One of the readers (Cristhian) of the previous post asked in the Comment section if I could explain Morin’s method of “directing” a Solar Return, which he describes in Chapters XV and XVI of Book 23 of Astrologia Gallica. Personally, I found these chapters somewhat difficult but I will present my understanding of Morin’s method. For simplicity’s sake, I will only discuss directing Solar Returns in this post.
Morin begins by stating that a well-accepted practice is to use primary directions with natal charts to predict future events, and that the timing of such directions is based on the mean daily motion of the Sun in RIGHT ASCENSION (R.A.), which is 59′ 08″ of arc on the Celestial Equator. He argues that by analogy we should be able to direct Solar and Lunar Returns by a similar method. Because he is using the MEAN or average daily motion of the Sun, the timing may not be exact but will be close to accurately timing the event. A more accurate method might be to use the actual solar arc in R.A. to direct the Solar Return Midheaven, but as far as I know Morin used the mean daily motion of the Sun.
Morin is working in the tropical zodiac and uses the tropical year in his calculations. In one tropical year (365.24219 days) the Sun travels one complete cycle of 360 degrees to arrive at the next Solar Return. If we divide 360 degrees by 365.24219 days, then each 59′ 8.33″ of the Sun’s travel in R.A. along the Celestial Equator is equivalent to one day of life during the Solar Return year.
Let’s look at an example from Morin’s own life. He graduated with a Doctorate of Medicine on 9 May 1613. In Chapter XVI, he tells us that 47 days 20 hours 41 minutes (almost 48 days) had elapsed since the exact moment of his 1613 Solar Return of 22 February 1613. This figure is probably a typo or an error because, in fact, there are 76 days between Feb 22 and May 9. My guess is that Morin intended to write “74” but instead wrote “47.” In addition, he counted the dates from his birthday (Feb 23) instead of from the date of the Solar Return (Feb 22) and arrived at 74 instead of 75 days 20 hours 41 minutes, which is almost 76 days.
Morin spent his 1613 solar return at his birthplace, and the MC of the return was 28 Aries 22′, which has a R.A. of 26 degrees 21 minutes of arc.
On the date he got his Doctorate (May 9, 1613), 76 days had passed from the day of his Solar Return. Because the mean travel in R.A. of the Sun is 59′ 8.33″ per day, the arc of the direction is 76 days x 59′ 8.33″ per day = 74.9 degrees of arc of R.A.
To find the directed MC on the date of his graduation, we must add 74.9 degrees of arc to the R.A. of the MC of the Solar Return (which was 26d 21m of arc). The result is 101.3 degrees of arc, which is the R.A. of the directed MC. the R.A. of 101.3 degrees corresponds to 10 Cancer on the directed MC and a directed Asc degree of 8 Libra. Morin calculated the directed ASC on May 9, 1613 to be at 7 Libra, very close to the value we get by modern calculations.
If we wanted to calculate the direction a little more exactly in “real time,” we could use the distance traveled by the Sun in R.A. from the Solar Return until the moment of the graduation.
Morin’s natal Sun lies at 4 Pisces 11′ with a R.A. of 336d 05m.
He graduated on 9 May 1613 when the Sun was at 18 Taurus 54′ with a R.A. of 46d 26m.
Doing the math: the actual distance the Sun had traveled in R.A. from 22 Feb until 9 May, 1613, was 70d 21m of arc in R.A.
Adding the Sun’s actual travel in R.A. to the R.A. of the MC of the solar return: 26d 21m + 70d 21m = 96d 42m of R.A., which corresponds to a directed MC of 6 Cancer and a directed Asc of 5 Libra, about 2 degrees different from Morin’s calculation of 7 Libra the directed Asc.
Using Morin’s method, we calculated that on the day of his medical school graduation the directed Solar Return of 1613 had 10 Cancer on the directed MC and a directed Asc degree of 8 Libra.
The directed MC at 10 Cancer conjoins Mars in his natal chart and trines natal Saturn, ruler of his natal MC. Mars also rules the natal MC by exaltation. The directed MC is also widely trine Saturn in the 1613 Solar Return
The directed Asc at 8 Libra exactly squares natal Mars in the birth chart. In the Solar Return, the directed Asc opposes the Aries Moon which occupies the return 9th house of higher education.
