SUN Length of transit: 5-10 days
Since the Sun moves approximately one degree per day, solar transits are pretty brief, lasting for about a week on average.
MOON Length of transit: About one day
MERCURY Length of transit: 2-3 days
You literally have to seize the day to make the most of a Mercury transit because it lasts for around 48-72 hours. The exception being Mercury’s thrice yearly retrograde, which can bring Mercury back to the same degree, repeating the transit, several times.
VENUS Length of transit: About one week
Much like the Sun, Venus advances a little faster than 1 degree per day so these transits won’t linger longer than a week’s time. However, every 18 months, Venus turns retrograde for about 6-8 weeks. She may pass over a degree several times.
MARS Length of transit: Two weeks
Mars moves a little faster than 2 degrees per day so we’ll feel the impact of its transits for close to two weeks. Every other year, Mars turns retrograde for eight months. Depending on Mars’ degree during the retrograde, a Mars transit can linger on for months—or repeat itself a couple times as it crosses back and forth over the same degree.
JUPITER Length of transit: 1-2 months
The red-spotted planet advances about one degree per week so the effects of its transit linger for about a month-and-a-half, on average. Jupiter turns retrograde for about four months each year. Depending on the degree of the sign it’s moving through, you could feel the transit a couple times annually.
SATURN Length of transit: Several months, repeating throughout the year due to its annual retrograde
Saturn can spend, on average, between 1-3 weeks at a single degree of a zodiac sign. A Saturn transit can linger on for a few months. (You’ll have to check your ephemeris to track the transit’s actual length.) And since Saturn goes retrograde for nearly five months annually, the transit may even repeat itself a couple times in a year.
URANUS Length of transit: 5-6 months, repeating over 2-3 years due to its annual retrograde
Uranus advances about 2 degrees per month so its transits can effect whole quarters of our year.
And Uranus turns retrograde for five months—nearly half a year—so we are likely to get a double dose of each transit, feeling it for a second time annually if Uranus creeps back over the same degree during the retrograde. Because of Uranus’ long retrograde, the transit can repeat itself over two (and even three) years since Uranus goes back and forth over the same degrees multiple times.
NEPTUNE Length of transit: Five months, repeating over several years, due to its annual retrograde
Neptune is a slow mover, only trekking through five degrees per year, on average. And with a five-month annual retrograde, these transits can linger for 2-3 years.
PLUTO Length of transit: 3-5 years, repeating several times due to its annual retrograde
Pluto swings over the same 4-5 degrees every year. Like Neptune and Uranus, its annual retrogrades last for approximately five months so it will inch ahead, then creep back. We can feel Pluto transits for 3-5 years — and there is likely to be an exact aspect several times within that period.
