Interpreting Solar Return Charts

melina

Well-known member
I have read it on a few sites that the effects of a solar return are felt 3 months prior to your birthday and it fizzles out 3 months before your next birthday. If I were to look at my own solar return, my back issues (which were seen in the solar return) commenced 3 months before my actual birthday. Perhaps just a coincidence. So since my birthday is in June, I should start feeling the effects in April ... hmmmm
 

dr. farr

Well-known member
I have read it on a few sites that the effects of a solar return are felt 3 months prior to your birthday and it fizzles out 3 months before your next birthday. If I were to look at my own solar return, my back issues (which were seen in the solar return) commenced 3 months before my actual birthday. Perhaps just a coincidence. So since my birthday is in June, I should start feeling the effects in April ... hmmmm

I must admit that I have seen SR indications having begun as early as several months prior to the actual SR date, in several instances. I think the old adage "coming events cast their shadows beforehand", applies to this situation; same thing has been noted by some relative to profections, relative to firdaria time periods, and relative to Vedic dasas (their term for firdaria-like time periods) as well.
 

bittermoon

Well-known member
it makes no sense for a solar return to exactly kick in on the day of the actual return and to stop at the start of the next one. life is fluid like that. something always gets the ball rolling, it doesn't start rolling by itself. a couple of months, up to half a year, seems nothing but fair.
 

dr. farr

Well-known member
it makes no sense for a solar return to exactly kick in on the day of the actual return and to stop at the start of the next one. life is fluid like that. something always gets the ball rolling, it doesn't start rolling by itself. a couple of months, up to half a year, seems nothing but fair.


In my opinion, quite correct!:wink:
 

gamhal

Member
I have found with experience that taking the Ascendant of the Solar return and using one degree of the chart to mark each succeeding day has good results for marking events in the coming year. To some degree the house influence seem relevant as well.
As far as it's making sense goes, it could be argued that the Ascendant marks the 'birth' of the year in question.
I don't remember where I first heard this technique described but I have found it useful for timing events...particularly where it coincides with other configurations. There is of cours a miniscule offset to consider with the five days beyond the chart's 360 which would become more pronounced as the year progresses.
 

JUPITERASC

Well-known member
I don't remember where I first heard this technique described but I have found it useful for timing events...particularly where it coincides with other configurations.

There is of course a miniscule offset to consider with the five days beyond the chart's 360 which would become more pronounced as the year progresses
.
Important factor when timing events :smile:
 

dr. farr

Well-known member
"progressing" the SR chart, one day = one degree, is a very useful method, and is often quite effective. I too have used this method with good results. I believe this method was originally advocated back in the 1940-60's by members of the London School of Astrology, but I am not certain of this assertion.

Note: to make the progressions exact for a 365 day year, progress at the rate of 59minutes10seconds (59'10") per day, instead of 1 degree per day.
 
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CapAquaPis

Well-known member
I was able to uncover my solar return with the help of astro.com, but to avoid me rambling on a dissertation on how to find yours, I post the link to the FAQ on finding your solar return.

http://www.astro.com/faq/fq_fh_return_e.htm

Mine was February 15, 2012 at 8:38AM PST. Usually birthdays or close to them are when most personal solar returns occur. I read about the USA solar return (or was it with Lunar or planetary returns) on this site when someone used September 20, 1787 instead of July 4, 1776: to find the nation's most significant day was Sept. 25 (2 weeks after 9/11), 2001!

Not only I recovered from an anginagram exactly 3 months ago (November 15-16 - was my part of hyleg) and the stilts placed inside me should heal in...90 days, I got word of a family friend's 18 year old son had an auto accident which he survived...on February 15th this year. And on January 4th: the part of destiny "to determine ones-self" was on this day in 1987, my parents divorced and 25 years later, my Mom I lived in mainly with as a child...never remarried.
 

melina

Well-known member
I have a question ...

I think the effects of my solar return are already kicking in (birthday is in June). Should aspects of the SR be read by themselves or in accordance to their relationship to planets in the natal chart?
 

