Timing technique
Firdaria: the planetary chapters of your life.
Imagine your life as a book where each chapter has a narrator. For 10 years it is the Sun, then Venus for 8, then Mercury for 13. That is the firdaria, a Persian timing method that tells you which planet is running your life right now. It needs only your birth date and whether you were born by day or by night.
Where it comes from
The firdaria (also written firdar or fardar) come from Persian astrology and were passed on by authors such as Abu Ma'shar in the 9th century, then by medieval astrologers like Guido Bonatti. The planet in charge of a chapter is called a time lord: during its years, its story in your chart moves to the front.
Born by day: the Sun opens
If the Sun was above the horizon at your birth, the order is: Sun 10 years, Venus 8, Mercury 13, Moon 9, Saturn 11, Jupiter 12, Mars 7, then the North Node 3 and the South Node 2. That makes 75 years, then the cycle starts again with the Sun.
So a person born by day lives the Venus chapter from 10 to 18, Mercury from 18 to 31 and the Moon from 31 to 40.
Born by night: the Moon opens
If you were born at night, the Moon opens and the same order follows: Moon 9, Saturn 11, Jupiter 12, Mars 7, North Node 3, South Node 2, Sun 10, Venus 8, Mercury 13. This is the most common version. Some astrologers, following Bonatti, place the two nodes at the very end for night charts instead, so check which rule a book or a program uses.
Sub-periods: the chapter's guests
Each planetary chapter is cut into seven equal parts. The chapter's own planet takes the first part, then the other planets follow in Chaldean order: Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury, Moon. In a 10 year Sun chapter each part lasts about 17 months. The node chapters are not divided.
How to read your chapter
A chapter is as easy as its lord is in your chart. Look at the planet's sign, its house, whether it belongs to your sect (day or night), its aspects and the houses it rules. A strong, well placed Jupiter gives a generous chapter. A Saturn that is out of sect and in a difficult house asks for patience.
Then cross it with the other techniques. When the firdaria lord is also the lord of your profection year, or is touched by a big transit, that year usually stands out.
Take the firdaria class
Six minutes, an interactive timeline where you move the marker to your age, and a quiz to check you got it.
Open the classQuestions
Do I need my birth time for the firdaria?
You need to know whether you were born by day or by night, so a rough birth time is enough, unless you were born close to sunrise or sunset.
How long is a full firdaria cycle?
75 years. After that the cycle starts again from the first planet.
Which firdaria am I in at 35?
Born by day: the Moon chapter, from 31 to 40. Born by night with the nodes after Mars: the Jupiter chapter, from 20 to 32, has just ended, and Mars runs from 32 to 39.
Is firdaria the same as zodiacal releasing?
No. Both are time lord methods, but zodiacal releasing uses signs and the Lots, while the firdaria use planets in a fixed order of years. They work well side by side.
