Free tool

Sade sati calculator

The sade sati calculator from API for Astrology (apiforastrology.com) shows whether Saturn's sade sati is running today. Sade sati is the seven-and-a-half-year period when Saturn passes through the three signs around your Moon sign. Enter birth details to see the phase you are in and the dates of your next sade sati.

It is also called Shani sade sati. It depends on the Moon sign. So an exact birth time matters less here than for a kundli.

Updated Nov 3, 2026

Sample, not your result: John Doe, New York

Saturn's pass through the sign before the Moon sign, the Moon sign and the sign after, with the date of each phase. Your own result shows under the form.

Sade sati check at a glance

What the sade sati check takes, gives back and costs
You send	Birth date, time and place, and the day to check
You get	Whether sade sati is running, its phase, and the dates of every phase
The API call behind it	`POST /v1/sadesati` on the Astrology API
What it costs	Free on this page. In your app, 1 call per answer. The Free plan has 2,000 calls a month.

How the sade sati check works

Sade sati starts when Saturn enters the sign just behind your Moon sign. It ends when Saturn leaves the sign just ahead of it. Saturn spends about two and a half years in each of those three signs, about seven and a half years in all. That time splits into a rising, a peak and a setting phase.

For a few months each year Saturn runs retrograde (seems to move backward). It can slip back into a sign it has just left. The API dates every one of those crossings, so a phase can appear more than once.

Your Moon sign comes from the birth details. The Moon changes sign about every two and a half days, so if you do not know the birth time, the tool uses noon. On a day when the Moon changed sign, that guess can give the wrong Moon sign.

The same request, with your own API key, returns every sade sati in a lifetime as JSON.

Worked example: John Doe's sade sati

John Doe's Moon is in Taurus. So his sade sati runs while Saturn is in Aries, Taurus and Gemini. On October 1, 2026, Saturn is not in those signs, so sade sati is not running for him.

His next sade sati starts on June 2, 2027, when Saturn enters Aries. From October 19, 2027, to February 23, 2028, Saturn moves back out of Aries for a while. The API reports that gap as a break. This sade sati ends on July 12, 2034. His first one ran from April 17, 1998, to May 25, 2005.

Method and sources

This tool follows these rules from the public rulebook:

Planet positions come from NASA JPL planet data (DE440). We check them against NASA JPL Horizons. On 25,571 positions from 1850 to 2149, the Sun and planets agree within 0.001 arc seconds. The Moon agrees within 0.011. On 2,000 random birth charts, the rising degree agrees with Swiss Ephemeris within 0.004 arc seconds. An arc second is 1/3,600 of a degree. See how we test. A practicing astrologer reviews the rules behind these answers.

Words used here, explained in the glossary: Sade sati, Saturn (Shani), Moon sign (janma rashi), Dhaiya, Gochar (transits).

We do not store the details you enter. Results are for information and entertainment, not advice.

Build this into your app

This tool runs on our Astrology API. Here is the request behind it and the answer, for our sample: John Doe, born Aug 15, 1990, 10:30 AM, New York. Read about the yogas and doshas API.

POST /v1/sadesati

# John Doe, born Aug 15, 1990, 10:30 AM, New York
curl -X POST "https://apiforastrology.com/api/astrology/v1/sadesati?as_of=2026-10-01" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ASTROLOGY_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"year":1990,"month":8,"day":15,"hour":10,"minute":30,"second":0,"latitude":40.7128,"longitude":-74.006,"timezone":"America/New_York"}'

