How to Interpret a Planetary Return

What to expect with a Jupiter, Mars, Venus, or Mercury return!

Now that Jupiter is in Leo, I’ve been getting quite a few questions about what people can expect with their Jupiter return. I guess I just naturally attract Jupiter in Leo people - both my husband and future daughter have this chart placement too! I have spoken a lot on here about solar returns, lunar returns, and Saturn returns. But I realized I’ve never gotten into what you can expect with all of these other planetary returns you experience from time to time. So in addition to getting into Jupiter returns, we’ll be looking at what typically comes up with Mars, Venus, and Mercury returns too.

A planetary return is when a transiting planet returns to the same sign in which you have that planet in your birth chart. For example, Mars is in Gemini right now. If you have Mars in Gemini in your birth chart, you are currently experiencing your Mars return over the next few weeks. Returns mark these key developmental phases throughout someone’s life. Something I’m excited to do once my baby is here is to track her first few months through her lunar returns, her first year at her solar return, her transition into toddlerhood at her first Mars return, and the start of adolescence at her first Jupiter return. Through these planetary returns, especially the longer ones, you can break down a person’s life chronology. For instance, you get a Saturn return every 29 years, so if you live to old age, you will get three Saturn returns. The time between each will mark these three very distinct phases of your life, where certain work, responsibilities, and ambitions were prominent for a few decades at a time. The same can be said of Jupiter, but looking at 12 year increments of your life through the lens of knowledge, beliefs, and travel instead.

What sets each return apart? Let’s go through the returns of Jupiter, Mars, Venus and Mercury below, going over the steps for how you can interpret each of their returns to your chart.

Consider the themes of the planet involved in the return.

A Jupiter return occurs every 12 years. So you’ll get your first one at age 12, the second at 24, the third at 36, the fourth at 48, and so on. At these key ages, the themes associated with Jupiter will get brought up more strongly for about a year, and you could realize that a new direction is unfolding in one or more of these areas that will continue to grow over the next 12 years.

Jupiter represents:

• learning and higher education

• Spirituality and life beliefs

• Foreign travel and other cultures

• Writing and teaching

A Mars return occurs roughly every 2 years, and serves as an energy reset. You may find that at your Mars return, you are developing new goals or finding different interests that motivate you. The themes that Mars represents will become a bigger point of focus for about six weeks.

Mars represents:

• Your drive and ambition

• How you manage anger and frustration

• What you enjoy putting your energy towards and what motivates you

Solar returns occur once a year on your birthday. Mercury and Venus returns also have this once a year occurrence, although they don’t happen at the same time every year like a solar return does. A Mercury and Venus return both last for about a month, and at these times you will be putting careful thought into how you want to express the qualities of that planet.

Mercury represents:

• What you’re interested in learning and speaking about

• Brainstorming ideas for writing, teaching, or research

• How you communicate with people

Venus represents:

• Your approach to creativity and style

• How you navigate dating and relationships

• What you value spending money on, and how you approach your personal finances

You will want to note when these planets, especially Mercury, Venus, and Mars, have a retrograde occur in the same sign as your natal placement. This doesn’t happen often, and will mark an extended return period. The entire year surrounding that retrograde will likely be a significant period for you in regard to the topics of that planet. For example, I remember that when Mercury was retrograde in Aquarius several years ago, the sign I have my natal Mercury in, I got a lot of inspiration for the book I wrote.

For anyone who has Mercury and/or Venus in Scorpio in their birth chart, you will get longer returns for these planets later this year, as both will be retrograde in Scorpio throughout October and November. Over the last few months even, you may have already started thinking about how you want to spend more time writing, researching, or working on your speaking skills. Or it could be that you’re thinking more carefully about your aesthetic and branding, or how you can move past certain relationship patterns.

Note the sign and house in which the return is occurring.

