by Robert Wilkinson
As I noted yesterday, the Solar Return happens every year when the Sun returns to the exact degree, minute, and second as it was when we were born. It can happen the day before our birthday, the day after, or on our birthday. A chart done for that moment, set for wherever location we are at, gives us a snapshot of factors at play in our year to come.
As many of you know, my birthday is April 1. However, as I shared in the previous Solar Return article, I always meditate in the immediate time before, during, and after the exact moment of the Solar Return, unless it’s the middle of the night. That moment happened at 4:20 am PDT yesterday, and as I related, I somehow woke up at 4:15, programmed my mind with a few key receptive concepts for the next year, and took those back into subconsciousness. Not my usual meditation, but at that time of night it was about all I could do. When younger I would have leaped out of bed at 4 am and done a “correct mediation,” but these days I rarely get up at that time for anything.
Usually I feel my consciousness “quickening” the moment the Sun returns to 12 Aries, so I begin to enter into the Solar Return Zone about 5 hours before the exact moment. This year I’ve had hints of what was to come since Venus made a pass over my Sun February 16-17, and there will be ideas or “signs and signals” related to the themes when Mercury passes over my Sun April 17. These themes will no doubt be implemented when Mars transits my Sun this year during July 16-18. (I had Uranus conjunct my Sun at the SRs of 2011-2017, and yes, those were years of dynamic revolution in my life!)
Each year at my Solar Return I cultivate an inner space to make my consciousness receptive to the promise of the possibilities of what could develop in the year to come from doing the best I can with my Solar Return factors. It’s also a great exercise to reconstruct what other Solar Return charts looked like, and how they manifested.
Following the Breadcrumbs through the Forest of Time
The other years when Mercury, Venus, Mars or an outer planet have been in early Aries I also felt the quickening through those planetary functions. In March 2011 Jupiter conjuncted my Sun, and so that Solar Return chart had Jupiter at 16 Aries. My Solar Return chart for 2011 was a “before the beginning of the adventure,” and by two weeks later on April 15 I knew we were going to move to a distant land, and were already in motion by the 2012 Solar Return. Yes, sometimes it is THAT dramatic!
Taking a look farther back, the 1997 Solar Return chart featured Venus exactly conjunct Saturn at 11 Aries. That year I ended a marriage that hadn’t worked for many years, my pioneering Mercury retrograde book was published to international rave reviews, I sold my home in Austin and left an old life, met Ammachi, and began a relationship that just gets better with every year that goes by!
My Solar Return chart in 1998 had Mars at 21 Aries and Saturn at 22 Aries, both still reasonably close to my Sun. Yes, that year was truly a furious battle with an evil man, and taught me self-discipline. In 1999, my Solar Return chart had Jupiter at 12 Aries, which opened a different, more fulfilling era of my life. The battle still raged, but there was so much divine protection that I marvel how blessed we can be, even in our darkest hours.
The Aspects Show How and When Forces Will Be Released
Six years ago I got a Cardinal T-square, while five years ago I got a Grand Fire Trine involving the Sun, Jupiter, and the Ascendant, with Mercury trine Saturn, Moon tredecile Venus, and Venus quintile Neptune! Four years ago I had a Sun trine Saturn, Jupiter square Saturn and Mercury conjunct Uranus, and a Moon conjunct Pluto trine Jupiter. Talk about a mixed bag!
This year I got Jupiter conjunct Pluto, Mars conjunct Saturn, Mercury conjunct Neptune, and Sun conjunct Chiron. I suspect this will give me “doubled” planetary effects whenever any of these are triggered! Interestingly, the Jupiter conjunct Pluto happens to be sextile my natal Jupiter and trine my natal Saturn while square my natal Mars. So favorable building energies of Jupiter and Pluto with my Jupiter and Saturn, releasing through the square to Mars. Mars conjunct Saturn is quintile my natal Sun, but just separating from a square to my Mercury, which is semisquared by the solar return Mercury which is sextile my Venus.
