Planetary hours are periods of time during the day that are ruled by the Seven Planetary Governors.
The idea that each time period is ruled by a planetary spirit can be found most clearly spelled out in Trithemius' De Septum Secundius, the Seven Secondary Intelligences. He explains how each of the Planetary Governors rules over a period of time that lasts 354 years, and tracks it back to the beginning of time as he knew it. He shows how the events of each age demonstrate the nature of the ruling spirit.
Similarly, each day of the week is ruled by a planetary governor, and each hour of each day is ruled by a planetary governor. When you are planning planetary magic, the most potent time to perform a ritual is during the Planetary Hour of the Planetary Day. The ruler of the Day has the most influence during his assigned hours of his assigned days. It's easier to establish communications during this time, an the powers he can bring to bear are strongest.
In The Art of Drawing Spirits into Crystals, Trithemius provides tables showing which Angels rule each of the Seven Days. Each day is divided into 24 hours, and one of the seven Planetary Spirits governs that hour. That means that it's a good time to create planetary talismans, and to conjure the assigned planetary spirits.
The time period covered by a planetary hour is seldom 60 minutes long. Sometimes a planetary hour lasts an hour and twenty minutes, other times only forty-five minutes. This happens because the "hours" are divided into two equal sets of twelve time periods, twelve during the day, and twelve during the night. Due to the rotation of the Earth, summer day hours are longer than summer night hours.
To calculate the time periods represented by a "planetary hour," the magician must figure out how many actual hours there will be during the day, from sunrise to sunset. Find the times of sunrise and sunset, and sum up the total number of hours and minutes that pass between the two. I convert it all to minutes and divide that total by 12. You do the same for the night hours, measuring the amount of time between sunset and the following sunrise, and dividing that total by 12.
Once you know the length of time each planetary hour will last, you can begin to chart the planets that rule each hour. Make a numbered list from one to twenty-four down the left side of a page. Write the Start and End Times of each Planetary Hour. Next you're ready to start adding the planets that rule each hour.
To figure out the first hour angel, you need to know what day it is. Each Day is ruled by one of the seven planets. The first planetary hour is always ruled by the same planet as the planetary day. Today is Friday, Freya-Day, and is ruled by Venus. The first hour of the day was also ruled by Venus. The following list shows the planetary rulers of each day.
- Sunday: The Sun
- Monday: The Moon
- Tuesday: Mars
- Wednesday: Mercury
- Thursday: Jupiter
- Friday: Venus
- Saturday: Saturn
Next to the starting and ending times for the first hour, write the name of the planet that rules the Day. The second hour is ruled by the next planet in the Chaldean Order of the Planets. Since today is Friday, the first hour is ruled by Venus, so the second hour will be ruled by Mercury, the third by the Moon, then we go back to the top of the list, so the Fourth is ruled by Saturn, Fifth by Jupiter, the Sixth by Mars, the Seventh by the Sun, and the Eighth by Venus again. The list continues through each of the Planetary Hours until you've got a ruler for all 24 time periods.
Note that the Planetary day begins at dawn and doesn't end until Sunrise the following morning. The day doesn't start at midnight.So if I were planning a ritual for Venus today, I could pick any Venus Hour between sunrise today and sunrise tomorrow, even though my calendar thinks it's Saturday starting at midnight. It's not magically Saturday until dawn.
Here's a neat little trick of the universe. Applying the order of the planets to the 24 hours of a day always results in the last hour of the day being ruled by the planet that precedes the ruler of the next day. So tomorrow is Saturday, ruled by Saturn. The first hour of tomorrow will be the Saturn Hour, so the last planetary hour today will be ruled by Jupiter. It always works out that way. The last hour of a Thursday has to be ruled by Mercury for the first hour of Friday to be ruled by Venus, and lo and behold, it always is.
