Rahu Ketu Transit 2026
Rahu and Ketu change signs on 5 December 2026. Choose your Moon sign to see the house each node takes from it until June 2028, and what the classical transit chapter says about it.
A worked example
The example chart's Moon is in Aquarius. Capricorn is the 12th sign from Aquarius and Cancer the 6th, so for this Moon Rahu takes the 12th house and Ketu the 6th, one of the four houses the text counts as good for the nodes. Below the example is the same count for all twelve Moon signs.
Chart: 13 December 1961, 05:30, Channarayapatna, India (Lahiri ayanamsa)
Rahu Ketu transit — Moon in Aquarius
Houses counted from a Moon in Aquarius; Capricorn is its 12th and Cancer its 6th.
| Node | From – to (IST) | House from the Moon | Classical reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rahu in Capricorn | 5 Dec 2026, 22:33 IST to 24 Jun 2028, 01:30 IST | 12th (not in the good list) | The text associates Rahu in the 12th from the Moon with expenditure. |
| Ketu in Cancer | 5 Dec 2026, 22:33 IST to 24 Jun 2028, 01:30 IST | 6th (a good house) | The text gives no house-by-house result for Ketu; the 6th is one of its four good houses. |
For reference. The good houses and Rahu's results are Phaladeepika's, counted from the Moon and to be read with the birth chart and the dasha running at the time. Mean node, Lahiri ayanamsa, Indian Standard Time.
Rahu's and Ketu's houses from every Moon sign
Rahu in Capricorn and Ketu in Cancer, 5 Dec 2026 – 24 Jun 2028.
| Moon sign | Rahu in Capricorn | Ketu in Cancer |
|---|---|---|
| Aries (Mesha) | 10th, good | 4th |
| Taurus (Vrishabha) | 9th | 3rd, good |
| Gemini (Mithuna) | 8th | 2nd |
| Cancer (Karka) | 7th | 1st |
| Leo (Simha) | 6th, good | 12th |
| Virgo (Kanya) | 5th | 11th, good |
| Libra (Tula) | 4th | 10th, good |
| Scorpio (Vrishchika) | 3rd, good | 9th |
| Sagittarius (Dhanu) | 2nd | 8th |
| Capricorn (Makara) | 1st | 7th |
| Aquarius (Kumbha) | 12th | 6th, good |
| Pisces (Meena) | 11th, good | 5th |
Saturn moves into Aries on 3 June 2027: Saturn transit 2027 by Moon sign
Eclipses happen near Rahu and Ketu, and India sees two in 2027: Grahan 2027 dates and times
Illustrative birth data used to demonstrate the output. It is not a customer chart, and no birth details you enter above are ever stored, put in a URL, or published.
Rahu and Ketu, the two lunar nodes, change signs together on 5 December 2026: Rahu leaves Aquarius for Capricorn (Makara) and Ketu leaves Leo for Cancer (Karka), at 22:33 IST by the mean node that this site uses. They stay there for about eighteen and a half months, until Rahu moves on to Sagittarius and Ketu to Gemini at 01:30 IST on 24 June 2028. A node's sign change touches everyone at once, because each Moon sign sees the pair fall in a different pair of houses. Choose a Moon sign in the form to see both houses counted from it, whether Mantreswara's Phaladeepika lists each as a good place for the nodes, and the one-line result it gives Rahu there. Everything shown is the classical text's view, offered for reference and as one strand of a fuller reading.
An axis that always moves backwards
Rahu and Ketu are not bodies but the two points where the Moon's path crosses the Sun's, so they are always exactly opposite each other and always change sign at the same instant. Their mean motion is backwards through the zodiac, a little over three minutes of arc a day, which takes them through one sign in roughly eighteen and a half months and round the whole circle in about eighteen years. That is why the pair go from Aquarius and Leo into Capricorn and Cancer, the signs before them, rather than forwards.
