Free Astrology Calculator
Solar Return Chart Calculator
Your solar return is the moment each year when the Sun comes back to the exact place it held when you were born. Enter your birth details and where you will be on your birthday to find that moment to the second and see the chart for the year ahead.
What a Solar Return Chart Shows
Once a year the Sun reaches the exact degree it held when you were born. A chart cast for that moment, at the place you are, is your solar return. The Sun's sign stays the same every year, while the Moon, the planets, the rising sign and the houses arrange themselves differently each birthday. Astrologers read that arrangement as the tone of the year ahead. For the basics of the chart it sits on, see the guide to house systems.
How to Read Your Solar Return
- Start with the Sun's house. It is the area of life the year lights up. In a 10th house year attention turns to work and direction; in a 4th house year, to home and family.
- Then the rising sign. The return Ascendant describes the manner in which you meet the year. Note which house of your birth chart it falls in.
- Look at the Moon. Its sign and house show what helps you feel steady and where your feelings tend to gather.
- Notice planets on the angles. Planets in the 1st, 4th, 7th and 10th houses of the return tend to be the year's most audible voices.
- Read it against your birth chart. A return speaks about you, so the natal chart remains the foundation. The positions table places every return planet in both charts' houses.
Keep the reading as a set of questions. A solar return describes where attention tends to gather; what you do with that attention is yours to choose.
Example: A 2027 Solar Return
Someone born on November 8, 1990 at 2:30 PM in New York has their 2027 solar return on Monday, November 8, 2027 at 1:45:19 PM EST, when the Sun comes back to 16°08' Scorpio. In New York the return chart has Pisces rising and the Sun in the 8th house. The year's light falls on what is shared and what runs deep: intimacy, trust, joint resources and the things you would rather not look at. It is a year that rewards honesty with yourself.
- Exact moment
- Monday, November 8, 2027 at 1:45:19 PM EST
- Location
- New York, NY, United States of America
- Ascendant
- 4°38' Pisces (your natal 12th house)
- Midheaven
- 16°14' Sagittarius (your natal 9th house)
- House system
- Placidus
| Body | Position | Return House | Natal House |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun | 16°08' Scorpio | 8th | 8th |
| Moon | 12°45' Pisces | 1st | 12th |
| Mercury | 28°18' Libra | 8th | 7th |
| Venus | 9°16' Sagittarius | 9th | 9th |
| Mars | 17°17' Sagittarius | 10th | 9th |
| Jupiter | 21°36' Virgo | 7th | 6th |
| Saturn (retrograde) | 22°45' Aries | 2nd | 1st |
| Uranus (retrograde) | 8°48' Gemini | 3rd | 3rd |
| Neptune (retrograde) | 4°13' Aries | 1st | 1st |
| Pluto | 4°51' Aquarius | 12th | 11th |
| North Node | 6°19' Aquarius | 12th | 11th |
Why the Return Time Moves Each Year
The same person's return arrives about six hours later each year and jumps back after a leap day. These are the exact moments for ten birthdays, in New York time.
| Birthday Year | Solar Return |
|---|---|
| 2024 | Thu, Nov 7, 2024, 8:26 PM EST |
| 2025 | Sat, Nov 8, 2025, 2:11 AM EST |
| 2026 | Sun, Nov 8, 2026, 7:58 AM EST |
| 2027 | Mon, Nov 8, 2027, 1:45 PM EST |
| 2028 | Tue, Nov 7, 2028, 7:33 PM EST |
| 2029 | Thu, Nov 8, 2029, 1:22 AM EST |
| 2030 | Fri, Nov 8, 2030, 7:15 AM EST |
| 2031 | Sat, Nov 8, 2031, 1:12 PM EST |
| 2032 | Sun, Nov 7, 2032, 7:00 PM EST |
| 2033 | Tue, Nov 8, 2033, 12:47 AM EST |
Why the Location Matters
The moment of the return is the same everywhere on Earth. The Ascendant and the houses depend on where you stand, so a return cast in Tokyo and one cast in London share the same planets in different houses. Some people travel for their birthday to change the chart; whether that changes the year is a matter of debate among astrologers. What everyone agrees on is that the chart should be cast for where you actually are.
How Accurate Is It?
Positions come from the same ephemeris behind Selfgazer's planets today pages and birth charts, tested against the Swiss Ephemeris to within half an arcminute. The return moment is solved to the second and checked against Selfgazer's own Swiss Ephemeris solar return calculator. For years ahead, the clock time can differ by a few seconds between ephemerides because Earth's future rotation can only be estimated. Your birth time is read with the historical time zone and daylight saving rules of your birthplace.
Solar Return Questions
What Is a Solar Return Chart?
A solar return chart is cast for the moment the Sun returns to the exact degree, minute and second it held when you were born. That happens once a year, on or within a day of your birthday. Astrologers read the chart as a portrait of the year that follows, until the next return.
Do I Need My Exact Birth Time?
Yes. The Sun moves about one degree a day, so an hour's error in your birth time moves the return by about an hour. In that hour the return Ascendant can shift by fifteen degrees or more, which changes the houses. Use the time on your birth certificate if you can.
Which Location Should I Use?
The place where you are, or will be, at the exact moment of the return. Most astrologers use that location rather than the birthplace, because the houses and the Ascendant depend on where the chart is drawn. If you will be at home, use your home city. For a past year, use where you actually were.
Why Is My Solar Return on a Different Day From My Birthday?
The calendar year is about six hours longer than 365 days, and leap days pull it back, so the Sun reaches your birth degree a few hours later each year and jumps back after a leap year. Depending on your time zone, the return can fall on the day before or the day after your birthday. A 1 January birthday can have its return on 31 December.
When Does the Solar Return Year Begin and End?
It begins at the exact moment of the return and runs until the next one, about a year later. The calculator gives both moments. A solar return year is counted by the birthday it belongs to, so the 2027 return is the one around your 2027 birthday.
Is a Solar Return a Prediction?
Selfgazer reads it as a description of where attention tends to gather during the year, and as a set of questions to bring to it. What the year holds depends on what you do with it. The chart is most useful read alongside your birth chart, which stays the foundation.
Which House System Should I Use for a Solar Return?
Use the same system you use for your birth chart. Placidus is the most common choice and the default here. Whole Sign houses make each sign one house from the rising sign, which many traditional astrologers prefer.