Solar Returns drawn up for the moment the Sun returns to its natal place have been a consuming fascination since the days of respected astrologers Johannes Kepler and William Lilly in the 16/17th century.
But for all the weight put on them as indicators of the year ahead interpretations are not always obvious. ‘Nuanced and subtle’ are how Babs Kirby and Janey Stubbs, authors of a newly reprinted book Interpreting Solar and Lunar Returns: A Psychological Approach, describe the process of extracting a theme for the year ahead.
The Sun’s house position and aspects are pinpointed as the most important factor with a run down of all 12 houses and aspects. Next is the Moon with its aspects within the Return chart as well as to the natal chart, and the importance of its progressed positions through the coming year. Then the comparison between the natal and return chart with particular emphasis on the Solar Return Midheaven/IC and Ascendant/Descendant contacts.
There is much of value to be gleaned from this well-written and clearly laid-out listing of meanings of house and aspects. With example charts to study. Lunar Returns (month to month) are also described as well as Mercury, Venus and Mars Returns.
Personally I still find Solar Returns oddly obscure and find Lunar Returns a good deal more helpful for a quick scan of the up and coming.
I do slightly wonder whether they work better for some individual charts than for others – though I have no idea why that would be. King Charles had his SR Sun in the 8th when his mother died which makes sense and his SR Sun in the ‘entertainment’ 5th for his Coronation year. The year he was diagnosed with cancer his SR had a busy 3rd house Sun Mars in Scorpio with Saturn in his 6th house of health.
Tony Blair had his Sun in the 6th square Jupiter when he was first elected in 1997 with Mars on the Midheaven – lucky and ambitious with hard-work being the order of the day. Not sure I would have predicted a rip roaring success from that as a standalone indicator.
As an example – and assuming Trump’s birth time from his birth certificate is accurate – his Solar Return for June 2016 had an 11th house Sun square Jupiter and an 8th house Neptune; with Uranus on the Midheaven. An 11th house Sun would focus his energy on the wider social group which kinda makes sense, though does not leap out immediately as king of the castle time. The SR Midheaven was opposition his natal Jupiter. There were much clearer indicators from Solar Arcs etc to indicate a success.
His Solar Return for his defeat in 2020 also had an 11th house Sun square Neptune Mars Moon in the 9th; and Jupiter Pluto Saturn in his 7th. I know you are not supposed to read Solar Returns the way you read a natal chart – bit still??
His 2024 SR prior to his win put his Sun in the 12th, supposedly a time for solitude and introspection, a time of self-sacrifice and sensitivity. His SR Sun is square Saturn and Neptune in Pisces for discouragement and confusion. His SR Ascendant is admittedly conjunct the USA Cancer Sun which may mean something. His Solar Return for this coming year looks like a grandstanding success with his Sun on the Midheaven and Jupiter in the 10th with an influential Pluto in the 5th. Hmm, I wait to be persuaded.
I am still ambivalent about their usefulness and hit-and-miss quality – though I stand to be corrected if others have a different take.
And what of solar arc? Some astrologers seem very taken with its predictive abilities, others less so. Could we have your thoughts on this, Marjorie? If you have previously covered it, perhaps you would be kind enough to give the link?
Karen Hamaker-Zondag wrote the book about the solar return, De Solaar. Of course, it is not translates into English. The publishing house that did translate a few of hers for some reason stopped doing that, and there are a whole lot more other books which would be a great addition to the English astrological corpus.
I look very carefully at my lunar returns as they work well for me, but my solars are hit and miss. I do notice that a solar with a planet on an angle tends to be more eventful. As for my lunar returns, do they work well because I have a natal moon in its home sign, Cancer? Who knows. I also look at my profection year and profection ruler of the year, then within that the profection month, that works well for me. The date of my birthday each month changes the flavour from one house to the next, often very obviously.
Ha! First, never really heard up to now that someone thinks and gives much importance to the lunar return. I am so glad to hear that. I thought people usually discarded it, and that its main meaning is one’s emotional state during the upcoming lunar month or, probably more correct, until the next lunar return.
Second, I don’t think it’s a question if solar returns work or not. I think when they don’t, it’s not that they don’t, but we don’t know how to interpret them. Since there are people I follow who relocate them, and don’t relocate anything else, I tend to think that is the right way. But I still don’t get is it supposed to be interpreted as a standalone chart as a synastry to natal and I think there was a third option. User named Ed talked something about that on Astro.com, if I recall well, but, sadly, he is not among the living anymore. And he was a bit enigmatic and jokerish. Not much help there.
Come to think of it either Ed or someone else – or no one – said to look only at conjunctions, squares, and oppositions from SR planets to natal. Everything else gets discarded.
Both the UK and USA SRs for 2016 had Chiron conjunct the IC (a wounding at the core) which makes sense for political events in those countries in that year.
My SR charts are pretty accurate. I’ve looked at lots of them along w/ certain events happening that particular year. Sometimes the end of one overlaps w/ the next one. I have an older copy of that book and Shea’s book, but just started looking at lunar returns.
Thanks Marjorie for this. I never can decide about Solar Returns, but have found Lunar Returns helpful. I did check my own SR for the year I was in a hit and run accident which has had an impact on my whole life. I was a young teenager then. The SR does have Mars opposition MC square Saturn, and is for the day after the accident. The square sort of (not exact) aspects natal 3rd house Mercury via semi-sextile and trine. Curious, or nuanced – the transits alone wouldn’t have stood out necessarily.
