For a Moon in Sagittarius (Dhanu), Sade Sati is Saturn's passage through Scorpio, Sagittarius and Capricorn, the 12th, 1st and 2nd signs from the Moon sign. No cycle contains 2027. In this app's computation the first cycle after 2026 runs from 12 December 2043 to 25 February 2052, in six stays with one pause of 72 days. The rule is on the Sade Sati page; the sign itself is described in Sagittarius, Dhanu rashi.
These are calendar dates, not forecasts: everyone born with the Moon in sidereal Sagittarius shares them, whatever their ascendant or dasha. The Sade Sati calculator checks a birth date.
Dates: every stay of Saturn in Scorpio, Sagittarius and Capricorn
Each stay in the three signs is a row, and so is the pause. When Saturn turns retrograde (vakri) near a sign boundary it steps back across the line, and each crossing starts a row. Degrees are the lowest and highest Saturn reaches in each stay.
| Saturn in | From (UTC) | To (UTC) | Days | Degrees | Phase for a Sagittarius Moon |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scorpio | 12 Dec 2043 | 20 Jun 2044 | 191 | 0.00-5.65 | Rising (12th) |
| Libra (pause, entered retrograde) | 20 Jun 2044 | 31 Aug 2044 | 72 | - | Not active (11th) |
| Scorpio | 31 Aug 2044 | 8 Dec 2046 | 829 | 0.00-30.00 | Rising again (12th) |
| Sagittarius | 8 Dec 2046 | 7 Mar 2049 | 820 | 0.00-30.00 | Peak (1st) |
| Capricorn | 7 Mar 2049 | 8 Jul 2049 | 123 | 0.00-2.74 | Setting (2nd) |
| Sagittarius (re-entered retrograde) | 8 Jul 2049 | 5 Dec 2049 | 150 | 26.11-30.00 | Peak again (1st) |
| Capricorn | 5 Dec 2049 | 25 Feb 2052 | 813 | 0.00-30.00 | Setting again (2nd) |
Dates are UTC. Two changes fall at or after 18:30 UTC, so on the following day in India: 20 June 2044 at 20:10 (21 June) and 31 August 2044 at 22:11 (1 September). 25 February 2052 at 17:44 is 23:14 in India, within an hour of midnight. No other change falls within an hour of midnight in India. Other software can differ by hours to a day or two near an ingress; why Sade Sati dates differ between sources explains how.
The cycle opens with a false start. Saturn enters Scorpio on 12 December 2043, turns retrograde at 5.65 degrees on 8 March 2044 (18:06 UTC, within an hour of midnight in India: 23:36 that day), falls back into Libra, the 11th from a Sagittarius Moon, on 20 June and returns to Scorpio on 31 August.
All cycles between 1990 and 2060
A Sagittarius Moon has two complete Sade Sati cycles in this app's 1990-2060 scan, and part of an earlier one that the scan cuts off.
| Cycle (first entry to final exit, UTC) | Span | Days inside | Pauses |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 Nov 2014 to 16 Jan 2023 | 2,997 days | 2,920 | One, of 77 days |
| 12 Dec 2043 to 25 Feb 2052 | 2,997 days | 2,925 | One, of 72 days |
One of the four dates falls after 18:30 UTC, so on the following day in India: 16 January 2023 (21:14 UTC, 02:44 on 17 January). Two others are within an hour of midnight in India: 2 November 2014 (17:50 UTC, 23:20) and 25 February 2052 (17:44 UTC, 23:14).
The earlier cycle began before the scan, so no start, end or length is quoted for it. Its stays inside the scan: Sagittarius until 21 March 1990 (cut by the scan); Capricorn from 21 March 1990 (90 days); Sagittarius from 19 June 1990 (179); Capricorn from 15 December 1990 (812); then, after a 220-day pause in Aquarius, the 3rd, Capricorn from 11 October 1993 (12 October in India; 32 days).
The three phases for a Sagittarius Moon
The engine names the phases after the three dhaiyas (two-and-a-half-year portions) and shows one sentence beside whichever is active: "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). The Gochar calculator adds a verdict for Saturn in each sign.
- Rising, Saturn in Scorpio (12th): 1,020 days across two stays in the 2043-2052 cycle. Gochara verdict: testing. See Saturn transit in Scorpio.
- Peak, Saturn in Sagittarius (1st): 970 days across two stays. Gochara verdict: testing, with the engine's "intensified" flag for the 1st from the Moon, which Advanced Predictive Astrology (Vol. II, p. 311) matches with a Tamil palm-leaf reading. See Saturn transit in Sagittarius.
- Setting, Saturn in Capricorn (2nd): 935 days across two stays. Gochara verdict: favourable, "steady, disciplined progress". Here the two rule sets part, and the app shows both. See Saturn transit in Capricorn.