Because the pair move together, every Moon sign meets them six houses apart: when Rahu is in the 12th from your Moon, Ketu is in the 6th; when Rahu is in the 3rd, Ketu is in the 9th. The previous stay began on 18 May 2025 with Rahu in Aquarius and Ketu in Leo, and this one runs from 5 December 2026 to 24 June 2028.
Counted from the Moon
Gochara, the reading of transits, starts its count at the natal Moon in the chapter used here, so the sign holding your Moon is house one and Capricorn and Cancer are counted on from it. A Moon in Aries puts Capricorn tenth and Cancer fourth; a Moon in Scorpio puts Capricorn third and Cancer ninth; a Moon in Capricorn or Cancer has a node sitting on it.
Two people whose Moons share a sign therefore get identical houses on this page, whatever their lagna or birthplace. Birth time enters only through the Moon's sign, which can turn on the hour for anyone born on a day the Moon crossed a sign boundary; such a reader should confirm it with the Moon sign calculator before reading the table.
The good houses for the nodes: 3rd, 6th, 10th and 11th
The verse on favourable places allots Rahu and Ketu the 3rd, 6th, 10th and 11th from the Moon, the four upachaya houses of effort, competition, work and gain. With Rahu in Capricorn that means the Moon signs Scorpio (Capricorn is its 3rd), Leo (6th), Aries (10th) and Pisces (11th). With Ketu in Cancer they are Taurus (3rd), Aquarius (6th), Libra (10th) and Virgo (11th). Because the two nodes are always six houses apart, no Moon sign has both of them in good houses at the same time.
Some later lists drop the 10th and keep only the 3rd, 6th and 11th for the nodes, as they do for Mars and Saturn. The text cited here includes it, and its house-by-house list agrees, giving Rahu in the 10th as a house of gains. Phaladeepika's chapter names no vedha, or obstructing house, for the nodes, and this page shows none; some later tables lend them Saturn's pairs (the 3rd against the 12th, the 6th against the 9th, the 11th against the 5th), so astrologers who follow those tables may read a node's good result as held back while another planet crosses the paired house.
Rahu, house by house
A later verse gives Rahu a single word or phrase for each house. In plain terms it names happiness in the 3rd, 6th and 11th, gains in the 10th, loss of wealth in the 2nd, financial loss in the 5th, losses in the 7th and 9th, expenditure in the 12th, sorrow in the 4th and health troubles in the 1st, and keeps its harshest entry for the 8th. Your row in the table repeats the phrase for Rahu's house.
None of these phrases is a prediction about a particular life. Astrologers weigh a node's transit against the natal chart: the houses natal Rahu and Ketu occupy, the planets they meet on their way, the Moon's strength and the dasha in force. The transit table is a starting point for that weighing.
Ketu in Cancer
The chapter counts Ketu's good houses together with Rahu's, the 3rd, 6th, 10th and 11th, but it gives no house-by-house results for Ketu; its English translator suggests they may follow Rahu's. This page therefore shows for Ketu only whether its house is one of the four good ones, without inventing a result for the others.
Ketu in Cancer stands in the Moon's own sign, and Rahu in Capricorn in Saturn's. Many readers watch the 1st and 7th from the Moon most closely, because there a node sits on the Moon itself or opposite it: during this stay that is the Moon in Cancer (Ketu on it, Rahu opposite) and the Moon in Capricorn (Rahu on it, Ketu opposite).
Mean node, true node and the hour of the change
The time on this page, 22:33 IST on 5 December 2026, is for the mean node, an averaged position that moves steadily backwards. Calendars that follow the true node, which wobbles around the mean, put Rahu into Capricorn about ten days earlier, on 25 November 2026. Printed panchangs can give a time a few hours away from this one because their methods differ in small ways; the date is the same.
Outside India a local clock can show a different date: 22:33 IST on 5 December is already 6 December from Thailand eastward, and the next change, at 01:30 IST on 24 June 2028, is still 23 June across Europe, Africa and the Americas. All signs are sidereal, for the Lahiri ayanamsa.
