Solar Arc Directions

Definition

Solar arc directions are a timing technique in which every planet, angle, and sensitive point in your chart is moved forward by the same amount — the distance the Sun has travelled since you were born. That shared distance, the "arc," comes out to roughly one degree for each year of your age. Where secondary progressions let each planet move at its own pace, solar arc moves the whole chart together, as a single piece.

In Tradition

In the Western tradition, solar arc directions are counted among the major timing techniques, precisely because that one shared arc advances every point in your chart at once.

In Practice

An astrologer works out the solar arc by finding how far the Sun travelled in the same number of days after your birth, then adds that distance to every natal planet and angle. The contacts watched most closely are the conjunctions, oppositions, and squares these directed points make to natal positions. Solar arc is generally read alongside transits, where the two lining up gives a stronger indication.

Historical Origin

The technique is traced from the Babylonian degree-for-a-day-for-a-year equation through Ptolemy's primary directions. The standard step used is the Naibod arc — 59'08", the mean daily motion of the Sun. The modern system, moving the whole chart by a single arc, was fully worked out after World War II.

Etymology

Origin: Latin. Meaning: From solaris ("of the Sun") and arcus ("bow" or "arc"), describing the angular distance of the Sun's motion used as the uniform measure for advancing all chart points..

Further Reading

• Noel Tyl, Solar Arcs
• Bernadette Brady, Predictive Astrology