posted April 04, 2017 11:47 PM            

I haven't really studied Solar Returns enough to have an informed opinion on whether they're valid. Regardless, this information is more or less something I've observed more than an indication of how well they work. My examples are based on Solar Return charts that stuck with me. They tend to be unusually spot-on when they're right, at the very least.

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Solar Return for 2000
2000 is the year for one of my most accurate Solar Returns. The 7th house, though traditionally the house of marriage partners, was very packed that year. In my case, I believe it reflected a time in my life when my parents were going through a divorce, but the most important aspect of the entire Solar Return chart is Moon conjunct Dejanira, an aspect I think gives the 7th house a more dangerous interpretation. I'm not a fan of claiming that single aspects mean this or that, but I've heard it can indicate sexual abuse in a natal chart. Well, no aspect means the same thing all the time. However, 2000 is the year when I was sexually abused and this aspect just happens to be present in the Solar Return for that year.

Other aspects include Venus trine Nessus with an orb 2 degrees and Nessus trine Child with an orb at 3 degrees. The Moon-Dejanira conjunction is exact to the degree. Even if we ignore the asteroids, there is a 4-planet stellium in 7th house with 6 total planets there in all (2 are placed in another sign). Of those 6 planets, four of them are personal. Venus was in 6th house a few degrees from the Descendant. 7th house as the central focus indicates something major was going on at that time. At least, to me. I can tell you that year sucked.

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Solar Return for 2016
And my 2016 Solar Return was pretty accurate as well. It included a stellium of 4 personal planets. This time, Mars was not in the house involving the primary focus. The stories I've found about a packed 8th house in a Solar Return would have been more frightening to me if I read them before this point. My birthday is actually next month so while I'm sure the universe can still bring in a new set of issues before then, I'm going to trust that it has done its worst for the time being. Any stories about this house has little effect on me at this point. That doesn't mean that general 8th house themes haven't played out within the past year.

I didn't think much of my Solar Return for last year until my mom informed me one day in 2015 that my grandmother was in the hospital for what was probably cancer. Now, I know that she was 70 something, but up until that point she was the healthiest person I knew. It was a dramatic change of perspective to say the least. As the year progressed, I began to question if the packed house for my 2016 Solar Return meant she was going to die sooner than expected, especially after reading that the 8th house can signify an inheritance and being informed one day in therapy that my grandmother's will included an inheritance to all her grandchildren. It's dangerous to predict death no matter which medium you are using to do it. Unfortunately, she died before Christmas and 2016 became the final year I went to her old house.

My grandmother and I weren't very close. It just seemed like cancer was an unfair way for her to die. She had a healthy diet, exercised every day, and she was still not fully retired at over 70. While she was battling cancer, she didn't give up on teaching. She had class at the hospital or at her home. We may not have been close, but as 2016 progressed, I felt more and more like I should be grieving since I just lost a relative. It felt unusual to me that I couldn't be hurt or upset due to how little of an emotional connection I had with her. Someone died and I spent a good portion of the year feeling like I couldn't grieve. To me, I was brought down by that alone.

2016 involved a lot of thought revolving around how I deal with death. In late August last year, I almost decided to give up on improving my life entirely. All my dreams almost died last year as well, because nothing ever helped me keep functioning and I was taking my medication as prescribed. The day after almost deciding to give into utter misery, my new medication kicked in and my hope was surprisingly renewed. It was also shattered again earlier this year and then renewed a second time just this morning.

The past year involved a lot of change, mainly shockingly positive change. Late last year, I gave up on finding a religion and decided to just be a spiritual person, which has brought me much greater happiness. I've found a lot of internal peace just by letting myself be spiritual without the constraints of a religious lifestyle. Spiritual texts have brought me surprising levels of comfort about things I never bothered to think about in a spiritual context. More importantly, I've not really changed my personality, just my approach to the things I believe.

2016 started off with me experiencing a bunch of things that challenged how I viewed reality, my own identity, and some of the things I believe. In my case, so many planets in my 8th house was also an experience of intense renewal. I ended up feeling better than when 2016 started. While my situation is still not perfect, I will admit that 2016 was complete paradise for me in comparison to how it was for a lot of other people.

The 8th house is also a sexual house. I won't go into detail about it, but I have been thinking about the subject.

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posted April 05, 2017 02:57 PM            

I paid attention to both the chart and his life, highlighting everything that occurred in his life that was stated in the chart. In one way or another, basically everything it said would happen did happen.

Some of the interpretations were over the top for the real incidents but often they were quite accurate. At this point, I realize that if something is off in the chart, it's the interpretations that are off, but the chart in retrospect will always reveal the happenings well.

I believe in about 80%, with 20% off to acknowledge human error and evolution of esoteric knowledge. It is better to never believe 100% anyway--because you will end up easy prey for brainwashing if you don't maintain a healthy amount of skepticism and doubt.

posted April 27, 2017 04:51 PM            

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In my case, I've noticed that Solar Returns are more accurate when a stellium is involved. If a stellium is not present, it's hard for me to figure out the year's primary focus, so I have no idea how accurate the chart is. As a result, most of my Solar Returns don't tend to say much to me. Still, each year, I tend to take note of which house the Sun is in and maybe the Solar Return Ascendant.

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They tend to be unusually spot-on when they're right, at the very least.

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I can believe stelliums are significant (when aren't they, right?). Other than that, I'd prioritize the Sun, Moon, Ascendant with the ruler and planets conjuncting the angles/Vertex axis/nodal axis.

As you may realize, determining the accuracy of these charts doesn't have to be dependent on being able to predicts things. Not everyone is good at it. On the other hand, it shouldn't be a very diffcult task when the skill for interpreting natals is there. It can take revisiting the SR throughout the year or taking a close look after the cycle is over (well, at least before it becomes hard to recall) to make sense out of it. I suppose even then it might not click for some people but someone else could end up describing that time for them accurately enough to make them think. Btw, I'm not trying to defend this method, the jury is out on it for me.

I'm sorry about what happened in 2000. While that Dejanira conjunction is an interesting occurence, I'd first pay attention to Pluto, the 8th house and its ruler. The remaining astroid aspects is not something I'd count in any chart.

The rest is quite convincing too. Thank you for being willing to get personal for the sake of science. Feel free to remove stuff.

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I began by not doing my solar return at all, but doing for a bf I was living with. I didn't reveal I was doing this.

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Some of the interpretations were over the top for the real incidents but often they were quite accurate. At this point, I realize that if something is off in the chart, it's the interpretations that are off, but the chart in retrospect will always reveal the happenings well.

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It is better to never believe 100% anyway--because you will end up easy prey for brainwashing if you don't maintain a healthy amount of skepticism and doubt.

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Thanks to everyone for replying.

Edit: Hm, and I just when I finally decide to post something here, LL becomes unavailable. Thanks, retro Mercury.

posted April 27, 2017 05:07 PM            

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Originally posted by Iridia:
I'm sorry about what happened in 2000. While that Dejanira conjunction is an interesting occurence, I'd first pay attention to Pluto, the 8th house and its ruler. The remaining astroid aspects is not something I'd count in any chart.

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