EYE ON ASTROLOGY: UNDERSTANDING THE 7.5 YEARS OF SATURN IN CONNECTION WITH TRANSITS THROUGH CONSTELLATION
Most people know know a little Vedic astrology get caught up in a huge fear around Sade Sat, the 7.5 years from Saturn goes through the 12th, 1st and 2nd house from your moon. Actually Sade Sat can also be applied to rising sign and your sun sign so if you really want to get all bent out of shape, depending on your chart, you could have some level of sade sat happening much of your life. Is it all bad? Of course not. Moreover the 7.5 years is not all bad. It depends on when Saturn is transiting the 1, 3, 5th and 25th stars from your birth moon constellation.
Saturn has a purpose to teach responsibility, discipline and focus and this is something that people may feel lazy about because Saturn is not necessarily a fun planet. With Saturn in Sagittarius until Jan 2020, we have a whole new group coming into play.
If your Moon is in Capricorn or your Ascendent is Capricorn or your Sun is in Capricorn being born Jan. 14-Feb. 12th, you may be going through the more difficult 12th house transit of Saturn. Specifically if you have moon in Shravana Nakshatra the impact will be felt most. This particularly triggered when Saturn goes through the 25th nakshatra from your natal moon or ascendent called the Mananas nakshatra which governs the mind and Saturn can disturb it and create a huge desire for change and feeling unsettled. You might feel abandoned or betrayed or unfocused or changes around jobs or relationships may come up.  Remember that change is good. Stay rational and use judgment if it is time to make a change. God has a plan but sometimes changing, moving or changing partners will not get rid of the inner unsettledness. There is a famous say, “wherever you go, there you are.”  Make the inner changes with more meditation, yoga, good diet and exercise and then see if you need to make the outer changes really.
The key to understanding Sade Sat is through the Nakshatra predictive system know as Navatara and Tara Bala where transits through key nakshatras from the natal moon trigger events. So during the 7.5 years of Saturn, the key triggers are when Saturn goes through the 25th nakshatra from the moon but the 26 and 27th are ok. Then the 1st, 3rd and 5th nakshatras from the moon are difficult and know as Jamna, Vipat and Pratyak and even the 7th is considered difficult and called Naidana. The 2nd, 4th and 6th are ok. So the Divine does give you a rest. Still because Saturn moves slowly and retrogrades, it may spend 9-12 months in a nakshatra.
Andrew Foss in his semial book, Yoga of the Planets, discusses some of the deeper meaning Tara Bala and below I have noted and explains why the Saturn transits through 1, 5, 7Â positions are most challenging for Saturn/Â Below is a summary of his wonderful discussion of these key stars (See Yoga of the Planets, pp 511-12)
“The Jamna Nakshatra ( constellation that your natal moon is in know as position 1) is connected to the fruit or one who grants us the fulfillment of our desires according to what we deserve. Mercury and Ketu are lords and Mercury wants to preserve what we have gained from birth in terms of our physical existence and Ketu wants to take away everything and create liberation.” When Saturn transits this star, it really shakes things up because Saturn is naturally enemies with Ketu and Mercury and our health may be challenged to remind us of our deeper call for liberation in this lifetime.
The Vipat Nakshatra (3rd constellation from your natal moon) means to strike down or kill or fly away like arrows. As Andrew notes, it has the power of the king to destroy those who violate dharma and it ruled by the Sun connected to wealth. Hence this position is critical for acquiring or taking away wealth. Given that Saturn and the Sun are bitter enemies, it is no wonder that Saturn transiting this position can be so difficult for finances during Sade Sat. If your natal moon is Jyestha (Scorpio 16.20-29.59) then when Saturn transits into Uttara Phalguni (Sagittarius 13.20-26.40) March 3, 2018-June 4, 2018 this year, or later in the year, and again Nov. 28, 2018-Dec. 2019) this energy will get triggered.
The Pratyak Nakshatara (5th constellation from your natal moon) is ruled by Mars and it is worried about your violating your dharma or movement toward right action. As Andrew notes, its represents obstacles because no one wants to face an angry warrior waving weapons in the air.  The transit of Saturn here is natural enemies with Mars and creates frustration and indecision if we hesitate to do battle. The key to the 5th position transit is fight or compete for what is right. Mars has a purpose in fighting for just causes and standing up for ourselves so this transit should force us rise to the occasion. If your moon is in Swati nakshatra (Libra 6.40-20.00) then Saturn now in Mula is in the 5th position and while you may think your Sade Sat is over because it is 3 signs away it is not and it will ask you to rise up and fight new dharmic battles.
So the key to Sade Sat is not just the signs that Saturn is going through but the sequence of the nakshatras and key numbers that Saturn is transiting.
So if your Moon is in Shravana, then in Mula, it is going through the 25th nakshatra and that is the most difficult time but if your moon is in Uttara Ashadha (Sagittarius 26.40-Capricorn 9.59) or Purva Ashadha (Sagittarius 13.20-26.59) then the transit is not that difficult. So timing the most difficult part of Sade Sat is really connected to counting the distance from the moon’s nakshatra.
Saturn governs work and it responds to getting the work done. Get the work done and Saturn will not cause you any problems. And you can change your chart by changing your life-style. Saturn responds well to meditation and calms the mind. Saturn likes yoga and exercise which grounds the body. Saturn increases the vata or air element so you can do Ayurvedic treatement and diets to calm those influences. Saturn likes rules and disciple and inspires you to move in that direction. If you do not, then it feels stressful and you may feel victimized. You do not have to be.
Some people buy an iron ring and wear it on their middle finger during Sade Sat. It may help a little but giving your power to gems and thinking all your problems will go away is not learning the lessons of Saturn.  Take action to focus, meditate, be disciplined and Saturn will reward you with the calm strength of Capricorn the mountain, unshakable and steady. Be lazy and unfocused and Saturn will seem like an earthquake in your life. You do have a choice. There are mantras and chants and pujas that will help calm the mind so that you can move forward out of fear.
There are mitigating factors in chart which will make Saturn less problematic. If your 12th house or moon has high bindu points or Jupiter or Venus is impacting your 12th house favorable or supporting Saturn, then it may not be as bad. Saturn after age 36 matures and ripens and that means the 2nd or 3rd Sade Sat may not be as problematic because we are more mature.
So remember, there is nothing to fear. Saturn is your friend but he is the type of friend that kicks your butt because he loves you. The Divine is always taking care of us if we understand its message. Listen, act, be disciplined, focus, work hard and you will be taken care of. Venus always support Saturn so lighten Saturn up with more fun, relationship type, massage, art, dance, painting, fashion design.
You are safe, you are infinitely safe, my loved ones; if you only knew how the Divine cares and cherishes for you at every moment of your life and how much he protects you, there would never be another moment of fear in your life. You are love and you are Loved!
Special thanks and honor to some of my Jyotish Gurus, Komilla Sutton, Andrew Foss and James Braha for their insights into some of this material.
If you need help understanding your Sade Sat and how it impacts your personal chart, get a reading at www.appliedvedicastrology.com by hitting the request tab.
If you want deeper to learn the deeper meaning of Nava Tara and Tara Bala and how to use it in prediction then sign up for my winter class on Nakshatras starting in Feb. Early sign up is available at:
https://www.appliedvedicastrology.com/secrets-nakshatras-profound-psychological-predictive-magic/
