Transits (Gochar): Which Planet Is Good in Which House from the Moon Sign

The picture of the sky at birth is the birth chart. But the planets keep moving. Where they are today, and which houses of the birth chart they are passing through, is transit (gochar). Daily, weekly and monthly horoscopes are written mainly from transits.

Where it is counted from

In Vedic astrology transits are counted mainly from the birth sign, the sign the Moon occupied at birth. Treat that sign as the first house and see which house each of today's planets falls in. Many astrologers also check from the lagna; when the two agree, the result is stronger.

Table of good houses

According to Phaladeepika and other standard texts, counting from the moon sign:

There is a neat pattern here: malefics like Saturn, Mars, Rahu and Ketu do well only in the third, sixth and eleventh, while a benefic like Venus is good almost everywhere. Jupiter brings fortune especially in the second, fifth, seventh, ninth and eleventh.

How long each transit lasts

The weight of a transit depends on the planet's speed:

• The Moon changes sign about every two and a quarter days: daily mood and small events.
• Sun, Mercury, Venus stay about a month in a sign and colour the month.
• Mars stays a month and a half to two months: a spell of drive or trouble.
• Jupiter stays about a year: the year's big opening or standstill.
• Saturn stays about two and a half years: a major chapter of life. See Saturn's sade sati and dhaiya.
• Rahu and Ketu stay about a year and a half.

So the slow planets weigh more in big decisions; the Moon's transit only sets the tone of the day.

Four cautions when reading transits

1. Vedha: a planet in a good house can be blocked if another planet stands in its "vedha" house. See transit vedha.
2. Condition: an exalted or own-sign planet gives more of its good results in transit; a debilitated or combust one less.
3. Dasha: transits deliver with the permission of the running dasha. In a good dasha a bad transit troubles less; in a bad dasha even a good transit falls short.
4. Ashtakavarga: the number of points a planet has in a sign makes the same transit work differently for different people. See ashtakavarga.

Why horoscopes do not fit everyone equally

Millions of people share a moon sign but not dashas, lagnas or ashtakavarga. A horoscope is like a weather forecast: it gives the general direction, not whether each person needs an umbrella. To read transits against your own chart, book a personal consultation.