Solar Return and Lunar Return Chart

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where to spend your birthday solar return

Solar return: where to spend your birthday

In the tool city field, choose the place where you will be at the moment of the return and add up to three more under Compare cities. The table shows the same moment as seen from each of them, side by side.

What changes and what stays the same when you change city

The moment of the solar return is an astronomical fact: the apparent Sun reaches the longitude of your birth at a single instant, the same for the whole planet. Changing city neither brings forward nor delays that instant. What the city alters is the clock time, because of the time zone, and the orientation of the sky at that instant. Latitude and longitude decide which point of the zodiac is rising on the eastern horizon (the Ascendant) and which one crosses the meridian (the Midheaven), and with them the twelve houses. The planets stay in the same signs and degrees but land in different houses.
People who think about traveling for their birthday usually look at four things. First, the sign of the Ascendant, which sets the tone for the year. Second, the house where the return Sun falls, which points to the area of life in focus. Third, the house of the Moon, which speaks to the emotional climate. Fourth, the angular planets, sitting on the Ascendant, Descendant, Midheaven or Imum Coeli, which gain emphasis. The tool calculates all four for each city and also reports which house of your birth chart the return Ascendant falls in, showing the area of life through which the year tends to enter.
A caveat on method: there is no proof that changing city improves the year, and the most common use in astrology is a symbolic choice of emphasis. The tool shows the facts of the chart without ranking cities by score. Use the comparison to see, for instance, whether one place puts the Moon high in the sky and another puts it in house 12, and decide with what makes sense for your real life, such as work, family and budget.

Same instant, four cities (born May 17, 1994, 2:30 PM, São Paulo)

Moment of the 2026 return

Input: 17/05/2026
Expected output: 11:22:15 UTC

The Sun returns to Taurus 26°35′. In São Paulo it is 08:22:15.

São Paulo

Input: UTC-03:00
Expected output: Ascendente Gêmeos 19°

Midheaven at Pisces 29°; Sun in house 12.

Lisbon

Input: UTC+01:00, 12:22
Expected output: Ascendente Leão 17°

Midheaven at Taurus 9°; Sun in house 10.

New York

Input: UTC-04:00, 07:22
Expected output: Ascendente Gêmeos 24°

Venus sits about 4° from the Ascendant, so it is angular.

Tokyo

Input: UTC+09:00, 20:22
Expected output: Ascendente Sagitário 19°

Neptune and Saturn sit on the Imum Coeli; Sun in house 5.

Full tool FAQ

What is a solar return?

It is the astrological chart of the moment the Sun comes back exactly to the position it held at your birth. It happens once a year, near your birthday, and the chart is read as the theme of the period until the next birthday. It is a symbolic technique of astrology, with no scientific evidence that it predicts events.

How is the exact moment calculated?

Why is the birth time required?

Which city should I use?

What is the precession-corrected return?

What are angular planets and which orb is used?

Which house system does the tool use?

What is a lunar return and how many happen per year?

Does the solar return predict what will happen in the year?

Is my data sent to a server?

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to be physically in the chosen city?

The technique uses the place where you are at the moment of the return. If you travel for your birthday, enter the destination city if you will already be there at that time, and the departure city if you have not arrived yet. Since the moment can fall in the small hours, check the local time.

How many cities can I compare?

The main city plus three candidates, four columns in total. Each column has a Show chart button that switches the wheel, the reading and the tables to that city.

Do the planets change sign when I change city?

No. Planet signs and degrees are identical in every city, because the calculation is geocentric. Only the Ascendant, Midheaven, houses and the list of angular planets change.

Next steps

What changes and what stays the same when you change city

The moment of the solar return is an astronomical fact: the apparent Sun reaches the longitude of your birth at a single instant, the same for the whole planet. Changing city neither brings forward nor delays that instant. What the city alters is the clock time, because of the time zone, and the orientation of the sky at that instant. Latitude and longitude decide which point of the zodiac is rising on the eastern horizon (the Ascendant) and which one crosses the meridian (the Midheaven), and with them the twelve houses. The planets stay in the same signs and degrees but land in different houses.

People who think about traveling for their birthday usually look at four things. First, the sign of the Ascendant, which sets the tone for the year. Second, the house where the return Sun falls, which points to the area of life in focus. Third, the house of the Moon, which speaks to the emotional climate. Fourth, the angular planets, sitting on the Ascendant, Descendant, Midheaven or Imum Coeli, which gain emphasis. The tool calculates all four for each city and also reports which house of your birth chart the return Ascendant falls in, showing the area of life through which the year tends to enter.

A caveat on method: there is no proof that changing city improves the year, and the most common use in astrology is a symbolic choice of emphasis. The tool shows the facts of the chart without ranking cities by score. Use the comparison to see, for instance, whether one place puts the Moon high in the sky and another puts it in house 12, and decide with what makes sense for your real life, such as work, family and budget.

Same instant, four cities (born May 17, 1994, 2:30 PM, São Paulo)

Moment of the 2026 return

Input: 17/05/2026
Expected output: 11:22:15 UTC

The Sun returns to Taurus 26°35′. In São Paulo it is 08:22:15.

São Paulo

Input: UTC-03:00
Expected output: Ascendente Gêmeos 19°

Midheaven at Pisces 29°; Sun in house 12.

Lisbon

Input: UTC+01:00, 12:22
Expected output: Ascendente Leão 17°

Midheaven at Taurus 9°; Sun in house 10.

New York

Input: UTC-04:00, 07:22
Expected output: Ascendente Gêmeos 24°

Venus sits about 4° from the Ascendant, so it is angular.

Tokyo

Input: UTC+09:00, 20:22
Expected output: Ascendente Sagitário 19°

Neptune and Saturn sit on the Imum Coeli; Sun in house 5.

Full tool FAQ

What is a solar return?

How is the exact moment calculated?

Why is the birth time required?

Which city should I use?

What is the precession-corrected return?

What are angular planets and which orb is used?

Which house system does the tool use?

What is a lunar return and how many happen per year?

Does the solar return predict what will happen in the year?

Is my data sent to a server?

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to be physically in the chosen city?

How many cities can I compare?

The main city plus three candidates, four columns in total. Each column has a Show chart button that switches the wheel, the reading and the tables to that city.

Do the planets change sign when I change city?

No. Planet signs and degrees are identical in every city, because the calculation is geocentric. Only the Ascendant, Midheaven, houses and the list of angular planets change.