How Planetary Transits Affect Human Emotions

Ever awoken one morning feeling totally off for no reason? You are feeling down and impatient, and everything is heavier than usual. No fight at home. No bad news. This peculiar feeling, this inexplicable emotional burden. We don't pay much attention to it and move on with our lives. However, perhaps the planets were involved!

One of the most potent causes for your emotional state changing from day to day, week to week, and even year to year in Vedic astrology is planetary transits. This is not just the thinking of a poet. Centuries of astrologers have studied Jyotish (Vedic astrology) and charted the movement of each graha (planet) and the impact it has on our inner world when it moves.

If you're totally new and have no idea what a planetary transit is, you're in the right place. Let's get down to basics. 

Imagine there is a large clock in the sky. Its hands are the planets, never resting, never ceasing to move. A planetary transit (also known as "Gochar" in Vedic astrology) is just a planet's entry from one sign in the zodiac to another sign. It passes through the planets that are in the places where you were born, in your personal cosmic blueprint, your birth chart.

Your natal chart is a snapshot of the sky when you first came into this universe. It is fixed. Outside of the planets, though? They go on moving each and every day. If a moving planet passes over or interacts with a point in your natal chart, then that energy is activated. At times, it can result in happiness, illumination, and confidence. At times it causes confusion, sadness, or unexpected difficulties.

What's important to realize is that transits are not penalties. They're not like weather patterns at all. Just as you take the appropriate tools for the journey when you know you are going to rain, knowing some transit astrology will help you bring the right emotional tools before a challenging time in your life gets here. 

One thing that most don't know as they begin learning astrology is the following. The moon sign (Chandra Rashi) in Vedic astrology is more crucial than the sun sign for your emotional state and day-to-day life. Why? Because the Moon rules the mind.

In Jyotish, the Moon is a planet that represents feelings, intuition, memory, and the way you emotionally relate to your surroundings. Therefore, when astrologers analyze how a transit will influence your emotional state, they mainly consider the placement of that transiting planet over your Moon sign.

This is the reason that when two individuals are born in the same Sun sign they can feel very different in the same transit period. The transit affects different emotional areas for each of them, as their Moon signs are different.

The Moon—Your Daily Mood Switcher

Moon is the quickest moving planet in astrology. It changes signs every two to two-and-a-half days. This means that the most direct and apparent result of the Moon's passage is your mood on a day-to-day basis. If the Moon is in a stable and calm sign, you may experience a sense of peace and stability. If it transits a stronger or fiery sign, you may find irritation or restlessness or emotional sensitivity may creep in for no known reason.

Consider the moon transit to be the weather forecast for emotions. Your emotional tone changes like the weather; as the Moon moves, so do you. This is also the reason why full moon nights can be so full of energy and emotionally charged, as the moon is fully lit and at its peak energy! 

Saturn — The Planet That Tests Your Soul

Among all planets, Saturn (Shani) is one that deeply affects human emotions in Vedic astrology. Saturn is slow. It takes about two and a half years to transit one zodiac sign. When it gets close to your Moon sign, the emotional impact it has may be equivalent to a ton.

Shani Sade Sati is the most popular Saturn transit in Indian astrology. It's a seven-and-a-half-year cycle when Saturn moves through the sign before your Moon sign, through your Moon sign, and through the sign after your Moon sign. In astrology, the Moon and Saturn are natural enemies, so this combination can cause emotional turmoil.

Many people experience the following during Sade Sati: 

• Sadness or low energy that has lasted for a long time and for no known reason.

• The sensation of delay, stuckness or disregard

• Excessive thoughts and ingrained anxiety

• Feeling lonely even among family members

• Feeling down or depressed, which makes everyday activities more difficult 

But the thing most people don't realize is this. Saturn has not come to destroy you. It's here to restore you. During Sade Sati, the emotional suffering you experience is Saturn removing all that is not true from your life: false friendships, bad habits, and egoistic decisions. Those who survive Sade Sati are often wiser, stronger, and more emotionally mature than they were on the other side of it. It is said that great leader Jawaharlal Nehru and some of the politicians of today rose to power during their Sade Sati period. Saturn will pay off for discipline and sincerity in the long run. 

Jupiter—The Planet That Lifts Your Spirits

However, Brihaspati (Jupiter), called the Guru of the Gods in Vedic astrology, is opposite to Saturn with its heavy energy. Jupiter is a planet of optimism, wisdom, growth, and blessings. If Jupiter is moving through your moon sign or is in an auspicious position to influence your moon sign, you will have a real emotional change. Relaxation begins to occur. Opportunities appear. You have a more positive outlook on the future.

