Have you ever been to a place that feels... different? Not just beautiful or relaxing, but viscerally right: the air suits your lungs better; your thoughts are clearer; you feel like yourself, but upgraded.
Six years ago, I found myself in one of those places. I’d just been through a break-up – as in, I literally broke up with my boyfriend the day before I flew – and so I landed raw and uncertain. ‘A break-up’ makes it sound juvenile somehow, like we were teenagers who’d had a fall out, when in fact I was cracked open by the experience. It wasn’t just him. I’d spent the previous two years in a kind of freefall: the aftermath of a 10-year relationship ending, the death of my dad, a drug problem and an inescapable sense that my life was falling apart.
I felt like a hollow shell; a void in the shape of a person, that no amount of dates, distractions or dopamine-hits seemed to fill it. And among all of that, I had this boyfriend. We didn’t get on. We had a mercurial push-pull kind of relationship – argued almost constantly about basically everything. Equally, though, I felt that without him I might fall off a cliff edge into an abyss.
The final break-up came after nearly a year of emotional back and forth. We both cheated, broke up, got back together, broke up again. Our arguments had reached cinematic proportions – screaming on train platforms, tears in public parks. But the day before my trip, as we sat together on Tooting Common, there was no shouting. Just the simple, unassailable truth that neither of us had nothing left to give.
The next morning, I flew to California.
What’s this got to do with astrocartography, you may well be asking, having clicked on this story? Well, something happened when I got there. Specifically, when I arrived in an off-the-beaten-track surf town called Morro Bay. It wasn’t glamorous or life-changing in any obvious way. But I felt... different. Open. Hopeful; clear-headed. The whole place felt like optimism. At the time, I chalked it up to the surf lessons (I was terrible, but it’s nice to be in the sea) and the relief of being far away from my old life. But it was such a big feeling that a year later, I went back – booking a month-long solo road trip through California. I didn’t know what I was chasing, exactly. I just knew it felt good to be there.
It wasn’t until recently, while interviewing astrologer and tarot reader Clarisse Monahan – one of the UK’s most in-demand intuitives and resident astrologer for Soho House – that I heard of astrocartography. She’s been studying the technique for almost a decade and is currently working on her first book about it – Astrocartography: An Astrologer’s Guide to Where You’ll Thrive, which comes out next month.
Clarisse mentioned it to me almost in passing, like a secret code that explains why we’re drawn to some places more than others. “On an experiential level, we’ve all been to cities or towns that feel right, and others that don’t,” she explained. “Astrocartography helps explain these place-based attractions. It matches us to our hotspots on earth. As such, I like to think of it as Tinder for places – but without the bad hook-ups.” It’s also known as locational astrology, but she prefers the term astrocartography. “Together, astro (relating to stars) and cartography (relating to maps) gives us something like the study of ‘star maps’,” Clarisse says. “So in astrocartography, we are using the stars (or planets) to map where you might best live and thrive for work, travel, romance, confidence and creativity.”
Having taken a peek at my chart, she explained: “The West Coast of America is a really great place for you.” She knew nothing of my long-standing love affair with California but pointed out that both my Mercury and Jupiter lines went through this area. “It’s such a powerful combination – abundance, openness, growth,” she mused. “Mercury is the sign of writing and publishing, so it’s particularly favourable for careers that involve writing. It’s a place to activate your ideas and meet people who’ll help you thrive.”
It felt like a bell ringing, like something was aligning. I take all things woo-woo with a healthy dose of scepticism, but the kismet felt so uncanny that I decided to follow the rest of her advice. She explained I was entering a favourable time for my career and gave me a few specific dates that might be particularly lucky, so I entered a writing competition – and ended up a finalist out of thousands of entries. But what really stuck with me was this explanation of astrocartography – and how certain places stir something deep inside us.
What Is Astrocartography?
In essence, astrocartography is a branch of astrology that maps your birth chart onto the globe. It takes the exact time, date and place you were born and uses that data to calculate where in the world the planets were rising, setting or reaching their peak at that specific moment in time. The result is a map crisscrossed with lines – each representing a different planet’s influence – that stretch over countries, cities and coastlines.
Everyone has their own unique set of planetary lines. Your Sun line might run through Sydney, suggesting that place could energise your sense of self, explains Clarisse, while a Venus line over Paris might enhance your love life or aesthetic sensibility. “Before I knew much about it,” says Clarisse, “I got a reading and I remember them telling me, ‘Oh, Ireland’s a really bad place for you.’ I was living there at the time [Clarisse is Irish] and, to be honest, it all really resonated with me. It’s on a Saturn line for me, which isn’t the easiest energy. It represents challenges – but also growth, discipline and a chance to do serious inner work. Your Saturn line is kind of a heavy energy. So to test it out, I decided to visit my Jupiter line, which runs through Berlin. I was there on a holiday and, randomly, I got offered a job that came with an apartment for two years for free – everything just started working out for me in a very lucky way.”
