I don't know my birth time: what can an astrologer still read?
A birth date with no time leaves the ascendant open, but not the whole chart, and every clue about the part of the day shrinks what is left.
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I have my date and place of birth but no time at all. My parents only say it was a weekday. Can you still make my kundli?
Yes, partly. From the date I can place the planets and usually your Moon sign. To find the ascendant, tell me anything about the day: sunrise, school hours, a meal, a festival. Dated events from your life help after that.
Short answer
Without a birth time, an astrologer can still read the slow planets and, on most days, your Moon sign from the date alone. The ascendant and houses stay open until a clue narrows the day, dated life events fix it, or a prashna chart rebuilds it, as Prasna Marga's chapter on lost horoscopes describes. On Kismo, verified Vedic astrologers do this by chat or call, online from anywhere.
What are the key facts about unknown birth time?
| Answer | |
|---|---|
| Your situation | You know the birth date and place, but nobody recorded or remembers the time |
| What the date fixes | The sign of every planet except the Moon on 43.8% of days, when it changes sign (calculated) |
| What stays open | The ascendant, the houses, the navamsha ascendant and the exact dasha dates |
| Classical route | Nashta Jataka, rebuilding a lost chart from a question chart, Prasna Marga ch. 30 1 |
| What to bring | Date and place of birth, any clue about the part of the day, and dated life events |
| Session on Kismo | From ₹15 a minute, 5 free minutes in the first session, online from anywhere in India and abroad |
What does an astrologer check when the birth time is unknown?
- Whether the Moon changes sign on the birth day. If it does not, the Moon sign is settled from the date; the Moon changes sign on 43.8% of days in a calculation of 3,000 random days 2.
- Which nakshatras the Moon passes through that day. On 93.4% of days it touches two, so the birth star may need a clue to settle 2.
- Any anchor for the part of the day: before sunrise, after school started, at the evening lamp. Each anchor cuts the 12 possible ascendants down to a few.
- Dated life events, which are tested against the dashas of each remaining candidate chart.
- Whether you want a prashna instead. Prasna Marga ch. 30 rebuilds the birth star, the ascendant and the positions of Jupiter and the Sun from the chart of the question 1.
What changes the answer when nobody knows the birth time?
- Any clue about the part of the day. Before sunrise, during school hours or after the evening meal turns a 24-hour search into a few hours.
- Whether the Moon changed sign that day. If it did not, Moon-sign readings, sade sati and the guna score of a match stand on the date alone.
- How many exactly dated events you have. Marriage, a child's birth or a parent's death with the full date helps more than years alone.
- Whether you accept a prashna. Some families trust only a birth chart; a question chart answers today's question but is a different kind of reading.
How much does knowing only the part of the day narrow the ascendant?
Knowing a 1-hour window leaves one or two ascendant signs, while a 6-hour window like morning leaves three to five. Calculated from public astronomical data with the open-source astronomia library 2, for 3,000 random birth days in Delhi from 1960 to 2005, scanned every 5 minutes.
| What you know | Ascendant signs still possible |
|---|---|
| A 1-hour window | 1 sign in 51.2% of days, 2 signs in 48.8% |
| A 2-hour window | 1 sign in 7.5%, 2 in 84.2%, 3 in 8.2% |
| A 4-hour window | 2 signs in 14.9%, 3 in 70.3%, 4 in 14.8% |
| A 6-hour window, such as morning | 3 signs in 20.0%, 4 in 59.1%, 5 in 20.9% |
| The date only | All 12 signs |
The Moon side is kinder. In the same days the Moon stayed in one nakshatra all day only 4.5% of the time, touched two in 93.4% and three in 2.1% 2. So a clue about morning or evening often settles the birth star even when the ascendant stays open.
What does Prasna Marga say about a horoscope with no birth time?
Prasna Marga treats a lost birth time as its own subject, Nashta Jataka, in chapter 30. The notes say that when a person does not know the birth time or has no horoscope, a birth chart can still be prepared by set rules 1.
The first rule finds the birth star by arithmetic. Each sign carries a number, Aries 12, Taurus 5, Gemini 10 and so on to Pisces 7; the number of the question's arudha sign is taken from 49, multiplied by 7 and divided by 27 1. The remainder, counted from Ashwini, is the birth star.
The book works one example through. With Scorpio as the arudha, 49 minus 11 is 38, times 7 is 266, and 266 divided by 27 leaves 23, so the birth star is Dhanishta 1.
Stanza 3 uses the same table for three more points: 42 for Jupiter, 35 for the ascendant and 28 for the Sun 1. Stanzas 5 to 9 then list nimittas, signs seen or heard at the moment of the question, such as a goat for an Aries Moon or fishing nets for Pisces 1.
| Prasna Marga ch. 30 | What it finds | How |
|---|---|---|
| Stanza 2 | Birth star | 49 minus the arudha sign's number, times 7, remainder after 27 |
| Stanza 3 | Stars of Jupiter, the ascendant and the Sun | Base numbers 42, 35 and 28 with the same sign table |
| Stanza 4 | Birth star, second method | The Moon's progress in its navamsha in ghatis, times 9, remainder after 27 |
| Stanzas 5 to 9 | The birth Moon sign | Objects, animals or words noticed when the question is asked |
The translator is candid about the limits. He notes that the two methods of stanza 4 can give different stars and that which one to take is left in doubt 1. He also writes that an astrologer who works by nimittas should be highly experienced and live simply and truthfully 1.
Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra assumes a birth ascendant exists. Its chapter 4, verses 26 to 29, builds the conception chart from the natal ascendant, using Saturn's mandi point among the steps 3. Without a birth time, that whole branch of the text cannot start.
