How to Set Yearly Intentions with Your Solar Return

How to Set Yearly Intention with Your Solar Return 

In a previous post I provided a step-by-step guide for erecting and interpreting your Lunar Return. In a follow up to that post, I explained how to use your Lunar Return.  Before going further, you may want to go back and review those posts. 

The Solar Return is similar to the Lunar Return in that it is a chart erected for when the Sun will return to the exact degree and minute it occupies in your Natal Chart.  It is important to keep in mind that people don't always remain in the same place that they were born. Take myself for example. I was born in South Carolina but have resided in Washington state for the past 13 years. Therefore, when calculating your Solar Return, you also have to keep in mind your present location or the location you plan to be at the time of your Solar Return. 

Whereas a Lunar Return is only good for about 28 days, a Solar Return is good for approximately one year.  It signifies energies which will be active in the individual's life and events which may transpire over the course of the year. 

Sample Chart 

In this blog entry I will be using the Natal Chart of a "Nehi Nightmare", a client and friend of mine who is an ex roller-derby star. You may have seen her image on a transit bus in Seattle, WA. 

Your Big Three

I've talked about the big three in a previous blog post. When astrologers speak of your "Big Three" they are speaking about three specific positions and points in your natal chart. They are

1. Your Ascendant- the first impression you give to others. 
2. Your Sun Sign- the essence of who you are. 
3. Your Moon Sign- your emotional nature.

The Ascendant 

Aquarius in the 3rd House 

I rebel against old modes of thinking 

The first thing I look at is the Ascendant. The Ascendant in a chart gives an indication of your persona or the "mask" you wear despite the essence of who you are (The Sun Sign). When Aquarius is on the Ascendant in a Solar Return Chart, you wear the mask of the rebel and will follow your own heart and also be able to speak your truth. 

This is interesting because Aquarius falls in the 3rd house of the Natal Chart which rules the conscious mind, one's near environment, and mode of self-expression.  This is an area of life which will be important during the Solar year and could be an indication that the individual might want to think about how they communicate with others, what they set their mind to, as well as improving the relationships with their siblings.  

The Sun 

The Sun + Scorpio + 10th House 

I am passionate about my career and reputation

The Sun brings illumination and focus to those areas of life represented by the house it occupies in the Solar Return Chart. In the example about, the Sun is transiting the 10th House. The 10th house is the public sector of the chart, it rules over your career, public standing, and profession. With the Sun in the 10th house of the Solar Return chart, you have the ability to "shine" in your career, improve your reputation, and achieve greater success with your effort. You also have the ability to change the direction of your life to be more in line with your personal vision.

The Sun at 3° Scorpio is also making a sextile to Mars at 3° Virgo giving the individual the confidence and energy to be aggressive and proactive without completely overpowering others.  The individual can be more of a team-player and get along well with others. Any competition that occurs will be fair and friendly. 

The Moon 

The Moon + Libra + 9th House 

I feel ambivalent about my beliefs. 

Due to it's own shifting nature, the Moon signifies change and fluctuation according to the house it occupies in your Natal Chart as well as your emotional nature for the year. With the Moon in the 9th House you may feel like you need more freedom and adventure. You may also  re-evaluate your own beliefs and even find yourself in situation where you have to defend your beliefs, or explain why you believe what you believe. It is important to you, as this time, that your beliefs provide your with emotional fullfillment. 

The Moon at 16° Libra is making a Sextile to Venus at 19° Sagittarius indicating the individual will enjoy more social interactions among freinds.  This aspect also grants the individual the ability to be more open and honest with others, but more importantly with themselves. 

Spinning Straw into Gold  

Setting Intentions is a phrase that you may have heard before but what does it mean exactly? To set intentions means to make a decision about something that you want to be, do, or have and then go about the process of being it, doing it, and having it.  I tend to think of having a goal is the same as having straw, but to turn that goal into an intention is the spin that straw into gold! It is not enough to simply have a goal, but you must take steps towards acheiveing it. 

After examining your Big Three, or Holy Trinity, in your Solar Return Chart you now have three goals to meditate upon. They are:

1. Improve my mental outlook, communication skills, and relationships with siblings. 
2. To grow in my career and have greater success. 
3. To codify my beliefs, understand why I believe what I believe and to also "walk my talk". 

The North Node - Your Mission, Should You Choose to Accept It ...

The North Node in your Natal Chart represents your path to soul growth and evolution, it is something that you can work towards that will help you become a better person. However, the potential represented by your North Node can be difficult to do because it is outside your experience or comfort zone.  It can represent your life mission or purpose. 

In a Solar Return chart, it roughly represents the same thing. However, in this case, it is something you can work for in the solar year. In the case of the chart above, the individuals North Node is in the 6th house of work, health, and service to others.  

With the North Node in the 6th house, you can strive to be more organized and efficient in your life this year. Your work may be difficult due to a lack of order. You can develop a new system to help you refine and improve your routines or improve upon an existing system.  This is also a good year to improve your health with diet, exercise, and more self care. 

