How to use astrocartography to travel during a Mercury Retrograde
Hi there! I’m Amanda and I’m a Locational Astrologer specializing in travel, relocation, Astro-herbalism and creative coaching, and I am now offering Astrocartography readings! I’ve been studying astrology and Astrocartography since 2020. I know first hand what its like to live on challenging planetary lines – I’m currently living on a 6 line vortex of my Saturn, Pluto, Chiron, Moon, Mercury and Jupiter (and have been for 8+ years), and it has been a initiation to say the least! Through all of the lessons I’ve learned through reading my own personal Astrocartography, I have found ease, balance, self-trust and acceptance of my inner artist wherever I am in the world. It is my greatest honor to be able to share this with you too!
Everything you need to know about Mercury Retrogrades
Despite what you may have heard, the planet Mercury isn’t actually moving backwards in the sky, it’s just that humans perceive it to be doing just that. This happens just 3-4 times every year though it can sometimes feel we’re always in the middle of one doesn’t it? Mercury is responsible for how we think, communicate, learn new concepts and how to use words and language.
Often blamed for communication breakdowns, misunderstandings and tech mishaps, its nothing to be afraid of and can actually a powerful teacher – if you allow the messages meant for you to come through.
During Mercury Retrogrades you may have the urge of wanting to accelerate all realms of communication in your life, but you are actually being asked to take a beat, slow things down and consider another perspective.
Mercury Retrograde in Virgo 2023
This Mercury Retrograde in Virgo stations retrograde on August 23 and goes direct on September 15th 2023
When in doubt remember your “re-” words
The Mercury Retrograde invite us to take a moment and consider another way of looking at things - so instead of rushing through that email, project launch, Zoom call or replying to that text from your ex, remember all words that begin with “re–.” and pause before you move things forward.
Instead: re-edit, respond, reconsider how you react, note what is no longer relevant, revisit, remember, rest and recover.
We like to think of Virgo as the Editor or “ceramicist” of the zodiac, since its the Earth sign most willing to fine-tune, adapt and transform.
So what does this mean for travel, relocation and Mercury Retrogrades? Read on below.
Discover what your unique Mercury line has to say about your retrograde experience
The key to working with your Astrocartography map and chart during a Mercury Retrograde is knowing where your Mercury lines are in the world – as this can intensify, or quiet our experience during retrograde season. I find most people want to jump into their astrocartogaphy map straight away, but the one key element that needs to be considered is how your Mercury is aspected in your natal chart. If you have a less supportive Mercury placement in your birth chart, traveling to a Mercury line during retrograde season may present challenges you were unprepared for, especially the closer you are to that line.
That’s why its crucial to use both your Astrocartography map + birth chart together. The map only shows you where in the world your Mercury lines are, not how they influence your lifestyle, identity, career or relationships throughout the world. For that we need to look at your natal + relocated charts. Let’s get into this!
Calculate your free Astrocartography chart here
Step 1 – Find your Mercury placement in your relocated birth chart
Instead of starting with your Astrocartography map, look instead at your natal chart. Notice we mentioned relocated natal chart here. You’ll basically pull up a natal chart with all your exact birth information except just swap in the location of your upcoming trip. You’ll want to look the Mercury “glyph” or icon, note what sign it is in, and what house. Once you locate the planet, note the house number and the zodiac sign your Mercury is in.
Essential Dignities
You’ll also want to note the essential dignity of Mercury – basically this tells us if your Mercury gets support or is more challenged, which is based on what sign its in and if its “comfortable” there or not. Note if your Mercury is in domicile, exaltation, detriment or fall. Exaltation are your luckiest lines and lines in domicile feel at home. If your Mercury is in detriment, its may be challenging but something you can work through. Lines in fall we generally want to keep our distance from, especially if you have a hard aspect like an opposition or square.
Planetary aspects
Next, see if you have any sextiles, trines, oppositions or squares to your Mercury. Sextiles and trines gives us extra support, and oppositions and squares will pose lessons or a deeper challenge to work through. Squares aren’t always a bad thing – especially if it involves one of the benefic planets such as Venus or Jupiter. In this case, a Jupiter squaring your Mercury in the 7th house, could just be encouraging you to expand the ways in which you communicate with others. You’ll want to pay extra attention to any oppositions thought as that could impact your experience during your travels.
