Solar return calculator
Enter your natal birth data and a return year. The calculator finds the exact moment the Sun returns to its natal ecliptic longitude in that year, then computes the return chart (planets in signs and houses, with ASC and MC for the chosen location).
What this calculator does
The Solar Return is the moment each year when the transiting Sun returns to its natal ecliptic longitude. Solar returns occur about once per year, usually within a day of the natal birthday.
The return chart is computed for that exact instant. Relocating the chart (using a different latitude / longitude than birthplace) changes the angles (ASC, MC) and house cusps, but not the planetary positions.
See birth chart, transit chart, and methodology.
Questions
- Is the solar return always on my birthday?
- Not always. The Sun takes about 365.2422 days to return to the same ecliptic longitude, while the calendar alternates 365 and 366 days, so the return drifts by about six hours a year and snaps back in leap years. It can fall on the day before or after the calendar birthday, and the clock time changes every year.
- How precisely is the return moment found?
- The calculator steps through the chosen year a day at a time until the Sun crosses its natal longitude, then narrows that interval by bisection until it is under one second wide. The chart is computed for that instant.
- What does relocating the solar return change?
- The return instant is the same everywhere on Earth, so planet positions and aspects do not change. The ascendant, midheaven, and house placements depend on the observer's location, so entering a different city changes those. Without a relocation the birth coordinates are used.
- Which year should I enter?
- The calendar year in which the return happens. A return chart is traditionally read as running from that birthday to the next one, so for someone born in November the 2026 return covers November 2026 to November 2027.
Reference, not advice
This is cultural and astronomical reference, not personal prediction or advice.
The solar return moment is an astronomical fact. Solar-return interpretation in some astrological traditions describes the chart as a frame for the upcoming year - this is documented tradition, not predictive forecast. See disclaimer.
Last reviewed .