Panchang · Gochar
Gochar 2020: when each graha changes sign
In 2020, Shani moves into Makara on 24 Jan; Guru moves into Makara on 29 Mar; Guru moves into Dhanu on 30 Jun; Rahu moves into Vrishabha on 23 Sep; Guru moves into Makara on 20 Nov. Below is every sign change, station and asta period of the nine grahas.
Times in Leicester (Europe/London, GMT/BST).
The grahas on 1 January 2020
Sidereal (Lahiri) sign, and from when to when. Open a graha for its whole year.
- Surya (Sun)In Dhanusince 16 Dec 2019, until 14 Jan 2020
- Chandra (Moon)In Kumbhasince 30 Dec 2019, until 1 Jan 2020
- Mangala (Mars)In Vrishchikasince 25 Dec 2019, until 7 Feb 2020
- Budha (Mercury)In Dhanusince 25 Dec 2019, until 13 Jan 2020
- Guru (Jupiter)In Dhanusince 4 Nov 2019, until 29 Mar 2020
- Shukra (Venus)In Makarasince 15 Dec 2019, until 8 Jan 2020
- Shani (Saturn)In Dhanusince 26 Oct 2017, until 24 Jan 2020
- RahuIn Mithunasince 7 Mar 2019, until 23 Sep 2020
- KetuIn Dhanusince 7 Mar 2019, until 23 Sep 2020
Gochar calendar for 2020
Times in Leicester (Europe/London, GMT/BST). 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 2020
8 Jan10:53 pm
Shukra enters Kumbha
10 Jan4:54 pm
Guru rises again (asta ends)†
13 Jan6:05 am
Budha enters Makara
14 Jan8:38 pm
Surya enters Makara
24 Jan4:30 am
Shani enters Makara
30 Jan7:13 am
Shani rises again (asta ends)†
30 Jan9:23 pm
Budha enters Kumbha
31 Jan8:46 am
Budha rises again (asta ends)†
February 2020
2 Feb8:48 pm
Shukra enters Meena
7 Feb10:22 pm
Mangala enters Dhanu
13 Feb9:34 am
Surya enters Kumbha
17 Feb12:53 am
Budha turns retrograde at 18°46′ Kumbha
19 Feb1:11 pm
Budha becomes combust (asta) until 3 Mar†
28 Feb8:03 pm
Shukra enters Mesha
March 2020
3 Mar2:16 am
Budha rises again (asta ends)†
10 Mar3:49 am
Budha turns direct at 4°05′ Kumbha
14 Mar6:24 am
Surya enters Meena
22 Mar9:11 am
Mangala enters Makara
28 Mar10:09 am
Shukra enters Vrishabha
29 Mar11:34 pm
Guru enters Makara
April 2020
7 Apr9:54 am
Budha enters Meena
13 Apr3:54 pm
Surya enters Mesha
21 Apr4:38 pm
Budha becomes combust (asta) until 17 May†
24 Apr10:05 pm
Budha enters Mesha
May 2020
4 May4:12 pm
Mangala enters Kumbha
9 May5:17 am
Budha enters Vrishabha
11 May4:35 am
Shani turns retrograde at 7°49′ Makara
13 May7:43 am
Shukra turns retrograde at 27°42′ Vrishabha
14 May12:47 pm
Surya enters Vrishabha
14 May3:14 pm
Guru turns retrograde at 3°06′ Makara
17 May5:10 am
Budha rises again (asta ends)†
24 May7:24 pm
Budha enters Mithuna
29 May4:25 pm
Shukra becomes combust (asta) until 8 Jun†
June 2020
8 Jun9:07 pm
Shukra rises again (asta ends)†
14 Jun7:25 pm
Surya enters Mithuna
18 Jun5:58 am
Budha turns retrograde at 20°38′ Mithuna
18 Jun3:46 pm
Mangala enters Meena
22 Jun11:44 pm
Budha becomes combust (asta) until 9 Jul†
25 Jun7:49 am
Shukra turns direct at 11°12′ Vrishabha
30 Jun12:43 am
Guru enters Dhanu (moving backward)
July 2020
9 Jul3:01 pm
Budha rises again (asta ends)†
12 Jul9:27 am
Budha turns direct at 11°21′ Mithuna
16 Jul6:17 am
Surya enters Karka
August 2020
1 Aug12:41 am
Shukra enters Mithuna
1 Aug11:03 pm
Budha enters Karka
4 Aug7:07 am
Budha becomes combust (asta) until 2 Sep†
16 Aug2:00 pm
Mangala enters Mesha
16 Aug2:41 pm
Surya enters Simha
17 Aug3:58 am
Budha enters Simha
31 Aug9:34 pm
Shukra enters Karka
September 2020
2 Sep7:32 am
Budha enters Kanya
2 Sep11:14 am
Budha rises again (asta ends)†
9 Sep11:18 pm
Mangala turns retrograde at 4°00′ Mesha
13 Sep1:57 am
Guru turns direct at 23°16′ Dhanu
16 Sep2:38 pm
Surya enters Kanya
22 Sep12:23 pm
Budha enters Tula
23 Sep8:01 am
Rahu enters Vrishabha (moving backward)
23 Sep8:01 am
Ketu enters Vrishchika (moving backward)
27 Sep8:33 pm
Shukra enters Simha
29 Sep6:44 am
Shani turns direct at 1°11′ Makara
October 2020
4 Oct5:33 am
Mangala enters Meena (moving backward)
14 Oct2:04 am
Budha turns retrograde at 17°32′ Tula
17 Oct2:37 am
Surya enters Tula
20 Oct3:36 am
Budha becomes combust (asta) until 31 Oct†
23 Oct6:16 am
Shukra enters Kanya
31 Oct5:46 pm
Budha rises again (asta ends)†
November 2020
3 Nov5:50 pm
Budha turns direct at 1°45′ Tula
14 Nov12:39 am
Mangala turns direct at 21°05′ Meena
16 Nov1:25 am
Surya enters Vrishchika
16 Nov7:33 pm
Shukra enters Tula
20 Nov8:00 am
Guru enters Makara
24 Nov1:20 pm
Budha becomes combust (asta) until 12 Jan†
28 Nov1:35 am
Budha enters Vrishchika
December 2020
10 Dec11:48 pm
Shukra enters Vrishchika
15 Dec4:03 pm
Surya enters Dhanu
17 Dec6:08 am
Budha enters Dhanu
24 Dec4:51 am
Mangala enters Mesha
† 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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