TECHNIQUE
Solar Return Location Election
A solar return location election picks the geographic location that produces the most favorable solar return chart for a given intent.
Volguine, Mary Shea, and Celeste Teal popularized the practice. Because the SR moment is fixed by birth, only ASC/MC/house cusps change with location. Strong locations angularize benefics, place the profected lord of the year in a topical house, and avoid angularizing malefics. Electional automates the search across ~4,400 cities.
RELATED TERMS
- Solar Return
A solar return is an astrological chart cast for the exact moment the Sun returns to its natal ecliptic longitude — once per year, usually within ±24 hours of the birthday.
- Angular Planet
An angular planet sits within roughly 5° of one of the four chart angles: Ascendant (1st cusp), MC (10th cusp), Descendant (7th cusp), or IC (4th cusp).
- Lord of the Year
The lord of the year is the planetary ruler of the sign activated by annual profection — the year's protagonist planet.
- Benefic
Benefic is the traditional classification for planets whose default influence is favorable: Jupiter (greater benefic) and Venus (lesser benefic).
- Malefic
Malefic is the traditional classification for planets whose default influence is challenging: Mars (lesser malefic) and Saturn (greater malefic).
Put this into practice.