How to Use Astrology to Plan Your Next Vacation, According to an Astrocartographer
Astrocartography is a growing travel trend, so we asked astrologer Lauren Ash to break it down for us.
It was only a matter of time before the worlds of astrology and travel made like two different planets and perfectly aligned, one engaging the energy of the other. The time has officially come—or if you ask Lauren Ash, professional astrologer at digital astrology platform Sanctuary, the trend has been simmering (in the US, anyway) since at least 2022.
Right after the pandemic, when revenge travel was in full bloom, many millennials and Gen Zers found themselves putting two and two together. "I think a lot of people [were] trying to get out and reclaim what they missed out on [in travel]," explains Ash. "And I also think that a lot of people had time indoors with themselves, and there was a big astrology boom during the pandemic, and so I just feel like it's kind of this natural mix."
That mix has a name, and it's called astrocartography. The trend is defined by Ash—who has been dabbling in it since 2017—as "the practice of using astrology to figure out where someone's energy is best aligned with the city they live or travel to."
Astrocartography goes hand in hand with a pre-existing travel trend, namely that of astrology-themed hotels. While those have been around for longer—The Ultimo in Sydney, Australia earned the title of the world's first zodiac-themed hotel since its opening in 2017—they seem to be living their renaissance right now. The Memphian hotel in Memphis, Tennessee offers an "Astrology Overnight" package, while Moxy Hotels—a.k.a. Marriott Bonvoy's hippest hotel child—launched its own partnership with digital astrology platform Sanctuary to give guest stays a starry twist.
To learn more about astrocartography and how it is playing into how we travel today, we spoke with Ash at Austin's Moxy, which recently hosted Thrillist for the 2024 total solar eclipse. The conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Thrillist: You defined astrocartography as "the practice of using astrology to figure out where someone's energy is best aligned with the city they live or travel to." Can you elaborate on this?
Lauren Ash: When you are born, you have a birth chart that's created and that's an event chart. Similarly, every city has an event chart, has an energy, has an aura about it. Depending on your planetary placements and the energy of the city, sometimes you go somewhere and you're like, "Wow, I could move here." Other times you go, "I'm never going back here." A lot of astrologers believe that astrocartography, which is overlaying the birth chart over a map of the world, helps pinpoint those cities.
Is astrocartography used only to decide where to travel to or also where to move to?
It can be used for both. If you're going to do short-term travel, you would use astrocartography to find a city that you would have the best time in. If you're looking to take a romantic vacation with a lover, you might look to your Venus line because Venus rules romance, attraction, sexuality. Whereas some people go to a city, they get a lot of work done, they're like, "I've got ideas. I'm hustling here." That's probably more your Mercury, which is much more aligned to how you think communicate.
You've been into astrocartography for a few years now. What kind of travelers come to you for a reading?
You've got people who are moving and are trying to transition to a new part of their career, or a lot of times it's college graduates who want to know where they should go to start their life. And then I get a lot of "I’m starting my life over. I just want to try something totally new. I want an adventure." And you also get your vacation people.
Once you start their readings, what do they typically ask?
People always want to know "When am I going to meet the love of my life?" and "Am I in the right job?" So I find a lot of the astrocartography stuff, if it's not vacation, it's a lot of soul searching. I really do believe a city can speak to you the same way a person can. I really think that you can come alive in the right city.
Is a city going to be right for a person forever—whether it's for long-term or short-term travel—or does that change?
It depends on your solar return chart. Every year on your birthday, you cast a chart for the city you are currently in, and it creates a temporary chart for the year. So your static birth chart is like you, and then the solar return chart is like you for the year. If you cast your solar return chart in the same city for a while, you might love it. But the planets move, people change, and transits change. So there is a chance that at some point a city starts being stale to you.
Can you also find places and times not to travel somewhere?
Yes. If your Jupiter is having a bad time (that's long-term travel) or Mercury (which is short-term travel and communication), or even just if you're just in a chaotic space, there are times where I've told people, "Maybe push it three months."
I'm assuming you've been busy in 2024 given the record travel numbers?
Yeah. And then Jupiter is going to enter Gemini in May of 2025, and [starting in May of this year] we're going to have a year of that. I'm calling that the year of solo travel—Jupiter is expansion, knowledge, consumption of ideas and philosophy. And Gemini is very chatty, mercurial, very curious. They like to meet people, they like to socialize. If you've had that trip on your Pinterest board, if you want to do that solo trip back, if you've ever been like, "I could do a solo trip, I'm confident, I'm brave." Jupiter in Gemini is the time. Take a leap of faith.
Why do you think astrocartography is such a valuable travel tool?
I think that people are looking for something that feels more personalized than the hot travel guide. I think people are looking for the hidden gems before they hit the front page, and astrocartography can put cities on the map for you that you wouldn't have thought of.
Ready to go stargazing?
Here are all the best stargazing events that you can get out and see this month or you could stay in and stream the northern lights from home. If you're just getting started, check out our guide to astronomy for beginners or easy stargazing road trips from big US cities.