Where on Earth? Astrocartography and relocation astrology

Have you ever been to a place where you feel particularly relaxed, excited or tense, even if you've never been there before? Many factors may account for this, like the scenery, traffic, culture, climate, people, etc, but it seems true that different people do experience different places differently. For example, while we may enjoy a particular holiday destination very much, our family or friends who are travelling with us may not.

The technique Astrocartography (ACG) was invented in the 1970s by the American astrologer Jim Lewis, showing literally where on Earth we will experience a particular aspect of our innate potential most acutely – be it pleasure, mental stimulation, eye-opening opportunities, competitiveness, discipline, etc by mapping our birth chart on the world atlas.

If we want to find out where we should consider moving to for, say, attending university (presumably for intellectual development? Or for the job prospects after graduation?), we can use the appropriate astrology computer programme to draw up our ACG by inputing detailed birth data. 

As an example, below shows the ACG of the US President Barack Obama (born on 4 August 1961, 7.24 pm, Honolulu in Hawaii):

Each of the coloured lines represents where Obama will experience the energy of a particular planet in his chart most intensely. For example, if he is looking for a place to promote his vision and optimism to the public, or to make an important speech or announcement, areas along the lines marked with Jupiter (the planet for personal vision, success and optimism) or Mercury (the planet for communications) should be considered – and in any case since the two planets are closely opposite to each other in his birth chart, if a place has got one planet prominent, it will be so for the other planet.

If we look closely at his ACG for North America, the town Springfield in Illinois where Obama declared candidacy for the 2008 presidential election fits the bill perfectly: Mercury is right on the IC, with the MC/Jupiter line not far off! An excellent location for articulating his grand, sweeping vision for the country and he did so by evoking the words and deeds of an historical figure that he clearly identified with - Abraham Lincoln.

To take an even more detailed look at how Obama is likely to experience his own energy in Springfield, we can draw up a relocation chart which uses the same procedure as in generating a birth chart – the only differences are, we relocate his birth place from Honolulu to Springfield and take into account the time zone difference:

As noted previously, Mercury and Jupiter are placed on the IC-MC axis. Another important feature is, Venus rules the relocated chart and this gives more emphasis to the watery grand trine formed by Venus, Neptune and Chiron already present in his birth chart. This suggests in Springfield, Obama’s outlook is coloured more by compassion for the under-privileged or those who feel dismayed at the state of things in society. In fact, in his speech he did talk about how families were struggling financially because of the economic meltdown, the war in Iraq and the rising healthcare costs.

Obama's case is good for illustrating the use of ACG and relocation astrology, for it shows how different parts of the birth chart are highlighted or activated in a location other than the birth place. If someone wants to move to somewhere else for a specific purpose, ACG and relocation charts are tools to show where he or she can start checking out first.

Want to get your own ACG and relocation chart? Click here!

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An astrological chronicle of aurora trip

For someone living in the subtropic in Asia, going to the deeply snowy Arctic region to see the Northern Lights (also known as the aurora borealis) is an exotic experience. Sounds very much like Jupiter-Uranus, right? In fact, the planning and undertaking of my trip to northern Norway to see the aurora coincided exactly with the squares of the two planets - and something more…

Before even deciding to do the trip, whenever the Northern Lights were mentioned, I would immediately recall the fascinating BBC documentary that chased the lights with actress Joanna Lumley several years ago. As magnificent sightings of the lights were reported in the media from time to time last year, in August 2013 I decided to plan for an aurora trip set for February/March 2014 - just when Jupiter in Cancer was exactly squaring Uranus in Aries!

Both planets are known for their audacity, adventurousness and independent spirit: Jupiter in Cancer longs to seek freedom by going nostalgic or to widen horizons in the comfort of something familiar and "home-like" while Uranus in Aries is bold and urges to make personal breakthroughs – putting the two together actually means "searching for thrills, breaking new grounds through something or somewhere comfortable"!

This eventually translated into my choice of destination: Though the lights can be spotted in Alaska (the US), Canada, the Scandinavia, Iceland, Greenland and Russia, I chose Norway because it has got the mildest winter compared to other Northern Lights destinations. Well, one may seek thrills, but it couldn’t be thrilling (other than chilling) in a temperature of minus 20 or even 30 degrees Celsius!

We flew to Oslo on 23 February 2014 and a few days later boarded a boat that would take us from the south to the north of Norway, along the coast. Jupiter and Uranus formed an exact square again on 26 February, coinciding with extensive media coverage of extremely high aurora activities, with sightings reported as far south as southern Wales in the UK. Even my friends and family in Hong Kong had got wind of it and texted me in Norway to see if I had spotted the aurora.

Alas, we didn't! We didn’t even try to look at the sky at night, for we hadn't yet reached the aurora zone! But Lady Aurora didn’t disappoint us. In fact, she showed us what seemed impossible was possible: Experts would tell you clear skies are vital to seeing the lights, but when we saw the magnificent lights, it was actually raining! How that was possible still eludes me today…

The phrase "aurora hunt" or "aurora chase" is often used to describe trips to see the lights and this surely carries a strong Jupiterian connotation, but the lights by nature are extremely elusive, i.e. as Neptunian as you can get, just like the mirage in the desert. One may go here and there to chase for the lights, but when, where, for how long and in what way they appear is unpredictable, despite the use of modern technology in forecasting.

