1. Start with what you want, not where

Most people start with a city they've already fallen for and look for reasons to justify it. Flip it around. Write down the one or two things you most want from your next move. More money? A relationship? Rest? A fresh start?

Then ask the practical questions first. Can you earn a living there? Can you get a visa? How far is it from the people you love? Astrology is one tool, not the only one.

2. Match your goal to the right planets

Each goal has its own planets. Here's a simple version:

One more check before you get excited. Look at the condition of that planet in your birth chart. If it's in a sign where it struggles, or it's the focal point of a T-square, it won't deliver easy results.

3. A trine can beat being right on the line

It sounds backwards, but being exactly on a line is the most intense version of that planet. A lot of people find it overwhelming. A trine or sextile from that planet to your angles is often easier to actually live with.

There's one exception. For sport and competitive business, squares to your angles can work well, because the tension drives you to perform.

4. Shortlist, then read the relocated chart

Use the map to shortlist a few cities. Then look at the relocated chart for each one, in this order:

• Planets aspecting your new angles. These carry the most weight.
• House rulers aspecting your angles. They tell you which part of life gets activated.
• Where your Ascendant and Midheaven rulers land.
• Which houses your planets fall into.
• The signs on your new angles. A flavour, never the headline.

Then count. Three signs pointing the same way? Pay attention. Just one? Interesting, but don't sign a lease over it. Signals pulling in different directions means a mixed experience, so work out which theme wins.

Already picked the city and now choosing a neighbourhood to buy in? The AstroNat Home Finder uses Local Space to rank the best areas in town for you, or for you and your partner.

5. Check the timing

Even the right city has better and worse years. I look at your solar and lunar returns cast for the new city, your profection year, and transits to your relocated angles. When a few of these agree on the same window, that's usually the time to go.

Don't forget real-world practicalities like your income, visa restrictions, family obligations, climate preferences & cultural assimilation like language etc. Your relocated charts won't show all that.

When your map says nothing at all

Sometimes a city just doesn't light up. No big lines, no strong contacts, nothing on timing. That's a real answer too. It means the decision is about your life, not your astrology, and you're free to choose on practical grounds.

New to your map? Start with what the lines on your astrocartography map actually mean. Can't move right now? Read how to use your astrocartography from home.

Questions people ask

Further reading: Jim Lewis & Ariel Guttman, The Astro*Carto*Graphy Book of Maps (1989).