The strong themes are what aspects your SR chart makes with your natal planets, and whether there's a cluster of planets anywhere in your SR chart. If there are several planets in a house, the theme of that house is definitely up. Where your SR moon is suggests your emotional focus, and where your SR sun is suggests the focus of your personal development.
Yeah, this solar return chart is less concentrated anywhere. The most concentrated energies are in the 4th and 11th houses. 11th is where this solar year's north node is and 4th is where my natal north node is, so that's intriguing. Not sure if it's relevant, tho. My SR moon is in the 3rd house in Sagittarius which, interestingly, is also my natal north node, but that may not be relevant either, I'm just drawing some connections. It makes sense. 3rd house of communication, thoughts. I'm a writer, but I've been in a state of writer's block for a long time that I'm just now getting out of and I also feel like a new theme for me is shamelessness. Showing myself to the world, expressing myself, embracing my power which for me is very much a mental activity, but I can definitely see the 11th house themes seeping through. With 11th house being my solar north node, I'd expect that I may be moving from a place of self expression, creative engagement, to something relevant to the group, to people, to 'my tribe'. Although I always find that notion an odd one. I don't feel like I have a tribe. 11th house is quite confounding, but that is where my sun and mercury are. I can see 11th house is the house of Aquarius and the house of Uranus and Saturn. 11th house seems to place importance on some kind of social evolution or revolution
If you want to hear an eighth house story: the first time I had my solar return chart done professionally, it was a year when my SR AC was just a few degrees off my natal one, so all the house lined up. Since I have my natal sun in the the eighth, that meant my SR sun was also in the eighth. Like you this year, I also had SR Mercury in the same house as SR and natal suns.
That year felt powerful, and like a homecoming. Probably because I'm an eighth house native and all the houses were lined up, but the highlights of the year included me checking out professional astrology for the first time, and starting an intense course of hypnotherapy a couple months after my birthday. I had also, shortly before my birthday, received reiki attunements, which turned out to be a wilder ride than that usually is.
That was also the year two of my uncles died within five months of each other, so there was some death, but not because I had a very eighth house solar return. If my uncles were going to die right then, they were. Both of them died from medical causes that, at that point, were not reversible, and both of them were at an age when that happens to many. If I'd been somewhere else and not had that SR eighth house concentration, it wouldn't have kept them from dying. I think what my SR chart reflected was me having eighth house kinds of experiences.
Natally, my 8th house isn't too active. It's in Aries and my Mars is very active, in my 1st house so I think that does bring in 8th house influence. But that makes me wonder how my next solar year will be. I see myself as constantly transforming, constant little deaths, shedding aspects of the old to harness the new form. But I also see myself as searching for something. I wonder if this year I'll find it and the next solar year that grand revelation will come to its precipice and something major will happen
How does it align with your natal chart? Personally, I only interpret SR charts if I see them with the natal chart. The natal + solar return with houses option is the one I would use. How an SR chart manifests depends pretty heavily on how it's interacting with the natal.
I suppose you've seen my natal chart by now linked above? If not, I'll attach it here...
It sounds like you have your SR houses lined up more or less with your natal houses. My understanding (and related to my own story above) is that gives you some extra oomph.
Yeah, more or less. Ac is in Virgo in my natal and solar return chart, but the degrees are very off so my Mercury is in Leo and while my sun is of course in Cancer, the 11th house is ruled by Leo rather than Cancer like it is natally. No other planets align, but I know the Sun is a big one. What do you mean by extra oomph? Also, I wonder if that's hampered by the fact 11th house is now ruled by its opposite sign
How have you been living your eleventh house sun? If you're an eleventh house native, the eleventh house is an ongoing theme in your life. My observation of people I know with eleventh house suns is that they tend to be community oriented. They're people who've started communities, co-created communities, keep their communities front and central in their lives. That might be the neighborhood, that might be something about a particular group they fall into--artists' community or queer community or disabled community, for instance--or, in some cases, they see themselves as a community servant, like someone I know who's started a non-profit to serve at risk youth and directed a couple of others.
I'm really not community oriented at all. I fail in that department lol. But I'm very dedicated to changing things positively for humanity as a whole. I see what could be and I want to play my part in making it a reality. I'm not a very social creature or people oriented in a direct way. But maybe I need to look at it more abstractly...I'm very interested in connecting with other poets and I feel excited when I do. I'm generally extremely introverted to a fault, but in the right environment, I rise up and feel free
You mentioned a desire for ventures and projects that have an impact on people. Is that something you've been doing? It sounds very eleventh house to me. Since you're an eleventh house Leo, I see creative work being a likely base for these ventures and projects. You would probably be doing that no matter what your solar return is like, but this year sounds strong for it.
Nope. This is my ideal, something I desire, but various things in my life have held me back, or I've let them hold me back. Natally, my 11th house is actually ruled by Cancer, but my focus is still on the creative. I guess this is a year to grow in that way..put into practice what I've been preaching so to speak
