Panchang · Gochar
Gochar 1996: when each graha changes sign
In 1996, Shani moves into Meena on 16 Feb; Guru moves into Makara on 26 Dec. Below is every sign change, station and asta period of the nine grahas.
The grahas on 1 January 1996
Sidereal (Lahiri) sign, and from when to when. Open a graha for its whole year.
- Surya (Sun)In Dhanusince 16 Dec 1995, until 14 Jan 1996
- Chandra (Moon)In Meshasince 30 Dec 1995, until 1 Jan 1996
- Mangala (Mars)In Makarasince 31 Dec 1995, until 7 Feb 1996
- Budha (Mercury)In Makarasince 28 Dec 1995, until 22 Jan 1996
- Guru (Jupiter)In Dhanusince 7 Dec 1995, until 26 Dec 1996
- Shukra (Venus)In Makarasince 16 Dec 1995, until 10 Jan 1996
- Shani (Saturn)In Kumbhasince 10 Aug 1995, until 16 Feb 1996
- RahuIn Kanyasince 6 Dec 1995, until 24 Jun 1997
- KetuIn Meenasince 6 Dec 1995, until 24 Jun 1997
Gochar calendar for 1996
Times in IST. Each is the same instant everywhere on Earth. The Moon changes sign every two and a half days, so its list is on its own page.
Sign changeRetrograde / directAsta / rising
January 1996
2 Jan12:49 am
Guru rises again (asta ends)†
10 Jan3:20 am
Budha turns retrograde at 11°22′ Makara
10 Jan8:07 am
Shukra enters Kumbha
13 Jan8:00 am
Budha becomes combust (asta) until 24 Jan†
14 Jan10:14 pm
Surya enters Makara
22 Jan1:16 pm
Budha enters Dhanu (moving backward)
24 Jan3:24 pm
Budha rises again (asta ends)†
30 Jan3:47 pm
Budha turns direct at 25°19′ Dhanu
February 1996
4 Feb2:51 am
Shukra enters Meena
7 Feb9:09 pm
Mangala enters Kumbha
9 Feb5:08 am
Budha enters Makara
13 Feb11:11 am
Surya enters Kumbha
16 Feb5:03 pm
Shani enters Meena
29 Feb7:23 pm
Shukra enters Mesha
29 Feb9:39 pm
Shani becomes combust (asta) until 4 Apr†
March 1996
3 Mar7:14 pm
Budha enters Kumbha
12 Mar1:04 pm
Budha becomes combust (asta) until 11 Apr†
14 Mar8:04 am
Surya enters Meena
16 Mar10:16 pm
Mangala enters Meena
21 Mar8:00 am
Budha enters Meena
28 Mar2:04 pm
Shukra enters Vrishabha
April 1996
4 Apr7:54 am
Shani rises again (asta ends)†
5 Apr7:01 am
Budha enters Mesha
11 Apr1:55 am
Budha rises again (asta ends)†
13 Apr4:36 pm
Surya enters Mesha
23 Apr8:50 pm
Budha enters Vrishabha
24 Apr6:51 pm
Mangala enters Mesha
May 1996
4 May4:09 am
Budha turns retrograde at 4°50′ Vrishabha
4 May8:40 am
Shukra enters Mithuna
4 May8:49 pm
Guru turns retrograde at 23°51′ Dhanu
6 May8:16 pm
Budha becomes combust (asta) until 23 May†
14 May1:31 pm
Surya enters Vrishabha
16 May10:45 am
Budha enters Mesha (moving backward)
20 May11:36 am
Shukra turns retrograde at 4°30′ Mithuna
22 May7:10 pm
Mangala rises again (asta ends)†
23 May11:30 am
Budha rises again (asta ends)†
28 May12:32 am
Budha turns direct at 25°51′ Mesha
June 1996
4 Jun5:33 am
Mangala enters Vrishabha
4 Jun4:11 pm
Shukra enters Vrishabha (moving backward)
5 Jun7:17 pm
Shukra becomes combust (asta) until 16 Jun†
7 Jun4:10 pm
Budha enters Vrishabha
14 Jun8:09 pm
Surya enters Mithuna
16 Jun12:30 am
Shukra rises again (asta ends)†
29 Jun8:44 am
Budha becomes combust (asta) until 24 Jul†
29 Jun10:29 am
Budha enters Mithuna
July 1996
2 Jul12:22 pm
Shukra turns direct at 17°58′ Vrishabha
13 Jul4:37 pm
Budha enters Karka
16 Jul7:02 am
Surya enters Karka
16 Jul8:57 pm
Mangala enters Mithuna
19 Jul1:26 am
Shani turns retrograde at 13°36′ Meena
24 Jul5:31 pm
Budha rises again (asta ends)†
29 Jul4:31 am
Budha enters Simha
30 Jul3:53 pm
Shukra enters Mithuna
August 1996
16 Aug3:27 pm
Surya enters Simha
