Last Updated on May 29, 2021 by astrologerbydefault

Vimshottari dasha system is the most popular system used for timing events in your life. I had got a comment in the contact form that it is very difficult, but it is not. You break down the components into small keywords and them mix and match. This is a continued post from here rulers of the houses 1st to 6th.

At the simplest analysis, periods of a planet activate the houses he owns in the chart, this is the major influence on your life. If the house is strong you should expect powerful results. The other planets if placed in this house are also activated and give results.  Planets placed in the house will modulate the results (give about 15% weightage per planet). Several planets placed in a house will make it a focus point of your life as a lot of events of your life will be linked around this house. e.g if you have a Sun + Mercury placed in the 4th house in Aquarius, then in the period of Saturn, your 4th house will be active and you or your mother may get into a government job, she may learn or teach you new skills, hard work will be required but you/she will have the self-ego, confidence to pull through and benefit etc.

Periods of the lord of the 7th house give power to your relations and your ability to relate to others. You will be more in on-one partnerships which may be business, marriage, finances, material, emotional or even spiritual. The focus will be on partnerships linked to the social or legal structure. Marriage, business partnerships, gains, contracts, legal instruments, financial gains will all be possible. During this period you will be successful at bargains, agreements, diplomatic mediation etc, you will balance things and achieve harmony. “Feel good” all around. You might be involved in the concerns of your spouse, understand him/her better and generally have a good time, children may be born.  The 7th lord is a marak, the planet who times physical death. So if you have reached the limit of your allotted longevity, physical death can occur in this period. If you are spiritually inclined then you will make progress in your search for Yourself.

Now you might be wondering, the Sun and Moon own a single sign each, all other planets own two signs each. The planet will activate both his houses where ever his signs are placed. Both will be in the focus.

This effect is seen most vividly in Aries and Libra ascendants where the Ascendant lord, Mars/ Venus rules the 1st and 8th houses. In Taurus and Scorpio Ascendants, Venus/ Mars rule the 1st and 6th houses. And to some extent with the Aquarius ascendant where Saturn rules the 1st and 12th houses. Here the ascendant lord himself rules the main rising house and a house of turmoil/ dushamsthan.

Time periods of the ruler of the 8th house will give your forceful sudden changes. Depending on the chart this change can be on medical, financial, social (especially spouse’s family), emotional, occult, etc levels. Death generally does not occur in this period. This house changes not just on the physical level, it is very deeply within your inner spiritual levels too. If you can recognise this, you can navigate successfully. Depending on the nature of the planet involved you can anticipate, e.g. Mars is decisive action, in a sharp cut, you may undergo a long-pending surgery which will improve your health. If Venus is involved here, you will find the change forcing agents to be linked to relationships or money, e.g some secrets linked to these may come up and you will act to restore balance. Accept the change, you cannot hold back to the old when the 8th house in involved, if you do it will give you pain.  Especially Aries and Libra ascendants be ready to change, and more so for Libra ascendant as Venus Mahadasha is the longest at 20yrs! A continued period creation, destruction and recreation of the personality/environment.

The gift of the 8th house is that it gives you a fresh new outlook and a new set of expectations in life.

If you are seeing possibly negative results, you should analyse the Saturn transits (2.5yrs per sign) and Rahu/Ketu transits (1.5yrs per sign) and Jupiter transits (1 yr per sign). These can either intensify the result or grant some relief depending on where they are located in transit. Saturn acts as a brake, you are required to endure. Rahu will pull you wildly into the experiences of that house, Ketu will make you indifferent to them and Jupiter will expand whatever it signifies. Now use these keywords logically. e.g. The changes triggered by the 8th house will be just as deep but their quality will be modified, with Saturn they can take longer to complete and you will be required to endure patiently.

Periods of the ruler of the 9th house are the high points in life and should be utilised intelligently. Marriage, birth of children, growth, maturity, development of the personality, new directions in profession, you might take up a teaching type of job, help from seniors, travel opportunities, pilgrimages, blessings from the ancestral spirits and advantages in the society are all possible. A deeper understanding of all aspects of life is gift from the 9th house. You become more ‘heavy’, the understanding of your life experiences now reflects in your aura. Realisation, philosophy, acceptance are the keywords here.

