This morning I was thinking about how someone who likes to plan things ahead of time is now learning to go with the flow. Yesterday I climbed up a steep and dangerous path to the top of a park to see the Japanese Gardens. It was the fastest way up, but unbeknown to me, it was a difficult trail hike. I noticed the ambulance waiting below and thought, “precaution.”

What was I thinking? Clearly, I wasn’t. The path was steep, rocky, uneven, slippery and sandy. By the time I reached the top, my sneakers and the bottoms of my jeans were filthy. The younger version of myself would have had a fucking heart attack. Everything always needed to be clean and pristine. That version is gone. Realization number one on this astrocartography journey.

I wasn’t the only one taking this route. Entire families were doing the same. When I got to the top, I noticed there was another way up, one with pavement or a shuttle bus. WTF? I thought to myself. Did I just take the crazy, dangerous hike up here for nothing?

It wasn’t for nothing. It showed me my legs are stronger than I thought they were. That fear was not ruling my life anymore. I had it in me to do what would have seemed unimaginable to me three years ago. I reached the top in one piece, in awe, and aware of the internal change and growth.

Discovering Astrocartography

For those who have never heard of it, astrocartography, also known as locational astrology, suggests that different places on Earth may emphasize certain themes or energies in your life based on your natal chart, helping you understand which locations may support particular goals or experiences.

About a year ago, I received a newsletter from Traveling with Kristin. In the video, Kristin had Helena Woods, an astrocartographer talking about best places for this or that. Watched it and then I went down the rabbit hole. Yep! I now needed to know what that was and how it was different than astrology. Thus began the hunt for an astrocartographer online.

Helena Woods had a wait list and was very expensive. Impatient me, wanting to talk to someone about this, simply didn’t want to wait. And let me be frank, at the time I couldn’t justify shelling out $550 for a session. That’s right. You read that correctly and are probably wondering if you are in the right profession?

To feed my newfound curiosity on this branch of astrology, I found a lovely Australian astrocartographer at Tameera.com. She is amazing and her prices are reasonable, in my opinion.

My Home Country

Medellin and the surrounding region of Colombia hold a beautifully supportive energy for me. In this area, I have three powerful natal lines in range. Venus Ascendant, Moon Midheaven, and North Node IC. Together, they created an environment that felt nourishing, expansive, as in the creative floodgates opened wide, and deeply rooted. It helped me heal, recover, prepare, and reconnect with my ancestral heritage. And it pushed me to do the once unthinkable. Share a part of myself on Substack.

Santiago, Chile

In Santiago, I’ve had bursts of grief. An old familiar feeling knocking on the door again. I never know why. But I’ve noticed they subside quicker, like a passenger passing by an old train stop. The more time I spend here, the less I feel that old energy.

A noticeable thawing of my heart space has taken place, something I didn’t expect. I’ve had a stone-cold wall around me for so long, it had me reflecting on how closed off I was to the world, to living. How am I supposed to find my people, my soul family, if I don’t let them in?

Here in Chile my Moon MC line is at maximum strength, which explains the energy. This city has been helping me soften and allow room to receive. This is powerful for someone who used to think I had to always give more or do more because it was expected of me.

I feel seen here, most importantly, by myself. People have been incredibly kind, receptive, and helpful in more ways than I ever expected. It’s like stepping into another reality.

My growth here comes from reflecting and allowing rather than pushing or trying to force everything on myself. It’s been a wonderful place to stop on my journey.

Next Stop: Bolivia

La Paz holds my North Node IC line at maximum strength. It’s supposed to be a place that amplifies my inner knowing and the way I move through the world. This is about our innate human abilities that I believe we are born with, and get suppressed as we grow older through societal conditioning.

This line might activate unresolved patterns, inherited beliefs, and the stories that have been running my life in the background. I look forward to that challenge, the alignment with my soul’s purpose, and the spiritual growth that may surface in La Paz. But more on that once I’m there.

The Shift

The last four months have been a deconditioning period. I feel alive again. Suddenly, that nagging inner dialogue about a life half lived has disappeared, something that popped into my head after visiting the Bahai Temple.

What has been unlocked?

That we are not trapped anywhere, not really, and only now do I understand what that means. A realization of unlimited potential, if we choose a different path.

The self-imposed shackles are off. I’m stepping into a bigger life.

It’s an opening to what is possible, a return to living in alignment and finding my way back to myself.

My soul is soaring in unexpected ways, and life begins again.