Planetary Transits (Gochar): How They Affect Your Life

In Vedic astrology, transit analysis (Gochar) examines where each planet is currently positioned relative to your natal Moon sign (Chandra Rashi). This is the critical distinction from Western transit analysis, which typically examines transits relative to the natal Sun or Ascendant. In Jyotish, the Moon is the reference point because it represents the emotional mind — how you experience life moment to moment.

The effect of a transiting planet depends on which house it occupies from your Moon sign. Each planet has favorable and unfavorable transit houses. Jupiter transiting the 2nd, 5th, 7th, 9th, or 11th house from Moon is favorable, bringing expansion and fortune. Jupiter transiting the 3rd, 6th, 8th, or 12th is less favorable.

Saturn transiting the 3rd, 6th, or 11th from Moon is favorable (Upachaya positions where discipline produces results). Saturn transiting the 1st, 4th, 7th, 8th, or 10th brings challenges. Saturn through the 12th, 1st, and 2nd from Moon is Sade Sati.

The Ashtakavarga system adds precision. Each planet receives a score (0-8 Bindus) for each sign in your chart, based on contributions from all other planets. When a planet transits a sign with high Ashtakavarga points (5+), it delivers positive results. When it transits low points (0-2), the transit is challenging. This explains why the same Saturn transit produces different results for different people with the same Moon sign.

Jupiter (Guru) is the most watched transit planet because it is the great benefic. Jupiter spends approximately 12-13 months in each sign, completing a full zodiac cycle in about 12 years. Each Jupiter transit shift is a significant event that reorients fortune and growth themes for the coming year.

Jupiter transiting favorable houses from Moon (2nd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 11th) brings expanded opportunities, improved fortune, and better judgment. Jupiter transiting the 5th favors creativity, children, education, and speculative gains. The 7th brings partnership opportunities. The 9th (most auspicious position) brings fortune, travel, spiritual growth, and connection with mentors.

Jupiter's unfavorable transit houses do not necessarily bring bad results — Jupiter is inherently benefic and rarely produces truly negative outcomes. In these houses Jupiter's gifts are muted or require more effort to access.

The most powerful application of Jupiter's transit is its interaction with the Dasha. When Jupiter transits a sign that activates the current Dasha lord — especially by aspecting the Dasha lord's natal position — the beneficial effects compound dramatically. This convergence of favorable Dasha and favorable Jupiter transit is the timing sweet spot for major positive life events.

Saturn (Shani) is the slowest visible planet, spending approximately 2.5 years in each sign. Saturn's transit is the most consequential long-term transit because its 2.5-year stay creates sustained periods of focused work, challenge, or reward.

Saturn's favorable transit houses (3rd, 6th, 11th from Moon) are where discipline produces tangible, lasting results: defeating competitors, achieving through sustained effort, and gaining material rewards. These are not easy periods — they still require hard work — but the effort pays off.

Saturn's challenging transit houses (1st, 4th, 7th, 8th, 10th from Moon) bring increased responsibilities, delays, and the feeling of carrying heavy burdens. Saturn transiting the 4th brings pressure on home and emotional life. Saturn transiting the 10th brings career demands and scrutiny from authority figures.

The Sade Sati cycle (Saturn transiting 12th, 1st, and 2nd from Moon) is Saturn's signature transit lasting 7.5 years. The severity depends on Saturn's relationship to your Ascendant, the natal Moon's strength, and the concurrent Dasha period.

Saturn's Ashtakavarga score for each sign is particularly important. If Saturn transits a sign where it has 4+ Bindus, the challenging effects are softened. With 0-2 Bindus, even favorable houses may deliver muted results.

Rahu and Ketu transit as an axis — always opposite — spending approximately 18 months in each pair of signs. Since the nodes move retrograde, their sign changes create a distinct 18-month cycle of karmic themes affecting everyone, filtered through each person's chart.

Rahu's transit amplifies the house's themes with obsession, unconventional opportunity, and foreign influence. Rahu transiting the 10th from Moon can bring sudden career opportunities in technology or foreign companies. Rahu transiting the 7th can bring intense, possibly unconventional relationship developments.

Ketu's transit simultaneously activates the opposite house with themes of detachment, sudden endings, and spiritual insight. Ketu transiting the 4th (while Rahu is in the 10th) may disrupt home life, forcing career focus.

The nodal transits are particularly significant when they cross over natal planets. Rahu transiting over natal Venus intensifies all Venusian themes to an obsessive degree. Ketu over natal Jupiter can produce spiritual questioning and ultimately deeper understanding.

Every 18-19 years, Rahu and Ketu return to their natal positions — the nodal return. This marks a significant karmic milestone. The first (around age 18-19) coincides with the transition to adulthood. The second (around 37-38) often brings mid-life karmic reassessment.

The true power of Vedic predictive astrology emerges when transit and Dasha analysis are combined. The Dasha defines the theme — your current Mahadasha and Antardasha activate specific houses, planets, and life areas. The transit defines the trigger — within that Dasha window, specific transits create conditions for events to manifest.

The convergence rule: the most significant events occur when multiple timing indicators point in the same direction. A marriage is most likely when (1) the Dasha activates the 7th house, (2) Jupiter transits the 7th house or aspects the 7th lord, and (3) the Antardasha lord connects to Venus or the 7th house. A career breakthrough is most likely when (1) the Dasha activates the 10th house, (2) Jupiter or Sun transits favorably to the 10th.

The divergence rule: when Dasha and transits point in different directions, the Dasha takes priority for the overall theme while the transit modulates intensity. A challenging Saturn transit during a favorable Jupiter Dasha reduces some ease but does not override the positive theme. A favorable Jupiter transit during a difficult Saturn Dasha provides relief windows.

Kaala calculates both your Dasha timeline and current transits, showing how they interact in real time. Jyoti synthesizes both pillars of Vedic prediction to give you actionable timing guidance — not just what your chart promises, but when the cosmic conditions are most favorable for each area of your life.