How a Month's Shubh Muhurat Is Chosen

The Hindu month used for muhurta is lunar. Shukla paksha runs from the new Moon toward the full Moon, and krishna paksha runs back. Each tithi is one thirtieth of the full circle of elongation between Moon and Sun. A civil month such as October can hold the end of one lunar month and the start of the next, so a headline that says October does not name a single paksha. That is why a list for October 2021 cannot be lifted into a later October.

Rikta tithis are the 4th, the 9th, and the 14th of a paksha. They are set aside for many shubha starts: a wedding, a griha pravesh, a new shop. Amavasya is avoided for marriage. Bhadra, which is Vishti karana, half of a tithi, is avoided for the same starts. None of these bans is a personal unlucky date from a birth month. They are properties of the panchang of the place, and they shift with the Moon.

A good tithi with a poor lagna is not a finished muhurta. The sign rising at that hour is the 1st house of the election chart. For work meant to last, fixed lagnas are preferred. The birth city of the person, and the city where the act will happen, both matter, because the zone offset, including daylight saving where it is observed, changes what is rising. October 2021's table is a record. The next ceremony needs a new one.