Sade Sati starts when transit Saturn enters the 12th sign from your natal Moon and continues until Saturn exits the 2nd sign from your natal Moon - a span of approximately 7.5 years. This piece walks through the computation step by step and gives the windows for all twelve Moon signs through 2050.
Sade Sati (Sanskrit: "seven and a half") is defined entirely by the relationship between transit Saturn and natal Moon. The window opens when Saturn enters the sign immediately before your Moon sign (the 12th from Moon), runs while Saturn is directly over your Moon sign (the 1st), and closes when Saturn exits the sign immediately after your Moon sign (the 2nd). Three signs, two-and-a-half years per sign, seven-and-a-half years total. For the structural reading of the period itself - what each phase signifies and how to interpret it - see our method piece on Sade Sati.
The mechanic is the same for every native; the calendar dates are different because each native's natal Moon sits in a different sign. A native with Moon in Capricorn experiences Sade Sati when transit Saturn moves through Sagittarius, Capricorn and Aquarius. A native with Moon in Cancer experiences it when transit Saturn moves through Gemini, Cancer and Leo. The signs are different but the structural pattern is identical.
Each Sade Sati window splits into three phases of approximately 2.5 years each:
| Phase | Sanskrit | Saturn position | Conventional themes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 - Rising | Aroha | 12th sign from natal Moon | Losses, sleep disruption, foreign concerns, expenditure, isolation |
| Phase 2 - Peak | Madhya | Natal Moon sign itself | Pressure on body, identity, mind, mother and public standing - structurally the heaviest |
| Phase 3 - Setting | Avaroha | 2nd sign from natal Moon | Wealth, family, speech, dietary recalibration - the integration phase |
Madhya is the structurally heaviest phase because Saturn (the karaka of pressure, time and karma) sits directly over the Moon (the karaka of mind, mother and emotional life). The Moon itself is the most sensitive natal point in any chart for transit pressure; Saturn over the Moon is the textbook signature of the sustained psychological weight that gives Sade Sati its reputation.
Three inputs you need:
Once you have these three inputs, the computation is mechanical. Find the sign that is the 12th from your natal Moon - that is the start sign. Find the date Saturn enters that sign - that is the start date of Sade Sati. Find the sign that is the 2nd from your natal Moon - that is the end sign. Find the date Saturn exits that sign - that is the end date.
Consider a native with natal Moon in Capricorn. The signs in order from the Moon:
Saturn entered Sagittarius (sidereal, Lahiri) on January 26, 2017. That is the start of Aroha phase for any Moon-in-Capricorn native. Saturn exited Sagittarius and entered Capricorn on January 24, 2020 - the start of Madhya. Saturn left Capricorn and entered Aquarius on April 29, 2022 (with retrograde back into Capricorn briefly, then re-entering Aquarius on January 17, 2023 - this is the kind of detail retrograde introduces). Saturn exits Aquarius and enters Pisces on March 29, 2025 - that is the end of Avaroha and the close of Sade Sati for this native.
Total span: January 2017 to March 2025, approximately 8.2 years (slightly extended by the retrograde step-back). For natives with Moon in Capricorn, the most recent Sade Sati window has just closed in 2025, and the next will not arrive until approximately 2046.
The table below uses sidereal Saturn ingress dates (Lahiri ayanamsha). Dates rounded to the month. Where Sade Sati spans multiple recurrences across the period, both windows are listed. Verify against a current ephemeris for exact dates - retrograde-induced shifts of a few weeks are common.
| Moon sign | Phase signs (12-1-2) | Most recent or next window | Following window |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aries | Pisces - Aries - Taurus | Mar 2025 - Mar 2032 | ~2055-2062 |
| Taurus | Aries - Taurus - Gemini | Apr 2027 - Apr 2034 | ~2057-2064 |
| Gemini | Taurus - Gemini - Cancer | May 2029 - Jul 2036 | ~2059-2066 |
| Cancer | Gemini - Cancer - Leo | Jun 2031 - Aug 2038 | ~2061-2068 |
| Leo | Cancer - Leo - Virgo | Jul 2033 - Sep 2040 | ~2063-2070 |
| Virgo | Leo - Virgo - Libra | Sep 2035 - Nov 2042 | ~2065-2072 |
| Libra | Virgo - Libra - Scorpio | Nov 2037 - Jan 2045 | ~2067-2074 |
| Scorpio | Libra - Scorpio - Sagittarius | Jan 2040 - Mar 2047 | ~2069-2076 |
| Sagittarius | Scorpio - Sagittarius - Capricorn | Mar 2042 - May 2049 | ~2071-2078 |
| Capricorn | Sagittarius - Capricorn - Aquarius | Jan 2017 - Mar 2025 (closed) | ~2046-2053 |
| Aquarius | Capricorn - Aquarius - Pisces | Jan 2020 - May 2027 | ~2049-2056 |
| Pisces | Aquarius - Pisces - Aries | Mar 2022 - Mar 2029 | ~2051-2058 |
This table is a structural lookup, not an ephemeris substitute. For exact start, phase-transition and end dates - particularly when retrograde introduces multi-month jitters at sign boundaries - use a calculation tool that consults a current Saturn ephemeris. Astrosage's free Sade Sati calculator (one entity bridge to a public tool) is the most widely-used Indian implementation and produces dates consistent with Lahiri ayanamsha.
