The most interesting fact about the planet Saturn (also known as 'Shani') is that it is the judge of our Karmas in lives, both past, and present. Whatever you do in your present or past lives accumulates as your Karma and is returned to you in the form of reward or punishment. Your righteous Karmas earn you rewards while your flawed Karmas bring you punishments or hardships. Having said that, as always, the Vedic Astrology has the means to help you navigate this judgemental planet and understand how you can control your karmas. This interview with India's top best astrologer, Dr. Vinay Bajrangi, deals with the long-term impact of having the Saturn planet in your horoscope.
Q – What is the role of Saturn in Astrology?
Dr. Vinay Bajrangi – Hindu Astrology calls Saturn as Shani, derived from the phrase "Shanaiye Shanaiye", which loosely means something that moves slowly in the Hindi language. It goes without saying that the planet Saturn moves very slowly compared to the other planets of your horoscope. Compared to other planets that may leave a particular sign in the duration of 30, 45 or 360 days, Saturn or Shani leaves a Moon sign after 2.5 years. One factor behind this slow movement could be that Saturn is at a huge distance from Earth, which might take it a long time to cover one rotation.
Mythology puts Saturn to be the son of Surya (Sun) and his wife Chhaya. As per old beliefs, the relations between the father and son have remained strained ever since. Therefore, Saturn remains a slow, cold, and dry planet to this date. In other words, Saturn also represents 'old people.' People who practice or follow astrology even consider Saturn to be a malefic planet and hold it responsible for all types of hurdles in your life, such as sorrows, miseries, losses, etc. If the Saturn planet reaches a favourable planet in your horoscope, it brings you rewards and longevity.
Coming to the present times, Saturn acts as the teacher and judge of our life activities and decisions. It eggs us on to perform good karmas while blessing us with rewards for the same, but Shani also punishes us for our unethical acts or misdeeds.
Q – Is Saturn a bad planet?
DVB – I would blame this on misunderstanding, nothing else. Saturn is not always a bad planet. I wouldn't want to create anxiety in your mind but I will have to say that Saturn is malefic or benefic depending upon how you deal with life.
People generally go around saying that "Oh! Saturn is always harmful." Though I agree that Saturn is one of the most dreaded planets, it is more importantly the Karmic planet, which means your own karmas guide Saturn's impact on your life. Therefore, I would tell people to try and read more about your own karmas instead of blaming Saturn for whatever bad is happening in your life.
Q – Is Saturn always negative?
DVB – Saturn's impact on your life is guided by whether you accept this planet out of fear or faith. In my personal opinion, I advise clients to "Let your faith (Dharma) override your fear (Adharma)."
I have been practicing astrology for the past two decades, and after this long experience, I can say that though there are both positive and negative Yogas in your horoscope. Still, there is no need to feel elated or dejected based on that. It is your own Karma and many other factors that decide the final outcome of the planetary positions. Otherwise, how can we explain why a man once a billionaire is a pauper today, or once a superstar is nobody today. The presence of Saturn in your horoscope also strengthens your belief in miracles in life as that of catastrophes. Sometimes, to fulfill our dreams by hook or crook, we get trapped in misdeeds, too, as you may have seen in the case of politicians, people in business, and spiritual Gurus. Many of them are in imprisonment today. This leads to a sense of insecurity creeping into our psyche. If you want to avoid being caught at the crossroads, like others, my sincere advice would be to let your 'Dharma' be stronger than your 'Adharma.'
Some of the seemingly frightening facades of the meticulous control of Saturn on your life are visible in its shadow, Dristi (aspect), association, Dasha (period), Dhaiyya (2.5 year period), and the Sade Sati (7 year period) of Saturn. The most feared among these is the MahaDasha and Sade Sati of Saturn. An inexperienced astrologer, whom I consider no less than the roadside quack, ends up frightening his patrons with Saturn's negative attributes, without realizing that it would lead to more harm than usual.
Q - Saturn and its effects on human: Can you elaborate on this?
DVB – There is a high instance of people who are caught in a fearful grasp of the half-baked knowledge and mindless rituals vis-a-vis Saturn and its effect at the behest of inexperienced astrologers. To them, I would say that Saturn/Shani is nothing but a mirror to your own Karma. Saturn reflects your positive or negative deeds in life and rewards or punishes you accordingly. In its appearance, Saturn is believed to be crooked, with a tall, lean body, unkempt self, sunken eyes with prominent veins, thus looking older than its age. In behaviour, Saturn is stubborn, quarrelsome, and, more often than not, a loner. Having said that, it is this planet that dictates your longevity as well as a proclivity to illness!
Speaking of the traits like stubbornness, quarrelsome attitude, or lonely disposition, if these traits are more prominent in your horoscope, it means more influence of a negative Saturn on that individual. Such an individual ends up frightening others, inflicting misery on others deliberately, humiliating people without reason, or becoming really selfish, without realizing the negative clutches of fate tightening around him.
People who showcase strong traits like these, reflective of Saturn's influence, do not immediately admit to being under its influence. However, they must remember not to commit a crime instead of later pleading in front of a judge who knows it all.
All said and done, Vedic Astrology is equipped with specific karmic ways to appease the planet before, during or after the onset of Sade Sati, which can bring luck in your favour in different aspects of your life.
Q - How is Saturn for each moon sign?
DVB – Whenever the conversation veers towards Saturn, people respond with just its harmful manifestations. They talk about Sade Sati, Dhaiya, etc, but in my opinion, Shani deserves more respect and less fear towards it. Being the Karmic Planet, Shani directly attributes to the Karmas of an individual. Just like an unbiased judge, Shani punishes you for bad karmas and rewards you for good karmas. In fact, as mentioned earlier, Saturn has a dual role as per astrology – a teacher and a judge. The kind of importance accorded to Saturn in Vedic Astrology has led to different seers and philosophers describing multiple effects of Saturn on different Moon signs. If you ask me broadly how is Saturn for each moon, I will categories this into five categories as to how is Saturn for each Moon sign -
- Saturn is Benefic for Taurus, Capricorn, and Aquarius.
- Saturn is Highly Benefic for Libra.
- Saturn is Malefic for Aries, Scorpio, and Pisces.
- It's highly Malefic for Cancer, Leo, and Sagittarius.
- Saturn is Neutral for Gemini and Virgo natives.
The two things, though, that can go beyond all the significance and impacts of Saturn on each Moon sign, are a Person's Karma and Transit of Saturn.
A Person's karmas – Saturn doesn't harm an individual unless the individual harms others. Though Saturn can be your deadliest enemy in that case, in the opposite case, it can be your best friend too. Saturn is not always malefic or harmful. If we take a bird's eye view of things, Saturn is malefic towards some Zodiac signs while for others it is benefic. Its impact is not uniform, and, most importantly, its results can be largely moulded through a person's karmas. The extent to which you respect the Karma theory determines the result of Saturn on different moon signs.
Transit of Saturn – Another important thing regarding the influence of Saturn on a person is the transit of Saturn. Saturn stays in a particular sign for 2.5 years. At present, it is Capricorn, which is supposed to the best Saturn transit. My advice here would be if one really wants to get the best from Saturn, meet a good astrologer and understand its impact on your Moon sign. This is what I feel, the best way to make Saturn your friend & always act for you as a teacher.
So one should emphasise more on Karma correction than blaming this noble Karmic planet: says Dr. Vinay Bajrangi , a famous astrologer in India. He has recently released very comprehensive articles on why love marriage fail more and how to find true career predictions To get more insight on Vedic Astrology, you can visit https://www.vinaybajrangi.com/or reach his office on +91 9278 66 5588/9278 5555 88.
