acts all the way round the globe along that latitude, within about ±1° (some 110 km north or south). Switch parans on in the options; when you tap a place, the page lists the parans near its latitude.
Local space
Local space, developed by Michael Erlewine, uses the compass direction (azimuth) of each planet as seen from your birthplace and extends it as a great circle round the Earth. Places lying in a planet's direction take on its themes. The same idea is used for directions within a home or a city.
Uranian relocation
When you move, your natal planets stay where they were, but the MC and Ascendant change with the coordinates. The Hamburg School reads the MC as the self and mind and the Ascendant as the surroundings and people around you. Tap a place and the page computes the new MC and Ascendant, lists planets near the four angles and the planetary pictures the new angles form on the 90° dial. MC = Venus/Jupiter, for example, means you feel happy and well loved there. See your full natal chart on the Uranian chart page.
Using the map
- Enter your birth date, the most accurate birth time you have, and your birthplace, then draw the map.
- Choose the planets and line types to show; the map updates at once.
- Tap or click anywhere, or pick a city, to read the theme scores, the lines in effect, parans and the relocated chart.
- Check the ranking of places that support you for each theme, filtered by region such as Thailand only or abroad.
- Open the list of all lines to see which places each line passes near.
How a place is scored
Every line within 1,300 km counts, weighted down with distance, then multiplied by the planet's meaning for each theme (Venus leans to love and art, Jupiter to money and opportunity, Saturn is negative for health and love but slightly positive for long-term work) and by the kind of line (MC for career, IC for home, ASC for health and self, DSC for love and partners). A place with no lines nearby scores 50: neutral, with life following your natal chart.
Accuracy
The lines are drawn in mundo, from each planet's true right ascension and declination including its latitude, as on standard ACG maps. Positions come from astronomy-engine and the world map from Natural Earth. Accuracy depends directly on your birth time: four minutes of error moves every line by 1° of longitude, about 110 km at the equator. Without a birth time the map uses noon and can be far off.
Astrocartography is a tool for reflection and study. Base decisions about moving, studying or working abroad mainly on real factors such as work, cost of living, safety and the people you love.
Frequently asked questions
What is the astrology with lines on a world map called?
Astrocartography (Astro*Carto*Graphy), or locational astrology, devised by Jim Lewis in 1976. Each line is where one planet was rising, setting, culminating or anti-culminating at the moment you were born.
Which lines are best for love?
Venus DSC and Venus ASC are usually counted the best, then Jupiter DSC, Moon DSC and, in the Uranian system, Cupido DSC. Use the love ranking to see which places lie near them.
Is living on a Saturn or Pluto line bad?
Not necessarily. Challenging lines suit some work: Saturn MC brings success through patience; Pluto suits research or major change. They are just not places for easy rest.
Do I have to move there for it to work?
The effect is clearest where you live, but visiting, studying or working with people from that place also brings out the line to some degree.
Can I use the map without a birth time?
You can, but it can be far off: the Earth turns 1° every four minutes, so every line shifts with the error. Without a time, look at parans only, or find your time on a birth certificate first.
Do these lines match other software?
The real planets' lines are drawn in mundo to the ACG standard and should agree with other programs within a few kilometres given the same birth time and zone. Uranian point lines depend on the orbital elements a program uses.