Why the IC is the home angle
The IC, short for Imum Coeli or "bottom of the sky", is the point directly below your feet on the far side of the Earth. In a birth chart it begins the fourth house, the house of home, family and roots. On an astrocartography map a planet's IC line runs from pole to pole through every place where that planet was at the lowest point of its daily circle at the moment you were born. Astrologers read IC lines as private: they are said to shape how a place feels to live in rather than how it looks from the outside, which is why they matter more for choosing a home than for choosing a holiday.
The lines most associated with home
| Line | How it is read for home |
|---|---|
| Moon IC | Belonging and emotional safety; a place that feels like home quickly |
| Venus IC | A beautiful, comfortable home and harmony in the family |
| Jupiter IC | A happy, generous household; family growth and good property |
| Sun IC | Roots and inner confidence; a home you are proud of |
| North Node IC | A home that feels like part of your path; family as growth |
| Moon ASC | Warmth and nurture; feeling looked after |
| Moon DSC | Close family ties and partners who feel like family |
| Mercury IC | A lively home full of talk and study, and a good home office |
The Moon, Venus and Jupiter IC lines are the three this site weights most for home in its Best places ranking. They answer different wishes. The Moon IC line is the classic homecoming line, read as a place where you feel you belong almost at once. Venus IC is read as comfort, beauty and peace between the people under one roof, and Jupiter IC as a household that grows: more space, more family, a good property. People buying a house often look for Jupiter IC; people looking for belonging, for the Moon.
Lines that unsettle a home
| Line | The complication |
|---|---|
| Mars IC | A busy home: renovation, arguments and restless energy |
| Saturn IC | Family duty and heavy foundations; a home that asks a lot |
| Uranus IC | An unsettled home, frequent moves and unusual ways of living |
| Pluto IC | Old family patterns surfacing, and deep renewal at home |
| Neptune IC | A dreamy retreat that can blur practical matters |
| Chiron IC | Family history and old hurts; a place for inner work |
| Lilith IC | Independence at home and friction with family rules |
None of these rules a home out. A Saturn IC line is often described as the place where people build something that lasts, a family business or a house they restore themselves, and a Uranus IC line can suit someone who wants a base they are free to leave. What they share is effort: these homes are read as asking more of you than a Moon or Venus line does, and the Neptune IC line, restful for many, is also read as a place where bills and repairs are easy to let slide.
Finding your home lines
Make your map on the free astrocartography chart, hide the ASC, DSC and MC columns in the Lines tab to leave only the lines underfoot, and tap any city you are considering for its full place reading. For a ranked list, open where should I live and pick Home: cities are ranked on every line within about 1,000 km, the nearest counting most. The relocation chart then gives the sign on the IC in each city and the planets that fall in the fourth house there, the house of home.
Keeping it in proportion
A good home line does not make a good home on its own. Work, cost, climate, language and the people nearby shape family life far more than any line on a map, and astrologers who use astrocartography treat it as one layer among many, a way of asking what a place might bring out in you. Read it that way: as a tradition, not a measurement, and as a prompt to notice how you feel in a place rather than a verdict on it.