Tithi (Lunar Days) Astrology

Astrology is the astute study based on scientific calculations of constellations and planetary movements that influence people's lives. As the markers of time, planetary movements allow people to understand time cycles, from birth till the end of life. One of the important concepts to be studied is Tithis in Astrology. A Tithi is the first phase/portion of the 16 phases of the Moon. It's a lunar day. There are 15 Tithis in the complete waxing cycle of the Moon (Shukla Paksha or the brighter phase) that commences from Amavasya (the last day of the dark half of a lunar month) and ends at Purnima (Full Moon). Similarly, the other 15 Tithis are a part of the waning cycle of the moon (Krishna Paksha or the darker phase) that starts from the Purnima and ends at Amavasya.

When studying astrology by date of birth and astrology predictions, the Tithi is defined based on the correlation between the Sun and the Moon. The first Tithi is 12° of the Moon away from the Sun after the New Moon or Full Moon (Amavasya or Purnima). The second Tithi is the next 12-degree of the Moon away from the Sun. Unlike days that are defined by the Tithi at sunrise, the Tithis can change any time of the day or night as they aren't defined by the Solar day. There's no specific good tithi for birth, but all individuals born in specific Tithis have certain qualities as we will see in the following passage.

Based on Indian Astrology, Tithi in the birth chart is the time during which the difference of the increment of longitude of the Sun and the Moon amounts to 12. Each Tithi or Lunar day is equal to 0.9483 of a day so that a lunar month when the Moon completes a 360-degree rotation, is equal to about 29.53 days.

Significance of Tithis and Pakshas in Astrology by Date of Birth

In scientific terms, tithis in astrology is one of the five elements of the Hindu Panchang, while the rest 5 are Nakshatra, yoga, Vara, and Karana. The duration of each Tithi can vary between 21.5 hours to 26 hours. The traditional Indian Hindu calendar and nearly all Hindu festivals are defined as per Tithi.

According to Vedic astrology, an individual's birth Tithi can have a major influence on their life and personality. Tithis in astrology also forms the basis for identifying auspicious and inauspicious muhurats for important occasions. For instance, if we study astrology by date of birth and astrology predictions, someone who's born in the Shukla paksha or a Krishna paksha baby boy will have similar characteristics if their Tithis are the same. It is believed that the characteristics of an individual born on the same Tithi of the increasing or decreasing lunar cycle are the same. However, it's not the case with people who have Amavasya as their birth Tithi.

According to Tithis in Astrology, a child born in Shukla paksha is known to be rich, hardworking, and exceptionally knowledgeable when it comes to the Shastras. He/she will be a brilliant and supremely learned individual and will also know how to progress in his/her life. Other than pakshas, another factor that defines our personality and fate is whether we're born during the daytime or at night or on any specific Tithi.

As per astrology, people/babies born on Amavasya day are slow at learning things and gaining knowledge when they're young, but as they start growing up, they begin creating an impact to not only change the things around them but also to create an impression on the people in their environment. Such children, when considered carefully, are somewhat offbeat and tend to focus on self-realization and acquiring political knowledge. Many astrologers believe that childbirth during Amavasya tithi is inauspicious because it's believed that negative energy is more effective on the New Moon night and the child born on Amavasya may have some defects in his/her horoscope.

Influence of Tithis

Indian astrology's "Yavana Jathaka" states that the influence of Tithis (Lunar days) on a person born in a particular 'Tithi' is:

1^st Pratipada - The person born in this lunar day will have a good wife and might also indulge in extra-marital relationships.
2^nd Dwitiya - The person born on this day will seek the truth. They will be liked by all and will be skilled at using weapons. This person will be happy right from the time of birth, and will also be attentive to his/her work.
3^rd Tritiya - Those born on this day will be immoral and might enjoy the company of other immoral people. They will, advertently or inadvertently, harm others because of their tremendous negative energy.
4^th Charturthi - Those born on this day will be greedy and will not be helpful to others. They will also be secretive, fierce, adventurous, fickle-minded, and crafty.
5^th Panchami - Those born on this day will be intelligent and will be blessed with a long life. They will have a strong moral character.
6^th Shrishti - Those born on this day will have more male progeny. They will look for sensual pleasures and will have a big circle of friends.
7^th Saptami - Those born on this day will be rich and will possess good character. They will respect elders and learned men.
8^th Ashtami - People born on Ashtami are faithful to their spouses, have many interests, and speak well.
9^th Navami - Those born on this day will be passionate and courageous. They will be interested in pursuing arts and will be deadly to their opponents.
10^th Dasami - Those born on this day will be highly successful in business pursuits. They will be highly intelligent, well-versed in sciences, and will have strong convictions.
11^th Ekadasi - Those born on this day will be unprincipled. They will be jealous of other's progress. Their mind will be occupied by thoughts of cohabiting with women.
12^th Dwadasi - The person born on this day will be popular with women and will amass wealth. This person will have many enemies but will handle them intelligently.
13^th Trayodasi - The person born on this day will have a wide circle of relatives who will make them happy. This person will be pure at heart and will enjoy good health. They will do everything with great care and perfection.
14^th Chaturadasi - The persons born on this day will have a healthy body and a great personality. They will have convictions of their own on everything.
15^{th(in the bright half of the month)} Pournami - The person born on this day will keep long hair, live up to 80 years of age, and will be highly fortunate in all undertakings.
15^{th (in the dark half of the month)} Amavasya - The person born on this day will become deadly to opponents and will enjoy a good life.

Shukla Paksha starts 15 tithis from New Moon (Amavasya) to Full Moon (Poornima).
Krishna Paksha starts 15 Tithis from Full Moon (Poornima) to New Moon (Amavasya).

Tithis are also broken down into five groups given below

The Tithis are divided into five groups

Nanda (Ananda or Joyous) tithis - Prathipada (1st), Shasti(6th) and Ekadashi.
Bhadra (Arogya or Mangala or Healthy) tithis Dwitiya (2nd) - Saptami (7th) and Dwadashi (12th) good for stating new work.
Jaya (Victory) Tithis Tuesday Tritiya (3rd), Ashtami (8th ) and Trtayodashi (13th) good for winning over enemies.
Rikkta (Loss or Nashta) Tithis - Saturday Chathurthi (4th), Navami (9th) and Chaturdasi (14th) not good for any important work, so it is avoided