Solunars by Aldebaran Sidereal Academy

Name: April
Birthday: April 22 1990
Birth town: St. Catharines, ON, Canada
Birth time: 11 am
Current city: Las Vegas, NV

Hey there, I am wondering if someone could take a look at my chart and help advise me of a city that would be optimal for relocation. I’ve been living in Vegas for the past 3yrs which coincides with my Saturn return. It’s been okay living here, I’ve had struggles but mainly they are revolved around Saturn’s lesson’s of growing up. Ex - I couldn’t work for a long time bc I was going through the immigration system to get my green card. At first it felt like one big holiday away from adulting but eventually I came to appreciate what it means to be able to work and will never take that for granted ever again lol. I actually love Vegas and all the creative energy that’s in this town. I’m a Taurus sun, Pisces moon, and Cancer rising and my career is a hair stylist so I crave constant change to fuel my creative self. After looking at my astrocartography map, it seems I’m living close to my Pluto line which is not a desirable place to live. So I’m wondering what would be a city to check out to increase my happiness and creativity.

Side note: I also recently discovered my North Node is in Aquarius so would I be better off changing my career path eventually to be one that is not as self serving?

April, welcome to Solunars. - You may not have noticed that this site exists specifically for the study and growth of Sidereal astrology: This may not matter, since signs won't be the primary factors relevant to your questions, but you should know that people on this site will see your Sun in Aries (but your Moon still in Pisces - the very beginning of Pisces). Your North Node is not in Aquarius: it's actually in Capricorn; but, in terms of your specific question, there is no evidence that the node's sign has anything at all to do with profession.

To move on to your specific question about locality: I have a couple of questions. First, how sure are you of your 11:00 AM birth time? Do you think it's accurate to the exact minute or, if not, then how "fuzzy" do you think it is? (This is basic to your relocation question.) Second, do you have any geographic limits as to where to live? (For now, I'm going to assume that the limit is the continental U.S. and that anywhere in that big area is OK. You can correct later.)

Yes, Las Vegas has your Pluto closely setting (and your exact Mercury-Pluto opposition square MC). I wouldn't call this an undesirable place to live - I've lived and thrived under Pluto rising at location my entire adult life and am loathe to consider anywhere else - but it isn't a calm place to live. It will subject you to constant reinvention, ongoing transformation of conditions, and, by itself, might actually fuel a restless need to leave. (I have another planet involved that makes mine work out differently.) It sounds like Pluto was exactly the right energy for your Saturn Return (and Las Vegas is definitely a better spot for you than Ontario.)

Picking the single best spot in the continental U.S. for happiness is incredibly easy in your case (presuming we can trust your birth time): You have Venus exactly on MC and Jupiter exactly rising at a spot just south of the middle of the Tennessee border - so, either south-central Tennessee or north-central Alabama. For example, in Athens, AL, Venus is 0°06' before MC and Jupiter 0°06' before Ascendant in 0°00' mundane square, with strong involvement from your Uranus. This probably would be one of the happiest areas on Earth for you.

If that area is undesirable or "won't work" for you for some other reason, we can split the Jupiter and Venus lines. Your Jupiter rises on a curve along the west coast of Florida, up through northern Alabama and continuing through Tennessee, the western tip of Kentucky, the southwestern edge of Illinois, through Iowa and Minnesota, and right through Fargo, SD. You should prosper anywhere within 50-75 miles of that line. Or, for simpler happiness more than prosperity, your Venus is on Midheaven for anyplace on (approximately) the longitude of Birmingham, due north-south.

Venus also squares Ascendant on a curve through Albuquerque (cutting through central New Mexico), the SW corner of Colorado, the NE corner of Utah, and through Idaho. Jupiter squares your MC in Maine (right through Portland).

Among places to avoid: Your Mars squares Ascendant right along the U.S. west coast, especially from Santa Barbara through the Bay Area, a stretch that would create more friction in the long run (though it could be aggressively motivating). Mars also has a line along the western edge of most of the Plains states, roughly the longitude of Amarillo, TX.

Thank you for replying to my post in such detail Jim. I did not realize this site was sidereal focused when I signed up however after doing some investigations into sidereal vs. tropical, I am happy to be here and excited to learn more! I have always admired Aries passion and fierceness and felt pretty fiery for a Taurus so how fitting is it that I’m actually an Aires sun!!

I checked my birth certificate, it does not state my birth time so I checked in with mom, and according to her recollection my birth time is 11:30am... so I was off by a half hour. Not sure if that makes much of a difference?

