Thai Astrology Weekday Numbers (๑–๘) and the Story of Lucky Numbers

Thai numerals and weekday numbers

In Thailand you often see Thai numerals ๐ ๑ ๒ ๓ ๔ ๕ ๖ ๗ ๘ ๙ beside Arabic numerals. In astrology books these numerals serve as numbers for the stars: ๑ is 1 and ๘ is 8.

In explaining thaksa naming, a paper by Amnat Paksasuk of Thammasat University gives the numbers of the eight stars this way. 1 is the Sun, for people born on Sunday; 2 is the Moon, for Monday; 3 is Mars, for Tuesday; 4 is Mercury, for Wednesday daytime; 5 is Jupiter, for Thursday; 6 is Venus, for Friday; 7 is Saturn, for Saturday; and 8 is Rahu, for Wednesday night.

Weekday numbers at a glance

1 (๑): Sunday, the Sun

2 (๒): Monday, the Moon

3 (๓): Tuesday, Mars

4 (๔): Wednesday daytime, Mercury

5 (๕): Thursday, Jupiter

6 (๖): Friday, Venus

7 (๗): Saturday, Saturn

8 (๘): Wednesday night, Rahu

An easy way to remember: the seven weekdays take 1 to 7 from Sunday to Saturday, and Rahu, who stands for Wednesday night, gets 8. A number 9 that would include Ketu is not used in this system.

Why is the thaksa number order 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 5, 8, 6?

The order in which the eight stars fill the eight thaksa positions is 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 5, 8, 6. In names, that is the Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Saturn, Jupiter, Rahu and Venus. What stands out is that it is not numerical order: Saturn (7) and Jupiter (5), and Rahu (8) and Venus (6), have swapped places.

The paper explains that this order matches an arrangement that goes around the eight compass directions. There is no official explanation for why this order in particular, but the numbers are only name tags for the stars and do not signify size or rank. It may look strange that 7 comes before 5, but remember that larger or smaller numbers carry no meaning.

Placing the numbers by your own weekday

The first position (The People Around Me) gets the number of your birth weekday, and the rest follow the arrangement above. Born on Sunday: The People Around Me 1, life force 2, influence 3, fortune 4, foundation 7, effort 5, support 8, what to watch carefully 6. Born on Monday: The People Around Me 2, life force 3, influence 4, fortune 7, foundation 5, effort 8, support 6, what to watch carefully 1.

A Sanook article on thaksa lucky numbers uses the frame like this. If you wish to strengthen wealth (foundation), for example, look up the number that falls on the “foundation” position in the thaksa chart for your birth weekday. It remains a matter of taste and tradition, and there is no basis to think a number produces an outcome.

Reading numerals ๑ to ๙

Being able to read Thai numerals makes astrology books and temple signs more fun. ๐ is 0, ๑ is 1, ๒ is 2, ๓ is 3, ๔ is 4, ๕ is 5, ๖ is 6, ๗ is 7, ๘ is 8 and ๙ is 9. Their shapes look nothing like Arabic numerals so they feel unfamiliar at first, but recognizing just the eight from ๑ to ๘ used as weekday numbers is enough.

The number for Rahu is ๘. Thai Wikipedia also says Rahu is represented by the numeral ๘.

Writing numbers in a journal

The easiest way to use the numbers is a journal. At the end of the day, write as a single number which of the eight positions in your thaksa stayed with you most today. For example, if you were born on Sunday and felt “today was a day of effort”, write 5, the number of the effort position. A week later you can see at a glance which areas your mind spent time on.

Used as name tags like this, numbers are useful even if you do not believe astrology’s results. They become a tool for looking back over your life.

Placing numbers for other weekdays

To get used to the arrangement, here are a few more weekdays. The rule is the same: put the number of your birth weekday in the first position and follow the cycle 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 5, 8, 6.

Born on Friday (6): The People Around Me 6, life force 1, influence 2, fortune 3, foundation 4, effort 7, support 5, what to watch carefully 8.

Born on Saturday (7): The People Around Me 7, life force 5, influence 8, fortune 6, foundation 1, effort 2, support 3, what to watch carefully 4.

Born on Wednesday night (8): The People Around Me 8, life force 6, influence 1, fortune 2, foundation 3, effort 4, support 7, what to watch carefully 5.

The tables show the same number sitting in a very different position for each weekday. The number 1 is The People Around Me on Sunday, life force on Friday and influence on Wednesday night. A number has no good or bad of its own; what changes is where it lands when your own weekday is the starting point.

Other number stories and enjoying them lightly

Thai astrology has other ways of using birth numbers. According to the Thailand Foundation, King Rama IV devised a formula that adds up the year, month and day of birth, reduces the sum to a single digit and interprets life by that digit. It is a method that resembles Western numerology.

The best way to enjoy numbers is to treat them as name tags of your own. For instance, write the number of your weekday on your phone wallpaper or on the first page of a notebook and use it as a ritual for checking in on today’s mood. Using numbers for financial decisions such as lotteries or gambling is not something Horasat recommends. Please use numbers only as a light tool for starting your own story.