Classical source. Mantreswara's Phaladeepika, chapter 26 on gochara (transit) results: the Moon sign as the reference, the good houses of Rahu and Ketu (the 3rd, 6th, 10th and 11th) and Rahu's result in each of the twelve houses. Sign changes use the mean node and the Lahiri ayanamsa, in IST.
Frequently asked questions
When do Rahu and Ketu change signs in 2026?
On Saturday 5 December 2026 at 22:33 IST by the mean node: Rahu moves from Aquarius into Capricorn and Ketu from Leo into Cancer. Calendars that use the true node give 25 November 2026.
How long will Rahu stay in Capricorn?
About eighteen and a half months, from 5 December 2026 to 24 June 2028, when Rahu moves into Sagittarius and Ketu into Gemini. Rahu and Ketu always change signs together, moving backwards through the zodiac.
For which Moon signs is the Rahu–Ketu transit counted as good?
Phaladeepika counts the 3rd, 6th, 10th and 11th from the Moon as good for both nodes. Rahu in Capricorn is in one of those for Moon signs Scorpio, Leo, Aries and Pisces; Ketu in Cancer for Taurus, Aquarius, Libra and Virgo. No Moon sign has both at once.
Does Ketu give the same results as Rahu?
The chapter gives Ketu the same good houses as Rahu but no house-by-house list of its own, so this page shows only whether Ketu's house is a good one. Its translator suggests Ketu's results may follow Rahu's; the page does not assume it.
Why do some sites give 25 November instead of 5 December?
They use the true node, the node's actual wobbling position, which reaches Capricorn on 25 November 2026. This page uses the mean node, the averaged position most traditional panchangs follow, which arrives on 5 December 2026.
Is the Rahu–Ketu transit read from the Moon or from the lagna?
This page follows the gochara chapter, which counts from the natal Moon's sign, so one table serves everyone born with the Moon in that sign. Reading the nodes' houses from the lagna is a different exercise that needs the full birth chart.
Your Moon sign comes from the full chart
The free birth chart gives your Moon sign for any birth details, and its positions tab shows the signs of your natal Moon, Rahu and Ketu. The dates on this page are the nodes' sign changes, which are the same for everyone.
Related calculations
- Jupiter Transit 2026Jupiter's 2026–2028 passage through Leo, stay by stay, with the house it occupies from your Moon sign and the classical reading of it.
- Saturn Transit 2027Saturn's 2027, stay by stay: Pisces, Aries from 3 June, Pisces again from 20 October, with the house from your Moon sign and your sade sati or dhaiya dates.
Other calculations
- Vimsopaka BalaScore each planet out of 20 on its dignity across the vargas — four schemes, from six charts to sixteen.
- Bhava BalaStrength of the twelve houses — lord, direction and aspect combined, then ranked one to twelve.
- Vimshottari DashaThe standard nakshatra dasha: 120 years across nine lords, with the period you were born partway through shown as a balance.
- Kalachakra DashaSign-based dasha periods read off the Moon's nakshatra pada, running forward or backward through the zodiac.
- Ashtottari DashaThe 108-year conditional dasha — eight lords instead of nine, counted from Ardra rather than Ashwini.
- Gulika, Mandi and UpagrahasAll eleven upagrahas — the five computed from the Sun and the six taken from the divisions of the day.
- Moon Sign (Rashi)The Moon's sidereal sign — your rashi — with nakshatra, pada and both lords, found from a birth date even without a time.
- Lagna (Ascendant)The rising sign at the birth moment — its degree, nakshatra and pada — and where the lagna lord sits.
- Sun Sign (Vedic and Western)Your Sun sign twice over — Vedic sidereal and Western tropical — with the ayanamsa gap and a cusp flag.
- Birth TithiYour birth tithi and the five limbs of the panchang at the birth moment, with the tithi's start and end times.
