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 

Your Lunar Return: A Step-by-Step Guide

What is a Lunar Return Chart?

A Lunar Return Chart is a type of astrological chart used in the art of astrological prediction. It is drawn up for the exact moment the transiting Moon reaches the same degree that it occupied at the time of your birth.  For example if at the time of your birth, the moon was in 17 degrees Virgo then your lunar return will occur when the moon returns to 17 degrees Virgo again. This is a cycle that will repeat itself roughly once every 28 1/2 days. 

Location, Location, Location 

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 Lunar Return, you also have to keep in mind your present location or the location you plan to be at the time of your Lunar Return.   For instance, let us say that my Lunar Return will occur on May 8th and I planned to go on vacation to Myrtle Beach  that week. I look at my calendar and see that I actually will be in Myrtle Beach at the time of my Lunar Return --- so my lunar return chart will be calculated for that location. 

What Does a Lunar Return Chart Signify? 

The Lunar Return Chart will give an indication of your emotional outlook for the month and can point to events that may transpire or play themselves out over the course of the month in question. While some transits, such as the outer planets  may carry over from month to month the lunar return is thought to be valid for one month. 

Erecting the Chart(s) 

Please note that for the purpose of this blog entry, I am using the birth data of actor Chris Evans. First we must begin with the birth chart because the Lunar Return is always read against the backdrop of the birth, or natal chart.   Below, please find Chris natal chart. 

As you can see, his Sun Sign is Gemini, his Moon Sign is Scorpio and his Rising Sign is Scorpio.  Specifically, his Moon is in 12 degrees Scorpio. So his Lunar Return will occur each month when the moon return to 12 degrees Scorpio.  His next Lunar Return will occur on April 20th, 2019 at 4:56 am. Since Chris is an actor and his profession requires him to travel a great bit I have no idea where he will be on 4/20, so for the purpose of this blog entry I have set his Lunar Return to the city of his birth which is Boston MA. 

When combined on a bi-wheel the chart appears as below with the inner wheel being the birth chart and the outer wheel being the lunar return chart.  

Interpreting the Lunar Return: A Step by Step Guide 

The first thing I look at is the rising sign, or ascendant, in the Lunar Return Chart (LR). The Ascendant represents the mask you wear, how you are perceived by others, etc...despite your Sun Sign (the essence of who you are). 

As you can see from the above chart, Chris has Aries Rising in his LR.  We know that his Sun Sign is Gemini.  What this tells me is that whereas Chris is normally energetic, curious,  and vacillating (natal sun in Gemini) his energy this month will be more forceful, direct, and assertive (Aries rising). He may even use some of this focus and energy to start a new project (Aries rules beginnings).  

Because Chris is an actor who's profession requires him to change his appearance from time to time, he may even find himself working on a project that changes his appearance from his usual Gemini body type to that of something more Aries like.  Geminis are generally tall, strong, and energetic with a high forehead and long, straight nose. Aries men, however,  are generally more rugged with a prominent chin or mouth. They sometimes, but not always, have some type of mark such as a scar or mole on their face. 

The next thing I look at is what house does the Ascendant fall in the birth chart. Chris has Aries in the 6th house in his birth chart. This tells me that issues of work, health, and his daily routine will be major factors in his life this month. 

Next, we look at the chart ruler. The Chart Ruler is the planet that rules the Ascendant in any chart. Again, Chris has Aries rising in his LR which is ruled by Mars. Mars is in the 3rd House in his LR. This house rules communication, short journeys, and his near environment. 

At this point we can start to put together some of the information we have gathered thus far. For example, you might say something along the lines of the following:

"Your normally divided energy comes more into focus this month as you present yourself as more assertive, adventurous, and decisive.  You may stray from your usual routines and try things that are new and different. You may initiate a new project in your near environment which will require several short trips and more than your usual amount of communication with others such as trading more calls and emails, and taking more meetings than you normally do."

The next thing I look at are the angles. The angles are a term which refers to the Angular Houses in astrology. The Angular Houses are the 1st, 4th, 7th, and 10th houses.  The Angular Houses are thought to be the most  important houses in astrology. 