I was referring to the continental US but I would like to extend this question to Canada as well as we are keeping that as an option. I thought it interesting you said Las Vegas is a better place for me to be in than Ontario so I’m just curious as to what aspects are over Ontario? I lived in a Toronto for 8yrs so I do get homesickness from time to time.

If I’m interpreting this correctly, how fascinating my strongest lines for happiness and prosperity are in the south! I’ve been to New Orleans and loved it but have never thought about relocating to the south. I must go for a visit! I looked up Athens, AL, and it looks like a charming little southern town however I personally don’t know if I could live in such a tiny town, especially such a Republican one as my husbands in the legal cannabis industry lol. I’m a custom to city life so am wondering if Nashville would still be considered a good place for me to move to? I know you listed off a wide range of geography however I’m still curious what major cities that falls into. You mentioned the southwestern edge of Illinois, would Chicago be too far north from my Jupiter at that point?

Thank-you again for taking the time to look into my chart, I’m so grateful for you and your knowledge!

Stylistapril wrote: Sat Dec 26, 2020 10:34 pm Thank you for replying to my post in such detail Jim. I did not realize this site was sidereal focused when I signed up however after doing some investigations into sidereal vs. tropical, I am happy to be here and excited to learn more! I have always admired Aries passion and fierceness and felt pretty fiery for a Taurus so how fitting is it that I’m actually an Aires sun!!p

If you haven't found these yet, you might want to look through the sections that go into detail on your Sun and Moon signs.

Sun in Aries: viewtopic.php?f=13&t=35#p167
Moon in Pisces: viewtopic.php?f=13&t=34#p153

Short summaries (a lot squeezed into a few words:

Sun in Aries: Contradictory, contrary, oppositional, capricious. Seeks liberty, resists definition or limits. Practical, resourceful, active, impatient. Imperial, political, needs power. Poor empathy. Resents criticism. Vulnerable ego. Direct, bold with opinions. Romantically aggressive. Faithful, strong family sense.

Moon in Pisces: Most truly themselves when being someone else. Dramatizes a personal fiction; "big fish" confidence (self-important, airs). Love having a "secret side." Divas. Emotionally driven (haunted). Fascinated with the unknown. Religious thinking style. Faith, commitment to beliefs or vision. Judgmental. Hardened personal reality (stuck patterns).

I checked my birth certificate, it does not state my birth time so I checked in with mom, and according to her recollection my birth time is 11:30am... so I was off by a half hour. Not sure if that makes much of a difference?

Yeah, a lot. The basic "shape" of things remains the same but slides westward. For example that Venus-Jupiter crossing isn't where I said it was, but at the western border of Arkansas, near Fort Smith. Mostly ignore everything I said about any location, I have to do it all over again.

I’ve been to New Orleans and loved it but have never thought about relocating to the south.

New Orleans isn't far from a Jupiter line so I'd expect you to like it. (Besides, it's N'awlins.) - From what you've said, I'll give more priority to major cities when I redo this, but still should give you the exact location of that single best spot, which is now on the Arkansas-Oklahoma border.

Or, as a quick impression, going a little farther north: Since you asked about Nashville, how about a little farther west for jazz and barbecue: Your Venus line goes right through Kansas City with Jupiter and Uranus also both close to angles (and a touch of Neptune on the periphery - not much, but just a touch - to enhance creativity a bit: you might find the city a bit of an awakening and also feel things very powerfully).

My view of Las Vegas for you is entirely different. Ignore everything I wrote on it before. It's not a Pluto person for you at all (or, rather, Mars and Pluto barely skirt the edge of angularity and, for practical purposes, can be ignored). Vegas, it turns out, is one of your Venus places (so no wonder you find it thriving in arts and pleasure). Your Venus squares Ascendant within half a degree for Vegas. It should be a place of happiness, pleasure, arts, etc. (plus exposure to the spectacularly beautiful natural wonders of that area and places within a couple of hours in several directions). - Your troubles there were probably circumstantial (as you said in the beginning). As a temporary mark on that location, your current Solar Return (since your last birthday) has Saturn exactly angular in Las Vegas and square your Sun, so this year it was a bad spot for you. (The prior year, your Solar Return symbolism for Vegas was all about change and life rearrangement.)

From an astrological perspective, the single best spot in North America for happiness is still the place you have Venus exactly on MC and Jupiter exactly rising. However, that spot is now near the exact center of Arkansas' western border. (It also passes through Hope, AR in case you are sentimental about Bill Clinton <g>.) It looks like the exact spot is in the Black Fork Mountain Wilderness around Coaldale, so if you are drawn to natural beauty then you should at least plan a vacation there sometime. For the tiny spot on the map that is Coaldale, for an exactly 11:30 AM birth time, your Venus is 0°04' from MC and your Jupiter 0°01' from Ascendant.

