Solar Return Chart: Your Birthday Chart for the Year Ahead

Every year, around your birthday, the Sun returns to the exact degree it held when you were born. A chart cast for that moment is your Solar Return, and astrologers use it to read the themes of the year ahead.

How a Solar Return works

Your Solar Return happens once a year, on or within a day of your birthday. The chart for that exact moment shows where all the planets are, which houses they fall in and which sign is rising. It is valid from one birthday to the next.

Why location matters

The Solar Return is calculated for where you are on your birthday, not where you were born. Spending your birthday in a different city can change the Rising sign and the houses of your Solar Return chart. Some people even travel on purpose for a more supportive chart.

What to look at first

The Solar Return Ascendant: the tone and approach of your year
The house the Sun falls in: the main focus of the year
The Moon’s sign and house: your emotional needs this year
Planets on the angles: energies that will be especially strong

Frequently asked questions

Is my solar return on my birthday?

It is usually on your birthday, but it can fall the day before or after, depending on the year and the time you were born.

Can I see my solar return in Soul Energy Insight?

Yes. The app calculates your Solar Return chart with its Ascendant, planets, points and asteroids, each with a reading for your year.

Keep exploring

Birth ChartGet your free birth chart and learn how to read it: planets, signs, houses, aspects and your Big Three, explained in plain words..The Big ThreeWhat are your Big Three in astrology? Learn what your Sun, Moon and Rising signs mean and how they work together..Rising SignWhat does your rising sign mean? Learn what the Ascendant is, why it needs your birth time, and how each rising sign shows up..Moon SignWhat does your moon sign mean? Learn how the Moon in your birth chart shapes your emotions, needs and inner world..The 12 HousesWhat do the 12 houses in astrology mean? A simple guide to each house in your birth chart, from the 1st house of self to the 12th house of the subconscious..Lunar ReturnWhat is a lunar return? Learn how the monthly return of the Moon to its birth position sets the emotional tone of your month..

See your full birth chart, free

Your Sun sign is only the beginning. Get your complete natal chart with your Ascendant, Moon, planets, houses and shadow readings, plus your Solar Return, Lunar Return and daily transits. In English, Spanish and Portuguese.

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