Welcome to astro-mapping, the latest craze in astrology that allegedly helps people find a place to live that won’t interfere with their “Saturn lines” or the placement of asteroids that are meant to heal wounds from past lives.

The Daily Mail is reporting on this latest edition of one of oldest scams known to humankind - astrology. Not to be mistaken for astronomy, which is real science, astrology is based on an ancient Babylonian occult practice that has no basis in science. It’s used in various forms of divination from predicting the future to guiding people through the every day situations of their lives.

But the latest use is to help people decide where to buy a house which is done by using the latest computer programs that track the paths of the planets around the Earth to determine which countries, cities, and even zip codes will be the luckiest for you, the Mail reports.

One woman, a 45 year old working girl named Angela Kane from London used astro-mapping to buy a holiday home in Ireland. Instead of visiting a typical realty site, she consulted an astrologer who drew up a map based on her personal “star chart” that came up with three properties about 30 miles apart which were the best for her future happiness.

The final decision was made after singling out the property that was “closest to an intersection of her Moon lines — associated with nurturing and emotional support — and her Venus lines (linked to emotional happiness).”

Astro-mapping involves "identifying the unique positions of the planets, Sun and Moon in the sky at the moment of our birth,” the Mail explains.

“Your personal chart is formed by tracking lines down from the location of each of these heavenly bodies onto a map, and drawing another set of lines, radiating out from your birthplace to the points where the planets were rising and setting at that moment, to create a complex, interlocking web. As each planet has its own personality, experts claim you will feel the corresponding emotional pull of their power in spots which fall on their planetary line — with the effects felt about 25 miles either side.”

For instance, choosing a home close to your “Venus lines” is supposedly better for romance and emotional health while a domicile near one’s “Mercury lines” are better for communication and mental health.

The system can also be used to determine the best place for a holiday.

One traveler named Mairead Armstrong who is a firm believer in the stars always consults her chart before taking a trip, and the one time she didn’t, it all went awry.

“In the space of a few days, I narrowly missed having a car crash, and when I challenged a man in the street about the way he was treating his animals, he became aggressive and nearly attacked me. When I got home, I checked my chart to find that my Mars lines (associated with aggression) and Saturn lines (linked with challenging situations) crossed over the island, so it all made sense.”

Or does it?

Truth be told, astrology is nothing short of hogwash.

“The simple truth is that science denies astrology any basis in fact,” writes Father Mitch Pacwa, S.J., the author of Catholics and the New Age who was once a serious practitioner of astrology.

For starters, he points out that the ancient system of astrology was based on the five planets known to exist at the time – Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. The newer planets of Uranus, Pluto and Neptune are considered to have “unknown influences”.

“This lack of knowledge lets each astrologer make up his or her own interpretation of these planetary influences,” Pacwa writes.

Not exactly a perfect science, is it?  But this doesn't stop people from believing in it.

As the Mail describes, “Some women are so convinced astro-mapping works that they have moved thousands of miles across the world.”

One such woman, named Miranda Dickenson finished a five-year course in counseling in Colorado but had no idea where to start her career. Overwhelmed by the possibilities, she decided to consult an astro-mapper who said the influence of Pluto was definitely suggesting she move from Colorado to either Genoa in Italy or Perthshire in Scotland. Because Dickenson already had family in Scotland, she packed her bags and moved there.

“I felt at home right away,” Dickenson told the Mail. “People were open and friendly and welcomed me into the community, and my psychotherapy practice is flourishing. I’m certain my chart helped me make the right choice.”

Or maybe Perthshire is just a nice place to live, regardless of what Pluto says.

For good reason, Scripture is replete with condemnations of divination through the stars.

“Let the astrologers stand forth to save you, the stargazers who forecast at each new moon what would happen to you,” we read in the book of Isaiah (47:12-15) “Lo, they are like stubble, fire consumes them; they cannot save themselves from the spreading flames. This is no warming ember, no fire to sit before. Thus do your wizards serve you with whom you have toiled from your youth; each wanders his own way, with none to save you.”

See also Deuteronomy 17:3, 18:9-12, 2 Kings 17:16; Jeremiah 10:2; Acts 7:42

The Catechism is also very clear about the use of horoscopes as a form of divination which must be rejected along with “recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to ‘unveil’ the future. Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone.” (No. 2116)

The way I see it, astro-mapping is a lose-lose scenario. Not only is it junk science, but it’s condemned by God as well – not exactly the best foundation upon which to build a future home.