Start with a reproducible example
Use 28 July 1990 as the birth date, then choose The Sun, The Star and Strength, in that order. These are demonstration inputs, not a reader’s history or a claim about anyone born on that date. The same inputs produce the same result. Our tutorial calculates its tables directly with the calculator’s engine; the figures are not a separately written horoscope.
Start with the birth sky rather than the “best year” label. This example has a Leo Sun under our noon-UTC convention. The date gives us approximate planetary positions, but it does not reveal a person’s job, income, relationships or health. People born on the same date receive the same numerical chart if they choose the same cards. Their actual lives can be very different.
A row represents a birthday year
Age 29 in this example means 28 July 2019 through the instant before 28 July 2020, using noon UTC for the boundaries. It does not mean January–December 2019. This matters if you compare the chart to a journal: a January event in 2020 still belongs to the age-29 row. For a 29 February birthday, a non-leap-year boundary is 28 February.
The annual engine takes 36 equally spaced samples between those birthdays. Each aspect retains its strongest sampled contact. Two aspects in the same row can peak months apart. Adding their contributions creates an annual symbolic index; it does not describe one moment when all the planets align. The explorer below shows the sampled dates so you can see that distinction.
Separate the card baseline from the sky contribution
The Sun has a tone of +0.9, so an unmixed formative baseline is 50 + 15 × 0.9 = 63.5. The Star gives 60.5; Strength gives 57.5. These numbers are editorial choices for this tool. They are not measurements obtained by studying how happy people are with those cards.
A Saturn-return boundary blends the neighbouring card baselines across four annual rows. That is why a row near a boundary need not equal either card’s simple baseline. Each active aspect then adds its signed contribution. For instance, the tool assigns a full-strength Jupiter–Sun trine +12 points; at strength 0.75 its contribution is +9. The live table exposes all contributions, including small ones omitted from the short written reading.
Why does this year have this score?
Inspect the actual calculation, one birthday-to-birthday year at a time.
2019-07-28 → 2020-07-28 (UTC)
- Card baseline
- 60.88
- Total aspect contribution
- -13.4
- Final score
- 47 / 100
| Aspect and traditional reading | Closest sampled date | Strength | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturn return: a major life checkpoint. Structures you have outgrown fall away. | 2019-12-22 | 91% | -9.1 |
| Saturn opposes your Sun: commitments and relationships are tested and clarified. | 2020-05-13 | 48% | -4.3 |
The final score is baseline + contributions, limited to 8–96, then rounded. Displayed decimals are shortened. Each aspect uses its own strongest sample in the year; these dates need not coincide. Strength measures angular closeness, not a probability.
Candle values (open / high / low / close): 64 / 74 / 37 / 47
These are symbolic weights chosen for this tool, not measured life outcomes. A low score does not forecast harm, and a high score does not promise success.
Read the rules and limitationsRead the candle as a change within this model
The closing score is the baseline plus the aspect contributions, bounded to 8–96 and rounded. The next candle opens at that close. Green therefore means an increase from the previous model year. It does not mean a guaranteed good year. A red candle can still close above the chart’s long-term average.
The wick is another calculated symbol: card volatility and aspect weights extend it above and below the body, with limits at 0 and 100. It is not a price range, error bar or confidence interval. You cannot interpret a close of 70 as a 70% chance of success, and a long lower wick does not forecast a loss.
Use the reading as a question you can answer
Choose a row before reading its interpretation. Write down one real commitment, one uncertainty and one action under your control. Then read the named aspect as a reflection prompt: what would responsible growth look like for that commitment? Keep your original notes as well as anything that happens to fit. This reduces the temptation to rewrite a vague description around a later event.
For a past year, record mismatches as carefully as apparent matches. For a future year, avoid using a score to decide when to invest, leave a relationship or seek treatment. The useful output is a clearer question or a journal entry. Actual evidence and appropriate professional advice should guide consequential decisions.