The Solar Return chart, together with other directed charts used by the astrologer, provides a personalised annual forecast. It is completely unnecessary to launch yourself into either a new 'birth' year, or a chronological New Year, devoid of the vital tools required to make prudent decisions.

“Grow old along with me! The best is yet to be, the last of life, for which the first was made.”  - Robert Browning.

The Beauty of Birthdays

To most people, birthdays are special, and rightly so! A birthday is a celebration of the God-given gift of life; a celebration of maturity gained through life’s-lessons and of acquired wisdom; it is a celebration of the unique individual: when that person was born, the world was altered in a subtle and intangible way. To an astrologer birthdays possess tremendous importance, over and above their significance mentioned above. The natal chart of a person (or a country, business, marriage, animal) is set according to their birth details - location, date and time - and is therefore commonly referred to as the birth chart.

The moment when the person takes their first breath, upon entering into the world, their personality, propensities, trials, tribulations and all their unique possibilities are made manifest in the mundane (earthly) houses of the birth chart. This natal chart must always be assessed in light of the external context, viz. the life into which the person is born, but it provides profound knowledge able to assist them in living a life filled with tailor-made signposts; quite simply, the natal chart is the road map of that individual’s life.

The Movement of the Planets

All seven of the traditional planets – Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the Sun, Venus, Mercury and the Moon, continue along their travels on the 360° ecliptical path in accordance with the geocentric model, even after the birth of a person; contrary to the opinion of some who believe the world stopped upon their entry into it. Throughout the life of the person the planets in the sky will make contact, at various points, with their natal chart, thereby providing the astrologer with the ability to forecast certain events in the future. These are known as the Ptolemaic aspects and occur at 0° called conjunctions, 60° called sextiles, 90° called squares, 120° called trines and at 180° called oppositions.

All seven planets move at different speeds; the Sun, as we know, traverses along his path and through the zodiacal sphere at just less than 1° per day, thus defining our astrological or birth year. Traditional astrology uses the geocentric model, where man is firmly fixed on earth and all seven of the planets move around it; this is how the astrological model works and to adopt the heliocentric model, for our purposes, would mean that humans resided on the Sun, which of course we do not. This by no means signifies that astrologers are not aware of the actual astronomical movement of the planets.

The Solar Return Chart

The Sun is the symbol of God in the chart and is therefore known as the Lord of Life; in the nativity he represents the core or essence of the person, their ‘truth’ (as they know it) and he is one of the three indicators of the soul. In a nutshell, he represents the gift of life and therefore the person as a whole, and as the movement of the Sun defines our chronological year, he also defines our astrological year. It takes the Sun 365 days to complete his circuit through the cosmos, meaning that every 365 days he returns to his point of origin in relation to the natal chart – the time and date of the person’s birth, assessed in relation to the location of that birth. In the astrological model the birthday of the person is when the Sun reaches the exact same degree and minute as at the time of birth; this can sometimes, dependent on the time of birth, differ to the chronological day of birth.

Chronologically the birthday is on the same day each and every year, in an astrological year, the Sun could reach that exact position in the chart a few hours earlier or later, and if the person was born in the early hours of the morning or late at night, it could mean the birthday is either the day before or the day after. The Solar Return chart is the annual chart set against the movement of the Sun, for the time and day when the Sun reaches his natal position and this is set at the location of the birth. To those familiar with a Saturn return, the Solar Return chart is exactly that: a solar (or Sun) return. Of the seven planets the return of the Sun, to his exact position at the time of the birth of the person, holds the most significance owing to what he represents: he is the Lord of Life.

Directed Charts

Directed charts, the category to which a Solar Return chart is allocated, are charts which are directed forward in time; this is done in order to forecast future events in the life of the person concerned. The art of prediction is the ability to predict future events with the greatest accuracy and specificity possible; many disciplines use the art of prediction or forecasting to endeavour to make sense of the (unknown) future, the realms of weather and economics are but two examples. The reason this can be done, often successfully, is that the future is based on the past. A Solar Return chart, unlike other directed charts which are not the topic of this article such as progressions and profections, are fixed charts as they are fixed on the movement of one specific planet, the Sun. This means that a Solar Return chart can be assessed as an individual chart and in relation to the nativity; although even when assessed as an individual chart it must be correlated to the nativity and to the other directed charts, specifically that of the progressions.

A Solar Return chart can indicate the tone of the forthcoming year and the potential for that year in all areas of life such as relationships, business and money matters and also pertaining to health. It can depict the ability of the person to rise to the occasion and how they would be able to do so. It is all very well assessing the potential, but if the potential for that year is one of hardship, the astrologer must be able to find the tools available to rise above it.

Should the Solar return chart display the potential for illness, the astrologer can, working with the temperament and other natal factors, provide the client with the utensils to ensure that the illness will not be able to manifest as it would if the matter was not addressed in advance. The Solar Return chart is an astrological weather forecast for the year ahead: if rain is depicted, it will still rain but as the person is forewarned, he has the knowledge and hopefully the prudence, to carry an umbrella.

Conclusion

Clients often ask when the most fortuitous time is to consult with an astrologer. There are a multitude of traditional methodologies available and all are relevant to different situations; an astrologer should be consulted when the person is unable to see the wood for the trees and before making decision which are life-changing. Many clients consult with astrologers on an annual basis to obtain their annual forecast and this is most beneficial: it enables the person to plan ahead and to avoid making unnecessary and costly mistakes.

It is best to address the forthcoming year just before the birthday, in other words an astrological year should be used as opposed to a chronological year; this ensures that the propensities portrayed by the Solar Return chart can be accessed to the best of that person’s ability. However, some clients prefer to adhere to the chronological year and consult with their astrologer at the end of each calendar year, for the forthcoming year. There is nothing wrong with this although the efficacy of the Solar Return chart, in its entirety, is thus diminished. Neither time is technically superior to the other, the crux of the matter being that the client is able to apply the weather report in advance either way – forewarned is most certainly forearmed.