That’s what I mean when I say none of these aspects between planets exist in a vacuum. Besides the aspects they make between each other, they also make aspects to our natal planets indicating how the yearly ruler of those natal and SR houses relates to the natal ruler of the natal and solar return houses.
The aspects in a Solar Return show the structural relationship of the “frozen moment” indicating primary lessons we will deal with for that year only. Most of the time, we experience transits as they are moving in real time; in the Solar Return, the configurations in that moment are part of the evolution of our Light/Life for the following year. Of course, how we have mastered our planetary responses and dualities determines how the planets will play out in the Solar Return.
Sometimes dramatic things are indicated in a Solar Return. As I’ve offered in past years, I believe that the 2016 chart with Sun trine Saturn, and Saturn conjunct the Part of Fortune in the 9th, indicated the publishing of my book Saturn: Spiritual Master, Spiritual Friend. It wasn’t like I “manufactured” that expression, since the book was already years in the making and that Autumn just happened to be the time it was finally finished. That year, the harmony between my Light (the Sun) and my Wisdom born of life experience (Saturn) manifested as the Sag quality of publishing a book exploring both the worldly and spiritual dimensions of the power we have to take command of our lives, living our eternal freedom to explore ever-greater vistas of Truth.
My 2018 chart had 18 Virgo rising, putting the focus on inner guidance, and as it fell in my natal 2nd house, it should have involved resources to draw on or brought me resources as I rely on the inner guidance which is the theme of that degree. As it fell in the actional level of the Scene of Education, it manifested as a year where I did go with my line of least resistance (SR Asc conjunct natal SN) and also where I received a resource curiously not my own but which will benefit me for a long time. As per Virgo, I have had to deal with various health issues that year, but none were so serious as to require drastic methods.
For last year’s chart, I chose to stay home as it gave me 30 Scorpio on the Ascendant. That will help me regenerate, but also clear out some old stuff I no longer need to hold on to. As it fell in my natal 4th, my home was the focus from April 2019-April 2020. My plants are ecstatic that I was able to transfer them out of the pots they’ve been living in for years and into the soil of the Earth! It’s also interesting that I’ve spent the last month of the year sequestered in my home. (And yes, I’ve gotten rid of a bunch of stuff this past year!)
The Ascendant this year is 27 Aquarius, within one degree of last year’s Moon at 26. That implies somehow these two years are closely linked, and I’ll take my Lunar function of the past year and make it a part of my self-image this year. It’s also interesting to note that as this year begins, the ruler of the SR Asc (Saturn) and the worldly ruler of the Sun (Mars) are both in the 12th and this year I’m in seclusion as my new Solar year begins.
Last year I had 4 points of a Great Quintile between SR planets and my natal Moon, Mars and Uranus. This year I have a very tight quintile between the Sun and Mars conjunct Saturn, opening zones where gifts, special interactions, and unique blessings should be opened during the transits of 10-14 Aries, 22-26 Gemini, 4-8 Virgo, 16-20 Scorpio, and 28 Capricorn through 2 Aquarius. So the past year’s high specialization will continue for another year, with the energies passed from one series to another series!
With the Moon at 30 Gemini it seems like this next year will bring opportunities to “set a new standard” of individual and spiritual excellence, and help me see everything related to my natal 12th house (Moon rules my 12th) as having culminated in a new standard for me to behold and others to behold. It isn’t even Void of Course, since the Ascendant makes a perfect trine before the Moon enters Cancer, thus opening up 30 Libra as the void, which happens to be my IC. So this year’s Moon, Ascendant, and my natal IC form a perfect Grand Air trine this year!
As the Moon is in the emergent Crescent Moon phase, this will be a year of action, where old forms will be challenged and give way to new emergent forms. This phase “repolarizes from personal emphasis to individual concern.” As it is in an out of sign binovile to the Sun, in all matters related to these planets it seems the year will feature one set of experiences followed by another set of experiences of a completely different nature.
As with all solar returns at this time where the Moon is between Sagittarius and Gemini, there are no oppositions between the planets. That indicates not much polarization from outer world sources, but of course oppositions to natal and progressed planets continue to yield awareness of those parts of me. Interestingly, there is only one forming square, between Mars and Uranus, giving me that way to release the quintessential energies generated by the Sun quintile Mars and Saturn.
