Locational Astrology - A Complete Approach

When people think of locational astrology they tend to think of the planetary lines on an astrology map and look no further from there.

Although it is important to understand what astrology map lines are, what they mean, and what their influence is, it is also important to understand that you cannot get the entire story by only looking at the lines on the map. This is because there are certain planetary influences that you need to take into consideration that cannot be seen on the map. These include:

By combining these additional tools with the lines we see on the map we can get a much clearer picture of how any location around the globe will likely fare for any person with accurate birth data.

"Holistic Locational Astrology"

Credit where credit is due. The system I use is a complete approach to astrolocality, and a large portion of it closely mirrors how Moses Siregar III teaches it, a term that he calls Holistic Locational Astrology. Moses has been practicing this type of astrology for decades, and has discovered and fine-tuned many of the techniques that he taught in his Holistic Locational Astrology Masterclass. These are techniques that I now use because they work so well. His course is an invaluable resource for anyone who wants to learn a complete approach to locational astrology.

This is a step beyond classic Astrocartography, the more commonly known name for this branch of astrology, that was pioneered by Jim Lewis in the 1970's, which mostly relies on Astrocartography Lines as they are seen on the map.

In order for any method of locational astrology to be valid it needs to have a high level of accuracy. That is why I incorporate multiple astrological tools into one, in order to capture as many of the most important planetary influences that can be seen, to help determine the overall influence for each location.

Here we will dive deeper into each of these tools:

Birth Chart Analysis

If we want to understand how planets will manifest for an individual in any given location, we must first understand the strength of these planets by seeing how they are placed in the natal chart.

The practice of locational astrology isn't always as simple as moving to a positive line in order to gain positive results. Like moving to your Venus Line for love, for example, because some people have a strong Venus and some people have a weak Venus. A strong Venus might help enhance positive themes around love and relationships, but a weak Venus might cause more frustrations in relationships, depending on the situation. So by understanding the strength of each planet before hand, we can more accurately determine how those planets will manifest for each individual.

Analyzing a birth chart can be pretty involved, and the depths you can go are practically endless. The goal for our purposes though, is to simply understand the overall strength and status of each planet so that we can determine how those planetary energies will manifest for you from location to location.

There are various ways to analyze a birth chart. Since I come from a Vedic Astrology background, I mostly use tools from this branch of astrology to determine the strength of each planet in your natal chart. I dive deeper into this topic here: Birth Chart Analysis

Astrology Map Lines

Once we understand the strength of each natal planet, we can then begin to look at the lines on the astrology map to see what general locations show promise. Here it is okay to start following the different lines, in their various directions, in order to pinpoint what might be some of the more positive places you might want to go.

There are three distinct types of lines on an astrology map, and many of them rely on the strength of the planet to determine their influence. These include:

To understand the difference between these lines, and how they can be interpreted, please visit my page on Astrology Map Lines.

Relocation Chart Analysis

Once you find a location on the map that seems promising, then you will want to dive deeper into the planetary influences for that location by casting a relocation chart. A relocation chart is simply an astrology chart, with the date and time you were born, at a different location from your actual birth place. Most astrology software programs have a "Relocation Chart" option where it automatically calculates this info for any city you decide.

From the relocation chart you will be looking for any House Cusp activations that will be having an additional influence in that location that you cannot see on the map itself. It works by showing you how all the planets are aligned in that location based on what distance by degree they are to the Ascendant, which can be easily calculated by seeing which house cusp they are near. From there you will determine the significations of the planet in combination with the significations of the house to interpret how that energy will be felt in that geographic location.

For instance, a 9th House Venus activation can help with love, prosperity, and happiness in a harmonious and uplifting way. And while an 8th House Venus activation brings intimacy, it also brings extra intensity to relationships as well.

Planetary Timing

Another factor to consider is planetary timing. This isn't related to any particular location on the map, but instead provides an extra piece of understanding to the primary planetary influences you may experience at any given time, no matter where you live.

The timing system I use is the Viṁśottarī Daśā, which is the most common timing system in Vedic Astrology. It works by dividing your life into a span of 120 years, and dividing the time periods up by shifting planetary influences, which is calculated based on the placement of your Moon. This is automatically calculated by the astrology software.

Planetary timing is important because it shows us which major themes are being activated in your life during specific time periods. This gives us a better understanding of the overall planetary influence in your life, allowing us to have more proper expectations for how the planetary influences for a location will play out based on how well they align with the planetary timing that is already inherent in your birth chart.

To give an example, say you are moving to a location that seems very promising for career growth and financial abundance, but we see in your timing that you will soon be entering your Rāhu-Ketu period for a year. Everything else being equal, we can expect things to feel like they are "falling apart" to an extent during this period because that is the quality of experience that this period tends to bring. So during this time you can accept that things aren't as abundant as you'd hoped, but when you enter your next period, Rahu-Venus, you can realistically expect things to start picking back up again.

Locational Astrology Summary

No matter what you call it, whether it be Astrocartography, Astrolocality, Astrogeography, etc., to get the most out of this type of astrology, there are multiple things you should be looking at that go beyond the map. Here is a quick recap of what a complete approach to locational astrology looks like:

1. Analyze the birth chart for the overall strength of the planets so that you know how they will manifest on the map.
2. Understand the different types of lines on the map, and follow them to locations that look promising.
3. Cast a relocation chart for any location that you are interested in and analyze any house cusp activations for each location.
4. Consider your planetary timing so that you have a greater understanding of which planets in your natal chart are being activated for you for any given time period.

Related Pages

Birth Chart Analysis

A thorough birth chart analysis is important in determining how the range of possible planetary influences will manifest in your life, and on your astrology map.

Astrology Map Lines

Astrology map lines are a visual representation of the planetary placements in your birth chart laid over a map to determine their locational emphasis.

Relocation Charts

Diving deeper than the lines on your astrology map, you'll also want to know the planetary activations for your astrology relocation chart, in each location.