A Vimshottari dasha reading looks at your life as a series of chapters, each coloured by one planet. The system runs through a 120-year cycle of nine planetary periods, and knowing which chapter you are in helps explain why certain themes, such as study, duty or relationships, feel louder at particular times. Used well, it is a tool for reflection, not a script.

If you want your own periods explained, the In-Depth Reading gives sixty minutes to explore them, or you can send a question about your current dasha first.

How the Vimshottari system works

"Vimshottari" means one hundred and twenty. The cycle is divided among the nine grahas of Vedic astrology, always in the same order and always for the same number of years.

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

Where your sequence begins

Your starting point is set by the nakshatra, or lunar mansion, that the Moon occupied at your birth. Each of the 27 nakshatras is ruled by one of the nine planets. If your Moon was in a Venus-ruled nakshatra, your life began in a Venus period.

The balance at birth

Few people are born at the start of a period. How far the Moon had travelled through its nakshatra decides how much of that first period remained. This is one reason an accurate birth time matters: a small error can move the dates of every later period.

Periods within periods

Each mahadasha, or major period, is divided into nine antardashas, or sub-periods, in the same order, starting with the ruler of the mahadasha. These can be divided again into pratyantardashas. In practice, the mahadasha sets the broad tone of a chapter and the antardasha shows which thread within it is prominent at the moment.

An example of how periods unfold

Imagine someone whose Moon was in Rohini, a nakshatra ruled by the Moon, and who was born with four years of that Moon period still to run. They would move into Mars at four, Rahu at eleven, Jupiter at twenty-nine and Saturn at forty-five. Within the Jupiter mahadasha, the first sub-period would be Jupiter itself, followed by Saturn, Mercury and so on. The dates are purely illustrative, but they show how a single birth detail sets the whole timeline.

Reading a dasha as a chapter, not a verdict

It is easy to find frightening lines online about a Saturn or Rahu period. That kind of blanket statement misses the point. What a period brings depends on where that planet sits in your chart, which houses it rules, its strength and its relationships with other planets. A Saturn mahadasha can be a period of hard-won maturity and lasting structure. A Venus period is not automatically easy.

Questions that make a dasha useful

What themes has this period brought to the surface so far?
Which areas of life does the ruling planet connect to in my chart?
How did I respond the last time this planet's sub-period came round?
What is the next sub-period, and what might it ask of me?

Asked this way, the dasha becomes a mirror for reflection rather than a list of events to fear.

What happens in a Vimshottari dasha reading

Readings take place online through Google Meet or WhatsApp. Before the session your chart is calculated from your date, local time and place of birth, and your current mahadasha and antardasha are identified along with the next change of sub-period. In the conversation, the ruling planets are explained in the context of your own chart, then connected to what is actually happening in your life, whether that is a career rethink, a relationship stage or a sense of wanting something new.

Timing is offered as guidance for planning and reflection. You will not hear predictions about death, illness, accidents or money outcomes, and the reading is not a substitute for medical, legal or financial advice.

Transits and dashas together

Dashas describe the chapter; transits, the current movement of the planets, describe the weather within it. A thoughtful reading looks at both. When a transit touches the same planet that rules your current period, its themes tend to feel more noticeable. This is how a reading can suggest that a particular season is better suited to consolidation than to launching something new, while leaving the decision with you.

Who finds this approach most helpful

People often come to a dasha reading at a transition: finishing university, becoming a parent, changing career in their forties or entering retirement. Others notice that a restless or intense phase started at a particular point and want to understand it. If that sounds familiar, this piece on an astrology reading for a personal transition may help you frame your question. The In-Depth Reading suits these questions best, because it allows time to look back at earlier periods as well as ahead.

Preparing for your dasha conversation

Before the reading, jot down three or four moments in your life when things shifted noticeably: a move, a new job, the start or end of a relationship. Rough years are enough. Comparing those turning points with your past periods often makes the system feel real and personal, and it gives the conversation a solid starting point.

Frequently asked questions

How do I find out which dasha I am in?

Your current period is calculated from your birth details. It will be identified and explained at the start of your reading.

Is a Rahu or Saturn period always difficult?

No. Its effect depends on the planet's placement and strength in your chart. Many people find these periods demanding but formative.

What if I am unsure of my birth time?

Share your best estimate. The main periods can still be discussed, though the exact dates of changeover become less precise.

Can I book a follow-up when my sub-period changes?

Yes. Returning when a new antardasha begins can be a useful way to reflect on the shift in focus.

A Vimshottari dasha reading is most rewarding when it connects to real events. When you get in touch, include your date, time and place of birth and a sentence about what is happening in your life now. I will suggest the most suitable session so you can book it directly. Send your dasha question here.