Who is Shani and what is his importance?
The powerful Shani or Saturn can be termed as, perhaps, the planet which is feared the most by the people at large. Astrology regards Shani as the son of Surya, the Sun God. It is said that the Sun went too close to the newborn baby, ignoring the advice of the sages not to do so, and hence baby Saturn turned dark and black, due to the heat of the Sun and his powerful aura.
Saturn is a planet, massive in size. He is a very slow mover, taking a duration of around 2 ½ years to complete his transit in one sign and thus, almost 30 years to complete a full cycle.
Saturn is justice personified, who looks carefully at the good and the bad that people do in their lives and then, meets out justice to them impartially, in the form of good and bad fruits in subsequent lives. He is also believed to be both, a great giver and a bad denier, that is, the one who can bestow people with the greatest good and also the worst bad. It is this Saturn who often remains the cause behind the stories of ‘rags to riches’ and vice versa.
What is Sade Sati?
The word ‘Sade Sati’ literally means ‘Seven and Half’ and denotes the 7 1/2 year period of Shani, the planet Saturn. While Saturn itself remains a feared planet, this period in particular is considered astrologically, as a time of trials and tribulations.
This ‘difficult’ period begins when planet Saturn enters the zodiac sign that falls immediately before an individual’s zodiac sign of birth, and will continue during the time when Saturn will transit that sign and also the next 2 signs. As Saturn remains in a sign for about 2 ½ years, it takes a total of 7 ½ years to cross over the 3 zodiac signs. For instance, if a person’s zodiac sign is Taurus as per the time of his or her birth, then Sade Sati period will begin for that individual, every time Saturn enters the previous sign of Aries, and will continue across the time when Saturn transits through the next 2 signs of Taurus and Gemini.
As can be seen, a person will normally be required to undergo a Sade Sati period on more than one occasion, which will normally be two in most cases. As Saturn will normally come on the third cycle of Sade Sati in a person’s life only around his or her 90th year, the third Sade Sati will generally be a rarity.
How does astrology interpret the effects of Sade Sati?
The Saturn ruled Sade Sati will normally be a trying time by any standards, for anyone. However there may be varied results in its three phases of a Sade Sati, that is, amidst the 1st, 2nd and 3rd periods of 2 ½ years each, when Saturn will transit different signs.
This apart, the first cycle of Sade Sati in a person’s life is known as the First Sade Sati. This 7 ½ year period is expected to be tough in almost all aspects of life. Getting a job may be difficult and even when something is got, it may not be remunerative or comfortable; arranging of marriages may not be easy, and impediments may crop by at every stage of fixing alliances; and the place of stay will also pose problems, and shifting residences to more comfortable places may not work out, too.
The second Sade Sati will be no better and may be as hard or worse for an individual, and people may have to face all round obstacles. However the third is believed to be a far better period, but how may will really live till a ripe old age, to experience and enjoy the benefits that Saturn may bestow in its last sojourn of final Sade Sati, is a moot point!
Astrology does caution people against the ill effects of Sade Sati and suggests remedies for some relief. However, it should also be borne in mind that the same astrology also states clearly that there are many other factors that can clearly be seen in the horoscopes, which can cause distress in life, more serious than even Sade Sati. This realization may make people look at Sade sati with a balanced frame of mind!