Astrologer Clarisse Monahan’s debut book is about all things astrocartography, which she describes as ‘Tinder for places, but without the bad hook-ups’. She chats to us how you can use astrological tools to find your place in the world.
Clarisse Monahan is a resident astrologer for Soho Houses worldwide, and practises astrology and tarot, keeping her third eye fully open to the deep cosmic alignments and principles that structure our experience of time.
When life seems convoluted and nonlinear, Clarisse shows us how astrology can clarify one’s sense of place in the greater cosmic order. If astrology helps you find your place in the greater cosmic order, astrocartography shows you exactly where you can best thrive. Astrocartography invites you to plot your birth chart against a world map and follow the planetary lines to pinpoint the locations and cultures that hold most significance to you, then unlock all that they have to offer.
Through her action-inspiring book, released on Thursday, September 25, you will learn the science of fulfilling moves and how to connect with or avoid auspicious and challenging places for love, work, and travel. So long as you are within 250 miles of a line, you don’t even have to buy a plane ticket: gain all the benefits by connecting remotely.
Did you always want to be a writer? Tell us about your journey to becoming a published author.
Like most journeys, mine was pretty random. I was in graduate school, studying some hopelessly abstract topic in the Humanities, and I came across this book by the ancient astrologer Vadius Valens. It gripped me and I started reading tons of stuff on astrology.
Then, one day, during a long Covid afternoon, I decided to write an article about the lockdown and the Grand Conjunction (which is a rare transit involving Jupiter and Saturn). I sent it to a fashion mag. They asked for more writing. Things just grew from there. Eventually, a publisher came to one of my talks on astrology, read my articles, and asked if I’d like to do a book. Here we are.
What inspired you to start writing?
I love astrology, its outlandish claims, its history, its techniques, its terminology. But, in studying the topic, I’ve realised I don’t much like astrology writing, which feels either overly dry and technical, or overly wet and mystical. So, I thought, ‘why not write about this passion of yours in a way that fits your voice/personality, lukewarm and skeptical?’
Tell us about your new book. Where did the idea come from?
The book is on a branch of astrology called astrocartography: ‘astro’, related to stars, and ‘cartography’, related to maps. It looks at how your astrological birth chart (which determines your cosmic identity) can help match you to auspicious locations for love, work, and family. In this way, astrocartography is kind of like Tinder for places, but without the bad hook-ups.
The idea to write this book first emerged when we were all hemmed up during Covid. I must have been wanting to move around and travel—and I figured an astrology book about moving around and traveling was, perhaps, something with legs, since we wouldn’t be locked down forever. So, I started researching the topic and felt there was a need for an accessible primer.
What do you hope this book instills in the reader?
A desire to find somewhere in the world that makes them happy.
What did you learn when writing this book?
I learned about the power of incrementalism. A little bit of writing, every day, over time, is a powerful path. In astrological terms, this is the way of Saturn.
Tell us about your writing process?
I try to write 600 words per day early in the morning. In the evenings, I edit, research, and plan what I’m going to write the next day, so it’s all clear in my head before I go to sleep.
Where do you draw inspiration from?
I like to connect what’s going on in the world or in a given text I’m reading—maybe a scene from Shakespeare’s Henriad—to an astrological transit, horoscope, or section of a chapter that I’m working on.
What are your top three favourite books of all time, and why?
Alan Hollinghurst’s The Line of Beauty, which I’m re-reading at the moment in honor of the recent Mercury Retrograde (retrogrades are transits where a planet appears to be moving backwards relative to us on earth. These are potent times to review, reread, reflect, recalibrate). His novel reminds me of a wonderful time in my life and every sentence feels like its own mini-adventure.
Vadius Valens, The Anthology. As mentioned above, this is the book that got me into astrology, so it holds pride of place. The language is robust and alive, like if Moby Dick were about planets and transits.
Pnin by Nabokov. Campus novels are a subgenre that I particularly love but this book is much more than that. It tells of a displaced, aging Russian professor in America and it captures the loneliness of exile so well. Pnin should have had his astrocartography chart done. I don’t think the East Coast was good for him.
Who are some of your favourite authors, Irish or otherwise?
I fear my Irish choice will be quite obvious, on one level, but perhaps off-putting on another: The James Joyce of Dubliners rather than Ulysses, I also love William Trevor. The Collected Stories is a Bible of grand sadness. Elsewhere, W.G. Sebald and Rachel Cusk.
What are some upcoming book releases we should have on our radar?
I’m looking forward to Experimental Criticism: Franco Moretti and Literature, forthcoming on Verso. I’ve been a long-time fan of his work.
What’s one book you would add to the school curriculum?
For the sake of literature and students alike, I’d rather not deflate amazing books by forcing kids to read them. I would say, keep the curriculum as is and let students find treasures on their own.
What’s the best book you’ve read so far this year?
Dangerous Liaisons, the great French epistolary novel by Laclos, about a very sinister game of love played by nasty aristocrats, at the expense of a saintly woman. They don’t make them like they used to.
What’s some advice you’ve got for other aspiring writers?
I don’t know if I’m the best person to ask this. I’m a mere astrologer. Maybe try to write 600 words a day. And read unsystematically. It can lead you to strange, unexpected places, like me answering questions here.
Lastly, what do the acts of reading and writing mean to you?
The act of reading, whether a birth chart or novel, is not just about engaging with a single text, but about seeing how that text fits into larger patterns and systems, be they cosmic or literary. It’s about stepping back to understand the broad movements, genres, and themes that shape the stories we tell about ourselves and others.
Astrocartography by Clarisse Monahan is on sale Thursday, September 25.
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