Solar & Lunar Returns

Calculate solar return (birthday chart) and lunar return charts. Return charts show planetary positions at the exact moment a planet returns to its natal position, providing forecasting insight for the year or month ahead.

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Solar Return

A solar return chart is calculated for the exact moment the Sun returns to its natal degree each year, which occurs near the birthday. It is used to forecast themes for the coming year.

Required Module

Requires the solar-return:calc module.

curl -X POST "https://api.astroapi.cloud/api/calc/solar-return" \
  -H "X-Api-Key: your-api-key" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "birthDateTime": "1990-06-15T14:30",
    "birthLocation": {
      "longitude": -0.1278,
      "latitude": 51.5074,
      "timezone": "Europe/London"
    },
    "returnYear": 2024,
    "houseSystem": "placidus",
    "language": "en",
    "includeText": true,
    "includeReadableEntities": true
  }'

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
birthDateTime	string	Yes	Birth date and time in YYYY-MM-DDTHH:mm format
birthLocation	object	Yes	Birth location (see Location Object below)
returnYear	number	No	Year for the solar return (default: current year)
houseSystem	string	No	House system (default: "placidus")
language	string	No	Language code for text content (default: "en")
includeText	boolean	No	Include interpretation text (default: false)
includeReadableEntities	boolean	No	Include human-readable entity titles (default: false)
points	array	No	Celestial points to include in the calculation
orbs	object	No	Custom orb values per aspect type

Location Object

{
    "longitude": -0.1278,
    "latitude": 51.5074,
    "timezone": "Europe/London"
}

Response

{
    "data": {
        "returnYear": 2024,
        "returnDate": "2024-06-15T08:42:17Z",
        "aspects": [
            {
                "point1": "sun",
                "point2": "moon",
                "aspect": "trine",
                "orb": 1.8,
                "applying": false
            }
        ],
        "points": {
            "sun": {
                "longitude": 84.71,
                "latitude": 0.0,
                "sign": "gemini",
                "house": 10,
                "retrograde": false
            },
            "moon": {
                "longitude": 324.15,
                "latitude": -2.3,
                "sign": "aquarius",
                "house": 6,
                "retrograde": false
            }
        },
        "houses": {
            "1": { "cusp": 195.4, "sign": "libra" },
            "10": { "cusp": 84.5, "sign": "gemini" }
        },
        "charts": {
            "solarReturn": {
                "title": "Solar Return Chart",
                "url": "https://api.astroapi.cloud/api/chart/..."
            },
            "biWheel": {
                "title": "Solar Return / Natal Bi-wheel",
                "url": "https://api.astroapi.cloud/api/chart/..."
            },
            "natal": {
                "title": "Natal Chart",
                "url": "https://api.astroapi.cloud/api/chart/..."
            }
        }
    }
}

Response Fields

Field	Type	Description
returnYear	number	The year of this solar return
returnDate	string	Exact UTC moment of the solar return
aspects	array	Aspects within the solar return chart
points	object	Planetary positions in the solar return chart
houses	object	House cusps for the solar return chart
charts.solarReturn	object	Solar return chart image URL
charts.biWheel	object	Bi-wheel showing solar return overlaid on natal chart
charts.natal	object	Natal chart image URL

---

Lunar Return

A lunar return chart is calculated for the exact moment the Moon returns to its natal degree each month (approximately every 27.3 days). It is used to forecast themes for the coming month.

Required Module

Requires the lunar-return:calc module.

curl -X POST "https://api.astroapi.cloud/api/calc/lunar-return" \
  -H "X-Api-Key: your-api-key" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "birthDateTime": "1990-06-15T14:30",
    "birthLocation": {
      "longitude": -0.1278,
      "latitude": 51.5074,
      "timezone": "Europe/London"
    },
    "returnDate": "2024-06-01",
    "houseSystem": "placidus",
    "language": "en",
    "includeText": true,
    "includeReadableEntities": true
  }'

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
birthDateTime	string	Yes	Birth date and time in YYYY-MM-DDTHH:mm format
birthLocation	object	Yes	Birth location (longitude, latitude, timezone)
returnDate	string	No	Start date (YYYY-MM-DD) to find the next lunar return from (default: now)
houseSystem	string	No	House system (default: "placidus")
language	string	No	Language code for text content (default: "en")
includeText	boolean	No	Include interpretation text (default: false)
includeReadableEntities	boolean	No	Include human-readable entity titles (default: false)
points	array	No	Celestial points to include in the calculation
orbs	object	No	Custom orb values per aspect type

Response

{
    "data": {
        "returnDate": "2024-06-12T03:18:44Z",
        "aspects": [
            {
                "point1": "moon",
                "point2": "venus",
                "aspect": "sextile",
                "orb": 0.9,
                "applying": true
            }
        ],
        "points": {
            "moon": {
                "longitude": 245.2,
                "latitude": -3.1,
                "sign": "sagittarius",
                "house": 4,
                "retrograde": false
            }
        },
        "houses": {
            "1": { "cusp": 130.8, "sign": "leo" },
            "4": { "cusp": 240.5, "sign": "sagittarius" }
        },
        "charts": {
            "lunarReturn": {
                "title": "Lunar Return Chart",
                "url": "https://api.astroapi.cloud/api/chart/..."
            },
            "biWheel": {
                "title": "Lunar Return / Natal Bi-wheel",
                "url": "https://api.astroapi.cloud/api/chart/..."
            },
            "natal": {
                "title": "Natal Chart",
                "url": "https://api.astroapi.cloud/api/chart/..."
            }
        }
    }
}

Response Fields

Field	Type	Description
returnDate	string	Exact UTC moment of the lunar return
aspects	array	Aspects within the lunar return chart
points	object	Planetary positions in the lunar return chart
houses	object	House cusps for the lunar return chart
charts.lunarReturn	object	Lunar return chart image URL
charts.biWheel	object	Bi-wheel showing lunar return overlaid on natal chart
charts.natal	object	Natal chart image URL

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House Systems

Both endpoints support the same house systems as natal chart calculations:

Value	Name
placidus	Placidus (default)
koch	Koch
equal	Equal House
whole	Whole Sign
campanus	Campanus
regiomontanus	Regiomontanus
porphyry	Porphyry

Location for Return Charts

Many astrologers use the location where the person is physically present at the time of the return, rather than the birth location. Pass the current residence or travel location in birthLocation if you want location-relative return charts.