While calculating Sade Sati, also note when Saturn transits the 8th sign from your natal Moon - this is Ashtama Shani, a separate but conventionally-classed-alongside difficult Saturn-from-Moon transit. Ashtama Shani lasts approximately 2.5 years and falls roughly halfway between consecutive Sade Satis (about 15 years after one closes and 15 years before the next opens). The 8th-house signification - transformation, longevity, hidden disturbance, sudden events - gets activated in relation to lunar matters during Ashtama Shani. Detailed treatment is in the Sade Sati method piece.
The 7.5-year window is the structural disposition. How heavily it actually reads for any specific native depends on five layers:
For some natives, the first Saturn return at age 29 falls inside Sade Sati - particularly Madhya, when Saturn is directly over the Moon. The overlap concentrates structural pressure into the heaviest Saturn window of the life. For the full first-Saturn-return reading - astronomical mechanic, ascendant-by-ascendant dignity layer, common life events - see our piece on Saturn return at 29. For natives whose natal Saturn sits within sixty degrees of natal Moon, the overlap is structural; the conventional textbook signature for a major identity reorganisation at 29.
This computation guide uses the conventional mechanic - sidereal Saturn ingress, Lahiri ayanamsha, sign-based phase boundaries. Other ayanamsha conventions (Raman, Krishnamurti) produce ingress dates that differ by a day or two. The 7.5-year span is a first-order approximation; retrograde motion can stretch any single window by several weeks in either direction. The 2050 lookup table rounds to the month and is a structural reference, not a substitute for a current ephemeris reading. The five modulating variables (dignity, lordship, dasha, Jupiter aspect, ashtakavarga) determine how heavily the period reads for any specific chart - a bare window without those layers tells you when Sade Sati runs but not what it will deliver. The conventional Vedic teaching in classical sources (Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra) is the structural framework; this article documents the framework, not statistical outcomes.
Three inputs. First, your natal Moon sign (rashi) - the sidereal sign Saturn was passing through at your birth, which requires accurate birth date, time and location. Second, the date Saturn enters the sign that is 12th from your natal Moon - that is the official start of Sade Sati. Third, the date Saturn exits the sign that is 2nd from your natal Moon - the official end. Saturn spends approximately 2.5 years in each sign, so the full Sade Sati window is approximately 7.5 years. Saturn ingress dates over the next thirty years are published in standard ephemerides and computed by any free calculator.
Sade Sati timing depends only on the natal Moon sign, not the natal Moon degree, so a birth time accurate to the day is usually sufficient - the Moon stays in one sign for approximately 2.25 days. Only when the birth falls within hours of a Moon sign change does the exact time matter. The wider Tempora reading - dasha, ascendant, divisional charts - does require accurate birth time, but the Sade Sati window itself is robust to time uncertainty for most natives.
Three phases of approximately 2.5 years each. Phase one (Aroha or Rising): transit Saturn in the 12th sign from your natal Moon - losses, foreign concerns, sleep disruption, expenditure. Phase two (Madhya or Peak): transit Saturn directly over your natal Moon sign - the structurally heaviest phase, pressure on body, identity, mind, mother and public standing. Phase three (Avaroha or Setting): transit Saturn in the 2nd sign from your natal Moon - wealth, family, speech, dietary recalibration; the integration phase. Look up where transit Saturn is today and count signs from your Moon.
The structural mechanic is universal - 2.5 years times three signs equals 7.5 years - but the actual span varies by Saturn's retrograde motion. Saturn retrogrades for approximately 4.5 months each year, which can shorten or lengthen any single sign transit by a few weeks. The total Sade Sati window for any one native typically falls in the 7.3 to 7.7 year range. Across a lifetime, Sade Sati recurs every 30 years (Saturn's full orbit), so most natives experience it twice or three times - early adulthood, mid-life and late life.
Five variables modulate the experience. First, natal Saturn dignity - own sign or exalted softens the period; debilitated or combust sharpens it. Second, the ascendant lordship - Yogakaraka Saturn (Taurus, Libra) softens; Maraka Saturn (Aries, Cancer, Leo) sharpens. Third, the running Vimshottari mahadasha - Jupiter or Venus mahadasha buffers; Saturn or Rahu mahadasha amplifies. Fourth, Jupiter aspect to natal Moon - the conventional protective configuration. Fifth, the Saturn ashtakavarga score for the Moon-sign and adjacent signs - higher scores indicate softer transits. The Saturn Sarvashtakavarga score for the transited sign is the single highest-information modulator.
For the basic 7.5-year window, most free calculators (Astrosage, Drik Panchang, Prokerala) are accurate because the underlying ephemeris is public and the math is simple - find Saturn's sign, find the Moon sign, count three signs. Where calculators differ is in the layered modulation: dignity, dasha, ashtakavarga score, Jupiter aspect. A bare window without those layers tells you when Sade Sati runs but not how heavy it will read for your chart specifically. Tempora's reading combines the structural window with the natal-chart-specific layers - the conventional method taught in classical Vedic literature.
This article was first published on 2026-05-07 as part of the Saturn cluster expansion. It documents the conventional Vedic computation method for Sade Sati windows using sidereal Saturn ingress per Lahiri ayanamsha (per Wikipedia on Saturn transits). The 12-Moon-sign window table is a structural reference rounded to the month; exact start, phase-transition and end dates require consulting a current Saturn ephemeris (Astrosage's free Sade Sati calculator is the most widely-used Indian implementation and produces dates consistent with Lahiri ayanamsha). The companion structural piece is at /article_030_sadesati.html. Internal audit log maintained. This article represents conventional Vedic teaching and Tempora Research method documentation; it does not constitute medical, financial, legal or professional advice.