Answer (lists cut to two items)200 OK

{
  "moon_sign": 2,
  "present": false,
  "phase": null,
  "phase_detail": null,
  "in_break": false,
  "current": null,
  "next": {
    "starts": "2027-06-02T19:58:14",
    "ends": "2034-07-12T18:52:55",
    "complete": true,
    "phases": [
      {
        "phase": "rising",
        "sanskrit": "arohini",
        "house_from_moon": 12,
        "starts": "2027-06-02T19:58:14",
        "ends": "2027-10-19T21:42:17"
      },
      {
        "phase": "rising",
        "sanskrit": "arohini",
        "house_from_moon": 12,
        "starts": "2028-02-23T08:54:04",
        "ends": "2029-08-08T03:02:02"
      }
    ],
    "breaks": [
      {
        "starts": "2027-10-19T21:42:17",
        "ends": "2028-02-23T08:54:04",
        "reason": "Saturn retrograde back out of the band"
      }
    ]
  },
  "periods": [
    {
      "starts": "1998-04-17T03:36:19",
      "ends": "2005-05-25T21:53:10",
      "complete": true,
      "phases": [
        {
          "phase": "rising",
          "sanskrit": "arohini",
          "house_from_moon": 12,
          "starts": "1998-04-17T03:36:19",
          "ends": "2000-06-06T15:28:19"
        },
        {
          "phase": "peak",
          "sanskrit": "madhya",
          "house_from_moon": 1,
          "starts": "2000-06-06T15:28:19",
          "ends": "2002-07-22T22:39:56"
        }
      ],
      "breaks": [
        {
          "starts": "2004-09-05T19:04:15",
          "ends": "2005-01-13T04:34:20",
          "reason": "Saturn retrograde back out of the band"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "starts": "2027-06-02T19:58:14",
      "ends": "2034-07-12T18:52:55",
      "complete": true,
      "phases": [
        {
          "phase": "rising",
          "sanskrit": "arohini",
          "house_from_moon": 12,
          "starts": "2027-06-02T19:58:14",
          "ends": "2027-10-19T21:42:17"
        },
        {
          "phase": "rising",
          "sanskrit": "arohini",
          "house_from_moon": 12,
          "starts": "2028-02-23T08:54:04",
          "ends": "2029-08-08T03:02:02"
        }
      ],
      "breaks": [
        {
          "starts": "2027-10-19T21:42:17",
          "ends": "2028-02-23T08:54:04",
          "reason": "Saturn retrograde back out of the band"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "dhaiya": [
    {
      "kind": "ashtama",
      "name": "ashtama shani",
      "house_from_moon": 8,
      "labels": [
        "dhaiya"
      ],
      "starts": "1990-08-15T10:29:59",
      "ends": "1990-12-14T14:37:55",
      "spans": [
        {
          "starts": "1990-08-15T10:29:59",
          "ends": "1990-12-14T14:37:55"
        }
      ],
      "breaks": []
    },
    {
      "kind": "kantaka",
      "name": "kantaka shani (also ardha shani)",
      "house_from_moon": 4,
      "labels": [
        "dhaiya",
        "kantaka"
      ],
      "starts": "2006-10-31T20:43:25",
      "ends": "2009-09-09T14:30:53",
      "spans": [
        {
          "starts": "2006-10-31T20:43:25",
          "ends": "2007-01-10T07:32:29"
        },
        {
          "starts": "2007-07-15T19:15:56",
          "ends": "2009-09-09T14:30:53"
        }
      ],
      "breaks": [
        {
          "starts": "2007-01-10T07:32:29",
          "ends": "2007-07-15T19:15:56",
          "reason": "Saturn retrograde back out of the house"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "kantaka": [
    {
      "kind": "kantaka",
      "name": "kantaka shani (10th from the Moon)",
      "house_from_moon": 10,
      "labels": [
        "kantaka"
      ],
      "starts": "1993-03-05T08:01:40",
      "ends": "1996-02-16T07:50:02",
      "spans": [
        {
          "starts": "1993-03-05T08:01:40",
          "ends": "1993-10-15T02:34:51"
        },
        {
          "starts": "1993-11-09T18:37:01",
          "ends": "1995-06-02T01:00:21"
        }
      ],
      "breaks": [
        {
          "starts": "1993-10-15T02:34:51",
          "ends": "1993-11-09T18:37:01",
          "reason": "Saturn retrograde back out of the house"
        },
        {
          "starts": "1995-06-02T01:00:21",
          "ends": "1995-08-09T16:32:15",
          "reason": "Saturn retrograde back out of the house"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "kind": "kantaka",
      "name": "kantaka shani (7th from the Moon)",
      "house_from_moon": 7,
      "labels": [
        "kantaka"
      ],
      "starts": "2014-11-02T10:24:32",
      "ends": "2017-10-26T05:57:55",
      "spans": [
        {
          "starts": "2014-11-02T10:24:32",
          "ends": "2017-01-26T09:01:06"
        },
        {
          "starts": "2017-06-20T19:08:13",
          "ends": "2017-10-26T05:57:55"
        }
      ],
      "breaks": [
        {
          "starts": "2017-01-26T09:01:06",
          "ends": "2017-06-20T19:08:13",
          "reason": "Saturn retrograde back out of the house"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "dhaiya_present": false,
  "kantaka_present": false,
  "dhaiya_kantaka": null,
  "as_of": "2026-10-01T00:00:00",
  "rule": "Saturn transiting the 12th, 1st or 2nd sign from the natal Moon. Dates resolve every crossing, so a retrograde re-entry appears as a break within one passage rather than as two.",
  "kantaka_rule": "Kantaka shani is Saturn transiting the 4th, 7th or 10th sign from the natal Moon. The 4th is also a dhaiya: it is listed once, under `dhaiya`, with both labels. `kantaka` lists the 7th and 10th.",
  "window": {
    "from": "1990-08-15T10:30:00",
    "to": "2090-08-15T10:30:00"
  },
  "meta": {
    "ayanamsa": "lahiri",
    "ayanamsa_value": 23.7260727,
    "julian_day": 2448119.10483,
    "ephemeris": "JPL DE440s",
    "node": "true",
    "timezone": {
      "source": "zone",
      "offset_hours": -4,
      "zone": "America/New_York",
      "abbreviation": "EDT",
      "dst": true,
      "dst_hours": 1,
      "ambiguous_resolved_by_fold": null,
      "note": "read from the IANA tz database at this instant, so daylight saving and historical offset changes are included"
    }
  }
}

