Lunar Return

A Lunar Return chart is cast for the exact moment each month when the transiting Moon returns to the same zodiac degree it occupied at your birth. This monthly chart is a way into the emotional tone, daily rhythms, and themes of the coming four weeks.

What is a Lunar Return

The Lunar Return chart is a technique for examining month-to-month trends. In astrology the Moon is linked with emotions, habits, and everyday life, so astrologers read the Lunar Return for the mood and daily-life shifts that tend to surface during the cycle.

It is commonly used alongside the Solar Return to break an annual reading into smaller, month-by-month intervals. Noticing which houses come forward each month can help when you plan.

How to access

You open a Lunar Return chart from Applied charts in the sidebar.

1. Choose a person under Birth Details in the sidebar
2. Select “Lunar Return” under Applied charts

You can also press the chart title on any chart screen and switch to it from there. The chart is calculated and displayed immediately.

Location input

Lunar Return charts allow you to specify the location for the return moment. The location determines the house cusps, which influences the interpretation.

Choose the location with the place button at the top of the screen. If none is set, the birth location from your birth details is used by default.

Selecting a year and return

The Moon’s orbital period is approximately 27.3 days, so a Lunar Return occurs about 13 times per year. Enter a year from 1800 to 2400 in the header and every Lunar Return for that year is listed in a dropdown, each shown in the return location’s local time. Pick the one you want to view its chart.

By default, the first Lunar Return on or after today is selected. The top of the chart shows the exact datetime and location of the selected return, so it is always clear when and where the chart is for.

Reading the chart

A Lunar Return chart uses the same visual structure as a natal chart, but the focus shifts to the month. These points help you see its themes.

• Ascendant sign: the mood of the month and the impression you give
• Moon’s house: the area of life where your feelings tend to gather
• Sun’s house: where you tend to direct deliberate effort
• Stelliums or house clusters: areas that tend to be busy

For a full explanation of chart components, see Single Wheel. To compare monthly themes against the annual picture, see Solar Return.

Table views and tooltips

Lunar Return charts have the same data panel and table view as the Single Wheel, including the planet table and the house cusp table. Hover over (or tap) any planet glyph to see a tooltip with detailed information.

Tooltip content can be customized in Tooltip Settings.