What is Sade Sati?
Sade Sati (“seven and a half”) is the period of about seven and a half years when Saturn moves through the sign before your Moon sign, your Moon sign itself, and the sign after it. Saturn spends roughly two and a half years in each sign, giving three phases:
- Phase 1 · Rising: Saturn in the 12th from the Moon;
- Phase 2 · Peak: Saturn over the natal Moon;
- Phase 3 · Setting: Saturn in the 2nd from the Moon.
Most people experience Sade Sati two or three times in a lifetime. It is traditionally associated with hard work, responsibility and slow, steady results rather than disaster, and many people see real progress during it.
Dhaiya and Ashtama Shani
Saturn’s 2½-year transit of the 4th house from the Moon is called Small Panoti or Dhaiya, and its transit of the 8th is called Ashtama Shani. Both are shown above.
Dates are calculated from Saturn’s actual position with the Lahiri ayanamsa, so they include the times Saturn turns retrograde and steps back into the previous sign; they may differ by a day or two from other almanacs.