The following table provides a quick guide for you to use to figure out the ruler of each hour of the day. You'll still have to figure out the start and finish time for each planetary hour of the day, but this gives you a quick reference:
| Day Hours | |||||||
| Hours | Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday |
| 1 | Sun | Moon | Mars | Mercury | Jupiter | Venus | Saturn |
| 2 | Venus | Saturn | Sun | Moon | Mars | Mercury | Jupiter |
| 3 | Mercury | Jupiter | Venus | Saturn | Sun | Moon | Mars |
| 4 | Moon | Mars | Mercury | Jupiter | Venus | Saturn | Sun |
| 5 | Saturn | Sun | Moon | Mars | Mercury | Jupiter | Venus |
| 6 | Jupiter | Venus | Saturn | Sun | Moon | Mars | Mercury |
| 7 | Mars | Mercury | Jupiter | Venus | Saturn | Sun | Moon |
| 8 | Sun | Moon | Mars | Mercury | Jupiter | Venus | Saturn |
| 9 | Venus | Saturn | Sun | Moon | Mars | Mercury | Jupiter |
| 10 | Mercury | Jupiter | Venus | Saturn | Sun | Moon | Mars |
| 11 | Moon | Mars | Mercury | Jupiter | Venus | Saturn | Sun |
| 12 | Saturn | Sun | Moon | Mars | Mercury | Jupiter | Venus |
| Night Hours | |||||||
| Hours | Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday |
| 1 | Jupiter | Venus | Saturn | Sun | Moon | Mars | Mercury |
| 2 | Mars | Mercury | Jupiter | Venus | Saturn | Sun | Moon |
| 3 | Sun | Moon | Mars | Mercury | Jupiter | Venus | Saturn |
| 4 | Venus | Saturn | Sun | Moon | Mars | Mercury | Jupiter |
| 5 | Mercury | Jupiter | Venus | Saturn | Sun | Moon | Mars |
| 6 | Moon | Mars | Mercury | Jupiter | Venus | Saturn | Sun |
| 7 | Saturn | Sun | Moon | Mars | Mercury | Jupiter | Venus |
| 8 | Jupiter | Venus | Saturn | Sun | Moon | Mars | Mercury |
| 9 | Mars | Mercury | Jupiter | Venus | Saturn | Sun | Moon |
| 10 | Sun | Moon | Mars | Mercury | Jupiter | Venus | Saturn |
| 11 | Venus | Saturn | Sun | Moon | Mars | Mercury | Jupiter |
| 12 | Mercury | Jupiter | Venus | Saturn | Sun | Moon | Mars |
Now, for those who can figure this out by hand, more power to you! I prefer to use software, such as SolarFire Gold, Timaeus, or ChronosXP. Online, you can find a planetary hour calculator at http://lunarium.co.uk. They also produce a "widget" for the personalized iGoogle home page that I use. You simply enter your location, and it displays the current and upcoming planetary hours for your location. It's pretty convenient, and takes a lot less time than figuring out sunrises and sunsets.
When planning your rituals, it is best to conjure the spirits during their planetary hour of their planetary day. If that's not possible, the next best time is during their planetary hour, according to Agrippa. So if you really need to do a Solar Conjuration rite, the Sun hour of Sunday is best, but any Sun hour of the week will do. The first time you conjure one of the Intelligences of a Planet, I strongly recommend that it be during the planetary hour of the planetary day. Make sure you include the phrase, "and return to me in power when I call you by your name and by your seal" in your license to depart, and that will pave the way for quick contact in case of emergency.
When scheduling your personal initiations into the spheres, try to find a planetary day and hour combined for the fullest effect.
Interesting that Agrippa said the planetary hour was stronger. Lisiewski also said that the power goes from the planetary hour to the planetary day. So, if it were Jupiter hour on a Venus day, the power easily flows down the "Tree" but if a Venus hour on a Jupiter day you get alot of resistance because the power does not so easily flow up the tree. I have often wondered how effective talismans and such might be if you use different planetary days and hours, such as Jupiter flowing to Venus which corresponds to the Wheel of Fortune of the tarot.
ReplyDeleteNote that the ease of the power flowing down the "Tree" is a reflection only of the Tree's layout. Flip Venus and Mercury, and you've got a different story altogether, a different interpretation. There is no Tree in my approach, only a series of concentric overlapping spheres.
ReplyDeleteEach planetary sphere has its roots in the spheres above and below it relative to the position of the Magician. There are essences of Jupiter in Venus, and Mars in the Sun. Everything that exists in Venus is a potential within Jupiter. They all work together in harmony.
