FAQ
Answers to the most common questions about ELA Map — what it is, how the data works, whether you need your exact birth time, and how to get access.
ELA Map — Frequently Asked Questions
These are the questions most people ask before they see their first map. Short answers here; each links to the deeper guide if you want the full picture.
Is ELA Map's astrology written by AI?
No. Every interpretation in ELA Map comes from named, written astrological doctrine — a defined body of rules and meanings, authored deliberately, applied consistently. Ask the same question twice and you get the same answer, because the answer is derived, not improvised on the spot. You can always see exactly which tradition produced the sentence in front of you.
This is the precise opposite of pointing a language model at your chart and printing whatever it free-associates. We made that choice deliberately: generative AI can sound profound without being accurate; named doctrine can be disagreed with, but it can always show its work.
→ The full explanation: The Data and Engine Behind ELA Map
What is astrocartography?
Astrocartography is a branch of relocation astrology that draws lines on a world map showing where each planet was rising, setting, overhead, or underfoot at the exact moment you were born. These four angles — and the global lines they trace — show how any place on Earth reshapes the expression of your birth chart. A city that sits on your Venus rising line puts a different face forward than a city on your Saturn overhead line; the chart is the same, but the place changes the emphasis.
ELA Map projects those lines from arc-second-precise NASA/JPL ephemeris data, so each line lands where the geometry actually says it belongs.
What is relocation astrology?
Relocation astrology studies how moving to a different place on Earth changes which parts of your birth chart come forward and which recede. It doesn't alter your chart — the planets stay where they were when you were born — but a new city tilts the angles differently, which shifts what the chart emphasizes about you there. Relocation astrology encompasses a range of techniques: basic line reading, relocated chart casting, cyclocartography (where moving planets cross your natal angles over time), and the deeper crossing-point analysis ELA Map computes across the whole globe.
Do I need my exact birth time?
A known birth time sharpens the angle-based lines significantly — the rising, setting, overhead, and underfoot lines are all time-sensitive, and an error of a few minutes can move a line by a city or more. That said, you can begin exploring without a perfect time, and many planetary positions are useful even with an approximate one.
ELA Map includes a rising-time estimator for people whose birth time is unknown, so you are not completely blocked. For the most precise map — especially if you are weighing a real move — the exact time is worth tracking down from a birth certificate or hospital record.
Is ELA Map free?
The core experience is free to explore: your personal map, daily conditions, the education library, and the tools to wander your own chart. You do not need a subscription to see your astrocartography lines, read your daily sky, or study the guides.
Advanced features for practitioners and power users — including the Relocation Matrix (14,000+ pre-cast relocated charts), deep cyclocartography and transit work, world synastry and composite for up to five people, and Presentation Mode — are available at the paid tier.
Join the waitlist → — no purchase required to get started.
How accurate is the data, and where does it come from?
ELA Map computes planetary positions from NASA/JPL's DE440 ephemeris — the same development ephemeris JPL distributes for spacecraft and mission work — used directly, not via a compressed third-party derivative. Positions agree with NASA's own live JPL Horizons service to within about a tenth of an arc-second, and the engine re-verifies that automatically every hour.
A tenth of an arc-second is roughly the width of a coin seen from forty miles away. We hold ourselves to that, continuously, against NASA's own answer.
Arc-second precision applies to planetary positions. Some derived quantities — house cusps, for instance — carry the normal slightly wider tolerances of any astrology software. We'd rather tell you that than round it up.
→ Full technical detail: The Data and Engine Behind ELA Map
Do I need to know Human Design to use the HD features?
No. ELA Map labels the gate, channel, and center on every Human Design line, and the interpretations explain what each activation means in that place. Knowing your chart helps — but the built-in guides start from zero, and the map is designed to be legible whether you have been studying Human Design for years or just received your bodygraph this week.
If you are new to locational Human Design, the guide below explains the mechanics before you open the map:
Can I read a place for my whole family?
Yes — that is one of the things ELA Map was specifically built for. You can overlay up to five charts on a single map, color-coded by person, compare them against the same location at a glance, and cast a true composite for the relationship between two people — which is often the most honest reading when what you are really relocating is the us, not two separate individuals who happen to share an address.
The place where two people's geographies meet is itself information you cannot get by reading each chart separately in a different tool.
How is ELA Map different from other astrocartography sites?
Three things:
- The data is NASA's source ephemeris, not a compressed derivative — and ELA Map checks its output against NASA's live service every hour, automatically. Most astrology software has no idea whether it is still accurate. Ours asks, and keeps the receipt.
- The interpretations are transparent named doctrine, not generated text. The same chart always produces the same reading; you can see which tradition it comes from; nothing is being improvised to sound relevant.
- The engine was built for whole-globe, multi-chart work from the start — which is why it can handle full-family overlays, region-wide heatmap scoring, Human Design cartography, and a Relocation Matrix pre-casting 14,000+ charts, none of which fall out of a single-chart tool with a second chart bolted on.
When does ELA Map launch, and how do I get access?
ELA Map is in final preparation for its v1 beta. Join the waitlist at ready.elamap.com to be among the first to receive access when the doors open.
The core map, daily conditions, and this education library are free — no purchase required to begin exploring your chart.