What's included
✦Your current status — whether Saturn is putting you through Sade Sati right now, which of the three phases, and when it ends
✦Exact phase dates — day-accurate start and end of the Rising, Peak and Setting phases of every Sade Sati cycle in your life
✦Severity grade per phase — how heavy each phase really is, scored against your own Saturn Ashtakavarga (most calculators skip this)
✦Dhaiya / small panoti — Saturn's 2.5-year passages through your 4th and 8th from the Moon
✦Printable — save or print as PDF directly from your browser
What is Sade Sati?
Sade Sati — literally “the seven and a half” — is the roughly 7½-year period when transiting Saturn (Shani) passes through the sign just before your Moon sign, your Moon sign itself, and the sign just after it. Because Saturn lingers about 2½ years in each sign, the three together span about seven and a half years. It is reckoned from your Janma Rashi (Moon sign), never the Sun sign.
The three phases
The cycle unfolds in three stages: the Rising phase (Saturn in the 12th from the Moon), the Peak phase (Saturn over the Moon — usually felt most strongly), and the Setting phase (Saturn in the 2nd from the Moon), which brings a gradual release.
Why it isn't simply “bad”
Sade Sati is a season of responsibility, restructuring and maturity — not guaranteed misfortune. Its weight depends on your chart. This tool grades each phase against the bindus in your own Saturn Ashtakavarga: where Saturn is well supported, the same Sade Sati can be steady or even elevating; where support is thin, it is genuinely demanding. That graded, chart-specific view is what most Sade Sati calculators leave out.
Calculations use your sidereal Moon sign with the Lahiri ayanamsha and compute Saturn's position directly for day-accurate dates. Sade Sati is a framework for reflection and timing — not a guarantee of specific events.
New to Sade Sati? Read the full guide.
How Your Sade Sati Is Calculated
1
Your Moon sign. From your birth date, time and place we compute your sidereal Janma Rashi — the sign the Moon occupied at birth. Sade Sati is measured from here, not your Sun sign.
2
Saturn's journey. We track Saturn's exact position across your lifetime and mark every stretch where it sits in the 12th, 1st or 2nd from your Moon — refining each phase boundary to the day, retrograde wobble included.
3
Severity grade. We build your Saturn Bhinnashtakavarga from the whole chart and read the bindus on each Sade Sati sign. High bindus mean a lighter, more constructive passage; low bindus mean a heavier one — the classical Ashtakavarga way of weighing a Saturn transit.
Frequently asked questions
What is Sade Sati?
It is the roughly seven-and-a-half year period when transiting Saturn passes through the sign before your Moon sign, your Moon sign itself, and the sign after it. Saturn spends about 2½ years per sign, so the three together take about 7½ years — hence the name, “the seven and a half.” It is always reckoned from the Moon sign (Janma Rashi).
How do I know if I'm in Sade Sati right now?
You are in Sade Sati whenever Saturn occupies the 12th, 1st, or 2nd sign from your natal Moon. This calculator finds your Moon sign, checks where Saturn is today, and tells you whether you're in Sade Sati, which of the three phases, and when it ends.
Is Sade Sati always bad?
No. It is a period of pressure and re-structuring, not guaranteed misfortune, and its weight varies hugely between charts. This tool grades each phase against your own Saturn Ashtakavarga — where Saturn is well supported, the same Sade Sati can be manageable or even elevating. Many people reach major milestones during Sade Sati.
What are the three phases of Sade Sati?
The Rising phase (Saturn in the 12th from the Moon) tends to touch finances, expenditure and sleep. The Peak phase (Saturn over the Moon) is the emotional and physical core — mind, health and close relationships — and is usually felt most strongly. The Setting phase (Saturn in the 2nd from the Moon) concerns family, speech and resources, and brings a gradual release.
What's the difference between Sade Sati and Dhaiya?
Sade Sati is the 7½-year transit across the 12th, 1st and 2nd from the Moon. Dhaiya (the small panoti — Kantaka and Ashtama Shani) is a shorter 2½-year transit of Saturn through the 4th or the 8th from the Moon. The 4th-house Dhaiya affects home and peace of mind; the 8th-house Dhaiya, health and sudden change. This tool lists both.
How does the severity grade work?
For each Sade Sati sign we count the bindus it holds in your Saturn Bhinnashtakavarga, computed from your full chart. A high count (5+ of 8) means Saturn is well supported there and the phase tends to be lighter or constructive; a low count (2 or fewer) means it is more testing. This is the same Ashtakavarga transit principle classical astrologers use — and which most online Sade Sati calculators ignore.
Why might my Sade Sati dates differ from another site?
Two reasons. First, Sade Sati must be reckoned from the sidereal Moon sign — a different ayanamsha, or mistakenly using the Sun or Ascendant, shifts everything; this tool uses Lahiri and your true Moon sign. Second, Saturn's retrograde motion makes it cross sign boundaries more than once, so exact start and end can move by a few weeks; this tool computes Saturn's position directly rather than reading a fixed table.
Does Sade Sati need an exact birth time?
Sade Sati depends only on your Moon sign, and the Moon stays in a sign for about 2½ days, so an approximate time is usually fine. Exact time matters only if your Moon is near a sign boundary that day, and it sharpens the Ashtakavarga severity grade (which uses your Ascendant). If unsure, enter your best estimate.