For a Moon in Aquarius (Kumbha), Sade Sati is Saturn's passage through Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces, the 12th, 1st and 2nd signs from the Moon sign. In this app's computation the cycle that contains 2027 runs from 23 January 2020 to 22 February 2028: six stays in the three signs and one pause of 141 days in 2027. The rule is on the Sade Sati page; the sign is described in Aquarius, Kumbha rashi.
Everyone born with the Moon in sidereal Aquarius shares these dates, whatever the ascendant or dasha: they are a calendar, not a forecast. The Sade Sati calculator checks a birth date.
Dates: every stay of Saturn in Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces, 2020-2028
Each row is one stay in one sign; the pause has its own row. When Saturn turns retrograde (vakri) near a sign boundary it crosses back and later forward again, and each crossing starts a row. Degrees are the lowest and highest Saturn reaches in the stay.
| Saturn in | From (UTC) | To (UTC) | Days | Degrees | Phase for an Aquarius Moon |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capricorn | 23 Jan 2020 | 27 Apr 2022 | 825 | 0.00-30.00 | Rising (12th) |
| Aquarius | 27 Apr 2022 | 13 Jul 2022 | 77 | 0.00-1.17 | Peak (1st) |
| Capricorn (re-entered retrograde) | 13 Jul 2022 | 16 Jan 2023 | 187 | 24.48-30.00 | Rising again (12th) |
| Aquarius | 16 Jan 2023 | 29 Mar 2025 | 802 | 0.00-30.00 | Peak again (1st) |
| Pisces | 29 Mar 2025 | 2 Jun 2027 | 795 | 0.00-30.00 | Setting (2nd) |
| Aries (pause) | 2 Jun 2027 | 21 Oct 2027 | 141 | - | Not active (3rd) |
| Pisces (re-entered retrograde) | 21 Oct 2027 | 22 Feb 2028 | 125 | 26.85-30.00 | Setting again (2nd) |
Dates are UTC. Three changes fall at or after 18:30 UTC and so on the following calendar day in India: 23 January 2020 at 18:42 (24 January, at 00:12), 13 July 2022 at 19:27 (14 July, at 00:57) and 16 January 2023 at 21:14 (17 January). Four are within an hour of midnight in India: the first two of those, 27 April 2022 at 18:11 (23:41 that day) and 22 February 2028 at 18:19 (23:49 that day). No other change falls within an hour of midnight in India. Other software can put a crossing hours to a day or two away; why Sade Sati dates differ between sources explains why.
Every Aquarius Moon cycle between 1990 and 2060
This app's 1990-2060 scan finds three complete Sade Sati cycles for an Aquarius Moon; the scan cuts none of them.
| Cycle (first entry to final exit, UTC) | Span | Days inside | Pause |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21 Mar 1990 to 18 Apr 1998 | 2,950 days | 2,771 | One, of 179 days |
| 23 Jan 2020 to 22 Feb 2028 | 2,952 days | 2,811 | One, of 141 days |
| 7 Mar 2049 to 8 Apr 2057 | 2,954 days | 2,804 | One, of 150 days |
Of the six dates, only 23 January 2020 falls at or after 18:30 UTC, so on 24 January in India. It (00:12 in India) and 22 February 2028 (18:19 UTC, 23:49 that day) are within an hour of midnight in India. No other change falls within an hour of midnight in India.
The three phases for an Aquarius Moon
The engine names its phases after the three dhaiyas (two-and-a-half-year portions) and shows the same sentence in each: "A classical ~7.5-year period of intensified pressure and restructuring - traditionally read as a time to consolidate rather than expand, not as an omen" (the engine's wording; the period is not named in BPHS or Saravali, as shown below). For each sign the Gochar calculator gives a separate verdict.
- Rising, Saturn in Capricorn (12th): 1,012 days across two stays in the 2020-2028 cycle. Gochara verdict: testing. See Saturn transit in Capricorn.
- Peak, Saturn in Aquarius (1st): 879 days across two stays. Gochara verdict: testing, and the engine marks the 1st from the Moon as "intensified", in line with a Tamil palm-leaf reading that Advanced Predictive Astrology (Vol. II, p. 311) reports. See Saturn transit in Aquarius.
- Setting, Saturn in Pisces (2nd): 920 days across two stays. Gochara verdict: favourable, with the note "steady, disciplined progress". The two checks disagree here, and the app shows both. See Saturn transit in Pisces.
What the texts say, and what they do not
Sade Sati is a later tradition: searching BPHS, Saravali and the Bhrigu Sutras for "sade", "sadhe", "seven and a half" and "dhaiya" turns up no passage that names it, and BPHS and Saravali judge Saturn's transit through the Ashtakavarga instead (BPHS Ch. 66 Sl. 70-72 and Ch. 70 Sl. 43-44; Saravali Ch. 53 Sl. 1 and 9-10, where "benefic dots" are what BPHS calls Rekhas). The period is named in the modern Advanced Predictive Astrology (Vol. II, Ch. 7, pp. 311-312), as Saturn in the 12th, 1st and 2nd from the Moon, "once in 30 yrs". The Sade Sati page has the full account.
Advanced Predictive Astrology (p. 312) also reports a North Indian school that gives, for each Moon sign, the part of Sade Sati with adverse results; for Aquarius it prints "last 2.5 yrs". The book counts years, not signs. This page reads the last portion as the setting phase, because the engine pairs each of its three phases with one dhaiya: Saturn in Pisces, 920 days across two stays in the 2020-2028 cycle. The engine ignores the list; Saturn transit for Aquarius Moon sign reads the same signs house by house.
