Planetary transits
Mars (Mangala) transit 2026–2028
Mars stays in a sign for about six or seven weeks, but every two years it turns retrograde and lingers for months.
Times in UTC.
14 October 2026: Mars is in Cancer; next change of sign: 12 November 2026.
Signs Mars passes through, 2026–2028
Mars: sign changes and turns, 2026–2028
| Date and time | Event |
|---|---|
| Enters Capricorn | |
| Enters Aquarius | |
| Enters Pisces | |
| Enters Aries | |
| Enters Taurus | |
| Enters Gemini | |
| Enters Cancer | |
| Enters Leo | |
| Turns retrograde in Leo | |
| Enters Cancer | |
| Turns direct in Cancer | |
| Enters Leo | |
| Enters Virgo | |
| Enters Libra | |
| Enters Scorpio | |
| Enters Sagittarius | |
| Enters Capricorn | |
| Enters Aquarius | |
| Enters Pisces | |
| Enters Aries | |
| Enters Taurus | |
| Enters Gemini | |
| Enters Cancer | |
| Enters Leo | |
| Enters Virgo |
Mars: combustion periods
The periods in which the graha stands within the classical limit of the Sun (combust, asta): the degrees of the BPHS table, the same rule as in the charts. Sites that print the visibility-based “asta” of the almanacs show other dates.
| From | Until |
|---|---|
Written for 14 October 2026; the line at the top is recalculated for your own day. Dates follow the engine of our charts: sidereal (Lahiri), apparent positions; Rahu and Ketu by the mean node first, then the true node. Other sites can differ by minutes, for Jupiter and Saturn by up to about an hour; more.
What Mars stands for
In the Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra Mars is the strength of the kalapurusha (ch. 3, sl. 12–13), the army chief of the planetary court (sl. 14–15) and a significator of brothers (ch. 32, sl. 18–21). By general convention it is also the graha of energy, drive and competition. Its transit points to the area of the chart it passes through; we state no outcome.
Retrograde Mars
About every 26 months Mars turns retrograde. It then stays in one or two signs for several months instead of moving on, so a single sign is lit for an unusually long time. In the classical measure a retrograde Mars is not weak: it counts as strong in motion (BPHS ch. 27, sl. 21–23). The advice to finish and consolidate rather than start a confrontation is a modern practical reading, not a classical rule. The table below lists the exact turns, and the combustion periods are when Mars stands too close to the Sun to be seen. For the graha itself see Mars in Vedic astrology.
How we calculate and verify
Positions come from the same engine as the charts in JyotiSoft: sidereal zodiac, Lahiri ayanamsha, apparent positions (as the Indian Astronomical Ephemeris and Drik Panchang; since 14 October 2026), moments to the minute, stored in UTC. Rahu and Ketu are given by the mean node first, the date most calendars print, and by the true node that our charts use.
- Checked against independent sources. Every sign change and every retrograde or direct turn is compared, in automated tests that fail the build on a mismatch, with the published tables of Drik Panchang (New Delhi, Lahiri); eclipses with the NASA GSFC catalogue; tithi and Ekadashi with Drik Panchang. Drik's Lahiri runs a few arcseconds ahead of the standard one of the Indian ephemeris, so its moments are later than ours by about 3 minutes for the Sun and up to an hour for Jupiter and Saturn, more when they move slowly; the tests model exactly that difference and allow nothing more. Last cross-check: 14 October 2026.
- What follows the classical texts. What a graha signifies and which are benefic or malefic: Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra, ch. 3 sl. 12–15, ch. 32 sl. 18–21, ch. 34 sl. 8–10 and 16; combustion limits: BPHS ch. 7 (table of degrees in the translator's note; our charts use it as printed, Saturn 16° in direct and retrograde motion alike); strength of a retrograde graha: BPHS ch. 27 sl. 21–23; transits counted from the Moon sign: Phaladeepika ch. 26, the Ashtakavarga method: BPHS ch. 66. Chapters and verses follow R. Santhanam's English edition.
- What does not. Sade Sati, Guru Peyarchi and the sankranti festivals are later or regional traditions. Practical readings such as “Mercury retrograde, a time to review” are modern conventions. We mark them as such.
How the site's texts are written and checked
Questions
Is Mars dangerous?
What does it mean when Mars is combust?
When does Mars change sign?
Is Mars retrograde?
How long does Mars stay in a sign?
See also
- Moon (Chandra) transit
- Mercury (Budha) transit
- Horoscope 2027
- Planetary transits 2027
- Planetary transits
- Ekadashi 2027
- Hindu festivals 2026–2027
- Wedding
- Moving into a home
- Buying a car
- Buying property
- 2026 or 2027 for a wedding?
- Purnima and Amavasya 2027
- Eclipses of 2027
- Annular solar eclipse, 6 February 2027
- Jupiter back in Cancer, January – June 2027
- Saturn in Aries 2027
- Mars retrograde, January – April 2027
- Mercury retrograde, February – March 2027
Positions and tables: sidereal zodiac, Lahiri ayanamsha — the same as professional Jyotish astrologers use, and the same calculation as the charts in JyotiSoft. Updated 2026-10-14.
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