What a lunar return means
The Moon circles the zodiac in about 27.3 days, so you have a lunar return roughly every four weeks. Astrologers cast a chart for that exact moment, the lunar return chart, to read the emotional themes and focus of the month ahead. Because the Moon moves about half a degree an hour, the exact time matters, which is why this calculator needs your birth time.
Many astrologers cast the lunar return chart for the place where you are at the time of the return rather than your birthplace, so the times below are shown in your current time zone.
How it is calculated
The calculator finds every moment the Moon crosses its birth position, using the same planetary positions as our birth chart calculator, which are checked against the Swiss Ephemeris. Each crossing is located to within a minute of time.
Questions
Why does the lunar return need my birth time?
The Moon moves about 13 degrees a day. Without the birth time, its birth position could be off by up to 6 or 7 degrees, which would move each return by up to half a day.
Is a lunar return the same as a new moon?
No. A new moon is when the Moon meets the Sun. A lunar return is when the Moon comes back to its own birth position, which is personal to you.