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Panchang · Gochar

Gochar 2006: when each graha changes sign

In 2006, Rahu moves into Kumbha on 12 Oct; Guru moves into Vrishchika on 28 Oct; Shani moves into Simha on 1 Nov. Below is every sign change, station and asta period of the nine grahas.

Times in Wellington (Pacific/Auckland, NZDT/NZST).

The grahas on 1 January 2006

Sidereal (Lahiri) sign, and from when to when. Open a graha for its whole year.

Gochar calendar for 2006

Times in Wellington (Pacific/Auckland, NZDT/NZST). 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 2006

  • 3 Jan3:28 am

    Budha becomes combust (asta) until 15 Feb†

  • 9 Jan2:21 pm

    Shukra becomes combust (asta) until 19 Jan†

  • 14 Jan2:30 am

    Shukra enters Dhanu (moving backward)

  • 14 Jan7:18 pm

    Surya enters Makara

  • 19 Jan11:50 am

    Shukra rises again (asta ends)†

  • 19 Jan5:13 pm

    Budha enters Makara

February 2006

  • 3 Feb10:20 pm

    Shukra turns direct at 22°05′ Dhanu

  • 5 Feb6:15 pm

    Mangala enters Vrishabha

  • 6 Feb5:21 am

    Budha enters Kumbha

  • 13 Feb8:19 am

    Surya enters Kumbha

  • 15 Feb2:00 am

    Budha rises again (asta ends)†

  • 25 Feb4:37 am

    Budha enters Meena

  • 25 Feb1:39 pm

    Shukra enters Makara

March 2006

  • 3 Mar9:28 am

    Budha turns retrograde at 2°59′ Meena

  • 5 Mar6:44 am

    Guru turns retrograde at 24°55′ Tula

  • 5 Mar6:16 pm

    Budha becomes combust (asta) until 19 Mar†

  • 9 Mar8:56 pm

    Budha enters Kumbha (moving backward)

  • 15 Mar5:13 am

    Surya enters Meena

  • 19 Mar12:06 am

    Budha rises again (asta ends)†

  • 26 Mar1:42 am

    Budha turns direct at 19°14′ Kumbha

  • 31 Mar5:04 pm

    Shukra enters Kumbha

April 2006

  • 3 Apr11:00 pm

    Mangala enters Mithuna

  • 6 Apr1:24 am

    Shani turns direct at 10°26′ Karka

  • 11 Apr11:49 pm

    Budha enters Meena

  • 14 Apr12:43 pm

    Surya enters Mesha

  • 28 Apr1:07 pm

    Shukra enters Meena

May 2006

  • 2 May12:49 pm

    Budha enters Mesha

  • 6 May3:09 pm

    Budha becomes combust (asta) until 31 May†

  • 15 May9:35 am

    Surya enters Vrishabha

  • 17 May2:17 pm

    Budha enters Vrishabha

  • 24 May7:42 pm

    Shukra enters Mesha

  • 25 May4:48 am

    Mangala enters Karka

  • 31 May10:43 am

    Budha rises again (asta ends)†

  • 31 May5:43 pm

    Budha enters Mithuna

June 2006

  • 15 Jun4:09 pm

    Surya enters Mithuna

  • 19 Jun9:52 am

    Shukra enters Vrishabha

  • 20 Jun11:48 pm

    Budha enters Karka

July 2006

  • 5 Jul7:32 am

    Budha turns retrograde at 7°26′ Karka

  • 6 Jul7:36 pm

    Guru turns direct at 15°02′ Tula

  • 11 Jul12:47 am

    Budha becomes combust (asta) until 26 Jul†

  • 13 Jul12:22 pm

    Mangala enters Simha

  • 14 Jul1:50 pm

    Shukra enters Mithuna

  • 17 Jul3:01 am

    Surya enters Karka

  • 20 Jul9:31 pm

    Shani becomes combust (asta) until 25 Aug†

  • 21 Jul6:19 am

    Budha enters Mithuna (moving backward)

  • 26 Jul11:56 pm

    Budha rises again (asta ends)†

  • 29 Jul12:40 pm

    Budha turns direct at 27°07′ Mithuna

August 2006

  • 5 Aug11:30 pm

    Budha enters Karka

  • 8 Aug9:09 am

    Shukra enters Karka

  • 17 Aug11:26 am

    Surya enters Simha

  • 18 Aug12:58 pm

    Budha becomes combust (asta) until 19 Sep†

  • 25 Aug6:36 am

    Budha enters Simha

  • 25 Aug11:40 pm

    Shani rises again (asta ends)†

  • 30 Aug6:11 am

    Mangala enters Kanya

September 2006

  • 1 Sep8:08 am

    Mangala becomes combust (asta) until 16 Dec†

  • 1 Sep8:33 pm

    Shukra enters Simha

  • 9 Sep10:10 pm

    Budha enters Kanya

  • 17 Sep11:23 am

    Surya enters Kanya

  • 19 Sep2:16 am

    Budha rises again (asta ends)†

  • 20 Sep12:18 am

    Shukra becomes combust (asta) until 7 Dec†

  • 26 Sep1:26 am

    Shukra enters Kanya

  • 28 Sep10:58 am

    Budha enters Tula

October 2006

  • 12 Oct5:24 pm

    Rahu enters Kumbha (moving backward)

  • 12 Oct5:24 pm

    Ketu enters Simha (moving backward)

  • 15 Oct5:09 am

    Mangala enters Tula

  • 18 Oct12:21 am

    Surya enters Tula

  • 20 Oct3:00 am

    Shukra enters Tula

  • 25 Oct1:00 am

    Budha enters Vrishchika

  • 28 Oct5:20 am

    Guru enters Vrishchika

  • 29 Oct8:15 am

    Budha turns retrograde at 1°08′ Vrishchika

November 2006

  • 1 Nov1:04 pm

    Shani enters Simha

  • 2 Nov6:21 am

    Budha enters Tula (moving backward)

  • 3 Nov9:25 pm

    Budha becomes combust (asta) until 15 Nov†

  • 8 Nov12:12 pm

    Guru becomes combust (asta) until 6 Dec†

  • 13 Nov1:19 am

    Shukra enters Vrishchika

  • 15 Nov5:00 am

    Budha rises again (asta ends)†

  • 17 Nov12:09 am

    Surya enters Vrishchika

  • 18 Nov1:25 pm

    Budha turns direct at 15°07′ Tula

  • 28 Nov3:05 am

    Mangala enters Vrishchika

December 2006

  • 4 Dec2:05 pm

    Budha enters Vrishchika

  • 6 Dec10:09 am

    Guru rises again (asta ends)†

  • 6 Dec4:37 pm

    Shani turns retrograde at 1°07′ Simha

  • 6 Dec10:52 pm

    Shukra enters Dhanu

  • 7 Dec4:51 pm

    Shukra rises again (asta ends)†

  • 12 Dec11:29 pm

    Budha becomes combust (asta) until 28 Jan†

  • 16 Dec2:47 pm

    Surya enters Dhanu

  • 16 Dec6:11 pm

    Mangala rises again (asta ends)†

  • 24 Dec12:49 pm

    Budha enters Dhanu

  • 30 Dec8:40 pm

    Shukra enters Makara

† 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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