This one is for the archives...
I ended up with an unexpected side gig last year. I'd been researching everything possible about astrocartography - the astrology of (re)location - for a while, had been quite active on the reddit sub contributing during the process, and by the third time someone asked if I offered readings, figured that might be a sign to do so. Humbly unsure what to charge given a total lack of experience, I decided the arrangement of donations based on a sliding-scale - payments made afterwards of what someone thought was fair for what they received - was reasonable... and off it went rather successfully.
Well, whether it was true to the the ADHD distractibility and starting many projects to quickly abandon or whatever, my passion for it didn't last all that long. I did about a couple dozen readings, and they were pretty great - everyone quite satisfied, and even myself finding it highly rewarding and educational to see more of the theory in action, piecing together how accurately things played out in people's lives. But, apparently that wasn't enough to "overcome obstacles." One: I'd had a heated butting-of-heads with someone who'd also been a regular on the reddit sub, and while I humbled myself to apologize for my half of the responsibility, they went off unhinged talking shit publicly and the whole thing left a seriously sour taste in my mouth, spoiling that environment that had been the primary source of "leads." (Not that I was actively seeking clients - they just seemed to arrive in response to what I'd been commenting).
I also found it growing old to be going through much of the same stuff over & over, partly "teaching" throughout sessions; and while some connections with people were awesome, others were so-so; and without feeling as though I could bring a consistent quality offering of the highest standards every time, the returns of satisfaction dwindled. And as growing through the process myself with an evolving outlook on it all, I felt my fundamental perspective (summarized in "Finding Your “Best” Place With Astrocartography") shifting & simplifying in a direction than what it felt most people looking for. While it seems the majority of people just finding astrocartography (myself included) wanted clear-cut answers of what to expect in places and guidance to where they "should" go, I felt myself maturing to accept & admit that I'd be bullshitting anyone if attempting to provide that - that ultimately, Strategy & Authority (in Human Design terms), intuition, etc is the greatest compass with all the technicalities & interpretations of lines getting to be intellectual masterbation that can easily lead away from one's inner guidance, and that the clarity of how accurately astrocartography plays out can often not be achieved/seen until in hindsight. Yada, yada, yada.
I slowed down on reddit, and inquiries with that - minus the occasional one here or there that came as people dug back, found some of my comments and resonated. Around the turn of the year, there were a few I turned down, feeling unable to deliver; as well as taking a couple, which did go alright. Though, I had put together a website last April, and kept asking myself: is this something worth keeping alive and restoking the fire with/for? Or should I just let it slide, and if drawn back at a later point, let it flow organically?
And as per this archive... I chose the latter.
It was a good, quick, fun run. Did I jump ship too fast? Maybe. Maybe not.
There still is alot of writing ideas in the queue on the topic to extract, as well as beginning to explore & seed some for the intersection of astrocartography with Human Design.
Though the whole premise of conventional "marketing" that requires a website... meh. Not feeling it. It was never my intention to "get clients" or make money out of it - and testing that option out when it presented itself felt to go in a different direction than the initial passion for the subject. Seemed like was popping off to be a new thing with potential... but gotta adapt and know when to pivot when energy changes.
So yep, here we are with records that it happened. (Damn, what an interesting collection it'd be, had I kept similar archives of all the various projects I dipped into and abandoned over the decades!) Onwards...
Resources
Looking to learn more about astrocartography?
Here is a refined curation of excellent material that may help accelerate your journey …
Books
Jim Lewis - The Psychology of AstroCartoGraphy
Erin Sullivan - Where In The World: Astrocartography & Relocation
Martin Davis - From Here To There: Guide To Astromapping (free pdf download)
Courses & Education
Steven Forrest: Astromapping - An Intro To Relocational Astrology
A good starting point & overview, great bargain for $45.
Moses Siregar: Holistic Locational Astrology Masterclass
This dude knows his stuff, and is likely one of the most thorough educational offerings on the subject. 48 hours of content for $500 USD. He also has another focused on case studies & live readings, also about 50 hours for $200.
Continuum - Jim Lewis Foundation
Dedicated to the founder of astrocartography, this site contains a treasure-trove of info & resources.
Astrodientist - AstroClick Travel
This is the #1 spot to get your map and start exploring…
Once you’ve plugged in your birth data, you can navigate to anywhere on the map, click the location, and get a list of influences there.
Make sure to select “w. harmonious & disharmonious aspects” boxes above the map to reveal the minor lines & parans, and “show details” to the right (or underneath if on mobile) for the full list. From there, clicking on each influence will provide a brief description.
