Saturn in Magha Nakshatra (Shani in मघा)

Magha, the 10th of the 27 nakshatras, covers 120°00′ – 133°20′ of the sidereal zodiac, wholly inside Leo. Magha is ruled by Ketu, so Saturn in Magha stands in Ketu’s star.

Ketu’s row in the friendship lists counts Saturn a friend; Saturn’s own row names no node, so Saturn’s view of the lord of Magha has no entry, and this page does not supply one. The other two nakshatras Ketu rules, Ashwini and Mula, put Saturn under the same star lord.

Saturn in Magha, Pada by Pada

By rashi, Saturn is in an enemy's sign in all four padas of Magha, because the whole nakshatra lies in Leo. By navamsa the four padas fall in Aries, Taurus, Gemini and Cancer. Saturn’s strongest navamsas in Magha are padas 2 (Taurus, in a friend's sign) and 3 (Gemini, in a friend's sign), and its weakest is pada 1 (Aries, debilitated).

Magha pada 1 (Leo 0°00′ – 3°20′) is gandanta: one of the six padas on the junction of a water sign and the fire sign after it, and Saturn placed in that quarter of Magha sits on the junction itself.

Neither Saturn’s deepest exaltation (Libra) nor its deepest debilitation (Aries) degree falls inside Magha, and Saturn’s moolatrikona lies outside it as well, so in Magha the rashi and navamsa verdicts above are the whole of Saturn’s dignity.

When Saturn Is in Magha, 2026–2028

Saturn does not enter Magha at any point between 1 January 2026 and 1 January 2029. It stands in Purva Bhadrapada when the table opens and in Ashwini when it closes, having visited 5 of the 27 nakshatras, and from Ashwini Magha is 9 nakshatras further on. So Saturn in Magha is, for these years, a birth-chart placement and not a transit anyone can wait for.

Magha as the Setting for Saturn

In the nakshatra tables Magha’s deity is listed as Pitrs and its symbol as throne; its gana is Rakshasa, and the muhurta texts put it in the Ugra class (fierce). Those belong to Magha whichever graha is in it, and they are read on the Magha page. What changes with Saturn is everything above: the dignities in Leo, the relation to Ketu, and the dates. None of it is a prediction for anyone born with Saturn in Magha; the house it occupies and the dasha running decide what the placement does in a chart.

Related Placements

The sign-level reading is on Saturn in Leo; Saturn in all 27 nakshatras is on the Saturn nakshatra table. For the nakshatras themselves, see the 27 nakshatras guide and our Magha article.

The Other Grahas in Magha