Panchang · Gochar
Gochar 2031: when each graha changes sign
In 2031, Guru moves into Dhanu on 17 Feb; Guru moves into Vrishchika on 14 Jun; Rahu moves into Tula on 31 Jul; Guru moves into Dhanu on 15 Oct. Below is every sign change, station and asta period of the nine grahas.
Times in Cape Town (Africa/Johannesburg, UTC+2).
The grahas on 1 January 2031
Sidereal (Lahiri) sign, and from when to when. Open a graha for its whole year.
- Surya (Sun)In Dhanusince 16 Dec 2030, until 14 Jan 2031
- Chandra (Moon)In Meenasince 30 Dec 2030, until 1 Jan 2031
- Mangala (Mars)In Kanyasince 11 Nov 2030, until 4 Jan 2031
- Budha (Mercury)In Vrishchikasince 15 Dec 2030, until 7 Jan 2031
- Guru (Jupiter)In Vrishchikasince 22 Sep 2030, until 17 Feb 2031
- Shukra (Venus)In Makarasince 29 Dec 2030, until 22 Jan 2031
- Shani (Saturn)RetrogradeIn Vrishabhasince 17 Apr 2030, until 30 May 2032
- RahuIn Vrishchikasince 11 Jan 2030, until 31 Jul 2031
- KetuIn Vrishabhasince 11 Jan 2030, until 31 Jul 2031
Gochar calendar for 2031
Times in Cape Town (Africa/Johannesburg, UTC+2). 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 2031
4 Jan1:27 pm
Mangala enters Tula
7 Jan1:18 pm
Budha enters Dhanu
14 Jan6:09 pm
Surya enters Makara
22 Jan1:45 am
Shukra enters Kumbha
29 Jan7:07 am
Budha enters Makara
30 Jan7:24 pm
Budha becomes combust (asta) until 8 Mar†
February 2031
2 Feb4:53 am
Shani turns direct at 7°43′ Vrishabha
13 Feb7:07 am
Surya enters Kumbha
15 Feb6:10 am
Shukra enters Meena
16 Feb12:31 pm
Budha enters Kumbha
17 Feb10:15 am
Guru enters Dhanu
March 2031
4 Mar3:11 pm
Budha enters Meena
8 Mar6:23 pm
Budha rises again (asta ends)†
11 Mar7:07 pm
Shukra enters Mesha
15 Mar3:59 am
Surya enters Meena
26 Mar2:43 am
Budha turns retrograde at 25°27′ Meena
28 Mar9:14 am
Budha becomes combust (asta) until 11 Apr†
29 Mar2:30 am
Mangala turns retrograde at 27°21′ Tula
April 2031
5 Apr10:42 pm
Shukra enters Vrishabha
11 Apr9:57 pm
Budha rises again (asta ends)†
14 Apr12:28 pm
Surya enters Mesha
15 Apr1:46 pm
Guru turns retrograde at 4°42′ Dhanu
18 Apr1:16 pm
Budha turns direct at 13°33′ Meena
May 2031
2 May3:45 am
Shukra enters Mithuna
10 May1:25 pm
Budha enters Mesha
15 May9:17 am
Surya enters Vrishabha
16 May4:18 am
Shani becomes combust (asta) until 21 Jun†
27 May3:23 pm
Budha becomes combust (asta) until 21 Jun†
28 May6:29 pm
Budha enters Vrishabha
30 May3:39 pm
Shukra enters Karka
June 2031
11 Jun7:47 pm
Budha enters Mithuna
13 Jun2:00 pm
Mangala turns direct at 10°09′ Tula
14 Jun1:26 am
Guru enters Vrishchika (moving backward)
15 Jun3:51 pm
Surya enters Mithuna
21 Jun12:52 am
Budha rises again (asta ends)†
21 Jun8:22 am
Shani rises again (asta ends)†
26 Jun11:31 pm
Budha enters Karka
July 2031
9 Jul8:09 pm
Shukra enters Simha
17 Jul2:42 am
Surya enters Karka
20 Jul7:06 pm
Shukra turns retrograde at 2°08′ Simha
22 Jul1:01 am
Budha enters Simha
29 Jul8:46 am
Budha turns retrograde at 2°08′ Simha
31 Jul5:06 am
Shukra enters Karka (moving backward)
31 Jul5:44 am
Rahu enters Tula (moving backward)
31 Jul5:44 am
Ketu enters Mesha (moving backward)
August 2031
5 Aug3:38 am
Budha becomes combust (asta) until 19 Aug†
5 Aug11:37 am
Budha enters Karka (moving backward)
6 Aug2:11 am
Shukra becomes combust (asta) until 16 Aug†
15 Aug4:42 am
Mangala enters Vrishchika
16 Aug7:16 am
Guru turns direct at 24°51′ Vrishchika
16 Aug7:35 am
Shukra rises again (asta ends)†
17 Aug11:08 am
Surya enters Simha
19 Aug9:35 pm
Budha rises again (asta ends)†
22 Aug6:28 am
Budha turns direct at 20°00′ Karka
September 2031
1 Sep7:58 pm
Shukra turns direct at 15°43′ Karka
3 Sep10:37 pm
Budha enters Simha
8 Sep6:50 am
Budha becomes combust (asta) until 14 Oct†
17 Sep11:08 am
Surya enters Kanya
20 Sep2:16 pm
Budha enters Kanya
October 2031
2 Oct11:06 am
Mangala enters Dhanu
2 Oct1:28 pm
Shukra enters Simha
5 Oct12:20 pm
Shani turns retrograde at 28°44′ Vrishabha
7 Oct8:22 pm
Budha enters Tula
14 Oct4:12 pm
Budha rises again (asta ends)†
15 Oct11:31 am
Guru enters Dhanu
17 Oct11:08 pm
Surya enters Tula
27 Oct9:55 pm
Budha enters Vrishchika
November 2031
2 Nov10:45 pm
Shukra enters Kanya
12 Nov11:17 pm
Mangala enters Makara
16 Nov10:56 pm
Surya enters Vrishchika
19 Nov11:15 pm
Budha turns retrograde at 21°45′ Vrishchika
24 Nov5:22 pm
Budha becomes combust (asta) until 5 Dec†
29 Nov2:32 pm
Shukra enters Tula
December 2031
5 Dec5:51 pm
Budha rises again (asta ends)†
9 Dec6:23 pm
Budha turns direct at 5°31′ Vrishchika
16 Dec1:33 pm
Surya enters Dhanu
18 Dec10:40 am
Guru becomes combust (asta) until 15 Jan†
22 Dec7:34 am
Mangala enters Kumbha
24 Dec6:31 pm
Shukra enters Vrishchika
† 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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