The physical age in which the house is activated should be considered. e.g. in the period of the ruler of the 5th house of a 60yr old woman, you cannot predict birth of her children! Always keep the age, home-culture and social context in mind while predicting results.

The period of the 10th house is always linked to the social and professional life. If this period occurs after you start your independent life, i.e. After your 20’s, it can be more fruitfully utilised. If this happens in early life, your birth father will benefit in terms of professional success and social mobility thus you as a child will be benefitted through him. New job opportunities, increase in salaried income, new responsibilities, social recognition etc, but first and foremost duty is demanded. You will be required to perform your visible public duties. But remember this house is the karmic mirror of the 4th so you may neglect your home in favour of your work-place, so try to balance both aspects of your life. You will gain social respect, but wealth will increase with your salary. Speculation and financial asset creation will not be really possible here. The only exception is the Aries ascendant where the same planet Saturn rules the 10th and 11th house, thus gives both lucky money and social respect.

The Birth Moon chart provides valuable insights always. To know if you are going to enjoy this period of professional success on the emotional levels too, check out the house located 10th from the birth moon. If there are positive influences here you have the best of both worlds, you will enjoy a materially and emotionally satisfying career.

The period of the 11th house ruler is very favourable. This house is all about ’Acceptance’, you are accepted in every sort of environment and you are permitted to operate here. You are not barred from any activity, and risk-taking is also permitted. There are no restrictions! So depending on the power of the house in your chart, this period can give very high gains. Friendship, large social groups, like-minded community, interlinked networks will all be active and expand. You will meet new people. You might receive prizes, public recognition in-addition to financial gains. Whatever you have laid down in your life as of now you will reap its results. You might gain from your father’s family. You will be lucky, so speculation and financial asset creation is possible. Anything that can be inter-linked will be available and anything that can give gains will benefit. You have the widest scope possible here to further your material and social goals. Children getting married is one possible result, giving advantages in every way.

Period of the 12th house lord is a time of retreat. One way or the other you will be put in seclusion. The vitality and activity of the physical body is reduced in some way. You will be distanced from material concerns. Travel, either to foreign lands or to the meditative sub-conscious states is possible. Depending on how this house is placed, you can be required to live in a research lab, forestland, prison, hospital. Activities of the bedroom or the mediation room, take your pick. You might sleep more, travel astrally more, develop ESP and clairsentience, receive guidance of the ancestor spirits etc. If this period occurs after mid-life it is more manageable, but if it comes when you are supposed to be active in life it can cause problems. If this occurs in the teen age, you might suddenly withdraw from your social life, might lose interest in keeping the physical body attractive, self image might shatter, just as you are entering social life, this can be especially traumatic. These are ‘dissolving’ energies, so the teenager will not be interested in learning art/ craft/ life-skills/ athletics etc normal teenage activity. As the Mahadasha ends, you will regain your interest in your physical body/environment.

One special case here, if Mercury is the ruler of the 12th and his period occurs in childhood/early life he will continue for his 17yr period and this will be followed in sequence by Ketu Mahadasha for 7 years. Ketu is naturally separative so this will be a seamless 24yrs of separative energies.

The Vimshottari mahadasha which you begin with at birth is important as it leaves its mark on the nurture you receive as a baby/child. If by chance you start off with the period of the ruler of a Dushamsthan it causes a lifetime of repressed trauma. e.g. A baby born beginning with the 6th rulers period, will suffer illnesses at birth, neglect, lack of nutrition/parental love and nurture. A baby in the 8th house ruler’s period might require medical interventions which will impact his entire life. A baby beginning with the 12th lord’s period will suffer isolation and maybe invalid. Such babies/young children need proper medical and emotional care.

Astrology is about recognising patterns and then predicting. So here was a framework post, which you can use as a starting point to analyse your own chart.