Guides
Learn Tropical Astrology
Long-form guides, plus reference pages for each sign, each astrocartography line and the timing techniques the calculators use.
FeaturedGuide
How to Read Your Astrocartography Map
Astrocartography answers the oldest question in astrology — not when, but where. Learn how to decode your planetary lines and find your power spots across the globe.
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Studies
Study Data
Retrograde Planets by Birth Decade, the 1800s to the 2020s
Retrograde planets counted on 84,006 days: each planet's share by birth decade, how many turn back at once, and the longest runs with none at all.Read the Study Study DataHow Long Each Zodiac Sign Takes to Rise, From the Equator to the Polar Circles
At New York's latitude Aries takes 71.2 minutes to rise and Leo 152.6. Rising times for all twelve signs at every degree of latitude, and why they differ.Read the StudyThe Twelve Signs
Each sign page gives its exact start times by year, its decans and terms, the slow planets passing through it, and how its tropical dates compare with the constellation the Sun is actually in.
- AriesCardinal Fire, ruled by Mars
- TaurusFixed Earth, ruled by Venus
- GeminiMutable Air, ruled by Mercury
- CancerCardinal Water, ruled by Moon
- LeoFixed Fire, ruled by Sun
- VirgoMutable Earth, ruled by Mercury
- LibraCardinal Air, ruled by Venus
- ScorpioFixed Water, ruled by Mars
- SagittariusMutable Fire, ruled by Jupiter
- CapricornCardinal Earth, ruled by Saturn
- AquariusFixed Air, ruled by Saturn
- PiscesMutable Water, ruled by Jupiter
Astrocartography Lines
One page for each planet's four lines, one for each angle across all ten planets, and the crossings and parans where two lines meet.
- ☉The Sun lineWhere the Sun stood at noon, midnight, sunrise or sunset when you were born.
- ☽The Moon lineRead for home, family and feeling; the fastest-moving body on the map.
- ☿The Mercury lineRead for study, writing and trade; never far from your Sun lines.
- ♀The Venus lineRead for love, art and ease; the Descendant line is the one most people look for.
- ♂The Mars lineRead for drive, competition and friction.
- ♃The Jupiter lineRead for growth, opportunity and excess.
- ♄The Saturn lineRead for work, duty and endurance; slow places rather than bad ones.
- ♅The Uranus lineRead for change, independence and disruption.
- ♆The Neptune lineRead for imagination, retreat and confusion.
- ♇The Pluto lineRead for intensity and power; the line most changed by how it is calculated.
- MCMidheaven linesWhere a planet culminates, read for career and standing. A straight north–south meridian.
- ICImum Coeli linesWhere a planet sits at its lowest point, read for home and family. The MC line's opposite meridian.
- ASCAscendant linesWhere a planet rises, read for manner and first impressions. Curves with latitude.
- DSCDescendant linesWhere a planet sets, read for partners and rivals. The ASC line's mirror image.
Timing
- Planetary hoursHow the day and night are each split into twelve unequal hours, why the first belongs to the weekday’s ruler, and how the Chaldean order runs.
- Retrograde calendarStation dates, degrees and shadow periods for Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, year by year.
- Combustion calendarWhen each planet is under the beams, combust and cazimi, year by year from 2025 to 2035.
- Cazimi datesThe exact moment each planet passes through the heart of the Sun, with the sign it happens in.
- Void-of-course MoonEach period between the Moon’s last major aspect in a sign and its entry into the next.