Diverse Solunars: my current view

[Jim Eshelman]

We have a lot of different kinds of solar and lunar returns! Over the years, my view has evolved about how important each is.

We have at least 11 distinctive return charts. Their demi- and quarti- returns escalate this to 44! Converse returns double this to 88!! Calculating all of these would bury any of us, even in this day of computers - and the likes of Fagan, Bradley, and Firebrace did it all by hand!!!!

So, obviously we're not routinely calculating all of these. I see two primary paths to sanity: (1) Identify which are the most important and concentrate just on those. (1B) As a variation, also spot-check a few others and only pay attention if they have a screaming-loud message. (2) When studying a specific upcoming event, look at everything - dozens of charts - on Firebrace's theory (with which he had a lot of success) that anything important will show up over and over, in one chart after another. (He'd calculate many different charts and more or less go by "majority wins" for things like elections.)

I can immediately cut the number almost in half by eliminating quarti-returns. There isn't one of them I find worth calculating: When they work, it seems random and almost an accident. (The exception seems to be the Decilium, which isn't really a quarti-return.) Not everyone agrees with me on this, but I find them nearly useless.

All returns should be calculated for where they actually set up; then, like a nativity or any other chart, they relocate to wherever you go within their period of operation. In this relocation, lunar returns seem more adaptable and easily shifted than solar returns.

Primary Techniques (Essential)
SIDEREAL SOLAR RETURN (SSR) [transiting Sun conj. natal Sun]. An essential and primary technique not to be missed. - While the full SSR is essential, I've lost confidence in the quarti-SSR and even the demi-SSR - I barely even look at my own anymore. I admit their value only in the very narrow range of seeing if they strongly duplicate the message of the SSR as a way of narrowing the primary period of external manifestation. - Brig. Firebrace, as the years past, was moving in the opposite direction, thinking that the quarti-SSR was more important to watch and needed more attention; I disagree with him. - Regarding location, the SSR operates primarily where it actually sets up, both as a basic descriptor of the year and by the sensitivity of its angles to transit. If one goes somewhere else during the year, it theoretically relocates, but the overlay is slight and transits to the angles are not as potent as to the initial place.

SIDEREAL LUNAR RETURN (SLR) [transiting Moon conj. natal Moon]. An essential and primary technique not to be missed. Additionally, the Demi-SLR is nearly as strong: Though the full SLR persists through the entire month, the Demi-SLR usually takes the lead for the second half. - I discount the quarti-SLRs as having no practical value other than the theoretical and unconfirmed possibility of narrowing manifestation to a specific week if it strongly replicates the SLR or Demi-SLR. Regarding location, the SLR operates initially where it actually sets up and also readily adapts to a new location if one moves elsewhere during the month. This adaptability is so strong that one usually has to read both locations' SLRs side by side as if they were separate, equally strong charts.

The SSR sets a baseline for the year. The SLRs ride high and low against that baseline.

Secondary Techniques (Worthwhile)
ENNEAD (Novienic Solar Return, NSR) [transiting Sun conj. 40° multiple of natal Sun]. Garth Allen, at the end of his life considered this a more important technique than even the SLR. I can't justify that opinion, but do regard it as valid and strong, perhaps the most important secondary techniques. - It's 10° quarters aren't really quarti- and demi- charts (Sun doesn't oppose or square anything) but they seem quite important - perhaps as important as the NSR itself. One could do a credible job of catching important features in 10-day increments through the year by checking only these charts (though you'd still miss important features of the SLR by that strategy).

KINETIC LUNAR RETURN (KLR) [transiting Moon conj. secondary progressed [Q2] Moon]. If I were to add one more return chart to routinely monitor, it would be the KLR (including the Demi-KLR, which is of comparable import to the Demi-SLR). Some of them nearly warrant Primary Technique status. - It has the additional benefit that it highlights things happening in secondary progressions that might be missed with the other returns.

