The exact moment the Sun comes back to the degree it held when you were born, and the chart of that moment: the year's rising sign, the house the Sun falls in, and the Moon. Free, no sign-up, and nothing is stored.
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This is the summary. The full report reads every planet in your return, the twelve houses one by one, and how the year lands on your birth chart: over 90 pages, with a bi-wheel chart.
See the complete Solar ReturnEvery year, around your birthday, the Sun comes back to exactly the same degree and minute of the zodiac it held when you were born. The chart cast for that moment is your Solar Return, and it is read as the weather of the twelve months that begin, until the next one.
It does not always fall on your birthday. A calendar year is not a whole number of solar returns, so it can arrive a day early or a day late, and at a different hour each year. That is why it has to be calculated: the date alone is not enough.
1. The natal Sun. Calculated from your birth date, time and place, to the second of arc.
2. The moment of return. Near your birthday in the chosen year, we find the moment the Sun reaches that exact longitude again. That moment is the same everywhere in the world: we give it in your local time and in universal time.
3. The chart for that moment. Cast for wherever you are at that moment. The planets are the same in every city; the rising sign, the midheaven and the houses are not.
Your birth time matters a lot: the rising sign moves one degree every four minutes, and an hour's error in your birth time moves the moment of return and can change the year's rising sign. We use the Swiss Ephemeris and each place's historical time zone.
Because the moment is the same everywhere but the houses depend on the place, the same person has a different return in London, New York or Sydney. The year's rising sign changes, and so does the house the Sun falls in, which is the first thing read.
That is why some people choose on purpose where to spend their birthday. With the calculator you can try several cities: keep the same birth details and change only the birthday place.
The year's rising sign sets the tone: the attitude you live those twelve months with. The Sun's house says where the energy gathers. The Moon describes what you need emotionally and where the year fluctuates.
Then you look at which house of your birth chart the return's rising sign falls in, which says what part of your everyday life is switched on, and at the angular planets. That, and every planet one by one, is what the full report reads.
The house the return Sun falls in shows where the year's energy goes: the area of life that asks for attention, decisions and presence. It is the first thing read, together with the rising sign.
A year about you. The Sun in the return's 1st house puts the focus on your body, your image and your initiative: a year to start something on your own, change how you look or how you act, and stop waiting for permission. What you do shows more than usual.
A year of resources. Money, what you earn and how you manage it come to the front, and with them the question of what you really value. A good year to sort out finances, charge what you are worth and build a stable base.
A year of near movement. Conversations, messages, short trips, short courses and siblings or neighbours take up more room. A year to learn, write, negotiate and say what you think.
A year turned inward. Home, family and roots ask for attention: a move, a renovation, caring for someone or settling things with the past. What you build at home holds up everything else.
A year to enjoy and create. Love, romance, children, play and any project you put yourself into light up. A year to take a chance on what you love and let yourself be seen.
A year of work and the body. Routines, health, daily work and organisation need adjusting. A good year to change habits, improve how you work and look after your body before it insists.
A year of other people. Partners, associates, contracts and any one-to-one relationship become central: commitments, agreements, or endings that clear the air. What happens this year happens through someone.
A year of depth. Intimacy, sexuality, debts, inheritances and shared money move, and with them whatever was kept hidden. A year of transformation: something ends so that something can begin.
A year of horizons. Long journeys, higher education, other countries, philosophy and belief call you. A year to widen your view, learn something big or publish what you know.
A career year. Vocation, recognition and your place in the world are in play: promotions, changes of direction, more visibility. What you do this year is seen in public.
A year of your people. Friends, groups, networks and plans for the future gain strength. A year to join something bigger than you, collaborate and get clear on what you want for the years ahead.
A year of withdrawal. The Sun in the 12th house asks for rest, reflection and closing cycles before a new one starts. A more inward year than a visible one: what is prepared in quiet comes out later.
The return's rising sign is the tone of the year: the attitude you live it with and how others see you over those twelve months. It changes every year, and with the city where you spend your birthday.
A year of drive. Aries rising: more initiative, more haste, less patience. A year to start, compete and decide fast; watch for clashes and for accidents from rushing.
A year to settle. Taurus rising: the pace slows and the need for security, comfort and concrete things grows. A year to build slowly, look after your body and enjoy what you already have.
A restless year. Gemini rising: more contacts, more information, more movement. A curious, social year, good for learning and communicating; the risk is spreading yourself too thin.
A sensitive year. Cancer rising: emotions, family and home weigh more. A year to care and be cared for, and to protect what matters to you.
A year to shine. Leo rising: more presence, more wish to express yourself and be recognised. A generous, creative year, good for leading and for taking centre stage.
A year of order. Virgo rising: more attention to detail, to work done well and to health. A year to improve, refine and organise; don't ask too much of yourself.
A year of relationships. Libra rising: bonds, partnership and agreements mark the year, and the wish for harmony and beauty grows. A year to negotiate and find balance.
An intense year. Scorpio rising: nothing by halves. A year of deep feeling, of power and of change at the root; what no longer serves falls away, and it is best let go.
An expansive year. Sagittarius rising: more optimism, more wish to travel, learn and leave the familiar. A year to widen horizons; the risk is promising more than fits.
A year of responsibility. Capricorn rising: more discipline, more work and long-term goals. A serious, productive year, when what is built with effort is harvested.
A year of freedom. Aquarius rising: the wish to change, to be independent and do things your own way. An original, social year, good for breaking routines and meeting different people.
A receptive year. Pisces rising: more intuition, more sensitivity and more need for meaning. A year for creativity, spirituality and compassion; set clear limits.
Usually on that day, but it can be the day before or the day after, and at a different hour each year. It depends on the exact moment the Sun returns to its natal degree, which is what this page calculates.
Yes, for the rising sign and the houses. With an approximate time the date of the return is right, but the year's rising sign may change: it moves one degree every four minutes.
Both. The birthplace is used to calculate your natal Sun. The return is cast for wherever you are at the moment of return; if you leave it empty, we use your birthplace.
It begins at the moment of return, around your birthday, and lasts until the next return a year later. It is felt most strongly in the months around the birthday.
No. The calculator calculates and answers; we don't store your date, time or place, and there is no sign-up.
Over 90 pages: every planet in the return, the twelve houses one by one, the aspects to your birth chart, a summary of the year, and the bi-wheel chart. It is included in the subscription.
