Calculate solar return: free online chart for your year ahead
Your solar return chart for the year ahead
Guide to the Solar Return
A solar return is the exact moment the Sun comes back to its natal position, once per year near your birthday. The stars.expert free tool lets you calculate solar return charts with relocated Ascendant, Midheaven and houses based on where you spend the day. The Hellenistic tradition, revived by modern astrologers, reads this annual chart as a forecast of the themes ahead. Enter birth data and birthday city to calculate your solar return instantly. Stars.expert runs Swiss Ephemeris on top of NASA JPL DE441, the same evidence-based astrology engine used by Robert Hand and modern western practitioners in the Project Hindsight lineage, delivering ±0.001 arcsecond accuracy.
How It Works
The Solar Return is calculated for each birthday. The Sun returns to its exact natal position, but other planets will be in different positions, creating a unique map for that year. The Solar Return Ascendant indicates the 'theme' of the year.
House of the Year
The house where the Sun falls in the Solar Return indicates the area of life in focus. Sun in 1st House: year of new personal beginnings. Sun in 7th House: focus on relationships. Sun in 10th House: important year for career.
Solar Return Relocation
Some astrologers believe that celebrating your birthday in a different place can 'shift' the Solar Return Ascendant, changing the energies of the year. It is a controversial but interesting practice.
Explore more: Calculate your Saturn Return, discover your planetary transits and discover your complete birth chart.
Frequently Asked Questions
A solar return is the chart cast for the precise instant the Sun transits back to the exact degree and minute of its natal position, an event happening once each year near your birthday. This annual chart shows the planetary configurations of that moment and is read as a thematic forecast for the twelve months ahead, until the next return.