How Morin directed Solar Returns

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.

Morin’s Birth Chart (left) and his Solar Return of 1613 when he got his MD degree on 9 May 1613.

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.