When maps are given to different people it will generate a vast number of different responses. This may or not be as a result of the map having empty spaces. Maps interact with individuals differently, telling a different story to  each person. Every map has its own purpose, be it navigation, defining boundaries, typography, and so forth. Like Turchi said, a map should tell a story. Each map tells a story, and the story a person pulls from a map may or may not resonate with them. Each story may not be of relevance or have acclaim, but that does not deem it worthless. At first glance, a story may not be obvious to the viewer of the map, but as a map it is still worth keeping.

At first glance at the Planiglobii map I had noticed the beautiful colors trying to find meaning and relation to those colors which lead to me finding a bright orange drape wrapped around a cherub. At that moment I started to notice all the cherubs which looked like they had been blowing air causing the wind movement in the world. On one side of the map the cherubs are in the day and on another side they look as if it was night time. In the center of the map is two halves of a globe with one half having both Northern America, Southern America and an empty mass of land and on the other half is all the other continents except Australia which was represented as an empty mass of in complete land. At the bottom of the map are two settings and a mini globe of astrological signs. On the bottom right there is  the ocean and land mass with a rainbow over it with clouds and on the other side there is again land with ocean and a volcano that looks as if it is about to erupt

The bottom right of the map I had immediately picked up on the story the setting was telling us from the rainbow, the dark clouds and the people looking for shelter. The words “iris” and “pluvia” which mean rainbow and rain respectively, these made the story to be even more  obvious telling us about how God had destroyed the earth with a flood caused by rain and used God sets a rainbow in the clouds as a sign of his covenant with Noah, his family, and all living creatures. The rainbow is a symbol of God’s promise of redemption and that a flood would never happen again. The bottom left image has a the words “terræ motus”, “Fluxus et Refluxus”and ”Aitna”. Terræ motus in Latin translates to “seismos gēs”, where seismos means movement and gēs means earth put together makes movement of the earth which  is an earthquake. In the Bible, earthquakes are often depicted as a sign of God’s power, presence, and sometimes anger, used to highlight significant events like judgment, deliverance, or communication, usually signifying a divine intervention or a warning to people to turn back to God; particularly during moments of great importance like the crucifixion of Jesus where n earthquake is recorded as occurring at the moment of his death. “Fluxus et Refluxus” meaning “flow and ebb”, essentially referring to the movements of a tide, where “fluxus” means “flowing” and “refluxus” means “flowing back” or “ebb”. From the bible the concept of “flow and ebb” is often used metaphorically to represent the cyclical nature of God’s presence, provision, and even human life, signifying periods of abundance and prosperity (“flow”) alternating with times of scarcity or challenges (“ebb”) – highlighting that even during difficult times, God’s love and support remain constant, just like the predictable tides of the ocean. The “flow and ebb” can also represent the change of things in an individual’s life for the better. Finally, the word “Aitna” means “to burn” and burning is an attribute of a fire and in the bible a burning fire is primarily used as a symbol of God’s presence, power, and holiness, often representing His ability to purify and refine, with the continual burning of fire on the altar serving as a constant reminder of God’s ongoing presence and covenant with the Israelites. A burning fire can also signify judgment and destruction when associated with God’s wrath and how the second destruction of the world is going to be off.

As Turchi writes, “The challenge of mapping is not only in finding the appropriate details to include, but in deciding what to leave out” (Turchi 25). Homann’s Planiglobii Terrestris embraces this challenge, skillfully balancing what is shown and what is left to interpretation. The empty spaces on the map  such as the uncharted land masses, are not voids but invitations for viewers to project their imaginations and explore possibilities. These spaces, far from detracting from the map’s value, enhance its ability to engage viewers on multiple levels.