A very common question in vedic astrology is whether a birth chart always stays the same or whether it changes over time. The simple answer is: the chart stays the same, but its results vary over time.
Our destiny (also known as karma), is like a bag of seeds we bring from past lives. And your birth chart shows you in what areas of your life those seeds have been planted.
To understand when they will bear fruit, we need to study the planetary periods in Vedic astrology, also known as dashas.
When a certain seed’s planetary period arrives, the tree bears fruit in the place — or astrological house — where it was planted. For example, a natal chart can show from birth the possibility of living abroad. But it is only when the planetary period connected to that theme becomes active that the conditions come together and lead a person to live outside their home country.
Planetary periods are predetermined from birth, which means that from that moment on, it is possible to know not only what may happen in a person’s life, but also when it may happen.
These periods are very precise, and that is one of the greatest strengths of Vedic astrology: its predictive ability. By contrast, Western astrology is often stronger in describing personality. You can read more about the differences between the two astrological systems here.
Vimshottari Dasha: the most widely used planetary period system
There are many types of planetary periods, but the most widely used — and generally considered the most accurate — is Vimshottari dasha. In special cases, some astrologers may use a different system.
The total length of Vimshottari dasha is 120 years (in fact, “vimshottari” means 120). These 120 years are divided among the 9 planets, with each planet assigned a certain number of years, which forms its main planetary period, or mahadasha.
However, the number of years is not the same for every planet. For example, the planet with the shortest mahadasha is the Sun, with only 6 years, while the longest is Venus, with 20 years.
In addition, each main planetary period is divided into subperiods, also called antardasha. These antardashas can last from just a few months to 3 years. Periods can be subdivided even further, but these two — the mahadasha and the antardasha — are the most important.
The Order of the Planetary Periods
The order in which planetary periods unfold in Vedic astrology during life is fixed, and it is connected to the order of the rulers of each nakshatra, starting from Ashwini, the nakshatra ruled by Ketu. The order and duration of each period are:
- Ketu: 7 years
- Venus: 20 years
- Sun: 6 years
- Moon: 10 years
- Mars: 7 years
- Rahu: 18 years
- Jupiter: 16 years
- Saturn: 19 years
- Mercury: 17 years
A fixed order does not mean that everyone begins with Ketu’s period. We all begin at different points, depending on the position of the Moon at birth — specifically, the nakshatra it was in — but the order remains the same.
For example, if someone is born during Mars’s period — and it is worth noting that it is very rare to be born exactly at the beginning of a period — the next period will be Rahu. The 18 years of Rahu will then unfold in full, followed by Jupiter, Saturn, and so on. After Mercury, Ketu would come again, as it is the first in the list.
Of course, almost no one lives through all 120 years. But if someone were to live that long, the periods would repeat cyclically, and the pattern of the events in their life would be very similar.
What do Planetary Periods Bring in Vedic Astrology?
The effects brought by planetary periods are the same ones that already appear in our birth chart according to the placement of the planets.
However, when a period becomes active, the effects that had been “sleeping,” or in some cases remaining in the background, come to fruition more strongly.
For example, a chart may generally be favorable for career matters, but when the planet that supports career becomes active, those results become much more noticeable.
That is why, to calculate the effects the planets bring during their periods, we need to study their position in the natal chart. Although many factors matter, the most important are which house they occupy and which houses they rule. This applies both to the planet ruling the mahadasha and to the one ruling the antardasha.
It is also important to remember that the planet ruling the main period sets the overall energy of that phase, while the planet ruling the subperiod gives its effects within that overall energy.
For example, if someone is in a main planetary period that is very unfavorable for money, but then a subperiod favorable for money arrives, that subperiod may bring better income — though not as much as it would if the main period were not so difficult.
For that reason, it is wise to align our goals with the energy we know each period will bring. And the best way to do that is by getting to know our chart deeply.
Book a vedic astrology reading with me to learn about what planetary period and subperiod you are going through and the effects they may bring in your life.