AstroCartoGraphy & Locational Astrology Facebook Group
With over 19,000 members, this is great community to ask questions, learn alot from reading the comments on others’, and connecting with others active in the space.
Human Design & Astrocartography Facebook Group
Another started by The Pragmatic Astrologer, this one has been a bit of a ghost town to-date. (Though maybe if I ever get on acting those ideas for writing on the topic and cross-syndicating them between the two groups, that may get some others onboard to contribute more...? 🤷♂️)
YouTube
There is a growing amount of astrocartography content on YouTube, however the majority of it is pretty basic, and there is also a fair amount of bad advice being given from many who take a far too simplistic approach in labelling some planets “good” and others” bad. However, these are a few of higher-quality with great insight…
Alyssa Sharpe - Your Place In The World With Astrocartography
An excellent beginner’s introduction and great starting point overview.
Likely some of the best specialized astrocartography coverage on YouTube. Very thorough intermediate-to-advanced content.
Ksanati Jyotish - Astro Cartography Series (playlist)
A collection of of some good beginner-to-intermediate overview presentations, from a vedic perspectivce.
Ralph MacIntyre - Pluto (playlist)
While there are many people averse to Pluto, it is a planet with much depth and many opportunities for constructive, empowering transformation. The few videos on the playlist provide some great counterperspective to the faulty “avoid Pluto” thinking many irresponsibly advice, giving good tips on how to work more constructively with its energies. He also has some other good astrocartography stuff on his channel.
Self-proclaimed "queen of astrocartography," there's no one else as blatantly outgoing with marketing their content & services in the niche. Whether you resonate with her style or not, some decent stuff either way and a good place to start as she's got alot of free content available covering the full spectrum.
There had only been a couple posts on the website's blog, one of which is also posted here on Hive: Finding Your "Best" Place With Astrocartography.
The other, an introduction, follows...
The Beginning
Here we are, at the start of a new journey. Who actually finds themselves reading this, time shall tell; however, i would like to take this opportunity to share a bit about how Zenith Astrocartography came to be, the intentions for this project for context & clarification for those whom may have ended up here in front of these words, and impart a few nuggets of wisdom & cheat codes weaved ‘in between lines…’
Serving others through astrology was never ‘on the map’ (pun intended). i’d grown up in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada with interests focused more in music, psychology, and entrepreneurship than the esoteric. Though by the time i’d bounced around living between Banff, Vancouver, Phoenix, Thailand, Victoria, and Bali a decade after graduation (reaping the ‘trial-and-error’ experience of my 6/2 Human Design), astrology had made its way into my awareness and slowly but surely grew in its occupation of my time & energy. Discovering astrocartography around 2018 was of particular intrigue, having had the direct experience living on so many different combos of lines; and as many also find, there was great curiosity in exploring it further in hopes of ‘finding my way’ with future moves towards somewhere particularly awesome in all the ways the ego desires…
T’was 2020 when life put me on the spot to really test it out. Having (barely) lived through the transiting Saturn-Pluto conjunction squaring my natal Saturn-Pluto while living on Saturn-Pluto-IC and observing its intensity manifest through the implosion of my marriage, i felt ready to get da fuq outta there and onto somewhere “better.” Sights set on the “best” astro i could find, Ireland was targeted for the next adventure after a brief stay with my family. “But… COVID.” Yet another lesson we all went through emphasizing the wisdom in that classic saying, “if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.” (Or as per a principle statement in the Human Design world, “no choice.”)
While the move back to my parents and then a couple years in the mountain ski town of Revelstoke ended up at possibly the “best” lines in Canada (on Venus-AC among several other “good” minors) - i still lacked the certainty on where next as had prior to previous moves, and kept diving deeper into whatever could be found on astrocartography in hopes it’d help clarify the direction (along with investing increasing amounts of time into the language & alchemy of astrology in general). Though somewhat content in extreme hermit mode (“on the roof,” as a 6 line) and on “good” lines, the itch for stimulation only found overseas was left unscratched, as increased knowledge of astrocartography turned out to be no substitute for clear (higher) guidance on where to go. As much as the mind & ego wanted movement, it was not correct timing to go. Yet, something unexpected happened: upon becoming increasingly active on Reddit’s astrocartography community, it was revealed I’d developed some sorta competency in the field as people began requesting readings. Finally ‘getting the message,’ beginning to fulfill the requests, and observing the magic & flow happening through/in them, a new direction was clearly in motion.
