Resonance of Place: Part 2 – Astrocartography (or Dr. Steve Brule’s Check It Out!)
Happy Birthday, Ringo Starr!
Peace and love!! all day.
Back to Part 2 of yesterday’s post on Resonance of Place.
Yesterday I shared how re-reading The Hobbit twenty-five years later rekindled my interest in place. It was the chapter where Bilbo arrives in Rivendell that really struck me during the reread. I loved the idea of finding my own real-world version of that place—a place where I naturally flourish.
It’s a quest for Utopia, in a way.
So far, I think the closest I’ve come is Esalen in Big Sur, California. I may go back soon just to see what it’s like now.
But Rivendell also sparked another question:
How much does place shape who we become?
Years ago I even created a scoring system to compare cities where I might want to live. I believe Seattle and its surrounding communities came out on top based on the factors that mattered to me at the time. I should dig that journal back out and see whether my rankings would be different today.
Today I’d like to share three things:
What I learned about my astrological chart
What an astrologer—and later AI—suggested about places that might fit me
An experience in Ashland, Oregon that genuinely surprised me
My Astrological Chart
I’m certainly no expert on astrology.
During the pandemic (2020–2021), though, I watched a lot of YouTube videos on the subject and had my birth chart done through Astro.com
Two ideas stood out:
Your Sun, Moon, and Rising signs provide important clues about your personality.
The positions of the other planets suggest ways you might naturally build a life that fits who you are.
My Sun is in Taurus in the 12th House.
My Moon is in Leo in the 3rd House.
My Rising Sign is Gemini.
The astrologer said that Gemini rising people are often beautiful and physically attractive.
She smiled and told me I fit the bill.
“Oh?”
Do tell me more…
LOL
More interesting to me was something I later learned about my chart.
I have a very large stellium in the 12th House.
Along with my Taurus Sun, Jupiter, Mercury, and Mars all fall there.
That combination tends to pull someone toward the unconscious, mystery, symbolism, solitude, spirituality, and the hidden dimensions of life.
I immediately thought:
“Yep…that sounds like me.”
At the same time, my Leo Moon and Gemini Rising both seek expression.
Especially the Leo Moon.
It wants a stage.
What the Astrologer—and AI—Suggested
The astrologer told me something that immediately resonated.
She said the Pacific Northwest is an excellent fit for me.
She also suggested that moving somewhat closer to California might amplify that fit because my Sun line runs through the middle of the state before bending west into the Pacific halfway through Oregon.
She also mentioned places such as Brisbane, Iceland, Italy, Greece, Senegal, and Hawaii as places I would likely love if I visited.
Bali, she joked, might be the place to go if I wanted a passionate romantic encounter.
Hawaii, she said, was my “Garden of Eden.”
I liked all of those suggestions.
She also explained why certain places I’d already lived had felt so different from one another.
Whether astrology is literally true or not, I found the framework fascinating.
Later, my sister began using ChatGPT to explore astrocartography as she thought about where she wanted to live.
That intrigued me.
Earlier this year I started doing something similar, using AI as one additional tool for brainstorming places that might resonate with my personality, values, and lifestyle goals.
One idea that emerged repeatedly was this:
Some places function as sanctuaries, feeding my quiet, reflective 12th House nature.
Other places function as spark or broadcast locations, bringing out my expressive Leo Moon.
Ashland, Oregon, kept showing up as one of those spark places.
My Experience in Ashland
Of course, the only real test is to go experience a place for yourself.
When I discovered that the IASD Annual Conference would be held in Ashland this year, I signed up almost immediately.
One workshop I attended was the precognition and dreams class I mentioned earlier this week (see Hot Dogs, Applesauce, and Butterflies).
At one point we were paired with someone we’d never met.
We were instructed to look into each other’s eyes for about a minute.
A little awkward…
About halfway through I smiled and laughed because I could already tell she had a fun-loving spirit.
Next we closed our eyes and allowed a spirit animal to emerge.
Almost immediately I saw a large black bird.
“A crow?”
No…
“Bigger.”
Then it clicked.
A raven.
When we opened our eyes, I went first.
As soon as I told her I had seen a raven, her eyes grew wide and she burst into laughter.
“No way! That’s my favorite animal!”
She explained that on her mother’s side of the family, their French surname meant “the little ravens.”
Then she showed me Instagram reels of herself trying to make friends with ravens.
Okay…wow. This precognition and intuition stuff seems to work if you can tap into it.
Then it was her turn.
She said she first saw a puma…
Then a lion.
She settled on lion.
That really surprised me. I have never been compared to a Cat of any sort.
One or both of my AI conversations had described Ashland as a place where my Leo Moon energy—my expressive, visible side—would naturally come forward.
Again…
I don’t know exactly what to make of experiences like these.
I simply know they felt meaningful.
While I was in Ashland, I genuinely felt more magnetic. I did feel attractive and interesting to others.
It was a real thing, a real experience.
Whether that was astrology, psychology, coincidence, projection, or simply being surrounded by interesting people, I can’t honestly say.
But it was real enough that I want to keep exploring places with fresh eyes.
I’ll pay attention to how I feel.
How people respond.
Whether life seems to open up—or whether it feels like pushing Sisyphus’ boulder uphill.
Maybe there really are places where we resonate more naturally with life.
I’m curious enough to keep checking.
How about you?
Where have you felt most alive?
Where have you felt most seen?
And where did life seem to move with you rather than against you?