KEPLER  $300
The  Kepler program produces far better looking linemaps than SolarMaps (reviewed below) and provides important technical options. Kepler lets you print the equivalent of the AstroLocality map from AstroComputing Services, which sports  lines for angular sextiles, trines,  and such -- not just the conjunction aspect as with Solar Maps and ACG.   So you can certainly produce a map in  the first linemap style ala Lewis/ACG, But you can also draw your Venus- Sextile-Descendant "line,"   (More harmony in relationships.) Or your Jupiter-Trine-Midheaven "line." (Better fortune in career and basic status; protection of home life.) It even draws the angular quincunx. (A very important aspect to watch, unavailable on Solar Maps or ACG.) 

Kepler produces high quality maps that won't embarrass you. They are even better looking than the AstroLocality map from master-chart provider ACS. You can print out linemaps for the whole world, or zoom in on countries, as well as regions of the U.S. Kepler can also do Local Space Lines (azimuth) as in WinStar, and has original  features like orb shadings. The user interface for Kepler may take some time to master, but there is an extensive manual in the software.

For me, the main thing Kepler lacks compared to Solar Maps is the Geodetic feature. However, the developer is aggressively adding options to this software, My bet is that Kepler will  soon be the premiere software for astrological mapping, outshining its closest competitor Solar Maps.

The software is produced by Cosmic Patterns in Gainesville, Florida. Their url is www.patterns.com. Phone: 800-779-2559
Go to KEPLER SOFTWARE

SOLAR MAPS  $199 
First the complaints and then some praise. Solar Maps' renderings of continental outlines are so sad as to insult the intelligence. Outlines of countries and states are so hackneyed they are, frankly,  inaccurate representations. Perplexing in this day and age, with all of this RAM and such, and especially for a program that specializes in maps and strives for accuracy in every other way. The numbers come out nicely, but the state of Florida looks like a sharp 
fang or a nail, Sri Lanka is a four-pointed diamond instead of a rounded teardrop. South America suffers from a swollen nose, and Italy bears little resemblance to a boot. How to pinpoint Natal, Brazil with such a map? How to be sure where Genoa lies?

For rocket scientists there is an option for "editing" country contours -- whatever that means. The manual gives few clues. I surmise that you first become a computer programer, then you draw  a perfect freehand map of the world with your mouse. The manual warns that trying to improve the map contours is dangerous unless you have "a high level of competence in editing ASCII files." It warns further that even minor errors "can result in a completely corrupt database." Sound like anything you want to try? You're stuck with crude maps. Why are programs with 
 
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lesser pedigrees able to produce respectable maps? It's a mystery, because SolarMaps is a sophisticated program. Although Kepler lets you add cool lines for asteroids, stars, sextiles and such, Kepler is limited to the conventional tropical zodiac, ala ACG. But SolarMaps lets you specify entirely different zodiacal systems. This includes geodetic systems, which I feel are a must if you are going to understand locational influences. Its user programmable geodetics option gives it an edge.

If you can accept the sorry outlines of the continents, SolarMaps is still a useful mapping program. It tends to lock up now and then, especially when printing out maps -- even with my top-of-the line HP printer. So keep system resources free. With patience and a few restarts you can get some maps printed out. This review is based on the software with the manufacturer patch updates as of January 10, 2002. (Solar Maps v1.13.)

Lehman Associates is the new U.S. distributor of SolarMaps. Their url is www.leelehman.com. Price $199
LEHMAN ASSOCIATES

SOLAR FIRE 4 & 5
This is not map making software but a standard astrology program.. The savvy locational astrologer will want to look at actual Relocated Natal Charts and Geodetic Wheels. These are beyond the scope of the above linemap programs, and even beyond most standard astrology programs. But Solar Fire handles them all, and then some.

The best software for actual locational charts -- and perhaps general purposes -- has to be Solar Fire 4 by Esotech. Solar Fire is a basic astrology program that is  roundly praised for ease of  use, a clean, organized layout, and beaucoup technical options. Even with its wealth of features, you can get cooking on it right away. The series comes with detailed manuals to help you figure out its depths. And it is deep. You can go into Fixed Stars, asteroids, harmonics, parans, all kinds of house systems -- more arcana  than you will ever need. Developed by an Aussie programmer- turned- astrologer Graham Dawson, Solar Fire is more than adequate for most professionals.  A wonderful feature is its astrological clock -- a bar at the bottom showing the positions of all the planets in real time. How can a hard core astrology addict do without that? See below for comments on the virtues of Solar Fire 4 vs. Solar Fire 5. Also see below for a source for the software.

Both versions are available from Astro Communications, in San Diego, California. (For Solar Maps go to www.leelehman.com.)  Price is $295 with necessary Atlas.  Their url is www.astrocom.com and the phone is  800-888-9983. ASTRO COMMUNICATIONS

You can download free update patches for SolarMaps and Solar Fire at the website of its Australian progenitor: www.esotech.com.au.  ESOTECH