JUPITERASC

Well-known member
I have a question ... I think the effects of my solar return are already kicking in (birthday is in June). Should aspects of the SR be read by themselves or in accordance to their relationship to planets in the natal chart?
Ancient/Traditional astrologers treated the solar return - 'Revolution' they called it - as part of a greater prediction system: Primary directions indicate the significance of the upcoming year: the solar return is studied with the nativity, for nothing can occur unless it is promised in the nativity. Lunar returns are then consulted for more precise timing, followed by transits for pinpointing the day of the event. Secondary progressions are a suitable substitute for primary directions. The returns are never judged alone - "Transits are not enough"

Questions concerning precession, location and use with the nativity, came later. Some modern astrologers prefer the precessed returns and insist the return chart can be read independently. http://www.skyscript.co.uk/rev_returns.html

Information related to Sidereal Solar Returns for those interested is available at http://solunars.net/viewforum.php?f=8&sid=594b98254caac485c71706a04b281651:smile:
 
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dr. farr

Well-known member
I have a question ...

I think the effects of my solar return are already kicking in (birthday is in June). Should aspects of the SR be read by themselves or in accordance to their relationship to planets in the natal chart?

Although I use quite radical methods re to SR, I think the most valuable testimonies of historical and contemporary authorities regarding the delineation of SR's support the idea of blending the relationship of SR planets to natal planets along with the delineation of the SR planets aspects as "stand-alone"; this combination gives the most likely accurate predictive assessment.
 
I strongly disagree that Solar Return charts are "simply glorified transit charts". I have studied various return charts in depth since at least 1987, and find them to function more as mini-natal charts. They contain numerous promises about what will occur in the individual's life over the period in question. For instance, a Solar Return (SR) will make promises that can be reliably depended on to be fulfilled sometime between one birthday and the next. The fact that they do not narrow down exactly WHEN in those 12 months the promise will be fulfilled does not reduce the value of the promise.

Over the course of my 25 years of studying return charts, I have learned a few things about them that are not always mentioned or obvious by other astrologers:

1. For one, return charts tend to become partially active about 10% - 12% earlier than the actual timing of the chart. In other words, even though my birthday is in early April, my SR will actually start manifesting results as early as mid-February, about six weeks ahead of schedule.

2. There are two extremely useful return charts that the mainstream astrological community under-utilizes : tertiary lunar returns (TLRs) and secondary lunar returns (SLRs). The SLR is the actual lunar return that occurred in the first months after a subject was born, but used according to its timing in the secondary progressed chart. Thus, the subject's first SLR occurs around age 27, and that chart will reliably portray the subject's life conditions and life developments over the following 27 years (of course, due to the 11% rule, the SLR actually starts coming into effect about two years before the actual Moon-conjunct-Moon event in the secondary chart, or around age 25. Thus, a subject will only have a few SLRs over the course of their entire lives, and so these few charts naturally and reliably divide the subject's life into very distinct 27-year chapters. Mortality is usually indicated in these charts by multiple (no less than two) malific afflictions to Sun, Moon, ASC, and/or MH. Similatly, the same sort of chart can be used in the tertiary progressed chart, only in that case the chart will reflect a two-year-long period of time. Thus, between SLRs, TLRs, and SRs, we have return charts that divide the life into one year, two year, and 27 year charters.

Regardless of where the native has moved to over the course of his life, I find that the TLRs and SLRs drawn up for the birthplace are best, at least so long as the native was still at his birthplace during the first few months of his life.

Effectively, the return charts show what will happen in a given period, while the transits and progressions will define how and when those developments will occur. If you are hoping for a career advancement in a given period, look in the return charts. If there are no beneficial aspects to the MH, your hopes will not pan out no matter what is going on in the transits or progressions. Similarly, if you are worried about losing your job in a given period but the return charts have only positive aspects to the MH, you will likely be okay regardless of what is going on in the transits and progessions.

There is a hierarchy of authority :

1. Natal chart
2. Secondary Lunar Return
3. Tertiary Lunar Return
4. Solar Return
5. Transits, Solar Arcs, Progressions, and Lunar Returns

Nothing can happen in the life unless it is indicated in the natal chart, but in the same way, all major developments in a given 27 year period will be represented in the current SLR, and the same goes for the two-year TLRs and the one-year SR. These charts show the overarching design of the life, while the transits and progressions simply fill in the timing details. When the return charts seem to contradict the transits and progressions, the return charts always prove to be the superior indicators.



I rely very, very heavily on return charts in my work, using them to define the broad outlines of a given period of time, and then using transits and progressions to fine-tune the exact timing of the promises made in the return charts. I find this is a very reliable recipe for successful prediction in my work.
 
