Solar Return Chart Calculator
A solar return chart is cast for the moment the Sun returns to its exact position at your birth, which happens once a year within a day of your birthday. Enter your birth details, the year and the city where you will spend your birthday, and Astrodamus opens that year's solar return chart free, with its Ascendant and houses.
What a solar return chart is
Astrologers use the solar return as a snapshot of the year from one birthday to the next. The chart is drawn for the second the Sun reaches its natal degree, and it is read together with your birth chart: the natal chart is who you are, and the return shows the themes the coming year brings forward.
The calendar year and the solar year are not exactly the same length, so the return can fall on the day before your birthday, on the day itself or on the day after.
The solar return Ascendant
The rising sign of the return chart sets the tone of the year: the way you approach things and the kind of situations that come to meet you. An Aries return Ascendant suggests a fast, self-starting year; Taurus a steadier one focused on building and resources; Libra a year shaped by partners. The app shows a short reading of the return Ascendant under the chart.
Houses in the solar return
The house holding the return Sun is read as the main focus of the year: the 10th house points to career, the 4th to home and family, the 7th to partnerships. The Moon's house shows where your feelings and daily needs go. Planets close to the four angles of the return chart are considered especially active for the year.
Relocated solar returns: traveling for your birthday
The moment of the return is the same everywhere, but its Ascendant and houses depend on where you are. That is why some people choose where to spend their birthday: by tradition, the chart cast for the place you are at the moment of the return is the one that describes the year.
Here is a real example. Elizabeth II's 2027 solar return falls on 04/20/2027 at 8:21 AM New York time. Cast for London, it has Leo rising at 20°25′ with the Sun in the 9th house. Cast for New York, Gemini rises at 11°47′ and the Sun moves to the 12th house; for Los Angeles, Aries rises at 8°25′ and the Sun is in the 1st house. Enter a different city in the form to compare places for your own birthday.
How to read your solar return
Start with the return Ascendant and the house of the Sun, then look at planets near the angles and the house of the Moon. Compare the return with your birth chart and with the year's transits. Astrologers treat the solar return as a guide to emphasis and timing, not a forecast of fixed events.
Frequently asked questions
Does my solar return happen exactly on my birthday?
Within about a day of it. Because the calendar year is about six hours shorter than the time the Sun takes to come back, the exact moment drifts and can fall on the day before or after your birthday. The calculator finds the moment to the second.
Which city should I enter?
The place where you will physically be at the moment of the return, which is not necessarily where you live. If you are not traveling, leave the birthday city empty and the chart is cast for your birthplace; use your home city if you live somewhere else.
Does traveling for my birthday change my year?
In astrological tradition, the relocated chart is the one that describes the year, which is why some people choose a city with a favorable return Ascendant or Sun house. There is no guarantee of outcomes; treat it as a way to set intentions for the year.
How exact does my birth time need to be?
Fairly exact. An hour of error in the birth time shifts the natal Sun by about 2.5′, which moves the return moment by about an hour and the return Ascendant by around 15°. With an unknown birth time, the return's houses are not reliable.
What time zone does the solar return chart use?
The local time of the city you chose for your birthday, including daylight saving time. The app shows the moment of the return in that local time next to the chart.
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