THE SCIENCE BEHIND SADE SATI OF SATURN- ASTROLOGY DECODED (LESSON 15)

Astrologers know that when Saturn transits into the house which is just a house before natal moon (moon in birth chart), then it triggers the beginning of that native’s Sade sati. Sade Saat means 7.5 in Hindi/Sanskrit. This is because Saturn takes around 30 years to complete its revolution around Sun and therefore it spends around 2.5 years in each Zodiac  (30 years /12 zodiacs =2.5). Thus Sade sati refers to the period of 7.5 years of Saturn’s transit in three zodiacs starting from the one prior to location of natal moon, in the zodiac where the moon is located and then in the next zodiac. Check the figure below to understand Sade sati.

*** I have already explained in my previous blogs and in more detail in The book THE ROOT CAUSE, about the science of zodiacs and that how different months generate different energies (called as Doshas in Ayurveda) which the world today refers to as zodiacs (link for the book at the end of this blog)

An inquisitive mind would always question that what is the science behind sade sati and why is it considered a very important milestone (transit) in one’s life. So let’s understand this using simple concepts of Ayurveda.

Here we go..Because of its proximity to earth and gravitational pull, Moon causes tides in the ocean which may go as high as 40 feet on full and no moon. While this effect is felt on land too, it is minimal however on water it is clearly noticeable/measurable. On same grounds, the moon has an effect on water element in our body too which is composed of nearly 70 percent water, most of which is found in blood and our interstitial fluids called as Rasa in Ayurveda. Now we all know that it is ultimately blood which provides nutrition to the entire body thereby helping it to build up other tissues like muscles, fat, bone, bone marrow and reproductive tissues. Thus moon’s position especially at the time of birth has a huge role to play in deciding that which part of the body will be higher on fluids (blood etc) and hence other tissues too. That is why Moon is called as the Universal mother whose job is to feed nutrition.  Astrologically zodiac Cancer (the rainy season after summers) is given to Moon because it feeds the body and mind and replenishes it. All in all, moon in one’s birth chart represents that part of the body (and related psyche) which is deepest and strongest in that native’s life. This is the reason the Moon is also referred as “Mann” which can be equated with Mind.

On the other hand, Saturn represents lack of nutrition. Saturn governs zodiac Capricorn and Aquarius (Aquarius being the main sign) which arrive in that part of the year when weather becomes very cold and even digestive fire becomes weak and the cold starts penetrating the bones thereby increasing metabolism and weakening body. So here the body starts shivering and hollowing. In Ayurvedic terms, Vata dosha takes over (where Vata is hollowness due to inward constriction/shrinking of blood vessels due to less heat in the weather and thus body).

Thus when Saturn starts transiting towards Moon that is one’s Mann/mind, it starts depriving it of nutrition thereby weakening the deepest tissues and thus Mann/mind making one relatively lost, confused, weak, slow. The native also becomes introspective as Rasa (nourishment) due to Saturn (vata) gets constricted/confined and closed inwards thereby creating more of tissues towards the core of the body (the area governed by location of moon in a specific zodiac/body part/house). Thus, when the native tries to increase Pitta (heat/energy), it rushes through those areas in peripherals which are less on blood/nutrition and high on Vata causing uneasiness in the native. This results in native confining ones focus/thoughts more towards the core where more tissues are located by not increasing one’s energy/pitta making one introspective. Because different people have their moon in different zodiacs, different people are supposed to face Sade Sati at different points of life. However, it is not necessary that everyone going through this period will face same amount of discomfort. In fact some may not face it at all. There are several factors that play the role in deciding its outcome. Here are some of them :-

• A person who already has Saturn and Moon conjunction is likely to face it even more during this period.
• A person already going through Saturn period (called as Mahadasha) is likely to face it more during this period vis-a-vis others.
• Vata increase with time in everyone and Vata (hollowness or say inability of nutrition to reach organs) is the reason of all death. Since a person at 70 years of age is likely to see at least two (or may be even three) sade sati in his/her life, the latter part of life when Vata goes high may create more issues during Sade sati. (again, it is a thumbrule).
• Those who understand deeper aspects of Astrology will understand that whenever their bad houses become active (that means whenever they go through the main period of lords of 3,6,8,12 houses), they are likely to face more material dents in their life (a thumbrule). Thus if a person faces Sade sati during the activation of these houses, he/she is likely to face more discomfort. In Ayurvedic terms, activation of these houses brings more Vata.
• On the other hand, a person very high on Mars but low on Vata, when passing through Sade Sati will be benefited even materialistically as Sade Sati calms down the excess Pitta (heat) and Kapha (tissues) of the person, thereby taming his/her ego/inertia/tamas and bring more Vata (not Rajas as rajas is high Vata Pitta) to help realize deeper aspects of life (both material and spiritual). As such Vata brings intelligence unless its too high (this is because Vata creates inter-neural connections as less blood fuses nerves together by burning their insulation).

**Typical Mars people are those who have wide blood vessels and lot of blood with force is moving through vessels thereby supplying lot of nutrition and strength to the native whereas Saturn weakens this force due to constriction of vessels and obstructions.

**** From Spiritual viewpoint, Sade Sati is an essential period for the soul to slow down and introspect the past for bringing corrections. It causes issues only when the soul has entered a body (timeline) with highly Rajasic energy (high on Vata and Pitta) and makes mistakes due to highly Rajasic and Tamasic lifestyle. Thus the best way to avoid trouble in Sade Sati is by always consuming Sattvic food and leading Sattvic lifestyle which can be understood only by understanding and implementing the basic principles of Ayurveda and other Vedic sciences. In simple words, Saturn’s task is to settle Karmas. If you lead a Sattvic lifestyle, Saturn will never bother you but if a wrong karma has been created then no remedies can ever undo that karma. The soul has to go through the process of bearing the fruit of the karma. However, adherence to Sattvic food and lifestyle can ensure reduction in accumulation of more wrong karmas.

**** From therapeutic viewpoint, since high Vata especially in peripherals doesnt let Pitta reach normal levels thereby constricting body and cells, a healer should ask the native to avoid pungent spices/tea/coffee and only use but definitely use deepan pachan spices (like hingvastak churna) to digest food and toxins and slowly remove obstructions from the body and mind. However this is also true that such a native will reach the healer or vice versa or native will become aware of how to cure self, when the right time will come which again can be seen from the chart when Sade Sati begins to recede.