Do you think about astrology and geography when reading your horoscope? Probably not. But just as astrology relies on astronomical data, its practice is also affected by how we map our planet. You don’t need to memorize state capitals anytime soon. But what’s in our skies depends on where we are – and that principle is key to the astrology of people and events.
Astrology and Geography in the Celestial Sphere
Just as Earth is a sphere, we can think of our planet being surrounded by a huge globe of stars. Encyclopedia Britannica explains that this is the celestial sphere, where stars appear to be fixed from our perspective. Where we’re at on Earth determines what portion of the celestial sphere we can see.
When drawing a birth chart for someone, you need to know where that person was born. Online natal chart tools will also ask you for this information. An individual’s birthplace has a unique set of coordinates. Once we have the birthplace or its coordinates, we can chart the relative positions of planets and points – in other words, the slice of the sky visible from that location. Without this information, we can’t even construct a rudimentary chart.
Horoscope Houses and the Ecliptic
When we see the Sun and stars move through the sky, they’re traveling through the ecliptic plane. This region of the celestial sphere is where we see our zodiac constellations, but it’s also where astrologers place the horoscope houses. These houses divide the ecliptic into 12 regions, each representing a specific aspect of one’s life. When drawing a birth chart, astrologers use the person’s ascendant to place the first house. If the rising sign lies at 29 degrees Aries, for instance, that’s where the first house begins. The other 11 houses take up the remainder of the chart.
Small Differences, Big Impacts
The latitude and longitude of a person’s birthplace affect what will appear in the natal chart. Even very minor shifts in any direction can have major consequences. To see how this can play out, let’s look at an example. Say we have two people both born on August 14 at the exact same time – Jason in Milwaukee and Eva in Bogota. Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is at 43 degrees north and 88 degrees west. Bogota, Columbia is in the same time zone, but it’s at 4 degrees north and 74 degrees west.
Logically, Jason’s natal chart would look a little different than Eva’s. But how? They have nearly all the same planets in the same spots and share the same ascendant. But if we consider longitude, Bogota is only 14 degrees east of Milwaukee. That’s not even a full time zone ahead. But this small difference appears in their rising sign locations – in this instance, Jason’s sits at 22 degrees Aries and Eva’s is at 29 degrees Aries.
It’s easy to think that this small difference may not matter, but it does for Jason and Eva. That 7-degree interval creates two distinct starting points for their charts. And even though their planets are in the same signs, this interval causes those planets to end up in different houses in each chart. Eva’s Mercury, Venus, and Mars ended up in her fifth house, which starts at 23 degrees Leo. But Jason’s fifth house starts at 3 degrees Leo and contains his Sun and Saturn. His Mercury, Venus, and Mars lie inside his sixth house instead.
The Intersection of Science and Divination
We don’t need to be astronomy or geography experts to appreciate the art of astrology. But it’s worth looking at how these disciplines relate to each other. Understanding these links can help us better comprehend the inner workings of horoscopes and birth charts.