The ruler of my natal Asc is in the SR 2nd, showing another year of being illuminated by what I have to draw on, what I receive, and how I use what I have. The Moon in the 5th gives a creative focus. Mercury and Neptune are in the SR 1st, and as Mercury rules my 2nd and 11th houses, those sectors will be front and center this year via the 5th and 8th house events ruled by Mercury in the SR.
As Jupiter leads the Bowl chart, it’s the entry to all the action this year, and as it conjuncts Pluto, I have no doubt this is another extraordinary transformation year for me! Because Jupiter rules my natal natal 5th and 8th, it would seem those areas of my natal chart will lead the action all year. The tilt of the Bowl shows I’m initiating or “scooping up” experience this year, and with the Moon closing in late Gemini, I’m probably going to be setting some new standards this year. (I’m already having to do that in several astrology groups I’m a part of. It’s time for a higher dialog and a deeper sense of things as they are changing.)
There are obviously many other factors in play in the SR chart, but going into an extensive analysis would probably be boring to most of you. I’m looking forward to the various trigger points to be activated throughout the year, since it teaches me a lot about how astrology works. In any case, reading the Solar Return is a much different thing than just reading a birth chart!
Why Use the Return of the Sun?
Since the Sun is the ultimate point of reference in a Solar Return chart, everything indicated by the Solar Return must in some way serve to bring forth that Light of the True Self, the Light of the Heart. That’s why the house position of the Sun, and how it aspects the Ascendant, are very important in a Solar Return chart.
It is said the moment of the Solar Return, the transiting Sun exactly conjunct our natal Sun, opens us to our Solar Self, the Limitless Light that illuminates us. As we are illuminated, so we illuminate others. That's why the Sun in a chart is the single most important indicator of our true Self.
The Sun shows us our Light/Life that continually integrates and re-integrates us with the source of all vitality. It is our self-renewing quality to shine forth like the Superstar our Eternal Self is. The return of the Light with our Light offers us a chance to re-identify our lives with its incredible power and radiance. You can see how this is an important recurring moment in our evolution toward "Sun-ship."
Here, There, or Somewhere Else?
Recapping what we discussed last week, I always calculate the chart for the location where a person is, since that's where we experience the commencement of our next Solar year. We cannot be anywhere other than where we are. That’s why we do the chart for wherever our body is at the time of the return of the Sun to its exact longitude at birth.
Some offer that it should be done for the birth place, but if we are not where we were born, then why do a chart for there? Others feel that it should be done for your home location, and not a place you might be visiting for a few hours or days at the time of the Solar Return. However, here the same logic holds. If you are not at your home location at the moment of the SR, then you're not there.
We can only be one place in space during that specific time. If you're breathing the air at that location, if you’re part of the magnetism of that place on Earth, that's where the chart is done for.
The fact that we can experience our Solar Return anywhere we choose gives us some latitude in shaping how we will experience the year to come. That’s because where we choose to be at that moment influences what signs and degrees are on the angles and therefore what house the SR planets are in, and how it fits into our chart, and our chart fits into it.
We cannot influence the planetary aspects, since they are set by time itself rather than space. In the Solar Return, a square is a square and a trine is a trine regardless of what sign is on what house. Still, we have the ability to determine what houses the planets fall in based in where we do the Return.
We cannot change the basic spread of the planets, but we can change what quadrants are emphasized, and which planets rule which houses. Then the various aspects work out based in which house rulers are interacting with other house rulers.
Some years I literally traveled across the continent to achieve a certain set of positions. Other years I stayed home since it yielded a great chart, or because of time, space, financial, or some other "real world" limitation.
Some years I've been able to go a short distance to affect the degrees on the angles, placing the planets in seemingly more favorable positions. Even a shift of one degree may matter in this regard, since that may affect the Part of Fortune and occasionally even what sign is on what house cusp.
