What astrocartography shows
Astrocartography (also written astrocartography, or A*C*G) maps your birth chart onto the globe. At the moment you were born, every planet was rising over the horizon somewhere on Earth, setting somewhere else, standing high overhead along one line of longitude and sitting directly underfoot on the opposite one. Join up all of those places and you get four lines per planet. That is what this map draws, for the Sun through Pluto, Chiron, the North Node and Black Moon Lilith.
The idea behind it is that a planet's themes are louder in places near its lines. Venus lines are read as places for love and beauty, Jupiter lines for luck and growth, Saturn lines for hard work and structure. People use the map to think about where to live, where to travel, or why a city they know felt the way it did.
The four kinds of line
| Line | Where the planet was | What astrologers read into it |
|---|---|---|
| ASC (Ascendant) | Rising on the eastern horizon | How you come across: energy, body and self |
| DSC (Descendant) | Setting on the western horizon | Partners, relationships and other people |
| MC (Midheaven) | Culminating overhead | Career, reputation and public life |
| IC (Imum Coeli) | At its lowest point, beneath your feet | Home, family and private life |
MC and IC lines run straight from north to south. ASC and DSC lines curve, and each pair meets far to the north or south, where the planet stops rising and setting. On the map, rising and overhead lines are solid; setting and underfoot lines are dashed. Every combination has its own page in the guide to all the lines.
How strong is a line?
Tap a place and the reading lists every line within about 1,000 km, nearest first, with the exact distance and which side of the line you are on. Three bands keep it simple: strong within 250 km, moderate out to 600 km and mild out to 1,000 km. These are the conventions astrologers work with, not measurements of a physical force. Places far from every line are read as quieter ground, where your birth chart works as it is.
Parans: latitudes that link two planets
Where two lines cross, both planets were on an angle at the same moment. Astrologers call these crossings parans and read them along the whole latitude, not only at the crossing point. Switch them on in the Lines tab or open the Parans tab. They are also the one part of astrocartography that still works without a birth time. Read more in parans explained.
Best places to live
The Best places tab ranks nearly 6,000 cities for love, career, home, growth, creativity or peace, using the lines and parans near each one. Every result says why it ranked and what to watch. Already weighing a few places? Add them to your shortlist to compare all six themes side by side. Add a partner's birth details to rank cities for both of you, or start from the where should I live quiz.
More free charts
The map is the heart of the site, and the same engine powers a full set of free charts. Start with your birth chart or your sun, moon and rising signs. Find your Venus sign for how you love, your Mars sign for how you act, and your North Node, Chiron and Black Moon Lilith. Follow the planets now with the transit chart, cast this year's solar return, or compare two people with the synastry and composite charts.
Built for accuracy and privacy
Positions are calculated in your browser with Astronomy Engine and checked against NASA JPL Horizons, so the lines use the planets' true places for the minute you were born. Your birth place sets the time zone, including historical daylight saving rules; the offset used is always shown and you can change it. Nothing you type leaves your device, and every assumption is explained on the accuracy and sources page. For a complete worked example from the first line to the last, see how to read your chart.