Lesser Techniques (Trivial)
SIDEREAL ANLUNAR RETURN (SAR) [transiting Moon conj. SSR Moon]. Of the secondary techniques that have gotten the most attention historically, the Anlunar is the least useful to me. I can easily detect within myself when a new SLR or KLR sets up, but te Anlunar seems a dumb note. - It does have one highly important use, though: It can be a timer of features in the SSR, especially strong aspects which, in the SSR, don't fall near the angles, i.e., it can bring strong but inexpressive factors into active expression. - The Demi-Anlunar seems just as important (or unimportant) as the full Anlunar - quite similar to the SLR or KLR demis. I doubt the quartis are worth anything, though I haven't carefully looked.

KINETIC ANLUNAR RETURN (KAR) [transiting Moon conj. SQ Moon]. I list this here as theoretically of comparable importance to the Anlunar itself: The kinetic Anlunar (under a different name) was the first way Fagan introduced the Kinetic early in his work. I've done almost no work with it, but in the small amount of checking it seemed at least as important as the Anlunar - maybe more so. (Enough to make me wonder for a week whether this is why the Anlunar itself seemed so poor - but not enough to get me to run formal tests.)

SIDEREAL YOGA RETURN (SYR) [transiting Sun/Moon midpoint conj. natal Sun/Moon midpoint]. "Yoga" is used here in its literal meaning, "union." This, proposed by Sri Rajagopala Iyer in Spica, was one of two techniques striving to simultaneously tap both Sun and Moon energies in a return chart. They are hard to calculate, even with available astrology software. - I did a pilot study at the request of Brig. Firebrace and found every example I checked with adequately correct - but nowhere near good enough to justify the work. (I was 17 or 18 when I did this. What impresses me has changed. It may deserve a new look.) I have it filed in my mind under, "Yeah, it works, but I'm never going to bother calculating it."

Dubious Techniques
KINETIC SOLAR RETURN (KSR) [transiting Sun conj. secondary progressed Sun]. I doubt this has any value. I can't think (in theory) why it wouldn't, but I've ever seen one that contributed anything to describing a year.

SOLAR MONTHLY RETURN (SMR) [transiting Sun conj. 30° multiples of natal Sun]. This has no particular value (except that they are all Enneads or its sub-charts). Bradley's statistics clearly showed the trine SMRs among the best, being far better than demi- and quarti-solars (these turned out to be Enneads), but the others weren't impressive as a set.

LUNAR SYNODIC RETURN (LSR) [Sun-Moon elongation same as natal Sun-Moon elongation]. This was another technique striving to simultaneously tap both Sun and Moon energies in a return chart. It has another tactical advantage: It is independent of the zodiac and occurs at the same moment whether calculated by a Tropical or Sidereal astrologer. However, it is hard to calculate with available tools. - I did a few of them during a couple of periods. I'm not convinced there is anything of value in them.

SEVEN-YEAR LUNAR RETURN [secondary progressed Moon conj. / op. / sq. natal Moon]. Alexander Marr (who, even when we disagreed, was worthy of respect) was enormously fond of this technique. It tracked the seven-year quarters of progressed Moon. I've tried this several times and can't find any value in it at all. (Too bad, it would fill an interesting gap in length of techniques.) Given he nature of the technique, I've tried setting it up for both birthplace and residence - no good. What I think is a fair test: Since the conjunction return should be the most certain of all of these, and since almost everyone's life goes through significant change in late '30s, the conjunction 7-year chart - progressed Moon conjunct natal Moon - should easily describe the turns one takes in one's life from age 27.3 on. I don't find that this is the case.

Converse Returns
Regrettably, it does seem that any of these returns that is valid is also valid as a converse return. I never calculate these except to entertain myself every decade or so. I did a small study of the Converse SLR at Firebrace's request, published in Spica, and the simple conclusion was, yes, they work fine. I'm just not sufficiently motivated to look at twice as many charts.