half solar return?

nuwanda

Well-known member
I'd read that solar return charts emphasize the first half of the year.. and your half birthday solar return chart emphasized the second half.

I was born on 25th January, and my half birthday is coming up, but I don't know exactly how to look at my half solar return chart! I tried a solar return chart for 25th July 1987, would that work?
 

Lin

Well-known member
I use one solar return....from birthday to birthday and I know it works because sometimes what the promise of the SR is doesn't occur till almost the next birthday.
However, never rely on only the solar return. Transits, transits, transits. And the progressed moon are vital.
LIN
 

starlink

Well-known member
Also, the influence of the new Solar Return chart can be felt as of 3 month before the upcoming birthday. You then already can expect changes to manifest which are seen in the SR chart.
 

aquarius7000

Well-known member
I totally agree. I never use solar charts. Transits and progressions are the key.
Claire, I am confused as to which part/post you "totally agree" with, as you seem to assert that you 'never' use solar charts, whilst all other posters that have posted till now say quite the opposite. Perhaps you agree with the part that transits, etc should 'also' be looked at? Personally, I always look at the Solar Return, but only the one from birthday to birthday as well. Then I check what I am particularly looking for by studying other predictive techniques like transits, progressions.

:)AQ7
 

cassanra

Well-known member
Kerrie, timing is done by watching the sun travel through the chart. Watch for more energy around the crossing of the angles. Too there are a couple of ways you can tell when the most action will happen. Where the sun is located is one indicator. If in an angle the first part of the year should have more energy, the succendent house the second third of the year and the cadent the last third. My sun for last year was on the cusp of the 6th house and indeed most of the action began starting in the last third of the year. However, if there is a preponderance of planets in a different section you may look for that time to be more energized. I count the number of planets in angle, succendant and cadent houses.
It is quite true that the tone in the few months preceding the birth day 'fortell' of the energy of the year. Quite a lot will happen right about the birthday too. As an example, my chart for this year showed the ruler in the 12th and in fact a week before my birthday I found out I was to be scheduled for surgery.
I also have begun using the precessed chart and have gleaned good info from that. As an example. This years precessed chart has the sun in the 6th with a square from saturn in the 8th and a square from uranus squaring from the second. Gemini as ruler of the 6th describes muliple health issues, saturn skin, 8th surgeryetc. I just went to a dermatologist and I am waiting results for screening on basal cell carinoma. I thought it interesting that the precessed chart actually told me more in some ways. So I like to compare them.
As a note, this year saturn will conjunct my natal moon in the 6th house and square the sun ruler of the 6th. Uranus also opposes the moon and squares the sun so the solar return is really reflecting the energy I am experiencing from the transit.
Progressions are a little more confusing to me.
 

starlink

Well-known member
Is it possible to time with solar returns, other than to say that it will happen in that year?
Another way to figure things out is making Lunar returns for every month of that year and see where the action seems to be, by looking at the aspects etc.
If you suspect a certain thing to happen, lets say in the romance department, then see if in one of those Lunar charts the 5th or 7th houses are accentuated more than in other months and then you will more or less know when things could happen. Still, it is not easy to predict anything with Solar Returns because very often a Solar Return shows what we want to happen or what is occupying our mind at that time in our lives.

I once had a client who had a Solar Return with a jam packed 6th house. She desperately wanted a job. Nothing happened, even thought that chart really looked as if she would hit the jack-pot. Thing is that you also should keep in mind what the progressed planets are doing and what the heavy transits are doing in your natal chart that year. Forecasting is terribly complicated I find and needs a lot of experience in order to get it more or less right. Just dont expect too much and keep it general, not specific.
progress.gif
 

Kerrie

Well-known member
I just went to a dermatologist and I am waiting results for screening on basal cell carinoma.
Maybe off topic but I went to a skin doctor on Friday, he found 9 sun spots in total, I found more when I got home. He frooze some of them and they are blistering. I had a BCC cut off back in 2005! (Just in case you wanted to learn more by looking at my chart. :wink:)
 

Kerrie

Well-known member
Thankyou for the timing Cassanra and Starlink, I dont know much about solar arcs, but I noticed last year that I would be focused on relationships, I thought my relationship was fine, yeah right, lol.

The good thing for next year I have a packed full 5th house, so I want to see where the Sun and Moon is now!
 
I'd read that solar return charts emphasize the first half of the year.. and your half birthday solar return chart emphasized the second half.

I was born on 25th January, and my half birthday is coming up, but I don't know exactly how to look at my half solar return chart! I tried a solar return chart for 25th July 1987, would that work?

