Planetary returns are a good way to gauge the influence of that planet of the next course of its cycle.  This technique can apply to any of the planets.  Typically, Saturn which has a 29 year cycle, is the most notable as it is the time marker of our life.  We can examine when Saturn returns as a basis of what the next 29 years would be like for us.  The outer planets like Neptune, and Pluto return well after we meet our maker but do however apply to the charts of countries or businesses.  If you are lucky enough to make it to a Uranus return in life that is great for you as you hit 83/84 years of age but that would be another marker for a country, city, or even a business.

For people, the most common returns that are examined are Lunar and Solar returns.   While lunar returns can give you a monthly outlook on your life, solar returns the most commonly used as they give you a yearly outlook.

The Solar Return is when the Sun comes back to the position it was when you were born.  For example, let us pretend you are born with the Sun at 15 degrees and 10 minutes of Libra.   Every year the Sun will pass 15 degrees and 10 minutes of Libra.  This will occur either on your actual birthday or more usually the day before your birthday.    If you take this chart for the moment the Sun comes to your Natal position then this sets out the flavour of the upcoming year.   The detractors take this as just the transits for the day but other astrologers use it quite regularly.

Location, location, location!  Not all astrologers agree as to where to set the Solar Return.  Some believe you must use the natal birth place while others set it for location that you will be celebrating the Solar Return.  In fact, I even know people who will travel to the place that will give them the best solar return chart in order to optimise their goals for the year.   A tenth house Sun might spell out something for career or seventh for relationships.

I have been typically a casual user of the Solar Return Chart basically using it to get a flavour of the year but I found this one solar return to be quite interesting.  Let’s look Prince’s last Solar Return Chart.  Prince was a mega popstar.  He was a vocalist and musician who music stretch musical boundaries with his flamboyant style.  He has won Oscars, Grammys and was an inductee into the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame.

Prince was born on June 7, 1958 at 18:17 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.  I have rectified it to 18:21 based on the timing of his life events and including his death.  His last Solar Return occurred on June 7, 2015 at 13:02:21.  Luckily, his return happened for his place of birth so we don’t have to argue about which method works better in this article.

From basic astrology, the Ascendant rules the person and their physical self and the Sun is the person’s vitality.  In looking at this chart, one will notice four major events:

  1. The first thing you will notice is that Mars, ruler of the 8th house of death is conjunct the Sun and squares the Ascendant. This highlights an affliction and that some major transformation will happen this year.  This very notable.  It is one thing to have Mars in a difficult aspect with the Sun or the ascendant but a difficult connection to both should raise some cautionary flags.
  2. Secondly, Neptune which rules flus and drugs is in the 6th house of illness but it is also in a square (90 degrees) aspect to the Sun and Mercury which rules the Ascendant of this Solar Return Chart. Like Mars, Neptune is negatively impacting both the Sun and the ruler of the Ascendant.
  3. Thirdly, Saturn the planet of difficulties and hardships, is opposite Mercury the ruler of the Ascendant in this chart.
  4. Fourthly, Pluto the planet of death and transformation is a difficult aspect (quincunx = 150°) with the Sun from the fourth house of endings.

While all of this seems quite ominous, I would not make this prediction just looking at the Solar Return as I would also need to look at Solar Arcs and transits to the Natal Chart.  However, with that being said, this solar return is very interesting with four major aspects occurring and signifying something not good was going on this year for Prince.

Prince had become an opioid addict and was taking fentanyl.  Prince died on April 21, 2016.  On June 2, the Anoka County Examiner’s Office stated that Prince had died of an accidental fentanyl overdose.

Solar Arcs

Solar Arcs are a timing technique where you advance all the planets the same amount as the progressed Sun, which is approximately a year for day movement. That is 1 day after you are born is equivalent to a year of your life. For example, if you look at how far the Sun has moved from your natal position 28 days after you are born, you advance all planets the same amount.

 

If we examine the Solar Arcs during this period, we will see Mercury, the ruler of his 8th house of death squaring the nodes (his future/past) while Solar Arc Jupiter, ruler of the 4th house of endings, opposite his Sun (vitality) and Solar Arc Saturn (difficulties in general and ruler of his 6th house of illness) is squaring his Ascendant.

So with this in mind I might start paying a bit more attention to solar return chart aside from getting a flavour of the year.

What is going on in your life? How long will the chaos last?

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