In this example the “hits” to symbolically significant points and planets are very close. The use of the mean daily motion of the Sun in R.A. in this case was a bit more accurate than the use of the solar arc direction of the Sun. On the other hand, Morin in the 17th century was unaware of Pluto, and the directed Solar Return Asc (using solar arc in R.A. to direct the MC) at 5 Libra lies in the natal 6th house and almost exactly opposes natal Pluto at 4 Aries 40′ in the natal 12th house, so perhaps this 5 Libra directed Asc is closely related via Pluto and the 6th and 12th houses to his medical career.
Anthony Louis - Astrology & Tarot Blog 
Muchas gracias
you know an awful lot and you are assuming we readers know quite a lot ! I use solar returns and am very interested .
The trouble is you do not say what you are directing FROM and the numbers blind people . I thought directions went UP from the ascendant but that is confusing me .
Where is the MC being directed to ? Its all quite sound but there’s not enough abc info for people like me !
Morin was directing the MC of his solar return to the date of his graduation with a medical degree.
I’m sorry Anthony you are not understanding how “stupid” I am ! Do you start at the MC point and continue round , eg 75 degrees , towards the descendant ?
I find the actual day the Sun hits a solar return point is always showing an appropriate event and an ephemeris provides that without math So , on the day of his grad was the sun doing that ?
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Caroline, there are many ways to time events from the solar return chart. The transiting Sun will conjoin every point and planet in the solar return at some time during the year, and these days are generally significant.
What Morin is doing is advancing the chart in primary motion, which is clockwise in the horoscope wheel as the Earth turns on its axis and the sky appears to move around the Earth. At the beginning of his solar return in February of 1613, the degree 10 Cancer was in the 11th house of the return. On May 9th when he graduated 10 Cancer had moved clockwise by primary motion and now occupied the Midheaven. At the same time the degree 8 Libra had risen to the eastern horizon on May 9th.
Ta ! and Sun sextile SR Sun says it all 🙂
I am reading Martin Gansten’s book “Annual Predictive Techniques”. On pages 182-183 he briefly mentioned about this technique. He also mentioned that his experience had not found this technique encouraging. On pages 178-182, he described using profection to divide up solar return charts i.e. “The greater and lesser conditions”. I find it very interesting.
Martin does not give his criteria for saying that Morin’s method is not “encouraging,” so we don’t know what Martin was looking at in coming that that conclusion. Morin used this method and found that in his experience with charts, it worked.
Martin also recommends testing the method on a solar return in the freeware program Morinus. To this end, I entered Morin’s 1613 Solar Return of 22 Feb 1613 at his birthplace. He got the medical degree on 9 May 1613. There is a difference of 76 days between the return and the graduation.
Using freeware Morinus, Regiomontanus primary directions, 0 latitude, and the Naibod key (0d 59m 8.33s per day of the year), these are the directions of the solar return for days 75, 76 and 77:
Day 76.01: Opp of Moon to return Asc
Day 76.17 Sq of antiscion of Saturn to return MC
Day 76.21 Sextile of SUN to solar return SUN
Day 76.31 Mars to return Moon
Day 76.90 Trine of Antiscion of Moon to return Saturn
Day 77.09 Moon to return Mercury
Day 77.78 Trine of Jupiter to return Saturn
Considering the placement of the planets in the solar return and the houses which they rule, these directions on the day of, before or after his solar return are highly consistent with a medical school graduation. For example, Mars rules the solar return MC (career) and a good part of the 9th house (higher education) and by primary direction Mars advances to conjoin the Moon in the 9th. In addition, the Sun rules the 1st house by domicile and the 10th by exaltation. By primary direction, the favorable sextile of the Sun moves to the position of the Sun in the return chart on the day of the graduation.
I also run a Distribution prediction using Janus software.
I directed SR ASC using 59’08” Arc for a day. On 5 May 1613, ASC is directed to Mercury term of Libra (SR 3rd house). On 6 May, the SR Moon participates via an opposition from the 9th house. On 12 May, SR Mercury participates via a dexter trine from its conjunction to the SR DSC.
If I direct to MC instead of ASC using the Distribution method, on 27 Apr 1963, the MC enters into Cancer’s Mars term. On 1 May, participator is the Sun. On 4 May, it switches to the Moon. But on 5 May, the directed MC enters into Venus term and on 11 May, it enters Mercury term but the participator remains as the Moon.