Photo : Mohammed Brzan · Pexels (libre d’utilisation)
A client once handed us two world maps. One was covered in curved colored lines crossing oceans and continents. The other had straight rays radiating from a single point like a compass rose. Both were drawn for the same birth time. Both claimed to show where life would flourish. But the lines did not match. The client wanted to know which one was true.
Astrocartography and local space astrology are two different mapping techniques that use the same birth chart to answer different relocation questions. Astrocartography shows where planets were angular (rising, setting, culminating, anticulminating) at the moment of birth, projected onto a world map. Local space astrology maps the directions from a specific location where planets appear on the local horizon, based on their actual positions in the sky at birth.
The difference is not a matter of accuracy. It is a matter of perspective: one map belongs to the Earth, the other to the place you stand.
Where Do These Two Techniques Come From?
Astrocartography was developed by American astrologer Jim Lewis in the 1970s. Lewis, born in 1941, was a student of the Hamburg School of astrology and a pioneer in computer-generated charts. In 1971 he wrote the first software to plot planetary lines on a world map, a program he called the AstroCartoGraphy program. His 1978 book The AstroCartoGraphy Book of Maps codified the technique. Lewis died in 1995, but his method remains the standard.
Local space astrology has older roots. The idea of dividing the local horizon into twelve houses (the “local space” houses) appears in the work of Michael Erlewine, an American astrologer and programmer who began publishing on the subject in the 1970s. Erlewine drew on the medieval tradition of direction finding (the use of astrological directions to a place) but gave it a geometric rather than zodiacal basis. His 1977 book The Manual of Astrological Direction and later Local Space Astrology (1997) formalized the technique.
Both methods became practical only with the advent of personal computers. Before that, calculating the planetary lines or local horizon angles for any given location required hours of spherical trigonometry. The 1970s made relocation astrology a desktop exercise.
What Each Map Actually Shows
Astrocartography draws great circles on the world map. Each planet at the moment of birth has four lines: the rising line (where the planet was on the eastern horizon), the setting line (western horizon), the midheaven line (culminating overhead), and the IC line (anticulminating below). Where these lines cross a location, the planet is said to be angular — that is, it falls on one of the four angles of the local chart. The line itself is a band of influence, not a razor edge. Move a few miles east or west and the planet’s effect changes.
Local space astrology draws straight rays from a chosen location (your current home, a potential move city) outward in the directions where each planet actually appeared in the sky at your birth. These directions are measured in azimuth (degrees from true north). The ray is not a line on the Earth but a vector: if you stand at the center and face the direction of your Mars, you are looking toward the place in the sky where Mars was when you were born. The technique assumes that moving in that direction will activate the planet’s energy.
The difference is fundamental. Astrocartography tells you where on Earth a planet was angular at your birth. Local space tells you which direction from a given point that planet occupies.
How Practitioners Use Each Method
We use astrocartography first. It answers the big question: “Where on the planet should I live?” A client considering a move from London to Melbourne gets a world map with lines for each planet. We look for Jupiter lines (expansion, luck) or Venus lines (love, beauty) crossing the target location. We check for Mars lines (conflict, drive) or Saturn lines (restriction, discipline) that might cross a city they are considering. The map gives a global overview.
Local space comes second. It answers a finer question: “Given that I live here, which direction should I face my desk, sleep with my head, or walk to work?” A client in New York who wants to improve career prospects gets a local space map centered on their apartment. We find the direction of their midheaven (MC) from that point. We suggest they orient their workspace toward that azimuth. If they are considering a move within the same city, we check whether the new address lies along a favorable planetary ray.
The two methods complement each other. Astrocartography picks the country. Local space picks the street.
Key Differences at a Glance
| Aspect | Astrocartography | Local Space |
|---|---|---|
| Map type | World map with curved great-circle lines | Local map with straight rays from a point |
| Basis | Planetary angularity at birth (rising, setting, MC, IC) | Planetary azimuth at birth from a specific location |
| Question answered | “Where should I go?” | “Which way should I face?” |
| Originator | Jim Lewis (1970s) | Michael Erlewine (1970s, building on older direction methods) |
| Calculation | Requires birth time and coordinates; lines are fixed for the birth moment | Requires birth time and coordinates of the center point; rays change if you move the center |
| Practical use | Relocation, travel, country selection | House placement, city neighborhood choice, feng shui style adjustments |
Common Misconceptions
“They are the same thing.” They are not. Astrocartography uses the global angles (ascendant, descendant, MC, IC) projected onto Earth. Local space uses the local horizon and true north. A planet that is on your local space Mars ray may not be angular in the astrocartography map for that location. The two systems can agree, but they do not have to.
“Local space is just a simplified version.” It is not simpler. Local space requires you to know the precise azimuth of each planet at birth, which involves the same spherical trigonometry as astrocartography. The difference is conceptual, not computational.
“You need a computer to use either.” True for accurate calculation, but the principles are ancient. The medieval astrologer Guido Bonatti (13th century) wrote about “directions to the angles” that resemble local space thinking. The computer made it fast, not possible.
“One is more accurate than the other.” Accuracy depends on the question. For global relocation, astrocartography is more appropriate. For fine-tuning within a city, local space is better. Neither is “wrong.”
FAQ
Can I use both methods together? Yes. Many astrologers start with astrocartography to identify a promising region, then use local space to choose a specific neighborhood or orientation within that region.
Do the lines on an astrocartography map change over time? No. The lines are fixed at the moment of birth. They do not move as you age. However, transits and progressions can activate them at different times.
Is local space the same as “astro*locality”? Not exactly. Astro*locality is a broader term sometimes used for any relocation astrology. Local space is a specific technique within that category.
Can I calculate local space rays by hand? In theory, yes. You need the planet’s right ascension and declination, your latitude and longitude, and the local sidereal time. In practice, software is the only sane option.
The two maps answer two questions: where and which way. One draws lines across the Earth. The other draws rays from your feet. Neither is complete without the other, and neither replaces the birth chart itself. The sky does not choose a single perspective. Neither should we.
For a deeper look at how to read an astrocartography map, see our guide to interpreting planetary lines. For the symbols used in both techniques, the glossary of astrological angles explains each term. And for the full framework, start at the astrocartography hub.