Also noticed a transiting aspect we have coming up – Saturn and Neptune in Aries, sextile Uranus in Gemini, and Pluto in Aquarius. Is there a name for this kind of skinny triangle shape? That will be showing up for everyone’s Lunar Returns this summer, and some Solars. Hopefully constructive!
It is called the Minor Grand Trine or the Small Talent Triangle. The apex of it will be the Saturn-Neptune. It is a creative aspect pattern.
Thanks Lumiere. That sounds much more professional than my ‘skinny triangle’! A creative aspect pattern promises some positivity amidst the chaos.
Marjorie: Thanks for your great comments on this much used, but also much misused astrological technique. Though callingit a technique is perhaps pushing it a bit since SRs are rather unreliable as you point out. I have been looking at charts on and off for 40 years (personal not pro) and I remain entirely unconvinced. The reason being that there is so much going on in any given chart, never mind adding variants to natal, progressed and transits. Statistically, you are always going to have exact (1 to 2 degree) hits between planets and house cusps/angles. That is so even for a very limited range of the angles and 7 planets, restricting analysis to classic aspects, never mind adding asteroids and midpoints etc. The possibilities are endless. Also, it is extremely difficult to sort out what is actually “significant” and what turns out (later) to be background noise. Which is only to say that SRs may work some of the time for some charts, but you can’t bet your life savings on them. What works (imho) is an accurate natal chart – without that it’s just a guess. Next, an understanding of the individual or institution’s life circumstances and something about their “story” to get context within reality. That requires a pretty deep conversation and a lot of sorting out. For pure prognostication, there’s horary, which has strict rules.
There’s no easy answers anywhere! Though sometimes the insights can be profound and worth the time. Donald Trump’s chart is a case in point. His Uranus Jupiter Chiron trine, his Sun Moon Nodes opposition, his Ascendant /critical degree /Regulus conjunct Mars and opposition to Part of Fortune makes astrologer’s head burst with revelations, but still nobody can predict what he’ll do next, if ever. One minute you think you’ve got it and the next you’re back to studying his stars from scratch.
The ancients were right to keep it simple and they were fairly humble and often spectacularly wrong. Caesar was warned outright by the soothsayer, but it didn’t stop him meeting his fate. It’s all fascinating and good as a brain teaser, but I’d say SRs are not even in the ball park for reliability. I’m open to correction by hefty evidence as to SRs. Meanwhile, human error seems a more decisive factor most of the time.
I like solar returns. I do look at them; they are usually informative.
The sun is the ruler of my original birth chart, so maybe that’s why. I don’t look at lunar returns yet.
I was told to read solar return charts like a regular birth chart, but for the upcoming year from one’s birthday. So, every year, one is “reborn”.
Apparently, they are supposed to activate gradually three months before the birthday, and be fully active by the birthday for a year. Then, they dissolve slowly from the following birthday and are completely inactive three months after the following birthday the initial chart highlights. So, essentially, one solar return chart slowly “gives way to the other”. There is a partial overlapping of active solar return charts.
I always keep an eye out three months before a birthday to see if I witness an energy shift. Sometimes I do!
I was told to see solar returns as chapters in an unfolding story, as opposed to separate birthday charts. So, one chart builds off another, as a new addition to one’s story.
I often use a book called *Planets in Solar Returns* by Mary Fortier Shea—it’s pretty comprehensive.
I always pay attention to how solar return charts for a year react to my natal chart. Conjunctions are always worth a look.
I had a bad year once (2016, I think) that didn’t show up in my solar return until I looked at its synastry to my birth chart! Wow!!
Great site.
Very good, Marjorie, I was just marveling at what DT’s astrologer might have told him about his SR Sun conjunct SR MC. Perhaps this reflects a year starting out with heightened focus on professional leadership, personal success, and public recognition/reputation. Individual power and influence may be at an all time high. But of course pride, overconfidence, or over-exposure might be some negatives to watch out for.
I did some sleuthing and had to go all the way back to 1996 to discover a similar close placement, with his SA Sun conjunct MC at 19 Gemini 32 (and SA Venus at 18 Gemini 10). Don’t know how/if that was a standout year.
I think that 1996 was the year he was alleged to have raped E Jean Carroll.
Hi Virgoflake, from what I can tell on wiki, Carroll alleged the incident happened in late 1995 or early 1996. His 1995 (rather than 1996) June SR would reference that period if I’m not mistaken.
Thank you for the clarification pdw.
Put Trump’s 2016 SR in inner wheel and his natal in the outer wheel of the biwheel.
His SR Champion hits his SR Asc while his natal Champion hits is SR MC.
In addition a LUCKY aspect is activated….Jupiter trine Uranus.
https://ibb.co/0pc0jtXz
Thanks for this Marjorie
As you say birth time has to be accurate. Interesting that you see Lunar Returns as more helpful. More curious to look more closely at those as my dipping in from time to time does show a theme that pops up of that month. I look at moon and aspects then sun and aspects too.
Interested to read the views of other about their Lunar return.
I had a new moon on my last birthday with trines galore. Therefore I believed my year ahead would be auspicious. That’s not been the case so far. A property purchase fell through which was both financially and emotionally costly. But I am still hoping something good will happen before my next solar return.
I think it worked the year I had my birthday in fuerteventura…a slight difference to the UK but I could understand why some people chase the best chart for the upcoming year
I agree. I also am ambivalent. The biggest “hit” I had on a solar return was the year the Pandemic happened with my Sun and 3 planets in the 6th house. Other than that, meh. I WANT solar returns to work but they frequently don’t.