In my trip, I saw the lights on three different nights, twice on boat and once on land. Though knowing the lights to be so elusive and so much depends on weather conditions, during the six months of preparations I somehow never doubted I would see them. I felt sure I would… Was this a reflection of the trine that Jupiter was having with Chiron in Pisces, alongside the Jupiter-Uranus square? Jupiter-Chiron indicates a strong inner faith that can withstand trying outer circumstances. With Jupiter in Cancer in a trine with Chiron in Pisces, there is a search for "home" or faith in the benevolence of mother nature, and the process is a healing one: One unconditionally accepts going with the flow and being "at one with the universe", even if outer conditions seem to challenge the basis of one's faith.

Admittedly, it does take a lot of Saturnian energy to plan an aurora trip, but once you are there, just place yourself in the care of the universe to show you what it has got, and the aurora has been called "nature’s best show".

(Originally published in Writing Corner on the website of the Faculty of Astrological Studies, London in May 2014)

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A case study of leadership: HKU new chief

Peter Mathieson, formerly a dean at Bristol University in the UK, is the first non-Chinese Vice-chancellor of the University of Hong Kong in 41 years. Despite some highly publicized criticisms of his appointment, querying his qualifications to lead the university, he formally assumed office on 1 April 2014, punctually at 9am.

Below shows the birth chart of his tenure: 

Two of the most frequently cited criticisms against him are: He does not speak Chinese and his academic standing is not "good enough" to be HKU's head, especially compared with his predecessor Lap-chee Tsui who is a world-renowned geneticist.

These two points are strongly reflected in the chart, with a Mercury-Chiron conjunction across the 10th and 11th houses - a sore point in the vice-chancellorship: Mercury refers to intellectual ability, including academic and linguistic capabilities. Chiron means "hurts" that can never fully be remedied, almost like some "inborn deficiencies". When Mercury and Chiron are combined, it suggests an "incurable intellectual wound", as it is always rejected by others, despite whatever efforts the individual may put in to gain acceptance for his intellectual ability. When all attempts to gain recognition have been proved futile, the individual would, hopefully, eventually learn to cherish the uniqueness of his own intellectual achievements, rather than trying to seek outer approval. This would release a tremendously healing energy.

Another creative way of handling this Mercury-Chiron conjunction is, like what Mathieson himself has said, to listen more. So rather than doing the talking himself, he could let others do it, fitting in very well with the essentially reticent nature of a Mercury-Chiron conjunction (in the withdrawn, gentle sign of Pisces!). 

(Source: HKU website)

However, the dominant theme of the tenure chart is undoubtedly the T-square: Jupiter in Cancer opposes Pluto in Capricorn across the 2nd-8th houses, with the Sun-Uranus conjunction in Aries in the 11th house at the apex. This is an explosive configuration and the Sun's placement in this bunch of social and transpersonal planets means that Mathieson's tenure is likely to be a very high profile one, whether he wills it or not, as it is driven by forces beyond personal control. His leadership position is especially prominent among groups (like students' associations?) and in Hong Kong’s larger social and political context. In fact, this high "visibility" of the tenure seems to be the result of an ambitious drive to expand the university's resources (Jupiter in 2nd) and an intense fear of "infiltration" from external sources (Pluto in 8th).

The overall feel of the T-square suggests, given the need to expand on one hand and the fear of control (and even "abuse") from others on the other, the tenure would be marked by a highly unorthodox and non-conforming leadership style (almost "rebellious") in social and political issues - to manifest the pride that the HKU community feels of itself! (the Sun rules the Leo IC)

However, despite all the independent-mindedness shown in the chart, I don't think Mathieson's leadership would be as overbearing or aggressive as suggested, for Mars, which rules Aries where the Sun and Uranus (and the Moon) fall, is weakly placed - in Libra and is retrograde. This could suggest indecision when assertiveness or competiveness is called for - and actions are only most readily taken when balance and justice have to be restored. Moreover, the 10th house (i.e. the public image) is also occupied by Venus in Aquarius and Neptune in Pisces – and both planets are known for their "softness".

In response to some senior staff who had openly declared he was not good enough for the job, Mathieson pledged he would "strive to convince them that I am worthy of the position". The chart does show this to be another theme in his tenure: Venus' placement in the 10th usually indicates a very popular leader - but in this case, the planet also squares Saturn in the 6th, showing exactly his strong urge to PROVE his worth to colleagues. In fact, staff relations are likely to be the area that he would need to work the hardest over, and so is the red tape. As Saturn is in Scorpio in the 6th, eventually there could be a streamlining of administrative procedures and structures. How much effort he puts into this area would have a significant impact on his public standing (Saturn co-rules the Aquarian MC) and whether the university, in his own words, can "reach new heights" (Saturn also rules the 9th in Capricorn). But in any case, with Saturn in Scorpio in the 6th, he definitely would need to work extremely hard indeed. No wonder he said he would work "tirelessly"!

Some people may prefer universities not to get involved in the whirlwind of politics - but judging from Hong Kong’s chart, that doesn't seem to be possible.  

Hong Kong's higher education sector is represented by the 9th house in Sagittarius, ruled by Jupiter in Aquarius in the 11th - literally meaning that higher education is intertwined with the city's social and political situation. Expansion of the sector is closely linked to the urge to explore more about social egalitarian concepts or technological innovations for society. This also implies social research or research that involves hi-tech is favoured - but this conflicts with the need of the Hong Kong community to feel fiscally secure, for it would need to be sure that public money is well-spent and can produce something tangible! (Moon in Taurus in 2nd house squares Jupiter in 11th)

Academic freedom has been the talk of town recently, as there seems to be a tightening up. This is indicated by the square that transiting Saturn is making with Hong Kong’s Jupiter in January, April to May and September to October this year. Actually, this reflects the deep insecurities (hence resistance) that the Hong Kong community has about a full merging with the Mainland, as Saturn is transiting Hong Kong’s 8th house and this transit won't end until December 2015…

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