Solar Returns

New Moon in Leo, Friday 5th August 2005.

This edition of my newsletter is popping into your inbox rather late this month. The main reason is that I’ve recently had a birthday, followed by a blissful week of annual leave enjoying the sunshine and the beautiful Rutland countryside. Being a Leo (which means that the Sun was in the sign of Leo on the day I was born) I’m a real Sun-worshipper – think lions basking in the Serengeti and you’re not far off!

Of course, everyone likes to feel special on their birthday. It’s a great excuse for a party, along with the excitement of presents, cake and some pure self –indulgence! In astrology, though, your birthday is much more than just the date that you were born. It’s actually the time of year when the Sun returns to the same degree it occupied on the day of your birth.

The common belief is that we already “are” the characteristics of our Sun sign. However, astrologers believe that we are trying to become what our Sun sign represents, to learn some of the lessons it is teaching us. (Of course, some of us resemble our Sun signs more than others, depending on what else is going on in the rest of our chart.) Staying on the Leo theme as an example, Leo’s lesson in life is to find out what makes him or her unique. Leos may do this by trying to be the centre of attention or needing to stand out from the crowd, which can at times make them seem a little arrogant: but they aren’t demanding attention for the sake of it! It’s a matter of trying to learn the lessons of their Sun, which requires they explore their personal identity as a unique and vibrant individual, even though in actual fact Leos generally suffer from a lack of confidence in who they are, which is precisely why they are constantly trying to find out by demanding attention!

Each Sun sign is symbolic of the life journey we are undertaking, the process we are going through in life to recognise the nature of our self-identity and our personal power. So when the Sun comes back to the place it was when we were born every year, it is an important marker for us, signifying we’ve taken one step further along the path to our solar destiny. In effect, it’s a personal “new year”, which runs from the current birthday to the next.


This return of the Sun to its birth place is known as a “Solar Return”. By casting a chart for the positions of all of the planets at that precise moment, an astrologer is able to see what key themes the subsequent twelve month period will hold for the individual. It’s like a “yearly headlines” chart. To illustrate what this might entail, I’d like to use the Solar Return of a Leo mega-star, Madonna.

Becoming pregnant for the first time is surely a key year in the life of any woman! This happened to Madonna in her Solar Return year of 1995-1996 (running from one birthday, 16th August, to the next) and she gave birth to her first baby, Lourdes, in the autumn of 1996. So what’s in her Solar Return chart for that “I’m pregnant!” year?

Firstly, in this chart, the Sun (which is the key planet in a Solar Return chart) is on the rising point, or Ascendant. This means that her life journey, her personal direction and her sense of self is very much highlighted. The Sun in the chart is making a challenging contact to Pluto, the planet of death, birth, and transformation. So her life journey is being transformed in a very dramatic way – I’d say that’s a pretty good description of becoming a mother for the first time! What’s more, Pluto is in the 4th house of the chart, representing home and family and here signifying major and intense change and transformation in this area of her life. Neptune, representing hopes and dreams, and Uranus, representing sudden change, are in the 5th house of (amongst other things) children – that’s quite clear, then! Saturn, signifying responsibility and commitment is in the 7th house of partnership. The father of Lourdes is Madonna's then personal trainer, Carlos Leon, with whom she had a two year affair. Although the couple didn’t stay together, their joint responsibility as father and mother of this child is symbolised by the influence of Saturn, which will bind them together in some way for the rest of their lives. (Saturn also contacts Pluto, again upping the ante by bringing major and intense change to the relationship)

This is a very brief examination of Madonna’s Solar Return chart for the year 1995 – 1996, and is certainly not the only factor to consider. An astrologer would not look at the Solar Return chart alone to forecast the weather an individual is likely to be experiencing at any given time. Many other tools would be used to build up a much fuller and more detailed picture. But I hope this description gives you some indication of how important the Solar Return can be. I also hope that the next time you’re celebrating your birthday, you’ll remember that it’s not just a matter of clocking up one more year, but a significant step forward for you as an individual along your unique path in life.

A note for Taureans: Mars, the planet of drive, energy and inspiration, went into Taurus on the 28th July. It’s set to stay there right through the rest of the year until February 2006. This is an unusually long sojourn in the sign of the bull, and Mars spending such a long spell in any of the signs is an event which happens only once every two or so years. So Taureans, take advantage of the extra boost in energy levels whilst you can!

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