How to see marriage in the solar return chart

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In this article, I'm going to go over what to look for in your solar return chart to see if it's a marriage year.

First, let's talk about what a solar return chart is. At the exact time,

date, and city you were born in, the sun was in a particular constellation at a specific degree. If someone asks you "what's your sign?" and your response is "Pisces" that just means the sun was transiting through the constellation of Pisces the time you were born. And when you glance at your birth chart, you'll see something like Sun: Pisces 22.45° which means your sun is in Pisces at about 22 degrees. Each year, the sun returns exactly back to the same sign and degree it was at when you were born. This return usually happens on your birthday but it can vary each year and might occur the day before or after. When this return happens, it marks the beginning of a new year for you with new themes and events. Since the solar return chart is a yearly one, the themes and events are from one birthday to the next. So, your 2019 solar return chart starts on your birthday in 2019 and ends on your birthday in 2020, where a new solar return begins.

How I got this information: I got this information from research. I've looked at 247 solar return charts up until this point to examine how they looked during the year a person had a wedding/was married. The point of doing this was to see what the charts had in common: what aspects kept showing up? which house placements were significant? This way, by looking at past marriage years, we can see future marriage years. Unfortunately, I only studied the charts of women so it might not be as accurate if you are a man or looking at a man's chart. Typically, from what I've seen, men and women do have different significators so, when I do the men's research study, the information will most likely be different. Also, in case you're wondering, sexual orientation does not matter. I included women of all sexualities in this study and there was no difference from what I could find.

Now let's get to the fun part! Below are a few commonalities I found during my research on marriage solar return years. One of the most interesting things I've noticed these charts had in common was the aspects that NEVER showed up. In almost 300 solar return charts, there were a few aspects that never appeared, indicating that if you do see any of these aspects in a solar return, marriage isn't likely to happen that year.

The first one is Mercury opposite Mars. This makes a lot of sense that it's absent in the solar return chart when women get married because Mercury is often associated with marriage. I know it's not as romantic as Venus but it's associated with contracts and legalities which is apart of most marriages. Mars is action, drive, and brings energy so, when Mercury (contracts) is not being energized by Mars, it naturally communicates that contracts may not be a huge part of that year. This could even be beyond marriage contracts and be about business contracts too for example.

Note: I've seen a couple studies state that Mercury opposite Jupiter and Saturn were also void in marriage charts but I did see those aspects a few times. However, Mercury opposite Jupiter only came up twice out of 247 so while it can still show up in marriage years, it's not common.

The next aspect not seen in any of the charts I viewed, is Venus opposite or square Saturn. This one is pretty straight forward, Venus means love, relationships, marriage, etc... and Saturn is commitment and maturity so, in a softer aspect like trine or sextile or even a conjunction, these two planets work wonderfully to indicate marriage. However, a square or opposition can actually create a bit of a coldness from Saturn that makes Venus not feel completely fulfilled. This aspect in a solar return chart can actually create some relationship tension or delays rather than bring marriage.

And last but not least, the North Node conjunct the Ascendant. The position of the north node in the solar return chart is very important because it shows where your intentions and motives lie that year. The ascendant is all about you and your needs so, this aspect indicates a year of potentially re-branding or finding yourself. You'll be so focused on bettering yourself one way or another that marriages just don't tend to happen when this conjunction does. This aspect doesn't necessarily mean that you'll neglect relationships with others during a year with this aspect, but they won't be your primary focus.

Now, let's get into some indicators that showed up frequently in the charts of marriage years! We'll start with the ascendant of the chart. The ascendant was often in the sign of Libra or a mutable sign (Pisces, Sagittarius, Gemini, and Virgo). Libra is the natural ruler of the 7th house (house of marriage) so, when that sign is on the ascendant, it shows that the direction or main theme of that year is influenced by the 7th house. Now, mutable signs showed up often as well because these are the signs that bring major events and change into people's lives.

When you have your ascendant in a mutable sign, regardless of if you're getting married or not, it'll be a year of profound change (especially if all four angles are in mutable signs). Maybe you'll move, get a new job, have a child, etc... But of course, getting married is a big change, to