• The first house represents your self, your ego, and outlook 
• The fourth house represents your private life. 
• The seventh house represents your relationships. 
• The tenth house represents your public life, reputation, etc... 

What I look at is what signs are in these angular houses and if they are occupied by any planets. 

In Chris's LR chart, the angles flow with the natural chart, so that he has Aries in the first house, Cancer in the fourth, Libra in the seventh and Capricorn in the tenth. He has Mercury and Chiron in the first house and Pluto and Saturn in the tenth house. He has the North Node in the 4th house, although I would not consider it when interpreting his LR, and he has no planets in his 7th House. 

A quick interpretation of his angles are as follows

• First House - Aries. The native comes across as forceful, assertive, adventurous, and eager. 
• Fourth House- Cancer. The native is very attached to his home and family. He needs roots and traditions from which he draws strength. 
• Seventh House- Libra. The native is open-minded yet careful and discriminating in who he chooses to enter into relationships of all kinds with.  He needs someone who is an equal and may have trouble finding someone who lives up the ideal he holds in his mind. 
• Tenth House- Capricorn.  The native is a hard worker who takes hi career, profession, and reputation very seriously.  

Any planets in these houses will be interpreted as being much more powerful than if they were in  the Succedent or Cadent houses. Their energy will carry more weight and their effects will be more powerfully felt. 

Then we move on to look at the individual placements of the Personal and Social Planets. The Personal Planets are the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, and Mars. The Social Planets are Jupiter and Saturn.  The Interpersonal, or Generational Planets, are not considered in the Lunar Return because they move so slowly and would not change from month to month.  The Generational Planets would be considered in the Solar Return. 

• The Sun's placement will give an indication of your focus or direction for the month. Whatever house the sun occupies will shine brighter and greater than the other houses. 
• The Moon's placement provides the emotional lens through which you view the world and your environment. 
• Mercury's placement describes your mind and thought processes for the month.  Not only what you are thinking about but how you are thinking. 
• Venus's placement will give an indicate of your attachments. What are you attracted to and who or what is attracted to you. 
• Mar's placement will describe your motivation(s) for the month.  Where and how you your energy will be spent. 
• Jupiter's placement indicates your inspiration. The house that Jupiter occupies will indicate the area of life where you can grow and what inspires you to grow and be better. This is what will help you achieve your goals and aspirations. 
• Saturn's placement represents your obstacles.  Saturn's house will indicate any challenges in your path to be overcome.  This is the area of life that will require discipline on your part. 

Of course I would also take into consideration the essential dignity of each planet as well as if they are retrograde or not. For example on April 20th and through August of 2019, Jupiter will be in retrograde and this will color my interpretation of Jupiter in Taurus and the 2nd House in his Lunar Return Chart. 

From here I look at the aspects, or relationships, between the planets in the lunar return chart. I personally do not look at all the aspect but simply the closest hard aspect and the closest soft aspect . Hard aspects are the squares and oppositions. They bring challenges and difficulties from which we can grow, learn, and evolve.  Soft aspects are trines and sextiles and they make things flow more easily. Conjunctions are more neutral and are thought to blend and amplify the energies of the two planets concerned. 

Looking at the above LR, Chris's closest Soft Aspect is the Sun Trine Jupiter and his closest Hard Aspect is Mercury Square Jupiter.  So it would appear that his personality and charisma will shine through and help him this month but he may struggle with how he exchanges thoughts and ideas with others. Therefore, when dealing with others it is important that he does not trade on his looks, personality, or reputation (even though that is what is going to get his foot in the door) but he needs to be able to voice his ideas, opinions and thoughts in a clear and understandable manner as well as learn with the intent to listen and not to respond. 

Finally, I look at the aspects between the planets in the lunar return and the planets in the natal chart. Again, I only look at the closest hard aspect and the closest soft aspect. Since this is a Lunar Return, the Transit Moon will always conjunct the Natal Moon and so this is not an aspect which I take into consideration. 

Once we have completed our examination of the chart, we take all the information that we have gleaned from the chart and organize it in a clear, concise, and easy to understand report. This process is known as astrological synthesis.  

Carolina Dean