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ethertwist

Well-known member
Very interesting, Hoosier Astrologer. How do we go about generating our Secondary Lunar Return? Is it essentially just the progressed chart for the day that we have our Progressed Lunar Return?

Edit: I think I get it. It's essentially the first Lunar Return chart after we were born (if we're under 54)! Can we then make Solar Return charts using the date and time of this SLR as another birthdate in essence?
 
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No, it is the actual lunar return. Let me explain. In your secondary progressed chart, find the lunar returns, i.e., the times when the secondary progressed moon comes around to conjoin the natal moon. Now, these conjunctions will occur roughly at ages 27, 55 and 82 in each individual's progressed chart. But in real time, those same conjunctions were the first three lunar returns of that infant's life. IOW, the child born on 1/1/2012 will have his first lunar return on 1/28/2012, but in his progressed chart that event occurred at age 27. That exact same chart is both his normal lunar return that governed his life for a single month as an infant from 1/28/2012 to 2/25/2012, but at the same time it is also his secondary lunar return that will govern his life from age 27 to age 55.

It is also his tertiary lunar return that will govern a two-year period from age 2 to age 4.

It is very rewarding to study the tertiary lunar returns as a way to grasp how these charts work. Take a look back at the last ten of your own TLRs, governing your last 20 years, and you will see instantly how accurately and comprehensively they reflect the conditions, foci, and changes of your life during each period. IOW, let the charts themselves teach you how to read them.
 
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gen6k

Well-known member
Cool Secondary Lunar Return is good. Its like the directions to accomplish before Saturn Return.

So is Lunar Return a good indicator to calibrate the Solar Return per month. Or is it too hermetic emotional development?
 
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Omnisphericus

Well-known member
Hi, does anyone knows whether the chart of "Professor Gumby" is that of a man or a woman?
This is crucial in delineating marriage and I didn't saw anywhere mentioned.
Maybe the name "Gumby" in itself is describable, but since English is not my first language, I'm finding it hard to make analogy.
 

JUPITERASC

Well-known member
...Maybe the name "Gumby" in itself is describable, but since English is not my first language, I'm finding it hard to make analogy.
Hi Omnisphericus, a typical 'Gumby' is viewable at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIlKiRPSNGA:smile:


100 word extract sourced from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gumbys

"Gumbys are recurring characters in Monty Python's Flying Circus a British comedy programme. If a name was listed for them, the surname given would always be "Gumby", and the first name would usually be given as two initials. Gumbys have toothbrush moustaches, wear handkerchiefs on their heads which are knotted at the corners, wire-rimmed spectacles, braces, Fair Isle knitted tank tops, a 1950s shirt rolled up to the elbows (without the detachable collar), trousers rolled up above their knees and gumboots. They usually hold their arms in an ape-like position, speak loudly and slowly, and pronounce words syllable by syllable"

I asked Professor Gumby if we could use his Natal and Solar Return Charts to examine, and this is what he had to say:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pzr6wk7FVXE

I'm going to take that as a "yes."

Since many are concerned with marriage/divorce, we'll look at those charts first.
fwiw IMO Omnisphericus we can safely assume that due to BobZemco's somewhat consistently acidic humour that the reference to 'Professor Gumby' is intended not to be taken seriously... however, since BobZemco no longer posts on our forum we cannot check whether the chart is of a male or of a female or simply an event chart picked in order to illustrate the particular idea BobZemco wanted to convey :smile:
 

JUPITERASC

Well-known member
Hi JupiterAsc, thank you for your clarification :)So, I assume that the "Professor Gumby" of Bob's chart is a man?!
I would be inclined to assume so Omnisphericus and I'm also very interested to learn of any insights you may have in relation to the ideas illustrated by BobZemco via "Professor Gumby's Chart" :smile:
 

Omnisphericus

Well-known member
I would be inclined to assume so Omnisphericus and I'm also very interested to learn of any insights you may have in relation to the ideas illustrated by BobZemco via "Professor Gumby's Chart" :smile:

Yes I want to look at the chart, that is why I asked for the gender of the native, to know whether to calculate the Lot of Marriage for Men or Women; which Universal Significator to use, Venus and Moon if the native is a man, or Sun and Mars if the native is a woman. Traditional Astrology makes these distinctions in delineating a chart.
I would go with assuming that the chart is that of a man, so we will see where will lead us :)

I will come back with the results.
 
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