19 Aug12:35 pm
Budha enters Kanya
31 Aug6:34 am
Mangala enters Karka
September 1996
1 Sep1:04 pm
Shukra enters Karka
3 Sep8:24 pm
Guru turns direct at 14°01′ Dhanu
4 Sep11:16 am
Budha turns retrograde at 9°41′ Kanya
11 Sep1:17 pm
Budha becomes combust (asta) until 24 Sep†
16 Sep3:22 pm
Surya enters Kanya
18 Sep8:16 pm
Budha enters Simha (moving backward)
24 Sep12:08 pm
Budha rises again (asta ends)†
26 Sep10:38 pm
Budha turns direct at 25°11′ Simha
28 Sep11:27 pm
Shukra enters Simha
October 1996
4 Oct6:13 pm
Budha enters Kanya
12 Oct9:42 pm
Budha becomes combust (asta) until 27 Nov†
17 Oct3:19 am
Surya enters Tula
19 Oct1:45 pm
Mangala enters Simha
23 Oct2:32 pm
Budha enters Tula
24 Oct1:52 pm
Shukra enters Kanya
November 1996
10 Nov11:01 pm
Budha enters Vrishchika
16 Nov3:04 am
Surya enters Vrishchika
18 Nov6:24 am
Shukra enters Tula
27 Nov3:40 pm
Budha rises again (asta ends)†
30 Nov1:47 pm
Budha enters Dhanu
December 1996
3 Dec6:39 pm
Shani turns direct at 6°48′ Meena
12 Dec11:51 am
Shukra enters Vrishchika
15 Dec5:40 pm
Surya enters Dhanu
17 Dec5:33 pm
Mangala enters Kanya
24 Dec1:15 am
Budha turns retrograde at 25°25′ Dhanu
26 Dec7:30 am
Guru enters Makara
27 Dec4:07 pm
Budha becomes combust (asta) until 7 Jan†
† Practice varies. Texts and almanacs give slightly different asta limits, and some almanacs use the true rather than the mean node for Rahu and Ketu, which can move the nodes’ sign changes by some weeks.
See also: Transits over your chart · Gochar (glossary) · Sade Sati · Ayanamsa · Sankranti
Understand
What gochar is
Gochar means the movement of the grahas: each moves on through the zodiac, and when it crosses from one rasi into the next, that is its sign change (sankramana). This page only says which graha is where, and when. In the classical method gochar is read by counting from a person’s natal Moon sign; to see today’s sky against your own chart, open the transits tool.
Retrograde (vakri) and direct (margi)
Seen from the Earth, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn now and then appear to move backward for a while. That is retrograde motion; the instant the graha stops and turns is a station, and moving forward again is turning direct. It is an effect of the Earth and the planet moving on their orbits at different speeds. The Sun and Moon are never retrograde; Rahu and Ketu (mean) always move backward.
Combustion (asta)
A graha very close to the Sun is lost in its glare; the texts call it asta (set), and its reappearance udaya (rising). The Surya Siddhanta gives a distance limit for each graha. The limits used here: Mangala 17°, Budha 14° (12° when retrograde), Guru 11°, Shukra 10° (8° when retrograde), Shani 15°. Almanacs leave out the asta periods of Guru and Shukra when choosing times for samskaras such as weddings.
Sidereal signs
Indian almanacs count the rasis against the stars (nirayana). Western (tropical) signs run about 24° ahead, so the dates printed there are about three weeks earlier than these. The ayanamsa used here is Lahiri.
How this is calculated
Each graha’s apparent geocentric position from NASA JPL’s DE421 ephemeris, less the Lahiri ayanamsa. The instants of crossing a rasi edge, of zero speed and of reaching the asta limit are found by bisection to under a second. Small differences in ayanamsa can move a slow graha’s time (Shani above all) by a few hours against other almanacs.
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