Her story illustrates one of the core ideas behind astrocartography: each line lights up a different part of you in that place. So while traditional astrology waits for planetary transits to play out over time, astrocartography offers a more direct path. “Instead of waiting for that transit, you can go to the place and really activate that planetary energy,” says Clarisse. Whether that’s your creativity, career, confidence, or relationships – the idea is not that one place is objectively “good” or “bad” for you, but that each one will bring a different version of you to the surface.
Maybe, for me, it was the timing. Maybe it was the sunshine, or the sea air, or the fact that I finally had space to hear myself think. But maybe it was something written in the stars – a line drawn long ago, waiting to be followed.
That’s the quiet power of astrocartography. It won’t hand you all the answers, but it can perhaps reframe the search. It offers a way to understand why certain places crack you open, while others might help piece you back together. And, at its best, it reminds you that transformation isn’t always something you have to force from within – sometimes, all it takes is a holiday in the right place at the right time to remind you of who you are...or who you’re becoming.
How To Get Started With Astrocartography...
Curious where your own planetary lines fall? The good news: it’s easy to start exploring. You don’t need to book an astrologer right away (though it’s worth it if you want to go deeper). Here, Clarisse explains how to start mapping your personal astrocartography...
Find Your Exact Birth Details
You’ll need your date, place, and exact time of birth – ideally down to the minute. If you don’t know your time, check your birth certificate, or ask someone who might. Even a 10-minute difference can shift your map enough to change which lines fall where.
Use A Free Astrocartography Tool
Go to a site like Astro.com to generate a free astrocartography map. It might look chaotic at first – lines crisscrossing a world map – but each one shows where a planet in your birth chart was rising, setting, or at its peak when you were born.
Find Out Where Your Lines Land
Hover over different lines to see what they represent. You might notice, for example, that your Venus line runs through Bali, or your Saturn line through your hometown. Different planetary lines symbolise different energies, depending on your own personal birth chart, as Clarisse explains here:
“One way to choose an auspicious line is to go for your sun sign’s ruling planet. Many people new to astrocartography assume they should focus on so-called “good” lines, like Venus or Jupiter. But it’s far more complex than that – the map is always interpreted through the lens of your unique natal chart.
“The first step is to understand what’s already working well in your chart and what energies you naturally integrate. So someone who has a lot of Capricorn in their chart (grounded, structured, methodical) might find a Jupiter line destabilising. Jupiter energy is expansive, boundary-stretching and rule-breaking, which can be invigorating for some, but unsettling for those who thrive on clear systems and order.
“Each sign has a ruling planet, and you tend to connect more naturally with that planet’s energy. Visiting or living on the line of your ruling planet can bring a sense of familiarity and alignment – though how that plays out will still depend on the rest of your chart.”
Then, Head To The Destinations Your Lines Reveal
Want to really get the best out of your trip? Here’s which line Clarisse recommends heading for, based on your sign...
Sun: Go to your Sun line for increased professional recognition, health, confidence, and vitality. “This is where Leos should be heading for, the sun being their ruler.”
Moon: Go to your Moon line for starting a family or connecting with those closest to you for emotionally restorative interactions. “A great line for Cancerians to visit, as the dreamy, emotional moon is their ruler.”
Mercury: Go to your Mercury line for sharpened communication, business acumen, and hustle energy. “Virgo and Gemini are ruled by Mercury and will thrive visiting this line.”
Venus: This line increases romance, pleasure, and harmony in your life. Go to your Venus line to find love or deepen it with a partner. “Librans and Taureans will find love, luck and pleasure on their ruling Venus line.”
Mars: Go to this line if you want to compete with others, challenge yourself, align with your inner ambition and desire for worldly success. “Fiery Mars rules Aries and Scorpio, who’ll thrive in that ambitious energy.”
Jupiter: Jupiter line is powerful for expanded opportunities pertaining to career or profound spiritual experiences. “Jupiter rules Sagittarius and Pisces, who’ll both find that expansive, spiritual energy enlivening.”
Saturn: Go to your Saturn line for intensified self-discipline, long-term life-planning or getting life back on track after going astray. “Aquarius and Capricorn are both ruled by Saturn – they should hit-up their Saturn line for a dose of steadying energy.”
Uranus: Go to this line for totally unexpected experiences, such as exploring new sides to your identity or sexuality.
Neptune: This line is for art, fantasy, and the creation of new identity through word and image.
Pluto: This is the line for radical transformation and rebirth, especially related to emerging from the underworld of addiction toward the light of recovered sense of self or a new outlook on identity.
