Rahu Ketu Transit Calculator
Rahu and Ketu, the lunar nodes, are unusual among transiting bodies — they move BACKWARD through the zodiac (retrograde) and stay in each sign for roughly 18 months, considerably longer than any physical planet except Jupiter and Saturn. This calculator shows exactly which houses they're currently transiting from your natal Lagna, and precisely when each will next shift into a new sign.
Ayanamsa: Lahiri (Chitrapaksha) · Mean node model, always exactly 180° apart, houses counted from your natal Lagna · Next sign change found by numerically tracking the node's backward motion forward in time
Creator
James WhitfieldReviewers
Sarah Mitchell, M.A. in Cultural Astronomy & Astrology and Marcus Reynolds, Professional Astrologer & Astronomer
Last updated:
Why Rahu and Ketu Are Always Exactly Opposite
Rahu and Ketu are shadow points — the two locations where the Moon's orbital path crosses the ecliptic — and by definition sit exactly 180° apart at all times. Whatever house Rahu transits, Ketu is automatically transiting the house directly opposite it.
Why They Move Backward Through the Signs
Unlike every physical planet (which occasionally goes retrograde but generally moves forward through the zodiac), the mean lunar nodes move continuously backward, sign by sign, taking roughly 18 months to cross each one and about 18-19 years to complete a full backward circuit of the zodiac.
Why Nodal Transits Are Watched Closely
Because Rahu and Ketu remain in a house for such an extended stretch — comparable to Jupiter and Saturn — their transit through a particular pair of houses is classically read as setting a multi-year thematic backdrop around obsession, ambition, and unconventional growth (Rahu's house) paired with detachment and release (Ketu's opposite house).
Rahu Ketu Transit Calculator FAQs
Why are Rahu and Ketu always in opposite houses?
How long does a Rahu/Ketu transit through one sign typically last?
Why do Rahu and Ketu move backward through the zodiac?
Is this calculator using the mean node or the true node?
How is this different from the general Planetary Transit Calculator?
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