Planetary hours

The planetary hours are an ancient system in which one of the seven traditional naked eye planets is given rulership over each day and various parts of the day. Monday is always the Day of the Moon. Tuesday is the day of Mars, Wednesday is ruled by Mercury, Thursday is Jupiter's day, Friday is the day of Venus, Saturday is the day of Saturn, and Sunday is the day of the Sun.

Each planetary day begins at sunrise, and ends at the next day's sunrise. For example, Sunrise on Saturday is the beginning of the day of Saturn. Before sunrise on Saturday, you are still under the day of Venus.

The day is divided into two parts; the day (time between sunrise and sunset) and the night (time between sunset and tomorrow's sunrise). Each part of the day is then divided into 12 equal parts, for a total of 24 (unequal) hours. The further the location is from the equator; and the closer the date is to the solstices (as opposed to the equinoxes); the greater the difference in length between the length of the planetary hours and the clock hours.

The first planetary hour of the day is always the same as the planetary day; so sunrise on Monday is the beginning of both the day of the Moon and the hour of the Moon. The hours repeat infinitely in this order:

* Saturn
* Jupiter
* Mars
* Sun
* Venus
* Mercury
* Moon

So the second planetary hour of the day of the Moon is the hour of Saturn, the third would be the hour of Jupiter, and so on.

The planetary hours have traditionally been used in electing favorable times to initiate activities, and also to time prayers, spells, and magical rituals. The following table shows the sorts of activities traditionally favored by each planet:

Sun Hours: General success and recognition; spiritual illumination; decisiveness, vitality; activities requiring courage or a mood of self-certainty – making big decisions, scheduling meetings for reaching decisions, giving speeches, launching new projects; seeking favors from father, husband, boss, authorities.

Venus Hours: Love; friendship; artistic and social success; enjoyable, sociable and aesthetic activities such as parties, social gatherings, recitals / exhibitions, weddings, visits, dating and seeking romance; planting ornamentals; buying gifts, clothing, luxuries; beauty treatments; seeking favors from women.

Mercury Hours: Success in studies / communications; children; making a good impression; routine activities and activities needing clear communications; teaching / learning; important business letters / phone calls; meetings to develop or communicate ideas; buying / selling; routine shopping, errands, travel; job applications / interviews; seeking favors from neighbors, co-workers.

Moon Hours: Health; home (buying home, moving); journeys / vacationing (time of leaving home or takeoff); activities remote in time or space – meditation, making reservations, finding lost objects or people; planting food crops; hiring employees; seeking favors from mother, wife, employees.

Saturn Hours: Discipline and patience; giving up bad habits; overcoming obstacles; success with difficult tasks or difficult people; projects of long duration – breaking ground, laying foundations; planting perennials; treating chronic illness; making repairs; seeking favors from older people (not relatives) or difficult people.

Jupiter Hours: Wisdom, optimism; money (borrowing / lending/ investing / earning / winning); activities necessitating enthusiasm; buying lottery tickets; seeking advice / consultation; settling disputes; seeking favors from grandparents, aunts and uncles, advisers (doctors, lawyers, accountants, astrologers).

Mars Hours: Courage, adventure; enforcing your will; success with drastic action (lawsuits, conflicts, going to war, surgery); sports, exercises; risk-taking; making complaints; firing employees; seeking favors of husband or boyfriend.

For example, A man should ask a woman out on a date during a Venus hour; a woman should ask a man out on a date during a Mars hour; one should ask one's boss for a favor during a sun hour; money should be invested during a Jupiter hour; medical treatments should commence under a moon hour (except surgery should commence under a Mars hour); and so on.

See also

* Planets in astrology

External links

* [http://www.dearbrutus.com/body_planetaryhours.html Free Planetary Hour Calculator ] (An Excel worksheet with complete explanation.)
* [http://chronosxp.sourceforge.net ChronosXP] - Free planetary hours software for Windows
* [http://www.renaissanceastrology.com/planetaryhoursarticle.html Extensive information on planetary hours] - ("from Renaissance Astrology")
* [http://lunarium.co.uk/planetary.php Current planetary hour and day for many cities]