Solunars by Aldebaran Sidereal Academy

Hello,
A while ago when i posted about my life and what I’ve been dealing with lately, I mentioned I was planning to relocate my 2020 SSR to Los Angeles. I really wanted to get out to the west coast for my birthday to get the moon-venus angular in my return (and get on a sunny beach while I was at it), but as much as I tried (and I really tried), I couldn’t get my father to give in and either allow me to travel there alone or travel there with me (he still pays my bills for the time being, so he does have a say).
I struck a compromise with him, and although he isn’t willing to travel with me as far as california, he is willing to go “half as far”.
This may be sort of a big ask, but I wanted to inquire about where I could go to optimize this return within a ~850 mile radius of where i’m located in Memphis (give or take, it just needs to be within a 12-13 hour drive).
The most important thing, I think, is getting neptune off the angle, which I can do pretty easily within the radius I have, but I would like to be able to get the best possible result out of this - after the year I’ve had, I could use a break.

my info:
March 12, 2001
Memphis, TN
8:29pm

The good news is that the Neptune isn't that close in Memphis. It's foreground, but not closely. That is, if the goal were to "get Neptune off an angle" in any practical sense, then you're already there there, at 5° above the angle it's about in the range I'd have tried to "knock it to."

A rough rule of thumb BTW - not quite right, but close enough to give you some ability to juggle distances in your head - is that one mile is about 0°01' of arc, so 60 miles is about a degree. Sorta (close enough for quick checks.)

In Memphis, I'm more concerned about your natal Mars-Pluto angular.

To keep Neptune from getting closer to the angle, don't go east. Neptune exactly sets in eastern Tennessee, on a line that passes through central Michigan, western Ohio, eastern Kentucky and Tennessee, a tip of North Carolina, and through Georgia farther east than Atlanta. For example, it goes exactly through Middlesborough, KY, between Knoxville and Morristown, TN. That part of the state.

So, don't go east, as that would strengthen Neptune; meaning, going west improves it.

Calculating natal planets on a map is much harder - trial and error and lots of spot-checking, no direct way to display it - but we can think along these lines: Sidereal Time decreases as you go west, meaning that the Midheaven (angles in general) get earlier. Making the 16° Taurus Memphis MC earlier pulls it away from your Mars-Pluto and toward your Jupiter.

On crude figuring (ignore this paragraph if you don't want the geeky stuff) the RA of Midheaven in Memphis is 69°23'; the RA of Jupiter at your birth is 62°47'; at age 19, about 0°16' of precession has accrued so (though planets don't move in RA exactly as they move in longitude, it's close enough for the moment) we'll call your Jupiter 63°03'. That means we have to reduce the MC 6°20' (69°23' - 63°03' = 6°20'). Memphis is at 90W03, so to put your Jupiter on MC we need 90W03 + 6°20' = 96W23, more or less.

An ideal longitude would be about 96W23. Launching Google Earth and dragging the mouse around a bit, I see that this is just a little bit into the Plains states, a bit west of the eastern borders of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, etc. For example, Tulsa is 96W00, Lincoln 96W45.

Once you get the Midheaven fixed, the Ascendant will shift according to latitude. For example, with your Jupiter 9°53' Taurus, the Tulsa angles are MC 10°20' Taurus, Asc 13°04' Leo; the Lincoln angles are MC 9°42' Taurus (closer), Asc 13°26' Leo (just slightly later, not really impacting anything). You could look roughly due north-south of Tulsa-Lincoln and find some place you'd like to go, depending on your tastes. For a larger metropolitan area with a lot happening, Dallas is quite (MC 9°35' Taurus).

If you pick some place and let us know, it's not that much work to find an exacting spot somewhere outside of a city where you have a planet exact to the minute of arc for a "my daughter is really weird" excursion to be at one exact parking lot (or whatever) at 6:13 PM on her birthday

Another approach, if you want to go further west, is to look for where natal Jupiter is square Ascendant instead of conjunct MC. This is harder to calculate, but we're probably going 3°-4° further west - around 100-101° west longitude - which is roughly the longitude of San Antonio. Ah, that was a good guess! - With your Jupiter at 9°53' Taurus, the San Antonio Asc is 9°39' Leo. Notice the further west you go, the more Neptune and natal Mars-Pluto are from the angles, but now we're also starting to get natal Saturn near MC - about 6-7° away for San Antonio, a couple of degrees further away for Dallas.

