diff --git a/src/components/ReadingMap.astro b/src/components/ReadingMap.astro
index 4ea1710..613284b 100644
--- a/src/components/ReadingMap.astro
+++ b/src/components/ReadingMap.astro
@@ -40,6 +40,17 @@ const {
 <figure class="reading-map-figure">
   <div class="reading-map" data-src={src}></div>
   {caption && <figcaption>{caption}</figcaption>}
+
+  {/* Counts are filled in from the payload at mount, not hardcoded — they move every time a
+      book is indexed. The `quoted` row stays hidden until markQuoted() actually finds a node,
+      so the legend never names a mark that is not on screen. */}
+  <ul class="reading-map-legend" hidden>
+    <li><i data-swatch="nebula"></i><b data-count="nodes"></b> passages read</li>
+    <li><i data-swatch="signal"></i><b data-count="highlights"></b> highlighted</li>
+    <li><i data-swatch="trace"></i>in the order I marked them</li>
+    <li><i data-swatch="newest"></i>most recent</li>
+    <li data-row="quoted" hidden><i data-swatch="quoted"></i>the quote at the top of this page</li>
+  </ul>
 </figure>
 
 <script>
@@ -65,13 +76,38 @@ const {
         });
         if (!map) continue;
 
-        // Ring the node the header's quote came from. The two are independent fetches on
+        const figure = el.closest('.reading-map-figure');
+        const legend = figure?.querySelector<HTMLElement>('.reading-map-legend');
+        if (legend) {
+          for (const b of legend.querySelectorAll<HTMLElement>('[data-count]')) {
+            const n = map.stats[b.dataset.count as keyof typeof map.stats];
+            b.textContent = n.toLocaleString();
+          }
+          // Swatches take the palette the renderer actually resolved, so a scheme modifier on
+          // the container (`--ember` swaps the newest colour) can never leave the legend
+          // describing a picture that is not the one on screen.
+          for (const i of legend.querySelectorAll<HTMLElement>('[data-swatch]')) {
+            i.style.background = map.colors[i.dataset.swatch as keyof typeof map.colors];
+          }
+          legend.hidden = false;
+        }
+        const quotedRow = legend?.querySelector<HTMLElement>('[data-row="quoted"]');
+
+        // Tint the node the header's quote came from. The two are independent fetches on
         // every page view and either can land first, so handle both orders: read the hash if
         // it is already there, and listen in case it is not. `garden:quote` is dispatched by
         // the header script in Base.astro.
-        const ring = (hash?: string) => hash && map.markQuoted(hash);
-        ring(window.__gardenQuoteHash);
-        addEventListener('garden:quote', (e) => ring((e as CustomEvent).detail?.text_hash));
+        //
+        // The legend row follows markQuoted's return value rather than the attempt, so a quote
+        // whose source book was never indexed leaves the map unmarked AND unexplained, instead
+        // of pointing at a colour that is not there.
+        const mark = (hash?: string) => {
+          if (!hash) return;
+          const found = map.markQuoted(hash);
+          if (quotedRow) quotedRow.hidden = !found;
+        };
+        mark(window.__gardenQuoteHash);
+        addEventListener('garden:quote', (e) => mark((e as CustomEvent).detail?.text_hash));
       }
     } catch (err) {
       /* chunk failed to load: the figure stays hidden */
@@ -90,8 +126,49 @@ const {
     line-height: 1.5;
     opacity: 0.72;
   }
-  /* Hide the caption too when the map itself failed to mount. */
-  .reading-map-figure:not(:has([data-ready])) figcaption {
+  /* Hide the caption and legend too when the map itself failed to mount. */
+  .reading-map-figure:not(:has([data-ready])) figcaption,
+  .reading-map-figure:not(:has([data-ready])) .reading-map-legend {
     display: none;
   }
+
+  /* The legend is the one place colour is *allowed* to be the whole encoding: it is where the
+     mapping from hue to meaning is stated, rather than left to be inferred off the cloud. */
+  .reading-map-legend {
+    display: flex;
+    flex-wrap: wrap;
+    gap: 0.35rem 1.15rem;
+    margin: 0.7rem 0 0;
+    padding: 0;
+    list-style: none;
+    font-size: 0.76rem;
+    line-height: 1.5;
+    opacity: 0.72;
+  }
+  .reading-map-legend[hidden] { display: none; }
+
+  .reading-map-legend li {
+    display: flex;
+    align-items: baseline;
+    gap: 0.42rem;
+  }
+  .reading-map-legend b {
+    font-weight: 600;
+    font-variant-numeric: tabular-nums;
+  }
+  /* Backgrounds are set from the resolved palette at mount — see the script above. The dot is
+     nudged down because `align-items: baseline` aligns it on its own box, not the text's. */
+  .reading-map-legend i {
+    flex: none;
+    width: 0.5rem;
+    height: 0.5rem;
+    border-radius: 50%;
+    transform: translateY(0.06rem);
+  }
+  /* The trace is a line in the picture, so it is a line here too rather than a third dot. */
+  .reading-map-legend i[data-swatch='trace'] {
+    width: 0.85rem;
+    height: 0.14rem;
+    border-radius: 999px;
+  }
 </style>
diff --git a/src/lib/reading-map.js b/src/lib/reading-map.js
index 1973193..04b3b1b 100644
--- a/src/lib/reading-map.js
+++ b/src/lib/reading-map.js
@@ -74,6 +74,8 @@ export function build(container, data) {
     signal: cssVar(container, '--map-signal', '#ea580c'),
     trace: cssVar(container, '--map-trace', '#2563eb'),
     fog: cssVar(container, '--map-fog', '#fcfcfb'),
+    newest: cssVar(container, '--map-newest', '#f59e0b'),
+    quoted: cssVar(container, '--map-quoted', '#e879f9'),
   };
 
   // --- scene ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -246,13 +248,12 @@ export function build(container, data) {
   // trace_order is chronological and pre-sorted, `t` is date-only, and many highlights share a
   // day — sorting on it would quietly pick a different passage from the same date.
   const newestNode = data.trace.length ? data.trace[data.trace.length - 1].node : null;
-  if (newestNode != null) paint(newestNode, cssVar(container, '--map-newest', colors.signal));
+  if (newestNode != null) paint(newestNode, colors.newest);
 
   // Set by the page once the header's random quote has loaded; the two fetches are independent
   // and either can win. `h` is the highlight's text_hash, which the API returns alongside the
   // quote — an exact key, not a text match.
   const nodeOfHash = new Map(data.trace.map((t) => [t.h, t.node]));
-  const quotedHex = cssVar(container, '--map-quoted', colors.signal);
   let quotedNode = null;
 
   // --- overlays ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -426,9 +427,13 @@ export function build(container, data) {
       quotedNode = node;
       // Quoted wins a tie: if the header happens to quote the newest highlight, the passage
       // the reader is actually looking at is the one worth pointing at.
-      return node != null && paint(node, quotedHex);
+      return node != null && paint(node, colors.quoted);
     },
     stats: { nodes: nodeCount, highlights: total, chunks: signalNodes.length },
+    // The resolved palette, so a legend can colour its swatches from the same values this
+    // renderer drew with — including whichever `--map-*` scheme modifier is on the container.
+    // Two sources for one colour is how a legend ends up quietly lying about the picture.
+    colors,
   };
 }