Astro Gold MacOS 5 User Guide

Astro Locality is based on the projection of astrological factors onto a map of the world. An astrology chart will change as its location changes, firstly because its angles (ASC, MC, DESC, IC) will change, which in turn will usually change which house each chart point is in, plus the aspects of the chart points to the chart angles. When one spends time in a different location to one's birth place, then one experiences one's chart in an altered way because of these reasons. Using astro locality mapping techniques we can see what in our chart will change as we move to various places on the globe.

The primary function of astrology locality mapping is to draw lines across the map showing where a particular astrological factor would occur. In Astro Gold there are two main kinds of calculation used to do this, giving rise to two similar sets of lines: Culminating/Anti-Culminating/Rising/Setting lines (in Mundo) and MC/IC/ASC/DESC lines (Zodiacal).  

1)In Mundo calculation - which is based on the right ascension and declination of each planet in the chart, and thus can show where on the map a planet will be rising at the eastern horizon, culminating overhead, setting at the western horizon or crossing underneath one's feet on the other side of the globe. These lines are based on mundane measurements.

2)Zodiacal calculation - which is based on the celestial counterparts to these measurements, longitude and latitude, and shows where on the map a planet will be rising at the Ascendant (ASC), or conjuncting the Midheaven (MC), Descendant (DESC) or Imum Coeli (IC). These lines are based on ecliptical measurements.

Astro Gold also produces a third type of line based on the local horizon and meridian, called Local Space lines. These lines reflect the fact that the In Mundo or Zodiacal calculations do not produce lines on a map that are very different from each other - this is because whether one uses right ascension and declination (In Mundo measurements) or ecliptical latitude and longitude (Zodiacal measurements) to pinpoint the "position" of a planet in the sky, that position of the planet doesn't change much regardless of where on Earth it is observed from.

However to an observer on Earth the position of a planet in the sky does change a great deal when observed from different places on the globe. The most obvious case of this is when someone observes a planet from the northern hemisphere and the planet appears to them as being on their southern horizon, while someone else looking at the same planet from the opposite side of the globe (and thus also in the southern hemisphere) will observe it as being on their northern horizon.

With Local Space lines the azimuths of the planets are drawn on the map. These lines extend out from the chart's location, following a path towards the observable position of the planet in the sky at the time of the chart until the line comes to the horizon, and disappears out of view as it continues around the globe, eventually to return to the chart's location from the opposite horizon from which it started towards.

>> To display the current Chart in a wheel on top of the the Map

1)In the top right of the Maps screen there are two small circles.

Clicking on the first small circle displays the Map chart in a small wheel. Click on that circle again and the chart wheel is removed.

>> To change how the Map itself appears

2)Click on the Satellite or Map style buttons. "Satellite" shows the map as it would be seen by satellite, "Map" shows it as a drawing.

3)Click on Countries to show country names only, or Cities to show major city names only, or None for no labels at all.

4)Click on the Map sizing buttons in the bottom right corner  to zoom into or out of a specific area of the map. Alternatively you zoom in via mouse left button double-click & unzoom with mouse right button double-click or holding down the Control key while mouse left button double-clicking.

5)Use the scroll bars on the right and bottom of the Map window to pan the map (if you don't see scroll bars change the setting for that option in in System Preferences).

>> To determine which lines are drawn on the Map

1)Click on the Lines button which will display the menu shown below.

2)First decide on which type of Chart Points (if any) - Zodiacal or In Mundo.

Then decide which lines of that type of Chart Point you want to see by clicking in the check-box of each of the next four items.

Zodiacal points are based on the ecliptic intersecting with the meridian or the horizon, and are the MC/IC/ASC/DSC. The In Mundo Points are based on the meridian or horizon only and are Culminate/AntiCulminate/Rise/Set. You can toggle all four lines all on, or all off, at once - by repeatedly double-clicking anywhere in the Chart Points area.

As well, or instead of, Chart Points lines, you can choose "Local Space" lines, Celestial lines, Geographical lines, and a Geodetic offset.

To see which lines are currently drawn on the Map look in the Map's title bar at the top of the Map, over to the right of it. There you will see the line abbreviations of the lines currently in use.

3)If you choose Local Space lines by clicking on Planetary Directions the lines will be the same regardless of the Chart Points you have chosen.

Because Local Space lines emanate across the Map from the chart's actual location, it is necessary to change the chart's location to see how that would change the Local Space lines. To do this click on the Relocate button, and enter in the new chart location details.

The map changes and the local space lines are redisplayed according to the new location.

You can also display a Local Space Wheel (also called a Local Space Chart) on top of the map by clicking on the second of two small circles in the top right of the Maps screen.

Clicking on the second small circle displays a small Local Space wheel that sits on top of the map. Click on that small circle at the top of the screen again and the wheel is removed.

Finally, relocating the chart can be animated. This is done by clicking on the Cursor Relocation Mode button, shown below.

In cursor relocation mode, when you move the mouse over the map Astro Gold relocates the chart to where the mouse cursor is positioned, in real time. Therefore, when switched on, the Planetary Directions lines change to reflect the constantly changing relocation point on the map as the mouse is moved. And if the Local Space wheel is displayed it also updates in real time relevant to the constantly changing relocation point on the map as the mouse is moved.

When in Cursor Relocation Mode, clicking on a location on the map fixes the chart wheel(s) and maps local space lines at that location (after which Cursor Relocation Mode can be restarted, if still desired, by clicking on the Cursor Relocation Mode button again).

4) In the Celestial and Geographical groups of lines you can opt to display the Ecliptic, Equator and the Tropics. Plus you can choose to show what signs will be on the MC and/or the ASC on the map (lines of longitude), in the currently selected sign colors.

And to avoid ambiguity, if lines for Signs on ASC is selected, but not Signs on MC, then the selected lines are annotated on their intersection with the ecliptic line. If both are selected, then the Signs for Asc are annotated on their intersection with the ecliptic line, and Signs for MC are annotated only at the top and bottom of the map.

5)Finally under Zodiacal Offset the Geodetic option affects the MC/IC/Asc/Desc lines, displacing them by the geodetic longitudinal offset - that is, so that the signs align to 0 Aries being on the Greenwich meridian. See here for more

>> To determine coordinates of and distances between specific places on the Map

1)Use the Angular Distance measuring tool...

2)Click once anywhere on the Map to engage the tool.

3)Now, wherever you hover the mouse the coordinates of the place you are hovering over will be shown at center of the bottom of the Map.

4)To see the distance between two locations click on the first location and holding the mouse button down drag the mouse to the other location and stop there but continue to hold the mouse button down. A line will be drawn between the two locations, and the distance between them will be shown to the right of the coordinates at the bottom center of the Map.

>> To get interpretations

1)For individual planets and signs click on the planet's or sign's symbol in the line or at the end of the line. Specific interpretation text for that line will pop up.

2)To get a full report about the effect of relocating to somewhere on the globe other than the chart's location click on the Report button. Enter the location details of the place you're interested in, then click on the Generate PDF button.  

 

NOTE: The fixed maximum orb used for azimuths in relocation reports is 10 degrees. This is split into 3 equal parts to determine what are classified as strong, medium and weak aspects.

 

>> To Save, Copy, Print or Share the Map

1) Click on the Action button at the top right. A menu will drop down, giving you these options and more. See Printing for more information about printing the map or saving it to a PDF file.