How exact does your birth time need to be?

Start with the ascendant degree

What should you do if you do not know the exact minute of birth? People often tell me they remember a time such as 2:30 p.m. but do not know the exact minute. The good news is that there can be some leeway, and that leeway can be up to two hours.

To identify how time-sensitive your birth chart is, find the degree of your rising sign, also known as your ascendant degree.

When you may have some leeway

On a Vedic astrology website, you can obtain the degree value. If your rising sign is Gemini at 15 degrees, for example, you have roughly a one-hour buffer on either side in the method I am describing. Even if the birth took place one hour earlier or later, the chart would remain the same in this example.

When the chart is time-sensitive

If the rising-sign degree is close to the beginning or end of the sign, such as 3 degrees or 29 degrees, the birth chart becomes much more time-sensitive. In that situation, just a few minutes can change the chart.

That is why the exact time of birth can be very important.