Before You Make Birthday Plans, Consult This Astro Chart

By now, you've probably heard of a birth chart, or natal chart, and there's a good chance you've calculated yours online or with an astrologer. This snapshot of where the planets were during the exact moment you were born never changes, constantly serving as a go-to foundation of your life path and essence.

At the exact time of your birth each year, the Sun returns to the position in the sky that it was in when you were born. The solar return chart is an astrology chart that's calculated for the exact moment the Sun returns to its "natal" or birth position. It's an excellent tool to help you assess and predict the themes that will arise for you during your next "solar year"—the 12 months that happen from one birthday to the next.

There are quite a few free tools online for casting an instant solar return chart. Our top choice is Astro-Seek, which lets you do a free chart without creating a login or profile. The solar return chart is calculated based on 1) your time of birth, 2) your birthday (month and day) and the current year, 3) and your location as you celebrate your birthday that particular year.

When casting a solar return chart, it's less important how you spend your birthday than where. You'd get an entirely different chart if you blow out your candles in Miami than you would for Minneapolis, Mumbai, or Marrakech.

Say you were born at 8 p.m. in London on August 10, 1989.

It's 2019, and you're debating whether to celebrate your 30th birthday in Mexico City or Paris, two places on your travel bucket list. In your astro chart calculator, you input 8 p.m. on August 10, 2019, in Mexico City, then see what the chart looks like. To compare options, you would then do a chart for August 10, 2019, at 8 p.m. in Paris.

Et voilà! Ya esta! Two different charts and choices. You could book your travel plans according to which outcome you prefer for the next 12 months. And if you didn't like the looks of one of those charts, well…disaster averted!