To Move or Not To Move?
©2002 by David CochraneThe following is an excerpt from David's AstroLocality Magic published in 2002 by Kepler Software. It is reprinted here with permission.
Not everyone relocates. Some people settle down where they were born and grew up, or very near to it. Whether one relocates or not is perhaps the most fundamental relocation decision a person makes. Also, some people do not grow up where they are born, and this also makes for a fundamental energetic difference in the person's life. The differences may be difficult to measure, but they are worth exploring. As astrologers, we are asked for relocation advice, and sometimes the person considering relocation has never relocated before. What kinds of energetic differences does it make if the person moves from the place where he was born and raised?
If you live within very roughly 100 to 200 miles (rougly 150 to 300 kilometers) of where you were born, then your natal house cusps and your relocated house cusps are very similar. If you live more than about 500 miles from where you were born (about 800 kilometers), then your relocated cusps are likely to be significantly different from your natal house cusps.
I don't have any strong empirical evidence for the following statements, but they are logical deductions based on what we know about astrological relocation methods, and they simply make sense. In time hopefully we can validate these ideas.
Living where you were born gives you a very strong center to work from. You are able to leverage more power from your birthplace. Life is, in a sense, simpler. Your energy field is uncluttered and you can express your potential with a direct and assertive style that can be more difficult in most other places. You are at a competitive advantage on your home turf.
For example, suppose that in your natal chart, the Moon is in 1/9 aspect (40 degrees) to your Ascendant. You have an ingratiating personality that welcomes people of all life styles and cultures. While in the area of your birth, you are able to fully express this part of yourself. You never lose this quality when you travel but in your birthplace, you are at home and comfortable with yourself. Note that this is true even if you grew up in a completely different place!
When you move, you take on additional hues and colors to your personality and energy system. Suppose that you relocate to a place where Venus is in 1/9 aspect (40 degrees) to your relocated Ascendant. This adds a new flavor of sweetness to your already ingratiating personality. This influence will modify, perhaps even enhance, your natural talents by adding a new tone to your natural capabilities. By relocating you add some new qualities, but this also dilutes the simple force of your natural way of being. You become more versatile but also more complex and sometimes less direct in your capabilities by relocating.
A person who lives in his or her place of birth would benefit by traveling, having friends or associates of different walks of life, being well-read, or in other ways incorporating different elements. Marriage and strong friendships will have an even more powerful effect on us than relocating so the need for diversity for people who live where they were born, in most cases, is not great. Our modern world brings to nearly all of us more stimulation than most of us can handle, so living where one is born can have significant advantages.
In general, I regard living where one was born as a good choice! On the other hand, if the person is also unmarried, has few close friends, does not explore or travel very much, then I suspect that not having relocated is another symptom of being stuck in an unproductive an unfulfilling life. Otherwise, operating from one's home base, so to speak, can give strength and stability to meet life head on.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: David is a full-time computer programmer for Cosmic Patterns. David was born May 1, 1949, at 4:26 AM in East Meadow, New York (time zone 5 hours west, daylight savings time observed). He has a BA degree in psychology, was a practicing astrologer in the mid 1970's and switched to computer programming in the late 1970's.
David began his astrology practice in 1973. He is a well known speaker in astrological community and astrological conferences. His lectures are well attended and well received. He is the founder Cosmic Patterns Software Inc., and is the lead software programmer of the development team that makes the Kepler and Pegasus astrology programs. He received a B.A. degree in 1972 with a major in psychology.
David pioneered some new theories of astrological interpretation using harmonics and midpoints in the 1970's, but since that time has been devoted to developing astrology software. David plans to continue working on the Kepler program for many, many years.
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