Note the house
Your relocated birth chart may “move” your Mercury into a different house or area of life – especially if your trip is a considerable distance from where you were born or are currently living. In Astrocartography, we can actually feel the effects of a line up to 800 miles away! See our comparison below – and how the Mercury moves from the 6th to the 7th house. In this case, this Mercury placement moves from themes of work, health and lifestyle balance to how this person might communicate one on one in personal or work-related relationships.
So what does this tell us? This in essence is the beauty of Astrocartography. By changing our location we have new themes of life activated in specific locations, based on our unique natal chart astrology. You can literally work this to your advantage, “moving” planets into certain houses, based on the type of life you want to experience in specific locations across the planet.
Want to reconnect with friends or take a more active role in communities you’re a part of? Move Mercury to your 7th house.
Need to let go of a past relationship that no longer serves you? Prioritize time to do the inner work, and move Mercury to your 12th house.
Want to re-evaluate how you show up for your followers in your creative business? Move that Mercury to your 10th house.
Step 2 – Choosing the best Mercury lines on your Astromap
Using your natal chart, pull up your Astrocartography You’ll want to locate the same Mercury glyph on your map. If this is the first time you’ve pulled up your map, we know it can be overwhelming – just focus on finding that Mercury icon. You’ll want to look for the Mercury line that best corresponds to the kind of energy you want to call in, in the location where you’ll be. Look for the AC/DC/IC/MC alongside the Mercury symbol.
A short cut is to look for the curved vs straight and vertical lines on the map. The curved lines correspond to AC or DC, or your self-identity and how your interact in personal, one-to-one relationships. The vertical lines relate to MC or IC, and speak to how we relate to our sense of higher purpose/career, or our connection to physical place, home and family. Whatever your intention for your travel is, the IC is always important to take a look at, as well if your Mercury is in the 4th house of your relocated birth chart.
Now find your destination on the map – is there a Mercury line close by?
Step 3 – How far should I be from my Mercury line?
I’m glad you asked! This is precisely why we pulled up your destination through the relocated birth chart up top. If your Mercury line is in the 4th house or near your IC and has challenging aspects to another planet, you may want to re-assess how close you are to that line.
Since we can feel the effects of a planetary line up to 800 miles away, if you have a particularly tight opposition or square to your Mercury, you may want to adjust where you travel within a region.
Less than 100 miles away from a line will be very intense and can amplify a Mercury placement that already has challenging aspects like a square or opposition.
150-300 miles is slightly more comfortable, and the closer to the 300 you are the more you are nearing a medium-strength effect. You may find your travels are more positively affected if you stay within the 350-600 mi strength. Anything from 600-800 miles is so weak you are unlikely to feel at all.
Something else to consider are parans, which are 2 planetary lines that cross at some point and forms a line at a specific latitude that circles the globe. This is a blended energy of those planets which can also impact our experience in certain locations.
Parans are the final touch to reading your own Astrocartography - they help us hone in more precisely on a general location we are considering. We can get as specific as within 0-70 miles away. The best part about parans are even if we have a challenged Mercury placement and are located close to a Mercury line, if we are close enough to a nearby paran that is supportive, they can often cancel out the energy of a difficult line which opens up so many more opportunities for travel during retrograde season.
Want to learn more about the most supportive astrocartography line crossings? Read our next post here to learn about how parans influence the energy in a location.
Book an Astrocartography Reading with me
I love how a natal chart is a literal map to what we’re here to learn, and why we incarnated (especially at this moment in time), and how our relationship to place is so unique from one moment to the next. Have you ever been on a trip with someone, but had completely different experiences of the same place? That’s the essence of Astrocartography. I love blending creativity coaching and herbalism into my Locational Astrology readings for people who want to go a step further and unearth the best places for balanced mindset, self-expression, better relationships and more creativity.
If you’d like to book a personalized 60-min reading with me, we’ll go so much deeper than your Astrocartography map. In our sessions we can hone in on the exact locations and precisely pinpoint key dates for travel and relocation you’re considering. You’ll receive a recording, a beautifully-designed PDF guidebook to put our recommendations into practice and an Astro-herbalism protocol based on the balance of elements in your chart.
We can’t wait to connect with you! You can learn more about our offering and book an Astrocartography reading with me here.
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