So while the Sun might have returned to it's position at the time of your birth, your Solar Return will never be exactly the same as your birth chart. Unless you live within a 50 mile radius of where you were born, it is very likely that for most of us, the location will vary too. So you can see that, although the Sun has returned to the same degree as your birth, practically everything else will be different.
So what does a Solar Return tell you? A Solar Return is like a 'snapshot' that gives you a sense of the coming year. Some people like to use Solar Returns every year to get a sense of the year ahead. This might sound similar to having a twelve month forecast for the coming year, but there are some important differences. While both techniques are ways that astrologers can look at what the trends are for the next 12 months, they are gathering information from different sources and both can be valuable.
A 12 month Forecast is looking at the current position of planets and how, over the next 12 months, they will interact with your birth chart by 'transiting' (passing through) the houses of your chart and making significant contact points
with your birth planets. You can pick any date throughout the year and draw up a transit chart from there onwards.
Your Solar Return is, in a sense, more personal. It is looking at the
birth position of your vital life-force energy (the Sun), which is indicating one of the main expressions of your Soul Path (how you are manifesting your life purpose), and
relating that to the current planetary positions. Because it's starting point is always the
natal position of the Sun, it is using the condition of your own prana (the life-force energy that you were born with) to determine the main ways that your Soul light is currently being expressed in the world, and how you are doing in terms of how well you are progressing, or aligning with what you came here to do.
Solar Returns can be cumulative in the sense that they can be used to gauge your progress (or not) from year to year. It's possible to have a Solar Return report every year, and to see what is changing and how your energy is responding to it. For example you may be able to see where there were obstacles last year, that are now lifting, or if you still feel like you just can't get ahead, you may be able to see why.
Whereas a 12-month forecast tells you more about the conditions around you, in terms of situations and circumstances, your Solar Return says much more about
you and your ability to flow your energy. It is much more of an indicator of your progress along your personal path.Astrologer Mary Fortier Shea spent over 40 years studying Solar Returns and making them more useful for Western Astrologers by incorporating them into a Tropical Zodiac*. (In the past most Solar Returns were based on the sidereal zodiac which is mainly used in India, although some Western Astrologers do use it).
"The important thing to remember about solar returns, and life experiences in general, is that they are part of a cumulative process. Unlike transits which can seem disconnected and singular, solar returns are closely aligned and can easily be viewed as building blocks, one upon the other, year after year. For this reason, each year becomes important and each task has a history and a future. The rhythmic pattern of the solar return helps us to see this."
