Solar Arc Directions

What Solar Arc directions are, how they differ from secondary progressions, year selection, and how to read the chart.

Solar Arc directions are a predictive technique that advances every planet in the natal chart by the same amount - the arc the progressed Sun has traveled since birth. This method is widely used for timing major life events and turning points.

Solar Arc directions use the "one day equals one year" correspondence. The distance the Sun actually travels in N days after birth becomes the arc applied equally to every planet for the Nth year of life.

What Are Solar Arc Directions

Solar Arc is a progression technique. It calculates the number of degrees the Sun has moved since birth - roughly one degree per year - and advances every planet and point in the chart by that same arc.

The defining feature of this method is that the relative angles between planets (the natal aspect structure) remain intact while the entire chart rotates uniformly. When a solar arc planet forms an aspect to a natal planet or angle, that moment often coincides with a significant event in the person's life.

How Solar Arc Differs from Secondary Progressions

Solar Arc directions and secondary progressions (SP) both use the "one day equals one year" principle, but they calculate planetary movement differently.

Factor	Solar Arc	Secondary Progressions
Movement	All planets advance by the same arc	Each planet moves at its own speed
Interplanetary angles	Same as natal	Change over time
Strength	Uniform progression, timing-focused	Emphasizes individual planetary development

Solar Arc is especially useful for tracking the outer planets (Uranus, Neptune, Pluto). In secondary progressions these bodies barely move, but in Solar Arc they advance at the same pace as the Sun.

How to Access

You can open a Solar Arc chart from the birth data page.

Navigate to your birth data page and display a chart
Open the chart type dropdown menu
Select "Solar Arc"

The chart is calculated and displayed immediately.

Year Selector

Use the year selector to view the Solar Arc chart for any year. This is useful both for reviewing past events and for forecasting future turning points. The current year is selected by default.

Reading the Chart

In a Solar Arc chart, the key question is which aspects the directed planets form to natal planets and angles.

Solar arc planet conjunct a natal planet - The strongest indicator, often coinciding with a major life turning point
Solar arc planet aspecting the natal ASC or MC - Points to changes in career, public role, or personal direction
Solar arc planets aspecting each other - Because natal angles are preserved, new interplanetary aspects do not form

Pay special attention to aspects within an orb of one degree. Since solar arc advances roughly one degree per year, a one-degree orb corresponds to approximately one year of influence.

For a detailed breakdown of chart components, see Single Wheel. To adjust which bodies and aspects are shown, visit Points & Aspects Settings.

Table Views and Tooltips

Solar Arc charts support table views including the planet table and aspect matrix. Hover over (or tap) any planet glyph to see a tooltip showing the directed degree.

Tooltip content can be customized in Tooltip Settings.

Exporting the Chart

You can export your Solar Arc chart as an image or PDF. For instructions and supported formats, see Chart Export.