Some years that shift in one degree matters more than others. In 2013, the chart done for where I lived was so profound, I stayed home and did my meditation there rather than go anywhere else. FYI, it had the star Sirius on the Ascendant. Sirius is the “Sun of our Sun,” said to be the source of the Ageless Wisdom on our planet.
Five years ago I chose to stay home, since the Ascendant at 11 Sagittarius created a Grand Fire Trine with Jupiter and the Sun! I could have altered the Part of Fortune a degree if I wanted to drive about 20 miles east of Tucson, but since it fell at 11:20 pm, I thought I’d pass. I have found that some years we pretty much are “told” where to be, regardless of what our desire mind believes.
In 2017, 2018, and 2019 I chose to stay home, since I would have had to go a long way to make any substantial difference. If it won’t yield any discernable benefit for the expense of time, energy, and money, why bother?
As I told you in past Solar Return articles, I've had some very strange Solar Returns. One involved getting up at 4:20 am in New York City and trying to meditate, which of course is not the best time to do it unless you've trained your body to get up that early. That’s why I chose not to do that this year. That NYC “half asleep” meditation was likely as effective as this year’s “mostly asleep” meditation. At least I programmed my mind to be receptive to the greatest illumination I can experience!
In that NYC meditation, I had just flown in to do some charts and talks out in the Hamptons, and saw that the Solar Return chart was better for staying in the city that night rather than driving out to the East End and doing the meditation in Bridgehampton. The meditation was short, since my body was still on Pacific time, so it felt like 1:20 am (not the best time to meditate!) Still, that chart yielded the results I hoped for, though mostly they demonstrated at the end of that Solar year rather than throughout the entire 12 month period.
Another weird Solar Return involved driving a half hour to meditate in a park in a strange small town in Northern California at 12:55 am, which became somewhat surreal since the police kept cruising by checking my car out. I'm sure they were wondering why a strange car was next to a park in the middle of the night! As you can imagine, that also was a relatively short meditation. However, the Solar Return yielded the results I hoped for, given the limitations of the aspects and just how far I could tweak the chart.
Still, I've had some really great meditations in other years at more reasonable hours, which is a very good way to launch a new Solar year. By all means try to achieve whatever focus you can for as long as you can, since everything really is connected on many levels simultaneously.
Marking Your Development Across Time
Even if your Solar Return has already passed, much can be discerned by studying the chart set for wherever you were at that time. You may see how some things have transpired already, or are challenging you to move your view in a certain direction.
You may get clear about why you're feeling differently, or why you have had a new set of interests since your last Solar Return. Even if you were not in meditation at your last SR, you can still meditate on what the chart is showing you about how you're viewing and experiencing this particular year of your life. Seen from an angle of Solar integration of your Light/Life, you may get clues of how this time is helping you align your consciousness with your Solar Self.
As I mentioned, sometimes the effects of doing the Solar Return in another place have seemed to be "postponed" until near the end of that particular Solar year, while other years the effects have been fairly evident and sometimes even dramatic from the outset. Regardless of where we choose to do the Solar Return, it's always good to be in meditation at that moment of perfect Solar alignment with our natal Sun. We can set many intentions at that time, though I must add that we seldom achieve anything lasting not already indicated in the natal and progressed charts.
That's because the Sun symbolizes our integrity, power, light, and centeredness within our "Solar system" of life and affairs. If what we want, intend, or attempt isn't in line with our integrity or Path to Illumination, then even if we muscle it into existence, it will usually dis-integrate fairly quickly, being a set of aggregates with no substantial reality.
Nothing is forever except our Light, Love, and Power to "restore the Plan on Earth." And one Solar Return gives one set of lessons and harvests, while previous and future ones hold different lessons and realizations.
Because this article has become very long over the years with subsequent additions and re-writes, I’m going to post the rest in two more articles to come soon. See you soon!
Mahalo, L'chaiim, Prosit, A Salut, Namaskar, A votre sante', Aum and Blessings!
From the April Fool, enjoy this day (and week!)
© Copyright 2020 Robert Wilkinson
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