With immediate & consistent feedback of satisfaction (and peace) from both ‘clients’ and my own response (as a Manifesting Generator), things were on evidently on track. And the more i observed & engaged, the more a sense of purpose emerged. There appeared to be not only an increasing demand for the type of clarity experience proved my process offers, but also a ton of misinformation and perpetuating flawed misconceptions of what astrocartography is and how to properly ‘use’ it. With so many propagating highly-flawed “good/bad” black-and-white thinking and projecting biases upon others seeking advice, i felt it would be a disservice to sit by idly without contributing back and paying forward some priceless gems of insight and foundational principles necessary to upgrading from confusion & misdirection from overgeneralized bad advice to empowerment through refined discernment in translating & navigating one’s unique astrocartographical matrix in the context of individually-nuanced circumstances.
Perhaps it’s partly my Left Angle Cross Of Demands behind a growing passion for this venture - a drive to plant what seeds possible with intention of raising the bar for quality of education and service in these expanding communities, channeling that energy of ‘demanding’ towards these smaller societies of astrology students & practitioners such that we collectively increase our competence as weeding out common misconceptions & faulty beliefs in favor of maturing perspectives on the diligent application of wisdom in astrocartography’s use as an alchemical art & scientific tool to help navigate our lives with greater ease, grace and appreciation for the awe-inspiring perfection in the Grand Organizing Design of this universe/matrix we find ourselves in. As casually and unintended my ‘professional’ chapter in astrology may have begun, it’s been fascinating observing this all come alive - seeing, hearing, and feeling the emergence of this fire cultivating with a sense of purpose for burning away the lower-ego-based conceptions & tendencies through which others (my younger self included) often first look to astrocartography as a simplistic mean of escapism & pleasure-seeking avoidance. And in process - both with observation and releasing the ‘fire’ to do its thing - distilling the essence of key lessons essential to unlocking higher levels of self & life mastery.
As you may have guessed by now, the particular approach to astrocartography here is far more than just interpreting lines on a map as vortexes akin to Santa Claus and war zones, but an expansion of the language of astrology from the dimension of time into space in order to reveal details of how our movement through both intertwine as progressing in the alchemy of our psyche & soul. To unveil “as within, so without” patterns & dynamics active in our lives requiring transmutation of challenges into opportunities on the path of mastery.
This approach may not appease everyone. Not all want to embrace the truth of, “wherever you go, there you are…” that location does not change the fundamentals of YOU and your birth chart or will magically make your problems vanish - only present circumstances reflecting back different parts of yourself, providing opportunity to experience & express them differently. Some prefer comfort zones of cognitive bias where problems can be blamed on planets rather than taking personal responsibility for their conditions and are enticed by hopium & dreams of everything in life becoming smooth & easy by going where some “expert” says. That is not what you’ll find here.
Contrary to trendy “Law Of Attraction” rhetoric sold by “gurus” preaching you can “manifest everything you want,” life eventually reveals its complexity and that we often far less control over it than we’d like. That while our child-selves would choose going to places with nothing but rainbows, unicorns, and candy, we are often bound to a blueprint putting us where there are necessary challenges and soul contracts to complete. “Smooth & easy” - as many seemingly seek when first discovering astrocartography - does not always serve what we actually need for our evolution. Looking at locations as “classrooms” with different combinations of lines reflecting conditions for specific lessons and opportunities to be mastered, it can be counterproductive to jump ship prematurely in search of “better” and result in facing the same, similar, or potentially even worse problems in a different place. While there are surely times it is correct to make moves that align with what may be conventionally thought of as “good” astrology, there is often far more to be gained in first & foremost working constructively with what we have, where we are, to unlock the higher octave of energies both where we’re presently at and then are correctly guided to in the future for different sets of lessons & experiences once having learned & integrated what’s needed where we are and have been before.
If you’ve made it reading this far and get it… chances are you’re a G and in will dig more of what’s to come. 😎
With all of the above as a foundational set of outlooks and principles to work with/from, astrocartography can be a fantastic dimension of astrology to explore & experiment with. Learning the theory is one thing, but it super cool to see it all really coming to life through the multidimensionality of how it plays out through your unique life storyline. There’s FAR more to it all than “this place good, there bad.” And while it’s nearly impossible to get into the funnest of it in writing, (versus real-time co-exploration in conversation), I’ll be doing my best to try here and contribute to the growing astrocartography community what I can to shorten the learning curve for those in resonance crossing this path.
Welcome, and may what you find herein be of value in navigating your journey through the world with & of astrocartography… 🙏💫
And that's a wrap.
Nothing left to see over at ZenithAstrocartography.com. But this archive here, forever-lasting on the Hive blockchain, should I ever want to look back in my old age.
Though, some more writing on astrocartography shall likely be to come... 💫
(And the article, "Finding Your "Best" Place With Astrocartography" is one worthwhile reading if you haven't already, should the subject pique your interest at all)