Shukra gochar 2001: sign changes, retrograde and direct dates

Shukra’s signs through 2001

Kumbha28 Dec, 11:59 pm 2000 → 26 Jan, 7:24 pm 2001· 29 days
Meena26 Jan, 7:24 pm 2001 → 30 May, 2:23 pm 2001· about 4 months
Mesha30 May, 2:23 pm 2001 → 29 Jun, 7:57 pm 2001· 30 days
Vrishabha29 Jun, 7:57 pm 2001 → 26 Jul, 11:36 pm 2001· 27 days
Mithuna26 Jul, 11:36 pm 2001 → 21 Aug, 8:08 pm 2001· 26 days
Karka21 Aug, 8:08 pm 2001 → 15 Sep, 9:17 pm 2001· 25 days
Simha15 Sep, 9:17 pm 2001 → 10 Oct, 9:00 am 2001· 24 days
Kanya10 Oct, 9:00 am 2001 → 3 Nov, 11:00 am 2001· 24 days
Tula3 Nov, 11:00 am 2001 → 27 Nov, 9:18 am 2001· 24 days
Vrishchika27 Nov, 9:18 am 2001 → 21 Dec, 5:43 am 2001· 24 days
Dhanu21 Dec, 5:43 am 2001 → 14 Jan, 1:56 am 2002· 24 days

Date by date

Times in Brampton (America/Toronto, EST/EDT).

January 2001

26 Jan7:24 pm
Shukra enters Meena

March 2001

8 Mar8:05 pm
Shukra turns retrograde at 23°52′ Meena
24 Mar11:32 pm
Shukra becomes combust (asta) until 4 Apr^†

April 2001

4 Apr12:23 am
Shukra rises again (asta ends)^†
20 Apr12:35 am
Shukra turns direct at 7°35′ Meena

May 2001

30 May2:23 pm
Shukra enters Mesha

June 2001

29 Jun7:57 pm
Shukra enters Vrishabha

July 2001

26 Jul11:36 pm
Shukra enters Mithuna

August 2001

21 Aug8:08 pm
Shukra enters Karka

September 2001

15 Sep9:17 pm
Shukra enters Simha

October 2001

10 Oct9:00 am
Shukra enters Kanya

November 2001

3 Nov11:00 am
Shukra enters Tula
27 Nov9:18 am
Shukra enters Vrishchika

December 2001

3 Dec3:32 pm
Shukra becomes combust (asta) until 24 Feb^†
21 Dec5:43 am
Shukra enters Dhanu

† Practice varies. Shukra is counted asta within 10° (8° when retrograde) of the Sun (Surya Siddhanta); some almanacs use another limit or a visibility rule.

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.

Shukra gochar in 2001