Further Steps 

You can take this a step further by examining the houses which rule over specific areas of life that you are interested in. For example, if you want to work on your love life you would look to the position of Venus in the Solar Return, aspects to Venus,  your 5th house solar return and your 7th house solar return. 

Conclusion 

Examining points and positions in your Solar Return Chart is a great way to set goals and intentions for your personal solar year. Ultimately, you want to find the positive in your chart and work towards that while avoiding the negative in your chart. 

Carolina Dean 

New Moon in Aries

New Moon 

4/5/19  1:50 AM Pacific 

Natural Chart / Whole Houses 

The New Moon

A New Moon occurs when both the Sun and the Moon simultaneously occupy the same degree of the same sign in the zodiac. As you can see from the above chart, the Sun and Moon both occupy 15 degrees Aries at 1:50 am on 4/5/2019 making this a new moon. 
 

The Moon Represents What is Happening 

Occurring approximately once every 28 1/2 days, new moons denote the end of one cycle and the beginning of a new cycle. New Moons are a great time to initiate any kind of change or to begin attracting anything that is needed or wanted.   Due to the fact that the moon is associated with our emotions, this is often seen as a new emotional cycle. 

Some keywords associated with the moon include, but are not limited to, the following: emotions, feelings, family, change, instincts, reflection, imagination, subconscious, or nurturing.

Aries Describes How it is Happening 

The Astrological Sign in which the New Moon occurs can indicate how this emotional renewal may express itself. Some keywords associated with Aries include, but are not limited to, the following: assertive, strong, initiative, energy, impatient, headstrong, adventurous, fearless, leader, pioneer, eager, and enthusiastic. 

The New Moon in Aries

A good way to better understand the Moon in Aries is to put these keywords side by side and blend them together. For example

The Moon                        Aries 

childhood                         assertive

cycles                               strong 

emotions                          initiative 

feelings                            energy

habits                               impatient

change                             headstrong 

instincts                           adventurous 

passive                             fearless 

reflection                          leader

subconscious                    pioneer 

imagination                      eager 

nurturing                          enthusiastic 

When the Moon is in Aries people are generally more courageous, assertive, and imaginative.  They can be forceful and rely on themselves more than usual (perhaps too much).  However, they can be more argumentative as well and so butt heads with others if they are not able to keep their cool (Aries is a fire sign that rules the head so the term hot-headed applies here).  

The House is Where it Happens

The Astrological House in which the New Moon occurs in your Natal Chart gives an indication of the area of life activated by the New Moon and where you can expect to see the energy of the New Moon in Aries to play out. Since the April New Moon occurs in 15 degrees Aries, you would look at your Natal, or Birth Chart to ascertain in what House 15 degrees Aries occurs.  

If Aries if also your natal 11th house, this would be your annual wishing moon. I'll write about this more in a separate blog post. 

The Twelve Houses of Life 

1. The self, ego, appearance, initiative, leadership, fresh starts and new beginnings. 
2. Money and material matters.  Your physical environment, income, money, and your sense of self-esteem. 
3. Communication in all its forms (thinking, writing, speaking, etc... ) as well as siblings, local travel, teachers and community events. 
4. Home, privacy, your basic sense of security, your mother, children, and your own ability to nurture others.
5. Creative expression, drama, attention, love, and romance. 
6. Health and service to others. Your routine, diet, exercise and helpfulness to others. 
7. Marriage, partnerships, and relationships of all kinds.  Contracts, business deals, etc... 
8. Birth, death, sex, other people's money and property. 
9. Expansion, the higher mind, foreign matters (languages, cultures, travel) luck, adventure, risk, philosophy, ethics and morals. 
10. The public, fame, honors, reputation, awards, boundaries, rules, discipline, authority, the father. 
11. Groups of people such as friends and associations, networking, social justice.  Originality, sudden unexpected events, invention, surprises, and all things futuristic.
12. Endings. Completion, tying up loose ends, old age, karma, making amends, and the afterlife. Imagination, creativity, poetry, and the subconscious mind. 

A Practical Example 

New Moon in Aries and the 6th House 

With the Moon (I feel) in Aries (assertive) and the 6th House (health and work) ruled by Virgo (I analyze), you may be feeling more critical at this time and see problems everywhere. Problems that need to be corrected. You want to get more organized in your work, streamline your processes, and make your self as efficient as possible. If you are not able to make these changes at work, this may also be a good time to look for a new job that is more in harmony with the way you like to work. This is also a good time to change or refine your diet or exercise routine.

A Deeper Look 

You can get a good idea of how the New Moon in Aries will affect you with this simple technique. However, if you wish to go deeper, then, in addition to the Moon Sign and Natal House you may also wish to look at any aspects the New Moon is making to other planets at the time of the New Moon as well as any aspects the New Moon is making to your natal placements.  

Nonetheless, this is another subject entirely and will be the addressed in a future blog post. It is important to remember though that the aspects the New Moon make to the other planets at the time of the New Moon will affect everyone, while the aspects the New Moon is making to your Natal placements will apply only to you. 

Where is 15 degrees Aries in your chart? How will the New Moon in Aries manifest for you? 

Carolina Dean