Secondary Progressions: Forecast for the Year
Secondary progressions are the main method of long-term forecasting in Western astrology: each day after birth corresponds to a year of life. The calculator works out the progressed Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Ascendant and MC for the chosen year, the progressed lunation phase, sign changes and exact aspects to the natal chart — with dates and interpretations.
You need your date, exact time and place of birth. If the forecast year is left blank, we calculate the current one. Event dates are given in the time zone of the place of birth. Latitude, longitude and UTC offset are needed only if the place can't be found in the search.
How Progressions Are Calculated
Secondary progressions rest on the symbolic rule "one day equals one year." The positions of the planets 30 days after birth describe the year after your 30th birthday; 45 days after, the year after your 45th. Time within a year is divided the same way: each month of life corresponds to roughly two hours of the ephemeris.
- We find your age on the chosen date in tropical years (365.2422 days).
- We add the same number of days to the moment of birth and calculate the positions of the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus and Mars for that moment. The slow planets — from Jupiter to Pluto — barely move in progressions, so they aren't progressed.
- We get the progressed Ascendant and MC using the solar arc in right ascension: the distance traveled by the progressed Sun is added to the natal sidereal time.
- In the chosen year we look for exact aspects of the progressed points to natal planets and angles, changes of sign and house, and planets changing direction — each event with a date.
The speeds are very different: the progressed Sun moves about a degree a year and changes sign once every 30 years, while the progressed Moon moves about a degree a month and crosses a sign in two and a half years. That's why the Sun sets the themes of decades and the Moon the emotional backdrop of each month.
What Progressions Look At
The progressed Moon. The main "clockwork" of progressions. Its sign shows where the soul looks for support over the next two or three years, its house shows the area of life that comes to the fore, and its exact aspects to natal planets mark the months when these themes come alive.
The progressed lunation phase. The angle between the progressed Moon and Sun repeats the phases of the Moon, only stretched out: a full cycle lasts about 30 years and is divided into eight phases of 3.5–4 years each. The division goes back to Dane Rudhyar: the New Moon is sowing, the First Quarter a crisis of action, the Full Moon harvest and awareness, the Last Quarter a crisis of beliefs, and the Balsamic phase completion.
The progressed Sun. A change of sign is a shift to a new life theme that lasts for decades; an exact aspect from the Sun to a natal planet is one of the most noticeable periods, lasting about two years.
Mercury, Venus, Mars. Their signs show how your way of thinking, loving and acting changes. Stations are especially important: when a progressed planet changes direction, it is felt for years.
Ascendant and MC. The progressed angles move about a degree a year. Their aspects to natal planets often coincide with turning-point events — a move, a job change, a marriage.
The Eight Phases of the Progressed Lunation
- New Moon (0–45°) — the start of a 30-year cycle: the new feels its way forward.
- Crescent (45–90°) — effort: the new struggles against the habits of the past.
- First Quarter (90–135°) — a crisis of action, determined building.
- Gibbous (135–180°) — refinement and the search for meaning.
- Full Moon (180–225°) — fruition and awareness, especially in relationships.
- Disseminating (225–270°) — passing experience on to others.
- Last Quarter (270–315°) — a crisis of beliefs, a rethinking of roles.
- Balsamic (315–360°) — completion, letting go, preparing for a new cycle.
Progressions, Solar Return and Transits
Progressions describe inner development — how a person matures toward events. Transits show outer circumstances, the solar return shows the theme of the year from your birthday, and the lunar return shows the theme of the month. The traditional rule: an event "triggers" when a progression and a transit point to the same thing.
An Honest Look at the Method
The "day for a year" rule is symbolic: there's no astronomical link between one day after birth and one year of life, and tests of predictive astrology have not confirmed its accuracy. We calculate progressions by the rules of the tradition and with astronomical precision (positions are checked against the Swiss Ephemeris), and we write the interpretations as a description of what astrology traditionally holds, not as knowledge about your future.
Frequently asked questions
How are progressions different from transits?
Transits are the actual positions of the planets in the sky today relative to your chart. Progressions are the symbolic development of the natal chart itself: the planets advance by as many days as you are years old. Transits describe outer circumstances; progressions, inner maturing.
What matters most in progressions?
The progressed Moon (sign, house, lunation phase) and the exact aspects of the progressed Sun and angles to natal planets. The progressed Sun changing sign is a milestone that comes once every 30 years.
How important is an accurate birth time?
For the Sun, Moon and planets it hardly matters: an error of an hour shifts them by less than a degree. For the progressed Ascendant and MC it's critical: a 4-minute error shifts the angles by about a degree, and the dates of their aspects by a year.
Why aren't Jupiter, Saturn and the outer planets progressed?
In 90 days — that's 90 years of life — they move only a few degrees, so in progressions they are treated as natal points to which the progressed planets form aspects.