Decoding Astrocartography: Symbols to Read Your Astrocartography Map
Looking at an astrocartography chart can honestly be confusing. Seeing a map laid out before you with countless colorful lines crisscrossing across the globe—can make you feel totally overwhelmed at first. Don't worry, you're not alone!
I'm a seasoned astrologer and astrocartographer, and even though I've had years of practice reading astrology and astrocartography charts, I still remember the first time I saw my map and how out of my depth I felt!
One of the first things I did to understand my astrocartography chart was to learn each of the symbols. Once I was familiar with the signs, lines, and symbols, learning about their deeper meanings, I slowly started to piece together how the connections form and how to interpret the energy before me.
Astrology and astrocartography are powerful tools for self-discovery and intentional living, so building a strong foundational understanding of what your birth and astrocartography charts entail and how the pieces fit together will be invaluable for your life.
Today, I'm breaking down these funky cosmic hieroglyphics to help you understand the language of the stars and how they might be influencing your life's journey.
What Exactly Is an Astrocartography Map?
Astrocartography (also known as locational astrology) is a fascinating study of where in the world our energy most comes alive.
Astrocartography takes your birth or natal chart—the cosmic snapshot of the sky when you were born—and projects it onto the world map. Here, you'll be able to see where certain planetary influences that play a part in your life are highlighted in destinations across the world.
Astrocartography was developed by astrologer Jim Lewis in the 1970s. Since its inception, it has become a masterful science that helps individuals understand how different locations on Earth interact with unique planetary energies.
Unlike your birth chart, which is a circular shape filled with intersecting lines and scattered with astrological symbols, an astrocartography map is rectangular, showing the entire world in a single snapshot. Here, the astrocartography map shows countless colorful vertical and horizontal lines moving across the globe.
These lines represent planetary influences at play, and when they cross over key locations, this could be destiny at play calling you to visit that destination.
Breaking Down the Astrocartography Map
When you first create your astrocartography map (I use AstroDienst) you'll see a large map of the world covered by several colorful lines.
Each of these color-coded lines relates to a planet. At the border of the map, you'll see a symbol for which planet is represented by which line. You'll also see letter abbreviations in the space between the line and symbol, noting IC, AC, MC, or DC. Finally, throughout the map, you'll see small circles in seemingly random places intersecting with select lines.
Let's break these down further.
The Colorful Lines: Planetary Signatures
The most prominent feature of your astrocartography map is a flurry of colorful lines running across your chart. Each color represents a different planet:
Sun (☉): Yellow/gold lines
Moon (☽): Dark or deep blue lines
Mercury (☿): Lime green lines
Venus (♀): Dark green lines
Mars (♂): Red lines
Jupiter (♃): Pink lines
Saturn (♄): Deep red, almost maroon or brown lines
Uranus (♅): Light blue or turquoise lines
Neptune (♆): Purple lines
Pluto (♇): Black lines
Chiron (⚷): Black lines
It's important to know what each of these planets mean or relate to in order to understand the energy that the lines convey.
Astrocartography Planet Symbols and Their Meanings
Each planet in your chart represents different energies and aspects of your personality:
Sun (☉): Your core essence, vitality, creative force, life force, and conscious identity
Moon (☽): Your emotions, deeper nature, unconscious patterns, nurturing qualities, and innermost needs
Mercury (☿): Your communication style, your intellect, thought processes, learning methods, and analytical abilities
Venus (♀): Your approach to love, beauty, art, pleasure, values, and what you're attracted to
Mars (♂): Your drive, energy, assertiveness, desires, and how you take action
Jupiter (♃): Your growth potential, belief systems, philosophical outlook, and areas of expansion
Saturn (♄): Your boundaries, discipline, responsibilities, limitations, and harder life lessons
Uranus (♅): Your individuality, innovative tendencies, revolutionary spirit, and areas of awakening
Neptune (♆): Your spirituality, imagination, dreams, and illusions
Pluto (♇): Your transformational power and deep psychological patterns
Chiron (⚷): Your deepest wounds and greatest healing capacities
Understanding these planets in relation to your astrocartography chart first requires you to understand its placement in your birth chart. Your birth chart is a circle or wheel diagram where the above planetary symbols sit in a unique configuration.
Within the birth chart, the planets will fall into one of 12 houses. Depending on which house each planet falls in, it will determine which area of your life the planet or energy it carries will either have an impact on or be influenced by.
Understanding the 12 Houses of Astrology
Each "house" within the zodiac wheel represents a different area or aspect of your life. The planets within them suggest how these areas might unfold for you.
First House: Self, identity
Second House: Material resources, values, income
Third House: Communication, siblings, short-distance travel
Fourth House: Home, family, roots, emotional foundation
Fifth House: Creativity, things you create, children
Sixth House: Daily routines, habits, health, work environment
Seventh House: Partnerships, marriage, significant relationships
Eighth House: Transformation, shared resources, intimacy, rebirth
Ninth House: Higher education, philosophy, long-distance travel, spirituality
Tenth House: Career, reputation, public image, authority
Eleventh House: Community, friendships, groups, hopes and wishes
Twelfth House: Subconscious, spirituality, hidden matters, endings
Once you learn the energy that a planet has, add a deeper layer of meaning by understanding the house it lies in, you'll be able to return back to the astrocartography map and decode it further. If a planet has a particular characteristic, and this plays out in a specific area or your life, your astrocartography map will reveal where this energy will likely be amplified in terms of challenges or positive influences.
Putting it All Together: Practical Application of Astrocartography Symbols
With astrocartography, you can choose destinations in the world to travel to based on the energy you want to experience.
If you're looking for inspiration, creativity, or a place with generally good vibes where you may find luck or fortune, look for your Jupiter lines.
If you're searching for love, romance, connection, or an expression of beauty, look for the Venus line astrocartography symbol and see which destinations it crosses.
If you're seeking spiritual awakening, intuitive development, or a place that inspires your creative imagination, look for your Neptune lines.
If you're looking for places that feel instantly like home, provide emotional security, or help you connect with your intuition and nurturing side, follow your Moon lines.
In Closing
Your astrocartography map is more than just colored lines on a map of the world—it's a personalized guide to how different places on Earth amplify the energy in your unique energetic blueprint.
By understanding these symbols, you gain access to a powerful tool for intentional living—selecting travel destinations with purpose and meaning, and seeing how you will be forever changed by traveling to places you may have never considered before.
If you're ready to discover which destinations align with your cosmic blueprint, book a reading with me. We'll break down your birth/natal chart, understand your astrological makeup first, and then decode your astrocartography chart. You can also dive deeper with my Astrocartography eBook for step-by-step guidance on interpreting your map.
