solar returns
One of the most potent and useful ways of orienting and looking forward into time with astrology is looking at techniques that center around the solar revolution—that is one rotation of the sun through the natal chart in its entirety, bringing the sun back to its exact positioning in the natal. This is called the solar return, and can be combined with other timing techniques that center around the return of the Sun to its natal positioning in order to create a rich, detailed look at what themes will be most prominent in the coming year of your life. In my own practice I combine solar return charts with annual profections to feel into and create an idea of what is coming forth in the year ahead.
Solar returns occur when the Sun reaches the exact degree and minute it sits at in the natal, which can occur within a day before or after your birthday. Just like birthdays, solar returns provide us with a way of orienting yourself in time, serving as a threshold to reflect on your own growth and setting intentions as you move forward into your next year of life. Observing your solar return chart, and particularly how it is interacting with your own natal chart, can help orient us into the unfolding of time and set our intentions, goals, and dreams in line with the cosmic currents that will be flowing through our next year of life.
How to break down a solar return chart:
The following breaks down my own approach to working with solar returns, using a sample solar return.
step 1: start at the beginning
When approaching a solar return chart I always start at the very beginning—the ascendant. The ascendant in the solar return chart acts as a “temporary ascendant,” telling you about your outlook, mood, perspective, and the overall “mission” as you move into the next year of your life. The sign your solar return ascendant falls in describes your approach to meeting the next year of life.
Looking at where the ascendant falls provides us with some other important information as well. The house in the natal chart that the first solar return house overlays tells us about important themes that are coming to the forefront in the coming year.
While we’re still here in the first house of the solar return chart, you’ll also want to pay mind to any planets that are present here. Any planets located in the first solar return house will play an important role in your year ahead.
Having a “new” ascendant also means having a new, temporary chart ruler as well. The ruler of the sign that your solar return ascendant falls in acts as the chart ruler of your solar return chart, acting as an important authority figure and as a representative of you, the native, in the context of your solar return chart. Looking to where this new chart ruler is positioned (both sign and house) in the solar return chart will provide information on what you may be particularly interested in or what you may be doing in the coming year. While here, you’ll want to take a look at where this chart ruler sits in relation to your own natal chart as well. Looking to what natal house is overlayed by the solar return chart ruler’s house will tell us what themes may be involved in actualizing the interests of the native in the year ahead. It is also worth noting whether or not your temporary chart ruler is able to witness its own positioning in the natal—are they aspecting one another? If so, it can indicate that the activity of that planet in the year ahead will help facilitate the greater agenda and overall story of that planet in your own natal chart.
This is the solar return chart for my Substack, which just turned two! The inner ring with blue glyphs is the natal chart and the outer ring with orange glyphs is the solar return chart. By looking at the outer ring we can see that solar return ascendant (the bold line marked "asc") is in Gemini. The 1st house in the solar return chart overlays the 8th natal house, which means that I may find that deep topics that delve into the psyche and topics that require vulnerability such as death, shadow work, ancestral inheritance, and sex are of particular importance in the next year of my publishing on my substack. The eighth house also deals with themes of the occult and personal transformation, which stand to hold importance as well. With Jupiter present in the 1st solar return house, I may find that I'm able to expand my audience further or even further develop my own spiritual and philosophical perspectives by leaning into these kinds of topics.
Having the ascendant in Gemini means that Mercury is the chart ruler of this solar return chart, located in Scorpio in the 6th solar return house, which overlays the 1st natal house. I may find I am best able to achieve the "mission" laid out by this solar return chart through showing up to my writing practice more regularly through my day-to-day routine and focus on developing the personal voice of my writing on my Substack.
step 2: look for angular planets
Just like in a regular natal chart, planets connected to angles in a solar return chart are extra stimulated and ready to be pushed into action. Because angles are so sensitive and specific to the time and location of a chart, planets located at an angle hold a potent message around the structure of that chart and are integral to the expression of the angle they are situated by, and have a particularly loud expression within the chart. When looking at planets on angles I use about a 3° orb in either direction, but always tune into your own experience of how something is expressing itself in your life!