- Navamsa (D9) ChartDraw the D9 navamsa chart, with each planet's ninth-part sign and house and every vargottama placement flagged against the Rasi.
- D10 Dasamsa ChartThe D10 dasamsa: ten 3° parts per sign, each body's D10 sign and house, and the tenth house of the D10 examined.
- D7 Saptamsa ChartThe D7 saptamsa — seven parts of 4°17′ per sign, read classically for progeny, with the fifth house of the D7 examined.
- AtmakarakaFind your Atmakaraka and the seven karakas below it, ranked by degrees in sign with Rahu counted backwards.
- Ishta DevataTrace the ishta devata from the Atmakaraka's navamsa sign to the twelfth sign beyond it, the way the Jaimini Sutras do.
- Mangal DoshaManglik or not: Mars in the 2nd, 4th, 7th, 8th or 12th counted whole-sign from the lagna, with the Moon and Venus counts for reference.
- Kaal Sarp DoshaChecks whether the Sun through Saturn all lie between Rahu and Ketu, and names the form from Rahu's house.
- Pitra DoshaThe five traditional pitru dosha indicators, each shown as met or not met in your chart — indicators, not a verdict.
- Gemstone (Traditional)The traditional ratna for your lagna lord and the two trikona lords, beside what the classical text prescribes instead.
- DarakarakaFind the Dara Karaka under both classical schemes, with its D9 sign and its house counted from both ascendants.
- AmatyakarakaFind the Amatya Karaka, second only to the soul planet, with its D10 sign and its house from both lagnas.
- Arudha LagnaCount from each house to its lord and on again to find the AL and every pada of the birth chart, exceptions applied.
- Upapada LagnaThe arudha of the twelfth house, which Jaimini practice consults on marriage, with the second sign from it.
- ShadbalaThe six-fold strength of the Sun through Saturn, each component listed, totalled in rupas and measured against its classical minimum.
- AshtakavargaSarvashtakavarga points for all twelve signs, counted as houses from the Lagna, with each planet's own bindu table.
- D2 Hora ChartThe D2 hora — two halves per sign, every body in the Sun's Leo or the Moon's Cancer, the division Parashara gives to wealth.
- D3 Drekkana ChartThe D3 drekkana — three ten-degree parts per sign, counted through the sign's own trine, read classically for brothers and sisters.
- D4 Chaturthamsa ChartThe D4 chaturthamsa — four quarters per sign, counted through the sign's kendras, read for fortune, residence and property.
- D16 Shodasamsa ChartThe D16 shodasamsa — sixteen narrow parts per sign, started from Aries, Leo or Sagittarius by sign type, read for conveyances and comforts.
- D30 Trimsamsa ChartThe D30 trimsamsa — five unequal bands per sign, each ruled by one of the five non-luminary planets, read classically for difficulties.
- D60 Shashtiamsa ChartThe D60 shashtiamsa: sixty half-degree parts per sign, each body's D60 sign and house, and the named deity of its part.
- Bhrigu BinduThe Moon–Rahu midpoint of the Nadi tradition: the arc, its half, the point's sign and house, and the other convention beside it.
- Indu LagnaThe sign counted from the Moon with the kalas of the ninth lords from the lagna and the Moon, traditionally consulted on wealth.
- Nadi DoshaCompares two birth nakshatras: Adi, Madhya or Antya nadi, the 8-point Nadi koota, and the traditional exceptions.
- Bhakoot DoshaCounts one Moon sign from the other: the 2-12, 5-9 and 6-8 doshas, the 7-point Bhakoot koota and the lord exceptions.
- Shani DhaiyaLists Saturn's two-and-a-half-year passages through the 4th and 8th signs from your Moon sign, with dates.
- Yogini DashaYogini dasha: eight periods of 1 to 8 years in a 36-year round, counted from the Moon's nakshatra, with dates and sub-periods.
- Chara Dasha (Jaimini)Jaimini chara dasha: twelve sign periods from the lagna, each sign's years counted to its lord, dated across two cycles.