Every year the Sun comes back to the exact degree it held when you were born. The chart cast for that moment is your solar return, and astrologers read it as a sketch of the twelve months that follow. The Astrolas Solar Return tool builds that chart for any year you pick, lays it over your natal chart, and sorts the results so you can see what matters first.
This guide walks through the page as it actually works: the form, the result screen, the tabs, and a sensible order for reading it all. If you want the theory behind the technique before you start, read Solar return: your birthday chart first and come back.
What the tool does
The tool finds the moment the Sun returns to your natal Sun degree in the year you choose, casts a chart for it, and shows that time as the "SR moment". Then it compares the return chart with your birth chart: which natal houses the return angles fall into, which return planets aspect your natal planets, and how tight those aspects are.
It also adds a few timing extras for the same year: a list of the lunar returns that fall inside it, the New and Full Moons from one birthday to the next, and a small Zodiacal Releasing panel.
What you need before you start
- Your birth date, place and time. The time matters less for the return moment than for the natal house overlays. See why birth time matters.
- The year you want to read.
- Optionally, where you will spend your birthday, since the return can be cast for that place.
Step by step: filling in the form
Open the Solar Return tool. The form has these fields:
- Name. Any label.
- Day, Month, Year. Your birth date, picked from dropdowns.
- Hour / Minute. Your birth time. If you truly have no time, choose Unknown Time, but expect the house material to be unreliable.
- City / Location. Pick your birthplace from the suggestions.
- Solar Return Year. The year of the birthday you want to read.
Press View Solar Return. An AI Quick Input box above the fields can also fill the form from a sentence if you press Parse.
The result screen
The heading reads "Solar Return Interpretation" plus the year. Under it you get a Birth Data Details panel with your name, birth time in local time and UTC, and coordinates. Two controls sit here that are easy to miss:
- Change year lets you jump to another birthday without refilling the form.
- Current location lets you recast the return for where you are living or travelling, with your birthplace as the default. Press Update after changing either one.
The chart wheel comes next. The Display menu changes theme, size and which bodies appear (Chiron, Lilith, the Nodes, Fortune, Vertex, the main asteroids and more). Share makes a share card image, and Export lets you copy the chart, download a PNG or print a PDF.
Below the wheel you will find the SR Internal Aspects grid, an Aspects SR ร Natal grid with Major, Minor and Parallel filters, and a Notable aspects table. That table lists Body A, the aspect, Body B, the orb in degrees and minutes, and a short meaning where one exists. It is sorted by orb, so the tightest contacts sit at the top.
Further down are the SR Planets, Houses and Aspects Major (Top 10) tables, the list of Lunar Returns in this year, and a Zodiacal Releasing box showing whether your Lot of Spirit or Lot of Fortune is in a peak period during that year.
The tabs, one by one
| Tab | What you get |
|---|---|
| Angles & Chart Ruler | The return Ascendant, its ruling planet, the SR house and natal house each sits in, with orb and aspect-set settings |
| Aspect Grid | The full grid of return aspects |
| Planets | Each return planet by sign and house, its aspects with orbs, and whether each is applying or separating |
| Retrograde Planets (Rx) | Any planet retrograde in the return, with a note on what that means for the year |
| Moon Phases | Every New and Full Moon from this birthday to the next, each with an Analyze link |
| Message, Structure, Chiron, Transit, Progression | Extra layers that showed a lock icon for guests when this guide was written |
On the Angles & Chart Ruler tab you can tighten or widen the orb (presets of 12', 1ยฐ, 2ยฐ and 3ยฐ, or a custom value from 0.2 to 5.0) and pick which aspect families count. Reset default puts it back.
How to read the result
Work from the outside in.
- Start with the return Ascendant and where it lands in your natal chart. The Angles & Chart Ruler tab shows both the SR house and the natal overlay house. The natal house under the return Ascendant is often the headline topic of the year.
- Find the ruler of the return Ascendant. Its house tells you where the energy of the year gets spent. Chart ruler explained covers why this matters.
- Look at the return Sun's house. That is where you are asked to show up and put effort in.
- Read the top of the Notable aspects table. Anything within about a degree is worth writing down. Contacts to your natal angles or to your natal Sun and Moon carry the most weight. If aspects are new to you, keep aspects explained open in another tab.
- Check the Moon. The return Moon shows where your feelings and daily habits will be busiest.
- Use the timing lists. The lunar returns and lunation dates break the year into smaller chapters you can check month by month.
The houses are the backbone of all of this, so if they still feel fuzzy, the twelve houses explained is a quick refresher.
Tips
- Run next year's return a few weeks before your birthday. It gives you time to plan rather than react.
- If you will be away on your birthday, try the Current location field. Many astrologers read the relocated return alongside the birthplace one and compare the angles.
- Use Copy URL in the Charts panel near the bottom of the page to save a link to the exact chart. How to save and compare charts explains the rest.
- Pair the return with your other timing tools. The page links straight to Transit, Progression and Annual Profections for the same person.
Questions people ask
Why is my solar return a day before or after my birthday?
The calendar and the Sun's motion do not line up perfectly, so the Sun can reach your natal degree the day before or after your birthday, depending on the year and time zone. The SR moment line shows the exact time.
Does it matter where I spend my birthday?
Many astrologers think so, because moving changes the return Ascendant and houses while the planets stay put. The tool lets you test it with the Current location field and compare.
Can I use it without a birth time?
You can run it, and the planet positions will be right. The houses and angles will not be trustworthy, and those are where most of the story sits.
Try it with your own chart
Pick the year that is coming up next, fill in your details, and start with the return Ascendant before anything else. You can open the tool directly at /solar-return.