Tomorrow is my birthday! In honor of it, I would like to reflect on my past year, specifically through the lens of my solar return chart for 2023. Before I get into details, I have a spoiler alert: this year has been amazing. The experiences I have been granted I would never trade for the world. Not only that, but I couldn’t imagine going through the rest of my life without the people that I have met this last year. I am so thankful for everything this year had to offer. Now that I have been sappy and cringe, it’s time to get into the good stuff - the transits that were happening on my Solar return chart.
My solar return chart was a Scorpio rising, with the ruler (Mars) in the Virgo 11th house. The Sun was in the Cancer 9th house. Needless to say, this year I did lots of traveling. I had spent most of that year in Colorado, where I joined a conservation corps, and worked at a ski resort later on. During my time in the conservation corps, I met some of my favorite people. Not only that, but on our days off, we would travel to different states if we had the time to do it. One of the most notable adventures was an impromptu trip to the Grand Canyon. Looking back, it is nice to see how Mars had manifested. At first, I figured that Mars would have been more challenging, but that wasn’t necessarily the case. Mars was placed in a Mercury ruled sign, and in the chart, Mercury was conjunct the MC in the Leo 10th house. Overall, I feel like it manifested as a severing of what my original plan after college was, and instead of being in one place, I was all over the place (physically, not mentally, I swear). Not only that, but the people that I met embodied Mars as well. They were into more Martian topics, like chain sawing, and physical labor. Not only that, but many were independent, and they were forging their path, separate from most societal norms.
Additionally, the Moon was in its Gemini 8th house, and the chart's benefic (Jupiter) was in the 7th. Not only that, but Jupiter was conjunct my Lot of Fortune exactly by degree! All of these symbolize help from others, as well as help from outside factors. The 8th house represents other people’s resources, and the 7th house is the house of the “other”. With Jupiter being there, it can symbolize receiving help from other people. This is extremely true. When I left, I bought a one-way ticket to Colorado, and I didn’t think of a plan for how I was going to get around during my days off. Right before orientation, I met one of my now good friends, and she offered to let me live with her. So not only did we travel together, but we also lived together.
While there are plenty more things I could point out about my Solar return, the last thing I want to make note of is how active Mercury was this time around. Not only was the transiting Mercury conjunct the transiting MC, but it was also conjunct my natal Ascendant! Furthermore, Mars wasn’t the only planet in a Mercury ruled sign - so was the Moon! To top it off, I am in (for less than one more day now) an 11th house profection year that is being ruled by Mercury. Overall, there was an extreme emphasis on Mercurial topics this year. I was never in one spot for long. In this past year, I had visited 5 different states, and of those I lived in 2. During my time out and about, I met so many people from all over the country. I learned about many different groups of people, and I also learned tiny bits of their culture as well. While Mars was the chart ruler, Mercury was working overtime behind the scenes.
All in all, 22 treated me well. I have had the best experiences, and I have met some of the coolest people ever. While I could talk about the chart forever, it is best for me to stop here before I accidentally write a novel. The 11th house profection year was one for the books, hopefully 23 (a 12 house profection year) will not take me out. Cheers to another year!
Author's Note: For those who do not know astrology lingo, that’s okay! I have provided some vocabulary words to help you understand my gibberish
VOCAB:
Benefic: aka “good doers” in astrology. Venus & Jupiter
Mars: One of the malefics. It rules Aries and Scorpio. It represents action, aggression, violence, and separation
MC: Also known as Medium Coeli. It is the highest point in someone’s chart. It represents one’s public image and career
Mercury: The planet of communication, messages, and traveling
Natal: The planetary pattern that was occurring at the exact time of someone’s (or somethings) birth
Profection Year: A timing technique in astrology where someone’s age corresponds to a house. In astrology there are 12 “areas of life” (also known as a house). A one-year-old would have a 1st house profection year, a two-year-old would have a 2nd house profection year, and so on and so forth.
Rising Sign: Aka 1st house or Ascendant. It is the sign that was going over the eastern horizon when someone was born. Known as the place where the “soul met the body”
Solar Return: Your birthday! It’s when the Sun is in the exact same position it was in when you were born
Transit: A planetary pattern in the sky.
9th House: A cadent house that represents long distance travel, higher education, foreign things, as well as belief systems
11th House: a succedent house that represents one's aspirations and dreams, as well as networking and groups
12th house: Cadent house that represents mental health, isolation & hidden enemies