(PS - Birmingham meridian of longitude (or, slightly closer, Chicago) - due north and south - is where your Moon is angular. You would feel things very powerfully and, for good or bad, be highly responsive to everything in your environment along that line.)

But, from what you've said, that's not where you want to move, so let's generalize a bit. Your Venus on Midheaven is exactly along that same line of longitude (essentially the vertical of the Arkansas-Oklahoma border. Look on a map: It runs from the Texas gulf due north through Kansas City and then through Iowa and Minnesota. Anywhere within, say, 75 miles of that line should highlight pleasure and happiness in a similar (but probably stronger) sense than the best you felt in Las Vegas. -- Your Jupiter rising line crosses from a bit west of New Orleans (it passes near Lafayette, LA) through that Coaldale, AR spot, then across Kansas (a bit north of Wichita), central Nebraska, western South Dakota and a bit of Montana.

When I look for major cities along either of these lines, I only see two: New Orleans and Kansas City. Either would be pretty good. All the planet contacts are closer for Kansas City. Here are some hard numbers:

New Orleans, LA
Jupiter 1°03' past Asc
Uranus 2°44' before Dsc
Moon 3°05' before MC
Venus 5°17' past MC
Neptune barely foreground
These highlight Moon-Uranus sq. (0°21') & Jupiter/Uranus midpoint (0°50')

Kansas City, MO
Venus 0°15' before MC
Uranus 1°09' before Dsc
Jupiter 2°13' past Asc
Neptune & Moon more widely angular
These highlight Jupiter/Uranus midpoint (0°32'), Venus-Uranus sq. (0°54'), Venus-Jupiter sq. (2°28'), and widely angular Moon-Neptune sq. (2°19')

BTW, you have a Venus line curving from the middle of Arizona's southern border curving through Las Vegas and up to Portland - you can trace this on a map. You have Jupiter square Midheaven at roughly the longitude of Toronto and due south, highlighting U.S. eastern states: North Carolina (the longitude about halfway between Raleigh and Greenville, around Rocky Mount), Virginia (west of Richmond, but Richmond is close enough), central Pennsylvania (longitude of State College, PA), and western New York (west of Rochester a bit - the Finger Lakes are beautiful). Of all these, you have many options and, if you don't need the coast, KC still seems the best fit to what you described you want.

Among places to avoid: You have Saturn setting on a curve from a bit east of Toronto (closer to Belleville) through Scranton, PA and Trenton, NJ - you can trace this on a map. Most places 100-150 miles either side of that would be places for work, not play: At best, places where you could and would work hard and, at worst, you would feel a sense of deprivation and functional sterility. Mars is exactly on Midheaven on the exact line of the Arizona-New Mexico and Colorado-Utah borders - due north and south - so expect friction, conflict, chances for hard work, requirements and opportunities for physical exertion, etc. - avoid 100-150 miles either side of that line unless you want these experiences or some other line draws you there.

Finally, you asked about Toronto. This is different than I first saw it - for 11 AM it looked like a place that would give hyper-sensitivity to very dark emotions, depressive and brooding. That's not what your chart looks like for 11:30 AM. In fact, Toronto is a good balance. Your Saturn and Jupiter are both closely angular. Saturn is 1°48' above Descendant, Jupiter 1°35' from square MC. It would be a sound, conventional location where (for example) you work hard and get the rewards of doing so.

Hi April, welcome to Solunars! Hope you'll have a great time learning Sidereal astrology with us

Jim had briefly mentioned this, but I would like to say a few words about Portland, Oregon as a possible relocation destination.
Over there, you have Venus squaring your Ascendant partile, while your Mercury-Pluto opposition squares the MC (Mercury squares it partile, Pluto squares it by exactly 1°00'). Pluto is also mundanely 2°03' from the Descendant.
A place with Venus and Mercury on the angles should be a great place to inspire creativity, and Pluto should add an interesting angle/perspective to that. It's also quite a progressive city, from what I've heard.

I checked my birth certificate, it does not state my birth time so I checked in with mom, and according to her recollection my birth time is 11:30am... so I was off by a half hour. Not sure if that makes much of a difference?

I would be very careful to rely on this birth time. Maybe go through some rectification methods before using it in such delicate purpose as relocation. Relocating can really alter your life in a HUGE way - so tread carefully or be ready for a total transformation with all the ups and downs and hardships that can bring. Just my two cents