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From the blog

Common questions

All questions

What is sade sati?

Sade sati is Hindi for "seven and a half". It names the stretch of about seven and a half years when Saturn crosses your Moon sign and the signs on either side of it. Many families watch these dates closely. This tool reports the dates and the phase, not a forecast.

Sade sati in the glossary

What are the three phases?

Rising is Saturn in the 12th sign counted from your Moon sign. Peak is Saturn in your Moon sign, and setting is Saturn in the 2nd sign. Each lasts about two and a half years. If you were born with the Moon in Taurus, for example, the phases run with Saturn in Aries, Taurus and then Gemini.

How the dates are worked out

Can the sade sati check work without a birth time?

Tick the box and the tool uses noon. Only your Moon sign matters here. The Moon stays in one sign for about two and a half days, so noon gives the right sign on most dates. The exception is a birthday on which the Moon moved into a new sign.

How often does sade sati come back?

Saturn takes about 29 and a half years to go around the zodiac, so sade sati returns about every 30 years. The tool lists every sade sati from birth to age 100, along with the dates of the current or next one.

Is Saturn in the 4th or 8th sign from the Moon also sade sati?

No. Those two Saturn periods are called dhaiya, and each lasts about two and a half years. This tool shows only sade sati. The API reports dhaiya separately, so the two are never mixed up.

What dhaiya is

Can I add the sade sati check to my own app?

Yes. The POST /v1/sadesati request, sent with your own API key, returns the answer as JSON. It says whether sade sati is running on a date you choose, and in which phase. It also lists every sade sati in a lifetime, with dated phases.

About the dosha and sade sati API

Astrology API

Put this in your own app

Create a free test key and call the same endpoint with your users' details. Or try a request in the API reference first.

Get a free API key Open the API reference

Your first answer

John Doe, New York

POST /v1/planets200 OK

RisingVirgoHast
SunCancerAshlesha
MoonTaurusMrigashira
MarsAriesKrittika

Real API output. A free test key gets the same answer.

01
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Sade sati calculator

Sade sati check at a glance

How the sade sati check works

Worked example: John Doe's sade sati

Method and sources

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From the blog

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How Sade Sati Is Calculated, and Why Apps Disagree on Dates

Jupiter Transit 2026: Saturn and Rahu Ketu Dates to 2027

Common questions

Put this in your own app