Stellune
An astrocartography map can look like someone spilled forty coloured threads across an atlas. It becomes readable quickly once you know what you’re looking at. These five steps take about ten minutes with your own map open.
Step 1: check the birth time first
Before reading anything, make sure the map was drawn with the right birth time and place. A few minutes of error moves every line: four minutes shifts the map by about one degree of longitude, around 100 km at the equator. If you’re unsure of your time, read the lines as wider bands rather than exact paths.
Step 2: learn the four kinds of line
Every planet draws four lines. Most maps tell them apart by style:
- MC (overhead): a straight vertical line, usually solid and thick. Career and reputation.
- IC (underfoot): a straight vertical line on the opposite side of the world, often dotted. Home and roots.
- AC (rising): a curved line, usually solid. Yourself, energy and fresh starts.
- DC (setting): a curved line, usually dashed. Partners and relationships.
The MC and IC lines for one planet are always exactly half a world apart. The AC and DC curves bend away from the equator and meet the MC and IC lines near the poles.
Step 3: learn the planet symbols
You only need ten:
| Symbol | Planet | Its energy on a map |
|---|---|---|
| ☉ | Sun | Confidence, being seen |
| ☽ | Moon | Home, feelings, belonging |
| ☿ | Mercury | Ideas, study, trade |
| ♀ | Venus | Love, beauty, ease with money |
| ♂ | Mars | Drive, competition, courage |
| ♃ | Jupiter | Growth, opportunity, generosity |
| ♄ | Saturn | Discipline, long-term work, responsibility |
| ♅ | Uranus | Change, freedom, surprises |
| ♆ | Neptune | Imagination, spirituality, blurred lines |
| ♇ | Pluto | Transformation, power, depth |
Most maps also let you turn planets on and off. Start with just the Sun, Moon, Venus and Jupiter, then add the rest.
Step 4: look at the places you know
Before using the map to plan anything, test it against your own life. Find:
- where you were born,
- every place you’ve lived,
- the city where life went unusually well, and the one where it felt hard.
Note which lines run nearby. If your best years were spent near a Jupiter MC line, that tells you something about how lines work for you. If a hard stretch happened near a Saturn line, it may help explain it.
Step 5: read a new place
Now look up a city you’re curious about. For each line within about 900 km:
- Name the planet and the kind of line (for example, Venus DC).
- Note the distance. Under 300 km is strong; 300 to 600 km is clear; further out is light.
- Combine the planet’s energy with the area of life: Venus (love, ease) on the DC (partners) suggests a place where relationships come more easily.
A city with no lines nearby isn’t empty. Life there leans on your birth chart as a whole rather than on any one planet.
Crossings and parans
Where two lines cross, both energies tend to mix in that region. Some maps also show “parans”, horizontal lines of latitude where two planets were angular at the same time. They’re more advanced and worth leaving until the main lines make sense.
Questions people ask
What do the dashed lines mean on an astrocartography map?
On most maps, including ours, dashed lines are setting (DC) lines and dotted lines are IC lines. Check the key on your map, because styles vary between sites.
How far does an astrocartography line reach?
It’s strongest within about 300 km and fades out over roughly 600 to 900 km.
Why do some lines curve and others are straight?
Overhead and underfoot lines follow longitude, so they’re straight. Rising and setting lines follow the horizon, which tilts with latitude, so they curve.
Can I read astrocartography without a birth time?
Not reliably. Without a time, the whole map could be off by thousands of kilometres.
Astrology here is for reflection and self-understanding. It doesn't predict events, and it isn't medical, legal or financial advice.