What the texts say, and what they do not
Sade Sati is a later tradition: a search of BPHS, Saravali and the Bhrigu Sutras for "sade", "sadhe", "seven and a half" and "dhaiya" finds no passage that names it, and what BPHS and Saravali hold is Saturn's transit read through the Ashtakavarga (BPHS Ch. 66 Sl. 70-72 and Ch. 70 Sl. 43-44; Saravali Ch. 53 Sl. 1 and 9-10, whose "benefic dots" are BPHS's Rekhas). The corpus book that names the period is the modern Advanced Predictive Astrology (Vol. II, Ch. 7, pp. 311-312), which defines it as Saturn in the 12th, 1st and 2nd from the Moon, "once in 30 yrs". The Sade Sati page sets out the whole account.
On p. 312 Advanced Predictive Astrology reports a North Indian school of thought that names, for each Moon sign, the portion of Sade Sati with adverse results; its entry for Sagittarius reads "1st 5yrs". The book counts years, not signs. This page reads the first five years as the first two phases, the rising and the peak, because the engine pairs each of its phases with one dhaiya: in the 2043-2052 cycle, Saturn in Scorpio for 1,020 days across two stays and in Sagittarius for 970 across two. The engine ignores the list; house by house, the same signs are read on Saturn transit for Sagittarius Moon sign.
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. The cycle's one retrograde re-entry into its three signs, to Sagittarius from 8 July 2049, is spent between 26.11 and 30.00 degrees.
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: Capricorn, its own sign (BPHS Ch. 4 Sl. 19-20), in the setting phase. Scorpio is Mars's sign (BPHS Ch. 4's Vrischik entry, printed without a sloka number after Sl. 15-16½) and Sagittarius Jupiter's (Ch. 4 Sl. 17-18½), neither Saturn's own nor its exaltation or debilitation sign; computed with no birth chart, the engine labels Scorpio an enemy sign for Saturn and Sagittarius neutral, the natural relation only, as in Saravali Ch. 4 Sl. 28-29. 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 a Sagittarius Moon that sign is Aquarius, Saturn's own sign (BPHS Ch. 4 Sl. 21-21½), which Saturn enters on 25 February 2052 in this app's computation.
What changes the reading for one chart
A phase is worked out from the Moon sign alone. The sources name three things it leaves out.
- Saturn's own condition. Advanced Predictive Astrology (pp. 311-312) sets the rule aside for a yogakaraka Saturn well placed with benefic association or aspect, and says the period "does not make much difference" when the Moon is with Saturn at birth. Both belong to the birth chart; see Saturn in Vedic astrology.
- Saturn's Ashtakavarga table (BPHS Ch. 70 Sl. 43-44), whose counts for Scorpio, Sagittarius and Capricorn are chart-specific. 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 running dasha: Advanced Predictive Astrology (p. 312) calls a Saturn Mahadasha that coincides with Sade Sati the heavier combination. The Vimshottari Dasha calculator and the Timing feature list them.
What to take care of
The later transit writing reads Sade Sati as a testing period. Advanced Predictive Astrology (Vol. II, pp. 311-312) speaks 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. It adds poor concentration in studies; and, early in a career, delayed promotion, an unwelcome transfer, financial loss and quarrels with superiors or subordinates; then 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 for Saturn's passage through the Janma Rasi, which for a Sagittarius Moon is Sagittarius. 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: set savings aside for the whole period, avoid large unsecured loans and read contracts twice before signing.
- Work and study: write down agreed targets, raise a misunderstanding with a senior early and calmly, think a transfer or job change through before accepting it, and keep a steady study routine.
- Health and travel: book the check-up you have been postponing, rest when you are tired, drive with care on long trips and keep documents and valuables safe on the road. 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 other two named positions from a Sagittarius Moon have their own pages: Ardha Ashtama Shani and Ashtama Shani. The year 2027 is in 2027 for Sagittarius Moon sign; the term is in the glossary as Sade Sati.
- Is a Sagittarius Moon in Sade Sati in 2027, and when did the last cycle end?
- No. In 2027 Saturn is in Pisces and Aries, the 4th and 5th signs from Sagittarius. The 2014-2023 cycle ended on 16 January 2023 (17 January in India), and the first cycle after 2026 begins on 12 December 2043.
- Is Saturn's step back into Libra on 20 June 2044 a pause or a second rising phase?
- A pause. Libra is the 11th from a Sagittarius Moon, so the check reads not active from 20 June to 31 August 2044 (UTC; 21 June to 1 September in India), and the rising phase resumes in Scorpio.
- Do the 2014-2023 and 2043-2052 cycles have the same shape?
- No. Both span 2,997 days, but the 2014 cycle paused late, for 77 days in Aquarius, and the 2043 cycle pauses early, for 72 days in Libra.
- Does Saturn in its own sign, Capricorn, make the setting phase lighter?
- The engine does not weigh it: the Sade Sati check and the Gochara verdict look at the house only. Saravali Ch. 53 Sl. 9-10, above, uses the sign to qualify Saturn's Ashtakavarga marks, which differ from chart to chart.
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.