I've never heard of 'half solar return' for timings
Solar returns
http://cafeastrology.com/interpretingsolarreturns.html
http://www.astrologyweekly.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12694
http://wiki.astro.com/astrowiki/en/Solar_Return_Chart
http://www.maryshea.com/sr.html

The house in which the Sun falls in the SR chart is the birthday month's forecast and influence, and each house after is the following month, since the Sun transits at the rate of one sign or house per month. Each house is treated as events in that month, and the sign and planet ruling the cusp influences the outlook for that month. The chart is used like a clock, with 12 months on its face instead of 12 hours. As the Sun conjoins or aspects other planets in the SR, it will generate events
http://www.typhonvision.com/art-solarreturn.htm

Also transits move and then make aspects to SR as well as natal..

Then try Solar arcs moving each planet sun-mars 30' each month
 

ccpup

Member
Solar Returns are absolutely fascinating.

My partner's SR chart covering Sept 05 to Sept 06 had Saturn on the Ascendant and 29 Aries on the MC with Mars in the 10th and the Sun in the 3rd. Sure enough, he was quite suddenly offered a job late in the year (activity later in the Return period with the SR Sun in the 3rd House) which elevated him dramatically (Mars in the 10th) and gave him tons and tons of work, responsibility and authority (Saturn on the Ascendant).

The SR Chart for Sept 08 to Sept 09, though, had 29 Aries now having moved from the MC to the Ascendant with the ruler Mars on the Descendant, Saturn now in the 6th along with the Sun (though not conjunct) as well as Mercury and the Moon and Jupiter conjunct the MC. This Saturn was also in opposition to Uranus in the 11th.

As Tr Jupiter moved through the 10th House and squared SR Mars and Tr Mars squared SR Uranus, he was suddenly let go from the job he had gotten during the earlier Saturn on the Ascendant Return.

Now here we are in the months leading up to a new SR chart and, once again, in the Sept 09 to Sept '10 chart he has Saturn on the Ascendant with Mars in the 10th though the ruler of the MC, Mercury, is conjunct this Saturn along with Venus (in the 12th) and the Sun (in the 1st). I anticipate the months leading up to his birthday -- Sept 30 -- to be a flurry of activity with many of the trigger planets transiting conjunct this Mercury, Saturn and the Ascendant.

As far as Progressions go, he had his SP Moon conjunct his Natal Sun in '06 and now he has this SP Moon approaching his SP Sun for a Progressed New Moon.

As I said, SR are fascinating. :)
 

FraterAC

Well-known member
Forecasting is terribly complicated I find and needs a lot of experience in order to get it more or less right
I agree with this completely.
I find solar returns are harder to read than people assume, and I've been looking at them for many years. Both sidereal and tropical. And transits do not indicate what is important, out of the many possibilities. Transits are just not enough, in my experience.
For the big picture, I still think secondary (major) progressions ( 1 day = 1 year) give the best indications. Adding minor progressions (1 lunar month = 1 year) help nail down to specific days.
My $0.02.
 

Lonerose99

Well-known member
@nuwanda I have heard about this several yrs ago. What a half solar return can do is just another way to check how the main solar return for the year is progressing. It's taking the transiting Sun in opposition to your natal Sun, and the planets position on the day of the opposition. I will give an example:. my Sun is 18Scor. So in the month of May when the Sun is 18Tau will be the opposition. It's not a new chart, the original return lasts all year. It's just the transits of the day, 6mo later, onto the main one. Which is what can be done no matter what day during the year actually! 🙂
For some people, it can offer a little insight, as any transits will. 🙂
 

Osamenor

Staff member
What you're talking about is a solar opposition. That happens when the sun reaches the exact same degree and minute that it's at in your natal chart, only in the sign opposite your natal sign. That usually isn't on your calendar half birthday, because sun sign months and calendar months don't line up exactly.

Some more advanced astrology software programs offer solar opposition charts. Most if not all of the free ones do not. If you're using a program that doesn't offer solar opposition charts, casting a solar return chart for your half birthday won't give you a solar opposition chart, it will give you your last solar return chart.

The workaround would be to look in the ephemeris for when the sun gets to the degree opposite your natal sun and cast a transit chart for that date. Then you can play with the times on the transit chart until you get the moment when the sun is at the same degree and minute as it is in your natal chart.
 

FraterAC

Well-known member
What you're talking about is a solar opposition. That happens when the sun reaches the exact same degree and minute that it's at in your natal chart, only in the sign opposite your natal sign. That usually isn't on your calendar half birthday, because sun sign months and calendar months don't line up exactly.

Some more advanced astrology software programs offer solar opposition charts. Most if not all of the free ones do not. If you're using a program that doesn't offer solar opposition charts, casting a solar return chart for your half birthday won't give you a solar opposition chart, it will give you your last solar return chart.

The workaround would be to look in the ephemeris for when the sun gets to the degree opposite your natal sun and cast a transit chart for that date. Then you can play with the times on the transit chart until you get the moment when the sun is at the same degree and minute as it is in your natal chart.
AstroDeluxe (by Halloran) enables the user to enter the degree of separation for solar and lunar return charts. Default is 0 degrees (the return itself) but you can put in 90, 180, 270 for quarterlies, 30, 60, 90, etc, 45, 135, 40, 80 etc in fact any separation you want.
 
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