I also will look for any angles in the solar return chart that are conjunct a natal planet — this can indicate a natal planet who might play a particularly important role in the structure of your life in the upcoming year. For these connections I stick with a tight orb of less than 3° in either direction.
step 3: look for patterns and repetition
Points of continuity and features of similarity between the solar return chart and the natal chart brings forth reinforcement of important natal themes, emphasizing that feature as a part of your life. For instance, if your Mercury is located in the fifth house of your natal chart and in your solar return chart (regardless of being in different signs), you may find your attention drawn really strongly towards the importance of your voice and communication when it comes to your creativity and self expression, or the importance of intellectual stimulation when it comes to your romantic endeavors.
step 4: the moon and other figures of importance
While the Sun will always be exactly the same because a solar return is based on your natal positioning, the moon is typically in a new sign and house, and just like our temporary ascendant, the moon of the solar return chart provides a look at our mood, emotional perspective, inner landscape, and relationship to security and nurturance in the year ahead. Looking to the house and sign (and even moon phase!) the solar return moon is located can provide key information around our own fluctuating needs as we find our footing and seek to feel safe and secure as we meet the demands of the upcoming year. Looking to the solar return moon might help provide you with helpful relief and nurturance if you find your emotional needs differing from what you’re used to.
The positioning of Mercury, Mars, and Venus in the solar return chart similarly point towards approaches to communication, taking action, and your own relationships and values, and how that might look in the year ahead. However, I personally tend to emphasize these much less unless they are playing an important role within the natal chart, such as sitting on an angle or acting as the chart ruler.
Finally, when it comes to looking for any other important planetary signatures, I will look towards any planets in the solar return chart that are tightly conjunct a planet in the natal. The solar return planet making contact with the natal placement may play an instrumental role in helping you better understand that planet or placement’s role in your natal chart, or even provoking that placement into action or help the planet better express itself.
Step 5: annual profections and time lords
Annual profections are a timing technique that push forward themes of a particular house with each year of life. As we move through life we progress house by house, in order, with the lord of that house within the natal acting as your time lord for the year ahead. When we’re born we start with a first house profection year and spiral outward in order, returning to the first house again when we turn 12 (see the diagram below). Focusing on a profected house and its time lord helps narrow in on when certain planets or places in the natal are active or become the focus of attention, helping us understand what is important at a given point in time.
Because my Substack is turning 2, it is entering a 3rd house profection year. Since my Substack is a Scorpio rising, its 3rd house is occupied by Capricorn, which means that my Substack is entering a year of having Saturn serve as its timelord. Themes of the 3rd house, such as connectivity and network, ritual, communication, and learning will be central to the development of my Substack in its next year. Since Saturn is its timelord, transits to and by Saturn will hold particular prominence and be felt most sensitively, or may particularly correspond to important moments in the development and growth of my Substack.
The time lord acts as a planetary guide and has an emphasized role of importance in your year. Transits to that planet in your natal, as well as the way that planet is moving through your chart in real-time, are often felt more acutely and can even align with significant events and moments in your year.
While everyone experiences profections of each house at the same age, we all have completely unique experiences based on how the signs fall into the houses in our own unique natal charts since the ruler of that house acts as your time lord.
Returning back to our solar return chart, I also will look at the positioning of the new time lord in the solar return chart. Some important features I look for beyond the sign and house placement include whether the time lord is in an angular house or on an angle (meaning it is in an active position), and whether that planet in the solar return chart is aspecting the natal positioning of that planet. If the two are aspecting one another it lends towards that time lord’s ability to carry forward that planet’s expression and agenda in the natal.
other noteworthy features to look for:
Finally, there are a few other solar return chart features that can indicate a highly active or major year of life. A solar return on an eclipse can indicate a year of tremendous change and pushing an individual forward towards their own destiny. If the angles of a solar return chart are conjunct the angles of the natal chart it can indicate a year of important features and promises of the natal chart coming into fulfillment. A solar return chart that features a new moon can indicate a year of tremendous new beginnings, while a solar return chart featuring a full moon can indicate a year of releasing, letting go, and harvesting the fruits of one’s labor. Another feature that can indicate an important theme in your year is the repeated importance of a certain planet, or repeated emphasis on certain themes. For example, Venus being both your time lord and your solar return chart ruler, or the first house overlaying the fifth natal house and your solar return chart ruler being located in the fifth solar return house. There’s a multitude of ways little threads of thematic repetition can present themselves, both subtly and loudly, and they’re not trying to get our attention for no reason!
Solar return readings are such a powerful way to get a glimpse into what’s in store for your year ahead, helping you to orient yourself in the flow of time and set intentions feeling empowered and confident with the support of the cosmos. I offer solar return readings as well if you would like to be guided through your year ahead. Book a Solar Revolution reading with me to orient yourself into your next year of life with confidence and clarity.