Play around with this, ask questions, and let us know what you decide.

Thank you so much for your reply Mr. Eshelman! This is so helpful and your insight is invaluable to me.

Jim Eshelman wrote: Sat Feb 29, 2020 8:21 am The good news is that the Neptune isn't that close in Memphis. It's foreground, but not closely. That is, if the goal were to "get Neptune off an angle" in any practical sense, then you're already there there, at 5° above the angle it's about in the range I'd have tried to "knock it to."

This is indeed good news! But since I have the opportunity and neptune is the only angular planet in the return, I definitely want to get it further off.

Jim Eshelman wrote: Sat Feb 29, 2020 8:21 am In Memphis, I'm more concerned about your natal Mars-Pluto angular.

definitely a concern for me as well

Jim Eshelman wrote: Sat Feb 29, 2020 8:21 am On crude figuring (ignore this paragraph if you don't want the geeky stuff) the RA of Midheaven in Memphis is 69°23'; the RA of Jupiter at your birth is 62°47'; at age 19, about 0°16' of precession has accrued so (though planets don't move in RA exactly as they move in longitude, it's close enough for the moment) we'll call your Jupiter 63°03'. That means we have to reduce the MC 6°20' (69°23' - 63°03' = 6°20'). Memphis is at 90W03, so to put your Jupiter on MC we need 90W03 + 6°20' = 96W23, more or less.

I love the geeky stuff, and this helps me understand what the best option is in terms of location, so thank you

Jim Eshelman wrote: Sat Feb 29, 2020 8:21 am If you pick some place and let us know, it's not that much work to find an exacting spot somewhere outside of a city where you have a planet exact to the minute of arc for a "my daughter is really weird" excursion to be at one exact parking lot (or whatever) at 6:13 PM on her birthday

haha! I am definitely up for an excursion of that sort (the whole ordeal is basically already a “my daughter is really weird” trip anyway) and I’ll certainly let you know when I decide. Thank you so much for being willing to find that for me

Jim Eshelman wrote: Sat Feb 29, 2020 8:21 am Another approach, if you want to go further west, is to look for where natal Jupiter is square Ascendant instead of conjunct MC.

So, further west to either the San Antonio or Austin area sounds like a more favorable vacation just in terms of my tastes (ive been to both, Austin is one of my favorite places I’ve ever been and i would love to see more of san antonio as previously it was just a quick trip), but isn’t having Jupiter square an angle less favorable than having it conjunct one? Furthermore, having Saturn even close to foreground is something I think I definitely want to avoid.


Im really not sure what I’m going to go with yet here. Tulsa isn’t a bad drive at all, Dallas isn’t much further and may make for a more exciting getaway, Lincoln/possibly Omaha (?) is a bit further still but may be a good option as far as a city with a good bit to do and also seems to be the best option astrologically (I think? still very unfamiliar with interpreting solar returns presently).
Hmmm. I’ll let you know what I decide when I do. Again, thank you so much for your help!

abby wrote: Sun Mar 01, 2020 3:40 am but isn’t having Jupiter square an angle less favorable than having it conjunct one?

No, not at all. The "squares are bad" idea is wrong-thinking perpetuated by Tropical astrologers. It might be slightly weaker, though in practice one doesn't notice. The "drop-off" as it moves from exact is steeper, but when you have something within a few minutes of an angle there isn't really a drop-off.

Furthermore, having Saturn even close to foreground is something I think I definitely want to avoid.

I mentioned it to give you the choice. No chart is perfect (and your own Saturn angular might give you resourcefulness and endurance; then again, why add it unnecessarily?). My thinking was that a place you really wanted to go that also had a little of your own Saturn might be a better choice than a seemingly more perfect astrology chart where you'd find the birthday boring.

I’ll let you know what I decide when I do. Again, thank you so much for your help!

You're welcome.

Jim Eshelman wrote: Sun Mar 01, 2020 8:39 am No, not at all.

ok gotcha, thank you

Jim Eshelman wrote: Sun Mar 01, 2020 8:39 am (and your own Saturn angular might give you resourcefulness and endurance; then again, why add it unnecessarily?)

In what way do I have Saturn angular? I haven’t seen this in my chart

San Antonio and places west start to put the local SSR angles in proximity with your natal Saturn.

Jupiter Sets at Dawn wrote: Sun Mar 01, 2020 1:45 pm San Antonio and places west start to put the local SSR angles in proximity with your natal Saturn.