What happens in a session when the birth time is unknown?
A session for an unknown birth time usually moves from what the date settles to what the clues and events settle. This is an example of how many astrologers structure it, not a real client's chat.
- The astrologer casts the chart for the date and place and says which parts are fixed: the slow planets, and the Moon sign if it did not change that day.
- The astrologer asks for clues about the part of the day and marks the ascendant signs that fit them.
- The astrologer asks for dated life events and checks each remaining chart's dashas against them.
- If no time fits well, the astrologer offers a prashna for the question you came with, and says plainly that it answers the question, not the birth chart.
- The astrologer tells you which readings are safe without the time and which should wait.
What do people get wrong about this?
Belief: Without a birth time, no kundli can be made at all.
The date places every planet's sign, and the Moon's on the 56.2% of days it does not change sign 2. Prasna Marga ch. 30 goes further and rebuilds a full chart from a question 1.
Belief: A kundli app that asks no time has found my real ascendant.
An app without a time has to assume one, often noon or sunrise. Across a whole day all 12 ascendant signs rise 2, so an ascendant from an assumed time is a placeholder.
Before you pay anyone
How do you know an astrologer is genuine?
- Every Kismo astrologer passes four steps: qualification review, panel interview, live audits of real sessions, 30-day probation.
- Nobody can guarantee an outcome. Treat any promise of a fixed result as a red flag.
- Never pay for an expensive puja or ritual under pressure. Get a second opinion first.
- On Kismo you only pay for the minutes you use; misconduct, pressure or a request for money outside the app is handled by a person.
Which astrologers can I talk to about unknown birth time?
How does a consultation on Kismo work?
- Log in on kismo.app or get the app from Google Play.
- Pick an astrologer who speaks your language and works with your question.
- Share your date, time and place of birth.
- Ask by chat or call. The first session carries 5 free minutes, then each minute is billed from your wallet.
Questions worth asking in the session
- Which parts of my chart can you read from the date alone?
- Does my Moon change sign or nakshatra on my birth day?
- Which ascendant signs fit the clue I have about the time of day?
- Would you use my life events, a prashna, or both?
- Which readings should I hold off on until the time is narrowed?
What should I know before booking a session about unknown birth time?
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What does a session cost? | Each astrologer sets one rate for chat and call, from ₹15 a minute. A 10-minute session at ₹15 a minute costs ₹150 (October 2026). |
| Is the first session free? | 5 free minutes on the first session, no card. |
| Chat or call? | Both. You choose when you start the session. |
| Do I need an exact birth time? | It helps. Without one an astrologer can still read your Moon sign and planets by sign, or work out the time with you. |
| Is my chat private? | Your chat is not shown to other clients. How Kismo handles your data is set out in its privacy policy at kismo.app/privacy. |
| What if I am not happy? | There is no refund for a reading you did not like. Misconduct, pressure or a request for money outside Kismo is handled by a person. |
| Where does it work? | Online, from anywhere in India and abroad. People use Kismo from 80+ countries. |
What else do people ask an astrologer about?
How does Kismo compare with other apps?
Questions people ask
Can I make my kundli without a birth time?
Yes, a kundli can be made without a birth time, but only part of it is reliable. The date places the planets in their signs and fixes the Moon sign on days the Moon does not change sign. The ascendant, the houses and exact dasha dates need the time. Ask the astrologer to mark which parts of the chart are certain.
Can I find my birth time from my rashi and nakshatra?
Only roughly. Your nakshatra, if someone recorded it at birth, tells you which part of the day the Moon was in that star, often a span of several hours. That narrows the window but does not give the ascendant. Combine it with any other clue and with dated life events.
What is nashta jataka?
Nashta jataka means a lost or unknown horoscope. It is the name of chapter 30 of Prasna Marga, which gives rules to rebuild a birth chart from the chart of the moment someone asks. It uses arithmetic on the signs and signs noticed at that moment. Its translator flags where its methods disagree.
What can an astrologer tell me if I only know my birth date?
With only your birth date, an astrologer can read the signs of the planets, your Moon sign on most days, sade sati and other transits counted from the Moon, and a guna score for matching. Readings about career or marriage houses need the ascendant, so the astrologer should say they are provisional.
How long does it take a Kismo astrologer to work out an unknown birth time?
It depends on your clues and events, so many people split it over more than one session on Kismo. The first session carries 5 free minutes, and after that you pay the astrologer's rate, from ₹15 a minute, only for minutes used. Kismo is an app where you talk to verified Vedic astrologers by chat or call, in 16 languages.
An astrologer gave me an exact birth time in two minutes without asking anything. Should I trust it?
No, a time produced without any events, clues or a stated method is a warning sign. Ask how the time was found and how wide the range is. A careful astrologer explains each step. On Kismo, after a session you are suggested up to three other astrologers for a second opinion.
Talk to an astrologer about unknown birth time
Kismo is an app where you talk to verified Vedic astrologers by chat or call, in 16 languages.
On an iPhone, log in on kismo.app in your browser.
Where do these facts come from?
- Prasna Marga, part 2 (tr. B. V. Raman), chapter 30: Nashta Jataka, stanzas 1 to 9 and notes, Internet Archive. Accessed .
- astronomia: astronomical algorithms after Jean Meeus (open-source library used for the calculations), GitHub, commenthol. Accessed .
- Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra, chapter 4, verses 25 to 30: the birth ascendant and the conception chart, Enjoy Learning Sanskrit. Accessed .