Saravali Ch. 53 Sl. 9-10 adds that Saturn, like the Moon, gives its transit results while in the end portion of a sign. The text does not say how large that portion is. Both retrograde re-entries of the 2020-2028 cycle are spent in the closing degrees of a sign: Capricorn from 24.48 to 30.00 degrees (from 13 July 2022) and Pisces from 26.85 to 30.00 (from 21 October 2027). The direct re-entry into Aquarius on 16 January 2023 runs through the whole sign.
Saravali Ch. 53 Sl. 9-10 also qualifies the Ashtakavarga reading by sign: benefic results predominate in a sign of exaltation, own or friendly, and malefic results in debilitation or an enemy's sign. This page applies that only where the sign alone settles Saturn's dignity, which here covers two of the three: Capricorn, its own sign (BPHS Ch. 4 Sl. 19-20), in the rising phase, and Aquarius, also its own (BPHS Ch. 4 Sl. 21-21½), in the peak. For Aquarius the engine's label is Moolatrikona below 20 degrees and own sign above, the split BPHS Ch. 3 Sl. 51-54 gives Saturn there. Pisces is Jupiter's sign (BPHS Ch. 4 Sl. 22-24), neither Saturn's own sign nor its exaltation or debilitation; computed with no birth chart, the engine labels it neutral for Saturn, the natural relation only, as in Saravali Ch. 4 Sl. 28-29 (Jupiter is neither Saturn's friend nor its enemy). The engine's verdict looks at the house only.
Advanced Predictive Astrology (p. 312) also says that once Saturn enters the 3rd sign from the Moon the person turns "a new leaf". For an Aquarius Moon that is Aries, Saturn's debilitation sign (BPHS Ch. 3 Sl. 49-50), which Saturn enters on 2 June 2027 and, after its return to Pisces, again on 22 February 2028; see Saturn transit in Aries.
What changes the reading for one chart
A phase is worked out from the Moon sign and the date alone. The sources name three things in the birth chart that it does not look at.
- Saturn's own standing. Advanced Predictive Astrology (pp. 311-312) exempts a yogakaraka Saturn well placed with a benefic's association or aspect, and says the period "does not make much difference" for a Moon placed with Saturn at birth. Both are birth-chart facts; see Saturn in Vedic astrology.
- Saturn's Ashtakavarga (BPHS Ch. 70 Sl. 43-44): its marks for Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces differ from chart to chart. This BPHS translation calls the favourable marks Rekhas and the unfavourable ones dots; the Ashtakavarga calculator counts the favourable ones and calls them bindus.
- The dasha in force: Advanced Predictive Astrology (p. 312) treats a Saturn Mahadasha inside Sade Sati as the harder case. The Vimshottari Dasha calculator and the Timing feature show the periods.
What to take care of
Later transit writing treats Sade Sati as a testing period. Advanced Predictive Astrology (Vol. II, pp. 311-312) writes of "unpleasant situations and circumstances" and of "much depression, disappointment" and "lack of interest in any matter in life", one modern author's reading of a transit, not a medical statement. For a period of study it names trouble concentrating; early in a career, a delayed promotion, a transfer to a place one dislikes, financial loss and quarrels with superiors or subordinates; and tension, travel, threats from enemies and theft. Phaladeepika Ch. 26 Sl. 9, as Advanced Predictive Astrology quotes it (p. 312), gives fatigue, loss of wealth and anger while Saturn crosses the Janma Rasi, which for an Aquarius Moon is Aquarius itself, the peak. The book's list goes on to graver events and to named people's lives; this page leaves those out, as this app does not forecast such events.
- Money: the reading names financial loss, so keep savings set aside to the end of the cycle on 22 February 2028, avoid large unsecured loans and read contracts twice before signing.
- Work and study: agree targets in writing, raise a misunderstanding with a senior early and calmly, weigh a transfer or job change before accepting it, and keep a regular study routine.
- Health and travel: Phaladeepika names fatigue, so rest when tired and book the check-up you have been postponing; drive with care on long trips and keep documents and valuables safe. This is not a diagnosis - see a doctor for any symptom.
- Mind: keep regular sleep and meals and stay in touch with people you trust. If you feel low for more than two weeks, talk to someone you trust or call Tele-MANAS 14416 (free, 24x7, India).
Saturn's two other named positions from an Aquarius Moon have pages of their own: Ardha Ashtama Shani and Ashtama Shani. The whole of 2027 is covered in 2027 for Aquarius Moon sign, and the term has a glossary entry, Sade Sati.
- Is an Aquarius Moon in Sade Sati for the whole of 2027?
- For most of it. Saturn is in Pisces, the setting phase, until 2 June 2027 and again from 21 October; between those dates it is in Aries, the 3rd, and the check reads not active for 141 days. The cycle ends on 22 February 2028 (23:49 in India, the same date).
- Was Saturn's return to Capricorn in July 2022 part of the same Sade Sati?
- Yes. Capricorn is the 12th from an Aquarius Moon, so the engine reads rising again for the 187 days from 13 July 2022 to 16 January 2023 (14 July and 17 January in India), between the two Aquarius stays of the peak.
- When did the Sade Sati before 2020 run for an Aquarius Moon?
- From 21 March 1990 to 18 April 1998 in this app's computation, with a 179-day pause from 19 June 1990 while Saturn was back in Sagittarius, the 11th.
- When does Sade Sati return for an Aquarius Moon after 2028?
- On 7 March 2049. That cycle runs to 8 April 2057, with a 150-day pause from 8 July 2049 while Saturn is back in Sagittarius.
Sade Sati
The classical Saturn period - the 12th, 1st and 2nd signs from the natal Moon.
This date is sent only to compute the answer. Nothing is stored, no account is created, and no email is asked for.