Sade Sati: Saturn's transit over the Moon sign
Sade Sati is a period of about seven and a half years when Saturn transits the 12th, the 1st and the 2nd signs counted from the natal Moon sign.
What it is
Saturn spends about two and a half years in each of the three signs, so the period lasts about seven and a half years in total. Dhaiyya is the shorter condition in which Saturn is in the 4th or 8th sign from the Moon.
How it is worked out or read
The check on this site takes the natal Moon sign and Saturn's sidereal sign at today's date, and reports whether the 12th, 1st or 2nd sign applies. The Dhaiyya check uses the 4th and 8th signs.
Where it appears on this site
The check is in the chart checks tool. The transits article explains how the rule is counted.
What the seven and a half years are
Sade Sati, meaning seven and a half, is the period during which Saturn transits the twelfth, first and second signs counted from the natal Moon sign. Saturn spends roughly two and a half years in each of the three signs, which gives the total. The rule is one of the best-known transit rules in Jyotish, and it is widely discussed in popular and traditional writing. A reader who wants to understand it should first learn the sign count from the natal Moon, then the timing of Saturn's movement.
The Dhaiyya is a related condition in which Saturn is in the fourth or eighth sign from the Moon. It is described in the traditional texts as a shorter period of pressure, and it is checked on this site alongside the Sade Sati rule.
The count from the Moon
Suppose a person's Moon is in Karka. The twelfth sign from Karka is Mithuna, the first is Karka itself, and the second is Simha. If Saturn is in any of these three signs, the Sade Sati condition applies. For the Dhaiyya, the fourth sign from Karka is Tula and the eighth is Kumbha. The reader uses this same counting for any Moon sign, and the site's chart check performs it using the natal Moon and Saturn's sidereal sign at the date given.
Because the count is from the Moon and not from the Lagna, the Moon sign must be accurate. A small error in the birth time rarely changes the Moon sign, except when the Moon is near a boundary, and the reader should check this for births near the start or end of a sign.
Using the rule with care
Sade Sati is widely considered a difficult period in popular discussion, and many people approach it with fear. A balanced reading recognises that the classical texts describe it as a time of testing, of work, of reassessment and of growth through difficulty, and that its effects depend on the whole chart. The rule identifies a period, and the reader should describe it as such. Any concern about health, finance or relationships should be taken to a qualified professional, and this site does not give such advice.