Sometimes the harmony they work together in isn't something we want to hear at the moment.
Forgive this question as it may come off as a bit retarded but I've always been kind of curious.
ReplyDeleteAssuming that the planetary hour is short (as the nights are becoming) and your ritual setup takes a bit of time, you may miss the actual planetary hour when performing the evocation/conjuring if you begin the rite during the planetary hour.
Assuming that's the case, would it be better to *begin* the rite during the planetary hour or to try and time it so that the actual conjuration *takes place* with the planetary hour?
Again, sorry if that's a dumb question, I'm new to actually *doing* magick as opposed to just reading about it. Thanks :-)
It's a very good question, the kind that a magician actually doing (or really thinking through doing) the magic would ask.
ReplyDeleteThe selection of time periods for their auspicious qualities as bestowed by the stars is rooted in astrological election. Think about your natal chart; it's a reading on your whole life, but it is based on a snapshot of the moment you entered the world.
Astrological elections only matter for the moment you begin the event you're planning. As long as you begin the ritual that includes the conjuration during the right planetary hour, you're good.
So here is a question:
ReplyDeleteIf astronomically speaking the planet you want to work with is closer than normal, right over head or even better right in sight of you at your altar with a clear view, but astrologically speaking it is not the right day and hour would you ignore the astronomical position in favor of the days and hours?
I like Abramelins system better myself but I am curious as to your answer.
Something that is not in our traditional sources, but that I have observed and makes sense, is that in addition to the planetary day and hour, the Zodiacal state of the planet, most importantly the essential dignity or debility of the planet matters a great deal.
ReplyDeleteIf a planet is dignified, particularly by sign or exaltation, then the planetary hour will be even more powerful. If a planet is in detriment or fall, then you can get negative effects. I once made a Jupiter talisman, Jupiter day and hour, but Jupiter in detriment and retrograde and I lost money!
Christopher Warnock
Jason, I like the Abramelin theories too, but I've seen more power in the traditional astrological timing based on the spiritual math. Common sense tells you that a planet's power is going to be like the heat and light of the Sun, warmest and brightest when it's right over head than when it's on the other side of the planet relative to you, but these are spiritual forces, not physically radiant powers we're tapping into.
ReplyDeleteThe physical planet Mars isn't like a battery that radiates martial power into the universe. No scientific equipment will measure martial radiation that makes people more Martial spiritually the way Kammael does. The planet is a material manifestation that lets us chart the influence of martial power relative to the other astrological powers, but it's not the source of the Martial Current. It's a manifestation of the Martial current.
Planetary hours and days aren't based on the location of the planets at all. It's pure math based on Chaldean principles that are lost to us now, or at least, I haven't seen them. Why is Monday Monday and not Tuesday? Why does the Chaldean order of planets line up with a 24 hour cycle to perfectly leave the first hour of the day the ruling planet of that day? I'm sure it's on purpose, but I don't know why.
"Why does the Chaldean order of planets line up with a 24 hour cycle to perfectly leave the first hour of the day the ruling planet of that day? I'm sure it's on purpose, but I don't know why."
ReplyDeleteTake at look at http://www.renaissanceastrology.com/planetaryhoursarticle.html
First, the Chaldean Order of the planets is entirely natural since it follows their speeds from slowest to fastest, ie Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury, Moon as observed from earth.
Take the 7 planets and arrange them in a seven pointed star in the Chaldean Order. You can see this diagram on my webpage referenced above.
If you start with the Sun hour at Dawn on Sunday and go through the Chaldean Order the 24th hour of Sunday is Mercury hour, thus the next hour, the 1st hour of Monday is Moon hour. The 24th hour of Monday is Jupiter hour, so the 1st hour of Tuesday, again following the Chaldean Order is Mars hour.
You can see the more elaborate day and hour diagram I "manifested" also on my webpage.
The combination of the 7 planets and the 24 hours, plus the natural Chaldean Order produces the sequence of the planetary hours as well as the order of the days of the week. Very orderly, very logical and totally astrological.
Thank you very much! Comparing ritual timing to natal charts really helped me get it. I appreciate it, :-).
ReplyDelete