Solar return (varshaphala)

A solar return is an annual chart cast for the moment when the Sun returns to the exact degree it occupied at birth. In Jyotish this technique is called varshaphala ("the fruit of the year") and comes from Tajika, a branch of Indian astrology that took shape in the Middle Ages under the influence of the Perso-Arabic tradition. The birth chart describes the whole of life; the solar return describes one year, from one birthday to the next.

Below: how a solar return is built, what to look at in it, how the Vedic solar return differs from the Western one, and how to open your own.

How the annual chart is built

Once a year the Sun passes through its natal degree. The moment of this passage is the start of the astrological year. A full chart is cast for it, as for a new birth: its own ascendant (the lagna of the solar return), its own houses and the positions of all nine planets. The chart is in force until the next return of the Sun — roughly until the next birthday.

The Vedic solar return is calculated in the sidereal zodiac, by the same system as the birth chart. So its moment of the Sun's return usually differs from the Western, tropical solar return by several hours or days, and the lagna and houses may be completely different. If you compare it with a Western calculation, this is normal: they are different charts.

Tradition casts the solar return for the place where the person is at the moment of the Sun's return. On the site the annual chart is cast for the place of birth: it is given in your chart, and for those who live there it is the right place. If you were in another city on your birthday, the lagna of the solar return may shift.

What to look at in a solar return

The lagna of the solar return and its lord. The sign rising at the moment of the Sun's return sets the tone of the whole year, and its ruler shows where the person's energy is directed. A strong lagna lord in a kendra or trikona means a year in which it is easier to act on one's own will.

Planets in the houses of the solar return. As in the birth chart, the house shows the area of life and the planet the character of events in it. Benefics in the kendras (1, 4, 7, 10) and trikonas (1, 5, 9) support the year; malefics in the 3rd, 6th and 11th houses help to overcome obstacles; the eighth and twelfth houses call for attention to health and expenses. Each of the 108 combinations is discussed on a separate page — see the table below.

Muntha. A special Tajika point: in the year of birth it stands in the natal lagna and moves one sign forward every year. The house of the solar return in which the muntha falls becomes one of the main themes of the year: in the 1st, 9th, 10th and 11th houses it is considered favourable, in the 4th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 12th it calls for caution.

The lord of the year (varshesha). From five candidates — the lord of the solar return lagna, the lord of the muntha, the lord of the natal lagna, the trirashipati and the lord of the sign of the Sun (if the solar return is diurnal) or the Moon (if it is nocturnal) — the ruler of the year is chosen by strength and by aspects to the lagna of the solar return. Its condition colours the whole year. The site does not yet determine the varshesha automatically: the rules for choosing it are complex and vary between schools.

The link with the birth chart. The solar return does not cancel the birth chart and the current dasha; it refines them. The promise of the birth chart unfolds in the years when the solar return supports it: for example, if the birth chart indicates a move, while in the solar return the 4th and 12th houses are strong and the dasha of their ruler is running.

How to read a solar return step by step

1. Look at the sign of the solar return lagna and where its lord stands: this is the general mood of the year and where the energy will go.
2. Find the house of the muntha: this area will sound louder than the others.
3. Note the planets in the kendras — the 1st, 4th, 7th and 10th houses: they are the most noticeable in the year.
4. Check the 6th, 8th and 12th houses: whatever stands in them is worth taking care of in advance — health, obligations, expenses.
5. Compare with the birth chart and the current dasha: the solar return strengthens what the birth chart already promises and adds little to what it does not contain.

So what the annual chart yields is not a forecast of events but a map of emphases: where there will be more opportunities this year and where there will be more work.

The Vedic and the Western solar return

Western astrology also casts a solar return, but in the tropical zodiac and without the muntha and varshesha. The Vedic solar return relies on the sidereal zodiac, the nakshatras and its own Tajika techniques: drishti aspects with orbs, annual dashas (mudda dasha) and sahams, the sensitive points of the year. The site calculates the basis of the annual chart — the moment of the Sun's return, the lagna, the houses, the muntha — and interpretations of the planets in the houses.

How to open your solar return

1. Calculate your birth chart — date, time and place of birth.
2. In the report, click the "Solar return" tab above the reading.
3. By default the solar return currently in force is shown; in the "Year" field you can choose any other year of life.

Next to it are the "Transits" and "Lunar calendar" tabs: the solar return shows what the year will be like, the transits what is happening now.

Planets in the houses of the solar return

Choose a planet and the house number of the annual chart:

The accuracy of a solar return depends on the time of birth: the lagna of the annual chart shifts with it. If the time is only approximately known, start with rectification.