Traveling on your birthday

Hi Guys,

I went to New Orleans for my birthday and I wanted to know how that would effect the year to come. I contacted an astrologer I have gone to and she told me this.....

You cast your solar return for New Orleans and look at it. While the planets are all in the same place as New York, the houses (or locations ) of activity will shift.

So I cast a solar return chart for NOLA and for NY and I am confused. I have Kairon as my astrology program. I clicked solar return chart and I set it for NOLA and I did one for where I live and all that seems to happen is my natal chart moves a bit on the inside. So for example instead of Saturn and Jupiter straddling my MC the MC moves over to the left about 12 degrees..... Did I do it correctly?

Jupiter would have been a degree shy of my ASC if I stayed home but instead it is 12 degrees before it..... the full moon made a direct hit but that hasn't changed.

Would you guys please help me figure this out? Thank you

Differing opinions on this . . .

You may not find any consensus on this question's answer. It is my opinion that a day or two at a remote location will not affect your annual experience. We seem to resonate to the area where we are living --- by "living" I mean the location where we have taken up residence, identified with and have been at for some time. In other words, our present home.

You don't hear of anyone casting Lunar Returns for where they were visiting for the day, or for where they were when traveling by air plane when the Lunar Return occurred. You have seen how "imprinted" you have been by your birth time and location which sticks with you for life. So, how would one planet's return (the Sun) to its place about the Sun be affected by your altered place on the planet?

The Sun's return time is cyclic. Your place on the planet determines its "house" position, or relationship to the chart angles. You are part of the cycle leading up to that time and part of the cycle leading away from that time. If you step out of the cycle for a day or two, the cycle and your place on it just keeps in sync. Again, my opinion and my experience over forty years. Dave

Dave's right, you probably won't find any consensus on that one. As far as I'm aware, the practice of casting solar return charts for the place of the native on his or her birthday began in the seventeenth century being used by J B Morin. However it was never a universal procedure and is still not one today, with many Astrologers always casting the SR chart for the place of birth, no matter where the native is, either temporarily or permanently.

I do tend to relocate my SR charts but I agree with Dave that the length of time someone is at the new location is an important factor. I spent my last Solar Return (both including precession and without it) in Key West Florida. Within 8 hours of the Solar Return I was on my way to Miami and in just over 2 weeks I was back in the UK at my home. Now should I cast my SR chart for Key West or even some location in the US, because that's where I was for a period of over 3 weeks? If the answer to that is 'No' then how long does it take till I can answer 'Yes'? Has it got to be a permanent move, or 6 months, or 3 months or even 1 month? And what do we do with someone who seemingly has a permanent move to a new location but then has to move again, for family or employment reasons, the solar return occurring at the seemingly permanent address and cast as such at the time. Do we go back and alter the chart, and if so do we take the original domicile or the latest domicile?

This isn't an easy question to answer, especially if you consider that the location might have an influence on the person during the following year, or for longer. I might have been coming to the end of my time in Key West but it was for a significant event in my life, the wedding of my daughter and it has had a significant effect on my life, as amongst other things it has been part of a process that's brought my family together after some years of being out of contact (due to inertia more than anything). So we have a second factor, not just time spent at the location but the quality of that time.

If someone has simply gone to a location to get a better SR chart and then moved back home, I'd agree totally with Dave's argument. As it is, I'm not convinced that it's always the case that seemingly temporary relocations are to be ignored. One possible approach to dealing with the issue is to consider the year in retrospect, using both the relocated chart and a chart cast for the usual place of residence. As the year is not fully completed, I've not done that yet but it's something I'll have a look at in just over 5 weeks time.

I think I've said enough there to suggest that there is no simple answer or method covering every relocation. Some we have to discount, others we have to use even if they are temporary and the remainder are 'permanent' moves This is a case where the art of the Astrology has to be tempered with reason.

Thanks Guys!

I had a client who told me an astrologer cast a specific chart for her for money or something and had her go to Portugal on her birthday. I didn't plan my trip with a SR in mind. It was a mile stone birthday and I wanted to spend it away.... it is also Sept 11th and we were in NYC on that day in '01 and we needed to be away. We picked NOLA with no ulterior motive too. It was only after the fact that the thought sprang to mind...... basically it is what it is.

I did cast both charts..... NY and NOLA and the houses move approximately 12 degrees. I don't see major changes so I couldn't figure out what to predict. I also cast it for tokyo and athens to see if the chart moved more significantly the further I went away but again it didn't seem to move that drastically so I gave up.

Thanks,
f