In general, Jupiter on the natal Moon is an extremely positive emotional event. There is a new sense of purpose, emotional growth, and yes, happiness, which they never thought they would experience again. It's as if the sun came out after a long period of cloudy skies. The Jupiter in each sign aspect has a medium duration of about one year, but it is felt profoundly.

When Jupiter is well-placed in your transit chart, you are more likely to: 

• Truly enjoy and be content with your situation

• Recognize the significance of connections in relationships

• Go with your gut instincts; make decisions with confidence.

• Be certain; be supported by the universe 

Mars — Energy, Anger, and Impatience

Mangal (Mars) is the planet of energy, courage and action. It's also a planet of anger and impatience. If Mars passes through a sensitive area of your natal chart, you may find that your temper reacts to it. You respond more quickly, snap at those you love, and have a feeling of restlessness and electric frustration inside.

It's not Mars making you a bad person. It's Mars moving you to make things happen. It's what you do with that energy that counts. When Mars is in a powerful position in a horoscope, it can be an outlet with physical exercise, sports, a creative project, or hard work. When left unchecked, this energy can manifest itself as conflict, hasty decisions, or unnecessary arguments.

Mars changes sign about every six weeks, which means that its emotional pull is strong, but short-lived. When most people know about the energy of Mars transit, they are mentally ready before it reaches the peak level. 

Mercury — Your Thinking Becomes Your Feeling

Budh (Mercury) rules communication, logic, and how we process information. With the good placement of Mercury in transit, one has clarity of thought, good communication, and confidence in discussions. However, when Mercury is under pressure in transit, or even worse, in retrograde, your thought processes become diffuse, miscommunication becomes more common, and emotional frustration arises from lack of communication.

The peculiar thing about Mercury's emotional influence is that it goes through the mind. When your thoughts are confused, your feelings are confused. Do you ever get anxious or upset when you don't get a response to a message, a presentation does not go as planned, or a conversation does not go as you hoped? Mercury was probably at work there.

The famous Mercury retrograde, thrice or four times a year, is known for causing such emotional waves through miscommunication and mental cloudiness. 

Venus — Love and Self-Worth

Shukra (Venus) is the planet of love, beauty, relationships, and feelings of worthiness. Venus is in an auspicious sign; you get a feeling of being loved, attractive, confident, and attached to people socially. Relationships seem to be warmer. There is a softness in the air.

The emotional impact is typically manifested in the area of love and self-worth when Venus is under strain in transit. You may feel unlovable or compare yourself with others, or you may think that you are not emotionally connected with your partner. The transits of Venus are especially significant for individuals who have love as an important emotional need. 

Rahu and Ketu — The Shadow Planets of Karmic Disruption

The lunar nodes, also known as shadow planets Rahu and Ketu, have to be discussed in the planetary transits and emotions. These are not planets, but strong points of karmic energy in the sky. They always move together in opposite signs and spend about eighteen months in each pair of signs.

Rahu causes one to be obsessed and restless, to feel the urge to do something about which one is not sure. Strong Rahu transit may cause emotions to be addictive, chaotic, or confusingly intense. Ketu, on the other hand, causes separation, loss, and introspection of the spiritual. During a Ketu transit, you may find yourself feeling disconnected, even with those you love the most.

Rahu and Ketu passing on the natal Moon or on its axis are considered emotionally significant periods in one's life. Eclipses occur when Rahu and Ketu are near each other and can trigger emotional outbursts or realizations about something that seems pretty out of nowhere. 

The best thing you can do as you learn about Gochar effects is to begin to see what happens in your life. Now, reflect on times that were emotionally low for you and times that were emotionally high for you. A big planetary transit was most likely occurring in the background.

This is not about blaming the planets for your emotions. It's about the feel of the beat. Planets revolve around in a cyclical manner. Your feelings fluctuate in cycles, also. Understanding how they relate can lead you to have a powerful tool: awareness before the storm hits.

Here are a few tips that you can observe: 

• If every month the Moon is moving in your Moon sign (Janma Rashi), you are more sensitive and emotional.

• If Saturn aspects your Moon in transit, you will be feeling some seriousness, discipline, and, at times, heaviness.

• If Jupiter is in your Moon sign, don't be afraid to be optimistic, for optimism is a very real thing that Jupiter is supporting.

• When Mercury is in retrograde, take an easy approach to mental clarity, as it can feel like it is all scattered. 

You and your co-worker may have a similar sign. But the same Saturn transit could make you feel exhausted and your companion feel just fine. Why? Emotional effects of each transit are dependent on various layers in your Personal Birth Chart, your Ascendant lagna, placement of your natal moon, strength of planets in your birth chart and which dasha you are in.

It's for this reason that it's much more valuable to receive astrological analysis based on your unique situation rather than a general one. Even if two people have the same Moon sign, one person's transit may be difficult, but good for the other person.