Astrocartography lines explained
Astrocartography draws your birth chart's planets onto a world map as lines. Each planet has four lines, one for each angle of the chart: ascendant, descendant, midheaven and imum coeli. A place near a line is read as having that planet's character for you.
| Lines per planet | Four, one per angle |
|---|---|
| The four angles | Ascendant (AC), descendant (DC), midheaven (MC), imum coeli (IC) |
| Needs | Birth date, time and place |
How the map is made
At the moment you were born, every planet was rising, setting, overhead or underfoot for some places on Earth. Astrocartography marks those places as lines. The lines depend on your birth date, time and place, so no two maps are alike.
The four angles
The ascendant line runs through places where the planet was rising, and is read as how you come across there. The descendant line is where it was setting, read as relationships. The midheaven line is where it was overhead, read as career and public life. The imum coeli line is where it was underfoot, read as home and roots.
Reading a crossing
Where two lines cross, or a line passes a city, astrologers read the planets together. Venus on the ascendant with Jupiter on the midheaven, for example, is read as a place where warmth and opportunity meet. Lines are read within a few hundred kilometres, and nearer is stronger.
Using a map
Tradition suggests reading a map as a way to ask questions about a place, such as where you feel most like yourself, and not as an order. Pair it with the practical side of a move, such as work, family and money.
A worked example: one birth's midheaven lines
These are the midheaven lines for one real birth, March 2, 1994, at 15:30 in Chicago, with listed cities within 600 km east or west. Each midheaven line runs straight from pole to pole, and the imum coeli line runs along the opposite side of the world. The ascendant and descendant lines curve, so they get a table on each planet's own guide.
| Body | MC line | Cities near it |
|---|---|---|
| Sun | 139.5°W | Anchorage, USA (559 km) |
| Moon | 102.9°E | Singapore (97 km), Bangkok, Thailand (264 km), Jakarta, Indonesia (432 km) |
| Mercury | 158.4°W | Honolulu, USA (58 km), Anchorage, USA (457 km) |
| Venus | 128.9°W | Vancouver, Canada (422 km) |
| Mars | 153.9°W | Anchorage, USA (215 km), Honolulu, USA (410 km) |
| Jupiter | 99.6°E | Bangkok, Thailand (93 km), Singapore (465 km) |
| Saturn | 146.6°W | Anchorage, USA (179 km) |
| Uranus | 174.0°E | Auckland, New Zealand (65 km) |
| Neptune | 171.3°E | Auckland, New Zealand (305 km) |
| Pluto | 116.0°E | Perth, Australia (15 km), Hong Kong (191 km), Manila, Philippines (534 km) |
What an hour of birth time does to the Sun line
An hour earlier or later and the Sun midheaven line sits about 15 degrees of longitude away, which is why a map needs a birth time you trust.
| Born at | Sun MC line | Closest listed city |
|---|---|---|
| 14:30 | 124.5°W | Vancouver, Canada (98 km) |
| 15:30 | 139.5°W | Anchorage, USA (559 km) |
| 16:30 | 154.5°W | Anchorage, USA (245 km) |
The same maths gives the map's 40 lines: 4 for each of the 10 bodies.
Astrocartography lines explained: questions people ask
What is an astrocartography line?
A line on a world map where a planet from your birth chart was rising, setting, overhead or underfoot at your birth.
How many lines are on an astro map?
Four for each planet, so a map with the Sun, Moon and eight planets has 40.
Do I need my birth time?
Yes. The lines depend on the exact time, and an hour off moves them a long way.
Keep exploring
- Venus line in astrocartographyPlaces read as warm, social and good for love.
- Sun line in astrocartographyPlaces read as bright, visible and confidence-building.
- Astrocartography for loveVenus, Moon and Jupiter lines, read for relationships.
- Astrocartography for careerMidheaven, Sun and Jupiter lines, read for work and recognition.