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Panchang · Gochar

Gochar 2038: when each graha changes sign

In 2038, Guru moves into Mithuna on 17 Jan; Guru moves into Karka on 12 May; Guru moves into Simha on 7 Oct; Shani moves into Kanya on 22 Oct. Below is every sign change, station and asta period of the nine grahas.

Times in Sydney (Australia/Sydney, AEDT/AEST).

The grahas on 1 January 2038

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

Gochar calendar for 2038

Times in Sydney (Australia/Sydney, AEDT/AEST). 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 2038

  • 5 Jan9:12 pm

    Budha enters Dhanu

  • 9 Jan11:34 am

    Shukra rises again (asta ends)†

  • 14 Jan10:25 pm

    Surya enters Makara

  • 17 Jan11:32 pm

    Guru enters Mithuna (moving backward)

  • 20 Jan1:12 am

    Mangala enters Vrishabha

  • 22 Jan12:59 am

    Budha becomes combust (asta) until 1 Mar†

  • 24 Jan9:21 pm

    Shukra turns direct at 11°45′ Dhanu

  • 26 Jan9:41 am

    Budha enters Makara

February 2038

  • 13 Feb7:11 am

    Budha enters Kumbha

  • 13 Feb11:25 am

    Surya enters Kumbha

  • 28 Feb10:19 pm

    Shukra enters Makara

March 2038

  • 1 Mar2:25 pm

    Budha enters Meena

  • 1 Mar10:11 pm

    Budha rises again (asta ends)†

  • 15 Mar8:17 am

    Surya enters Meena

  • 16 Mar5:08 am

    Guru turns direct at 25°20′ Mithuna

  • 18 Mar5:06 pm

    Budha turns retrograde at 17°59′ Meena

  • 21 Mar12:06 am

    Budha becomes combust (asta) until 4 Apr†

  • 28 Mar8:55 am

    Mangala enters Mithuna

  • 31 Mar9:38 am

    Shukra enters Kumbha

April 2038

  • 4 Apr2:07 am

    Budha rises again (asta ends)†

  • 10 Apr10:12 pm

    Budha turns direct at 5°26′ Meena

  • 14 Apr3:45 pm

    Surya enters Mesha

  • 27 Apr9:33 am

    Shukra enters Meena

May 2038

  • 8 May2:11 pm

    Budha enters Mesha

  • 11 May4:53 pm

    Shani turns direct at 15°00′ Simha

  • 12 May12:31 am

    Guru enters Karka

  • 15 May12:34 pm

    Surya enters Vrishabha

  • 20 May6:26 am

    Mangala enters Karka

  • 20 May10:54 pm

    Budha becomes combust (asta) until 14 Jun†

  • 23 May7:48 am

    Shukra enters Mesha

  • 25 May8:21 am

    Budha enters Vrishabha

June 2038

  • 8 Jun5:09 am

    Budha enters Mithuna

  • 14 Jun9:40 am

    Budha rises again (asta ends)†

  • 15 Jun7:06 pm

    Surya enters Mithuna

  • 17 Jun5:27 pm

    Shukra enters Vrishabha

  • 24 Jun6:55 am

    Budha enters Karka

July 2038

  • 9 Jul5:16 am

    Mangala enters Simha

  • 12 Jul6:41 pm

    Shukra enters Mithuna

  • 17 Jul5:55 am

    Surya enters Karka

  • 19 Jul3:07 pm

    Guru becomes combust (asta) until 18 Aug†

  • 21 Jul4:57 pm

    Budha turns retrograde at 24°11′ Karka

  • 28 Jul5:20 am

    Budha becomes combust (asta) until 12 Aug†

August 2038

  • 6 Aug12:24 pm

    Shukra enters Karka

  • 12 Aug8:56 am

    Budha rises again (asta ends)†

  • 14 Aug6:49 pm

    Budha turns direct at 12°40′ Karka

  • 17 Aug2:18 pm

    Surya enters Simha

  • 18 Aug11:20 am

    Guru rises again (asta ends)†

  • 25 Aug8:14 pm

    Shani becomes combust (asta) until 30 Sep†

  • 26 Aug5:08 am

    Mangala enters Kanya

  • 30 Aug10:57 pm

    Shukra enters Simha

September 2038

  • 1 Sep7:50 am

    Budha enters Simha

  • 1 Sep1:57 pm

    Budha becomes combust (asta) until 6 Oct†

  • 9 Sep4:03 pm

    Mangala becomes combust (asta) until 27 Dec†

  • 10 Sep4:48 pm

    Shukra becomes combust (asta) until 27 Nov†

  • 17 Sep5:19 am

    Budha enters Kanya

  • 17 Sep2:16 pm

    Surya enters Kanya

  • 24 Sep3:34 am

    Shukra enters Kanya

  • 30 Sep4:49 am

    Shani rises again (asta ends)†

October 2038

  • 4 Oct7:44 pm

    Budha enters Tula

  • 6 Oct6:32 am

    Budha rises again (asta ends)†

  • 7 Oct6:57 pm

    Guru enters Simha

  • 11 Oct5:09 am

    Mangala enters Tula

  • 18 Oct3:18 am

    Surya enters Tula

  • 18 Oct5:14 am

    Shukra enters Tula

  • 22 Oct10:39 pm

    Shani enters Kanya

  • 25 Oct6:28 pm

    Budha enters Vrishchika

November 2038

  • 11 Nov3:55 am

    Shukra enters Vrishchika

  • 13 Nov1:55 am

    Budha turns retrograde at 15°01′ Vrishchika

  • 17 Nov3:12 am

    Surya enters Vrishchika

  • 18 Nov2:19 am

    Budha becomes combust (asta) until 29 Nov†

  • 24 Nov1:09 am

    Mangala enters Vrishchika

  • 27 Nov10:07 am

    Shukra rises again (asta ends)†

  • 29 Nov4:35 am

    Budha rises again (asta ends)†

  • 29 Nov10:54 am

    Budha enters Tula (moving backward)

December 2038

  • 2 Dec11:30 pm

    Budha turns direct at 28°50′ Tula

  • 5 Dec1:58 am

    Shukra enters Dhanu

  • 6 Dec6:46 pm

    Budha enters Vrishchika

  • 16 Dec5:55 pm

    Surya enters Dhanu

  • 17 Dec7:22 pm

    Guru turns retrograde at 7°04′ Simha

  • 27 Dec6:18 am

    Mangala rises again (asta ends)†

  • 29 Dec12:22 am

    Shukra enters Makara

  • 30 Dec9:51 pm

    Budha enters Dhanu

  • 31 Dec7:18 pm

    Budha becomes combust (asta) until 13 Feb†

† 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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