What is a solar return exactly?

A solar return is the moment when the Sun, after one year, returns exactly to its birth position — almost always around your birthday, but not always on the day itself. The chart for that moment is your astrological annual horoscope.

When does my solar year start?

It starts with the solar return moment and runs until the next solar return — one year. If your birthday is on 15 June, your solar year usually starts on 14, 15 or 16 June and runs to the next one.

Does my location matter?

Yes, very much. The house division in the solar chart is calculated from the place you are at the moment of the solar return. Some astrologers deliberately travel to a different place to shift the houses of a year.

How much does a solar return tell me about my year?

It gives you the theme and the activated life areas. It is not fortune-telling — it is a map for the energies that will shape your year. What you make of them is still yours.

What is the difference between a solar return and a birth chart?

Your birth chart is fixed — it holds for your whole life and is the foundation. The solar return chart is recalculated every year for the moment the Sun returns to its birth position, and applies only to that one year. It is the annual layer on top of the birth chart. If you do not know your birth chart yet, calculate it first — the solar year builds on it.

What does the solar Ascendant mean?

The Ascendant in the solar return chart is usually different from your natal Ascendant. It shows the stance you bring into this one year — how you first approach situations and how the year "receives" you. It gives the solar year its colour.

How accurate does my birth time need to be for a solar return?

For the theme of the year (the Sun’s house) a rough time is often enough. For the house division and the solar Ascendant every minute counts, because the houses in a solar chart shift quickly. The more accurate your birth time, the more reliable the house statements.

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Astrology · Solar return

Your year ahead
starting on your birthday

The solar return chart is the astrological annual horoscope, drawn for the exact moment the Sun returns to its birth position — around your birthday. It shows the theme of your year, a year in advance.

Your solar return

Your birthday chart for the year ahead — where the Sun returns to its natal spot and what’s in store.

From your birth date, time and city we calculate your personal chart — each detail unlocks more of it.

Birth date *

Sets your Sun, Moon and every planet.

Swiss-Ephemeris accurateNo sign-up neededResult in seconds

With a birth time we surface the year Ascendant and houses of your solar year — without one we still compute the planets.

How it works

Three steps to your solar year

Enter your birth data
Date, time and place, the same as for a normal chart. For a solar return we also need the place you will be on your birthday — it changes the house division.
Compute the solar moment
We calculate the exact moment the Sun returns to its birth position this year — to the second, with the Swiss Ephemeris engine.
Read your year
You get your solar chart with a clear interpretation: the theme, the activated houses, the main transits — and a comparison with your birth chart.

The basics

What is a solar return?

Once a year, around your birthday, the Sun returns to the exact spot it held the moment you were born. The chart cast for that precise return is your solar return — a fresh horoscope for the year ahead, from one birthday to the next.

The Sun’s house sets the theme

The most important clue is which house the Sun lands in for the year. It tells you where your energy and attention will naturally go — the 10th house points to career and visibility, the 7th to relationships, the 4th to home and family. It’s the headline of your year.

How to use it

Read your solar return like a weather forecast, not a fate: the solar Ascendant colours the mood of the year, and the activated houses show where growth and opportunity cluster. It works best alongside your birth chart — the year’s chart layered over your lifelong one.

Solar return — frequently asked questions

What is a solar return exactly?: A solar return is the moment when the Sun, after one year, returns exactly to its birth position — almost always around your birthday, but not always on the day itself. The chart for that moment is your astrological annual horoscope.
When does my solar year start?: It starts with the solar return moment and runs until the next solar return — one year. If your birthday is on 15 June, your solar year usually starts on 14, 15 or 16 June and runs to the next one.
Does my location matter?: Yes, very much. The house division in the solar chart is calculated from the place you are at the moment of the solar return. Some astrologers deliberately travel to a different place to shift the houses of a year.
How much does a solar return tell me about my year?: It gives you the theme and the activated life areas. It is not fortune-telling — it is a map for the energies that will shape your year. What you make of them is still yours.
What is the difference between a solar return and a birth chart?: Your birth chart is fixed — it holds for your whole life and is the foundation. The solar return chart is recalculated every year for the moment the Sun returns to its birth position, and applies only to that one year. It is the annual layer on top of the birth chart. If you do not know your birth chart yet, calculate it first — the solar year builds on it.
What does the solar Ascendant mean?: The Ascendant in the solar return chart is usually different from your natal Ascendant. It shows the stance you bring into this one year — how you first approach situations and how the year "receives" you. It gives the solar year its colour.
How accurate does my birth time need to be for a solar return?: For the theme of the year (the Sun’s house) a rough time is often enough. For the house division and the solar Ascendant every minute counts, because the houses in a solar chart shift quickly. The more accurate your birth time, the more reliable the house statements.

What you get

Your year ahead, read clearly

The theme of your year
The Sun in your solar return chart sits in the same sign as in your birth chart — but in a new house. That house shows the life area where the year is happening.
Activated life areas
Which houses are occupied in this solar year, which stay empty? From that you read which life areas will ask for attention in the coming year.
The year’s Ascendant
The solar Ascendant is different from your natural Ascendant — it shows the stance you bring into this year and how it meets you.
Major transits and aspects
We mark the central aspects of your solar year and place them — from small accents to year-defining constellations.