The sign and house in which the return is happening will shed further insight into what that return will represent for you. The house that the planet is located in will indicate what activities and area of life are relevant to that return. For instance, if you’re having a Jupiter return in the 5th house, maybe you’re learning a lot more about pregnancy, children, or relationship dynamics, or you’re seeing a new direction take hold with your own creative practice.

Meanwhile, the sign in which the return is occurring will show you how you’re expressing the qualities of that planet. Having a Mercury return in Scorpio may have you wanting to do more in depth research on one specific niche topic, as well as areas that relate to mental health or psychology. On the other hand, a Mercury return in the sign of Gemini would be more about how you’re connecting socially with people, or you could be inspired by a lot of different topics at once, and you’re figuring out how to bring those interests into short form communication, like social media content, a newsletter, etc.

Check to see which other houses in your chart the planet rules.

You can not fully interpret any transit to a planet in your chart without checking to see what other signs and houses that planet rules.

Jupiter rules the signs of Sagittarius and Pisces. If you are having a Jupiter return in the sign of Aries for instance, yes the Aries ruled house of your chart would be relevant in terms of seeing growth and opportunities during that year long return, but you would also want to check the houses in your chart ruled by Sagittarius and Pisces to see how those themes are getting brought up in the return as well. In the diagram below, you can see someone experiencing a Jupiter return in Virgo, their 7th house. Jupiter also rules their Pisces 1st house and Sagittarius 10th house though, so in addition to seeing growth happen in relationships, they can also expect a shift in identity and personal goals as well as with their career.

At the time of a Mars return, you will want to check how the themes of the Aries and Scorpio ruled houses in your chart tie back in.

At the time of a Venus return, the houses ruled by Taurus and Libra will also be relevant.

And finally, with a Mercury return, the houses in your chart ruled by Gemini and Virgo will be called to your focus.

Bonus factors to consider

There are a few additional steps we could take to further interpret what a planet’s return will look like for you. These steps show how significant a specific planet’s return may feel compared to the return of another planet in your chart.

Is the planet involved in the return associated with your specific sect?

If you have a night chart, a Venus return may bring up more positive opportunities than a Jupiter return would, and a Mars return may not feel so irritable or bring up as much conflict. Meanwhile a day chart may reap greater rewards from a Jupiter return, and a Saturn return may end up feeling more productive and not as heavy.

Is the planet having the return your annual profection ruler for the year?

When a planet is your “lord” of the year, it automatically assumes greater power for a twelve month period. So if you’re in a Mercury ruled year, experiencing a Mercury return that year may feel a lot more significant in terms of developing Mercurial themes like writing, speaking, research, or communication.

Throughout my entire Saturn return, I was in back to back Saturn ruled profection years, so that Saturn return occurring in my 7th house was the single most important transit taking place during those two years. I experienced a lot of activity around 7th house themes, like meeting my now husband, entering into a couple of different business partnerships, and overall learning how to communicate and compromise better with people.

Does the planet involved in a return rule an important angle in your chart like your ascendant or Midheaven?

Because the ascendant and Midheaven are the most prominent points in a chart, when you experience the return of the planet that rules either of these, you could see a significant shift in what your overall life priorities are, what you want to be doing career wise, what personal goals you want to develop, and how you want to be seen by other people. An Aquarius rising would have major breakthroughs about who they are as a person at the time of their Saturn return, while someone with a Scorpio rising may see a major reset with what they want to be doing at the time of their Mars return.

There are two specific birth charts that have the ascendant and Midheaven ruled by the same planet. If you have a Virgo rising chart with a Gemini Midheaven, both of these angles are ruled by Mercury. So a Mercury return would be a bigger deal for you. And if you have a Pisces rising chart with a Sagittarius Midheaven, both of these angles are ruled by Jupiter, so your Jupiter return may open you up to more significant life changes or opportunities.

I hope this newsletter able to give you more insight into what to expect with planetary returns! And if you enjoyed today’s topic, here other past articles you may like….

Tips for Interpreting a Solar Return Chart

Solar Returns: Part 2

Making Monthly Predictions with Lunar Return Charts

Saturn Transits