What I Learned from a Nearly Missed Solar Return

by Daria Rowe August 21, 2021

A Solar Return is when the Sun returns to the exact degree of the Zodiac it was at the time you were born. It can be on your birthday, but also the day before or after.

Why is Your Solar Return Important?

It’s the time of an annual “refresh” in your life, bringing new energies that will be at play in your life for about 12 months going forward. They are shown in your Solar Return chart, cast for the exact time of your Solar Return (my favourite predictive technique, currently).

It's about learning what your next 12 months will bring. But also, your Solar Return is an amazing opportunity to SHAPE your next 12 months.

In astrology, the premise of your Solar Return day is this: whatever you experience that day will symbolically represent the nature of your experiences during the 12 months ahead. Is it a day filled with fighting and arguments? Well….that energy might carry over into your year ahead. Spending the day feeling unlovable because you didn’t get enough happy birthday wishes? Well….that again might be one of the themes for your year ahead.

What If You Could Change Your Year Ahead?

The beauty of it all is, we can choose to consciously design our Solar Return day and the experience we’re having. Longing for a happy relationship in your life? Surround yourself with things and experiences that represent a happy relationship to you. Maybe it’s immersing yourself into a romance novel 😊 Or buying a rose quartz for your bedroom. Or admiring “His and Hers” slippers in a shop. Whatever evokes the feeling of being in a happy relationship in you. Reaffirm your belief that it’s coming.

Money woes? Set aside an hour to work on your relationship with your money. Review your bank account. Attend a wealth management webinar. No wealth to manage, just yet? Don’t worry about it today. You’re calling the energy of wealth to you.

Spend your Solar Return day feeling the energy you want to attract into your life. The day after, write down a concrete step or two that you can take toward your goals – and start working on them 😊 That’s your part in CO-creating your future with the Universe.

True, there can be unexpectedly unpleasant moments on the day of your Solar Return. You break your favourite coffee cup. A large bill arrives, annoyingly, on this very day. Still, we can choose how we respond to such events. Don’t let them ruin your day.

My Nearly Missed Solar Return

It just so happens that my Solar Return was last week. I reviewed my Solar Return chart in advance – a year of change ahead of me (so very true! By design so far, but I’m also open to delicious surprises from the Universe 😊).

And….I managed to misread the date. My Solar Return wasn’t on my birthday. It was the day before.

That Sunday, I woke up early to the annoying ringing of my alarm. “I really wanted to sleep in a little today,” I thought as I was dragging myself out of bed.

A friend of mine wanted to join my 3-year-old daughter and I at the playground. The only time we could work out was 10:30 a.m.

Retired, my friend is at a very different stage of her life. Mine is filled to the brim with a full-time career, a part-time business, my daughter and my aging Mom. And the guilt that I really should create more quality time for my husband and I. And that I missed the gym yet again. Most days, I feel very overscheduled, which is something I’d like to change.

But, my friend was going through a difficult year, and really enjoyed joining my daughter and I for our outings.

The breakfast was all scrunched up because we were on a schedule. Rush rush rush. “But, I want some more apple juice!” my darling daughter’s voice had an insistent, edgy pitch. On the other side of me, my husband was reading out the grocery list to me, as he was about to head out to the store. I was madly packing toys and snacks into a bag. Oh wait, must not forget water. Oh wait, did I put the sunscreen on her?

This mad feeling of rushing carried into the walk. And then, rush rush rush back home. Things waiting for me to do there.

On my arrival, I looked at my Solar Return chart again, to start planning my perfect Solar Return day. And realized that I already was good a 6 hours into it! And that so far, it was everything I DIDN’T want it to be! My hope for the year ahead was to introduce more spaciousness into my life. Less rushing. A better ability to focus on one experience or person at one time.

For a brief moment, I was mad at myself. But, there was still time to change my experience 😊 I put away my phone. Responding to email, WhatsApp and texts could wait until tomorrow. I didn’t have to go from one “task” in my day to another. I was calling in spaciousness.

I broke out two cans of playdough. My daughter happily busied herself with it while my husband – to the rescue – took over prepping dinner.

And I? I sat on the balcony, my pen posed over a journal page, watching a hummingbird flirt with bright-red lobelia flowers. The turquoise patio umbrella shielded me from the sun. Fluffy clouds moved languidly in the sky. Time slowed to a crawl. Spaciousness was all around me. Somewhere outside of this reality, there were unanswered messages and unwashed dishes. They didn’t matter in this moment.

We have the ability to consciously pause our life for a moment and ask ourselves, “Is this what I want? If this experience defined my full year ahead, would I choose it? Or would I choose something different? What can I do, in this moment, to call in the life that makes me feel wildly fulfilled and happy?” Your Solar Return day is a wonderful opportunity to check in with yourself and your life.

The next day, I made a list of things I could change, to create more space: delegate, outsource, postpone, say "no" to. I will keep you posted if changing the course of my Solar Return day will make a difference in my year ahead!

Keep a Diary of Your Solar Return Experience

This is a very interesting "do-it-yourself" predictive technique that I had very good results with!

On your Solar Return day, jot down the key happenings. Anything unexpected came into your life on this day? Anything that feels particularly memorable of impactful? Or just chronicle the high-level timeline of your day.

These are the themes that are likely to resurface during your next 12 months.

2022 Update:

On the day of my Solar Return 2021, I broke my favourite wine glass that I got for my 20th wedding anniversary. I cut myself on the shards. I had a very distinct feeling of loss and upset. Material or emotional losses coming...I thought. Yup, it played out as financial losses in the stock market crash. And I feel very emotionally attached to my money, too! 🙂

A lot of other themes played out too:

A Sun-Moon square in the Solar Return (SR) chart: a year of important changes. Uranus in the 10th House of Career, conjunct MC: a BIG work-related change. Yes! That was the year when I chose to go for an early retirement.
SR Sun in the 12th House: reduced "visibility" or a reduced social circle this year. Much more time spent at home. Correct! I disappeared from the professional radar and was no longer connected to my workplace circle. LOVED staying at home with my daughter.
SR Jupiter in the 7th House: marriage improvements. Correct! I was able to spend much more time with my husband, finally.
SR Venus in the 2nd House opposite SR Neptune in the 8th House: Finances will become important this year, but poor investment decisions might be made. There is something I won't see clearly. Sadly, this also came true....

(All houses mentioned are the houses in my Solar Return chart).

Want to Know What Your Year Ahead Brings?

A Solar Return reading is also an amazing predictive technique, outlining the main themes of your year ahead. What will need your attention? Is it a year of changes, or a year of stability? Where will the biggest surprise come from? The biggest lesson? The biggest opportunity?

Book a Solar Return reading with me, for yourself or a loved one, for a unique birthday gift.