Thank you Jupiter, I misunderstood

Hard to follow context here sometimes.

I think we are going with Omaha, willing to drive west a bit when it hits on my birthday to maximize the effects. Hopefully it isn’t too far east of Lincoln, if so I’ll go with Dallas instead.

Jim Eshelman wrote: Sat Feb 29, 2020 8:21 am
If you pick some place and let us know, it's not that much work to find an exacting spot somewhere outside of a city where you have a planet exact to the minute of arc for a "my daughter is really weird" excursion to be at one exact parking lot (or whatever) at 6:13 PM on her birthday

Mr. Eshelman, my dad and I drove up to Omaha, NE last night. My return hits in a few hours, and I’m thinking after dinner we will drive 30 minutes west, where longitude is at exactly 96W23. Do you have a suggestion for a specific place outside Omaha?

El Bee's, 3200 N 240th St, Waterloo, NE 68069, is highly thought of but it closes around 9:30 PM It's not quite far enough west. Mostly you are looking for the banks of the Platte River, which was out of it's banks last week, but probably mostly back in now.
Two Rivers State Recreation area might be just the right place. Eat at El Bee's (if you like Mexican) or the Rude Shrimp if you like seafood food trucks or somewhere around there, then part at Two Rivers for the exact return time, then back to Omaha.

Jupiter Sets at Dawn wrote: Thu Mar 12, 2020 3:01 pm El Bee's, 3200 N 240th St, Waterloo, NE 68069, is highly thought of but it closes around 9:30 PM It's not quite far enough west. Mostly you are looking for the banks of the Platte River, which was out of it's banks last week, but probably mostly back in now.
Two Rivers State Recreation area might be just the right place. Eat at El Bee's (if you like Mexican) or the Rude Shrimp if you like seafood food trucks or somewhere around there, then part at Two Rivers for the exact return time, then back to Omaha.

Thank you so much Jupiter! This is perfect and we are headed there now.

Wishing you a happy new SSR Abby.

SteveS wrote: Thu Mar 12, 2020 3:45 pm Wishing you a happy new SSR Abby.

hey Steve, thank you so much! I’m so excited for everything my new year has in store for me

Abby, I'm sorry I missed your post the other day - just saw this one this morning.

Belated happy birthday!

Did you go up to Two Rivers? If so, then the coordinates of your SSR are about 41N13, 96W21 (same latitude as central Omaha within a couple of minutes, slight west in longitude). Here's a full breakdown of the SSR for that location, led, of course, by natal Jupiter 0°01' from Midheaven plus a 0°01' Moon-Venus opposition.

t Neptune on Dsc -9°10'
r Mars on IC -8°37'
----------------------------------
r Jupiter on MC 0°01'
-- t Me/Ne = Dsc +0°06'
t Mercury on WP +2°37'
r Saturn on MC +8°57'

t Moon op. t Venus 0°02' [0°01' in mundo]
t Moon conj. r Moon 0°17'
t Moon sq. r Neptune 0°22'
t Moon op. t Uranus 4°17'

t Mercury sq. r Saturn 0°24' in mundo
t Neptune sq. r Mars 0°33' in mundo

Other Partile
t Mars sq. r Venus 0°03'
t Venus op. r Moon 0°15'
t Venus s. r Neptune 0°20'
t Pluto sq. r Asc 0°58'

Jim Eshelman wrote: Sat Mar 14, 2020 9:20 am Abby, I'm sorry I missed your post the other day - just saw this one this morning.
Belated happy birthday!

That’s perfectly okay, and thank you so very much!

Jim Eshelman wrote: Sat Mar 14, 2020 9:20 am Did you go up to Two Rivers?

I did! Riverside campground, to be exact, right on the river.

Jim Eshelman wrote: Sat Mar 14, 2020 9:20 am If so, then the coordinates of your SSR are about 41N13, 96W21 (same latitude as central Omaha within a couple of minutes, slight west in longitude). Here's a full breakdown of the SSR for that location, led, of course, by natal Jupiter 0°01' from Midheaven plus a 0°01' Moon-Venus opposition.

Thank you so much for this breakdown Mr Eshelman, this is so helpful. Looking at this I’m so glad I relocated it. I’m always wishing i could make my natal more positive, always getting frustrated at how absolute and unchanging it is, and so it’s nice to have some degree of control over the return. I’m excited about my Jupiter-MC, Moon-Venus year :’)