How to Make a Relocation Chart?

[By Jove]

How do you account for relocation in a natal chart? Do you just put your usual date of birth but just change the location to where you are now?

Like if I moved to Los Angeles or whatever, do I make a relocation chart by just putting Dec 18, 1990, Los Angeles, 3:57 pm?

[SteveS]

Jove, I am not sure I calculated with my Solarfire Program correctly (Jim will verify) but I show your relocated Natal to LA:

https://ibb.co/FwczpRL

If correct you have very interesting partile Direct Midpoints to this relocated MC of:
Uranus/Neptune = MC
Moon/Venus = MC
Moon/Mercury = MC
Moon/Uranus = MC

Food for thought if calculated correctly.

[Jim Eshelman]

How do you account for relocation in a natal chart? Do you just put your usual date of birth but just change the location to where you are now?

Like if I moved to Los Angeles or whatever, do I make a relocation chart by just putting Dec 18, 1990, Los Angeles, 3:57 pm?

You're close. Here's what you missed: It needs to be the same actual moment, meaning you have to consider time zones. You were born 3:57 PM EST. In the years before computers, I always had the UT/GMT of birth written somewhere on the chart face (you were born at 8:57 PM GMT). Or you can put in the birthtime as 3:57 PM and force it to stay EST. Or you can subtract three hours and call it 12:57 PM PST.

These times are all the same moment in time: 8:57 PM GMT, 3:57 PM EST, 12:57 PM PST. You can use any of these.

Astrological software like Solar Fire converts all this automatically - in SF, for example, you pick the chart and press Shift+F12 (or click Chart > Locality) and put in a new city. Astro.com may have a similar feature (I'm not familiar with what features the site has). Or you can do it manually by making sure you have taken time zone into information.

The easiest way to tell that you got the time right is to look at Moon's longitude: Your natal Moon is 20°24' Sagittarius everywhere in the world. For a relocation chart, only the angles and other house cusps should change.

For Los Angeles (standard coordinates of the main post office 34N03'08", 118W14'34"), I get for you:
MC 17°32' Sag, Asc 25°29' Pis

PS: San Francisco is a much better location for you. Instead of putting your Neptune on MC, San Francisco has MC 13°41' Sagittarius, conjunct your tight Mercury-Venus-Uranus conjunction. In fact, mundanely, Venus is 0°00' from MC.

[Jupiter Sets at Dawn]

Astrological software like Solar Fire converts all this automatically - in SF, for example, you pick the chart and press Shift+F12 (or click Chart > Locality) and put in a new city. Astro.com may have a similar feature (I'm not familiar with what features the site has). Or you can do it manually by making sure you have taken time zone into information.

Astro.com has the UT right there on the chart. You create a new birthchart for yourself with all the same info, but name it something descriptive (for instance, Jove SF) and then with the chart displayed, choose edit birthdata in the upper right hand corner. Change the birthplace to where you want to go, display the chart and note the new UT. Then choose edit birthdata again, subtract (or add) as many hours from your birthtime as the UT is off from your original, then redisplay the chart.

[Parto]

Astro.com also does have an option to relocate a chart, in which you just put in the place and it takes care of the time. It's near the bottom of the "Chart type" list.

[Jupiter Sets at Dawn]

Yes, you're right. I forgot about that option.

I make a whole new chart because I'm usually relocating a birth chart to use as the base for solars and lunars and transits in the new location.

[Profit]

Question from the Lazy Boyo recliner...

Born in PST(CA) and relocation to Texas is CST no prob! 2 hours difference.. However New York City and Chicago both were utilizing DST when I was born. Is Chicago to be considered 3 hours(CDT) or 2 hours(CST) the same as Texas in relocation? NYC is 4 hours(EDT) ahead instead of 3 hours(EST)....
Thanks...

[Jim Eshelman]

It depends on the time zones actually used.

For example, Arizona never goes on Daylight Saving Time. Therefore, part of the year, Los Angeles is on PST, Phoenix on MST, and they're one hour apart. However, the rest of the year, LA is on PDT, Phoenix on MST, and they are zero hours apart.

[Jupiter Sets at Dawn]

Yes. If you were born under standard time and you're relocating to a place that used daylight savings time on the same date, you need to add an hour as well as the time zone difference.

Find the Universal Time for your original chart. Look at your relocated chart, and make sure they have the same Universal Time.

For instance I was born under EDT. I moved to the midwest, thought I need to subtract one hour for CDT. But they didn't have CDT here when I was born, so I had to subtract 2 hours from the time. UT is unaffected by time zones so if it matches, you have a check to show you got the chart right.

Works on SF and astro.com