How to Use Planetary Hours and Days for Magic: Complete Guide to Timing Your Spells

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Planetary hours and days are an ancient astrological system that can transform your magical practice by aligning your spells with the natural rhythms of the cosmos. By understanding which planet rules each day and hour, you can dramatically enhance the potency of your rituals, whether you’re casting love spells, prosperity magic, or protection work.

This celestial timing system, rooted in Hellenistic and Babylonian astrology, follows the Chaldean order of planets and has been used by magicians for centuries to choose the most auspicious moments for their magical workings. With the right knowledge and a few simple calculations, you can tap into these powerful archetypal forces to amplify your intentions and manifest your desires.

What Are Planetary Hours and Days in Magic?

Planetary hours and days form the foundation of magical timing, connecting your spellwork to the cosmic dance of the seven classical planets: Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn. This system originated in ancient Babylon and was refined by Hellenistic astrologers who understood that each celestial body emanates distinct energies that can be harnessed for specific magical purposes.

Unlike modern astrology that includes the outer planets and asteroids, traditional planetary magic focuses on the seven visible celestial bodies that our ancestors could observe with the naked eye. Each planet governs particular areas of life and magical intention, from Mars’ warrior energy for protection spells to Venus’ harmonious vibrations for love magic.

The beauty of this system lies in its accessibility. You don’t need to understand complex astrological charts or master planetary symbols in divination to benefit from planetary timing. The patterns repeat weekly, making it easy to plan your magical work around these natural cycles.

Understanding your personal connection to these planets can deepen your practice significantly. For instance, knowing how your Sun sign influences your core personality can help you choose the most resonant planetary energies for your magical work.

Still don’t quite get it? Check out my post on real world problems and their lunar phase and planetary day solutions.

The Seven Planetary Days and Their Magical Properties

Each day of the week carries the signature of its ruling planet, creating a natural rhythm for different types of magical work. Learning these correspondences allows you to align your spells with the most supportive cosmic energies.

Sunday – The Sun’s Day of Power and Vitality

Sunday radiates with solar energy, making it perfect for magic involving personal power, success, leadership, and vitality. The Sun’s neutral but generally beneficial energy supports spells for confidence, career advancement, and spiritual growth. This is an excellent day for solar magic practices and working with sun goddesses.

(Overwhelmed? Light a virtual candle and take 5 minutes. It actually helps.)

Solar magic extends beyond simple candle lighting. You can charge crystals with solar energy during Sunday’s sun hours, or create powerful sunset rituals that harness the day’s culminating energy. Even moon water can be enhanced when you understand the interplay between solar and lunar energies.

Monday – The Moon’s Day of Intuition and Emotions

Monday belongs to the Moon, governing emotions, intuition, psychic abilities, and the divine feminine. This neutral energy is perfect for divination, dream work, and lunar worship practices. The Moon’s influence makes Monday ideal for creating moon water and working with lunar deities.

Monday’s lunar energy supports both beginners and experienced practitioners. Families can engage in kid-friendly moon activities, while solitary practitioners might prefer new moon journaling or ancestor work during the waning moon.

Understanding your moon sign’s emotional patterns can help you work more effectively with Monday’s lunar energies. The Moon’s cycles also influence when to charge crystals under the full moon for maximum effectiveness.

Tuesday – Mars’ Day of Strength and Protection

Tuesday carries Mars’ fiery, malefic energy, making it powerful for protection magic, banishing, courage spells, and conflict resolution. This is the day to tackle challenging magical work that requires warrior energy and determination. Mars-ruled herbs are especially potent on Tuesdays.

The key to working with Mars energy is understanding its dual nature. While it can be aggressive and confrontational, Mars also provides the courage needed for personal transformation and the strength to overcome obstacles. This makes Tuesday perfect for spells that require you to stand your ground or push through resistance.

Wednesday – Mercury’s Day of Communication and Learning

Wednesday is ruled by Mercury, the planet of communication, learning, travel, and mental agility. This neutral energy supports spells for success in school or work, improving communication, and enhancing psychic abilities. However, you’ll want to be mindful of Mercury retrograde periods when planning important Mercury-ruled magic.

Understanding your Mercury sign can help you work more effectively with Wednesday’s energies. Those with Mercury-ruled zodiac signs may find Wednesday particularly powerful for their magical work.

Thursday – Jupiter’s Day of Expansion and Abundance

Thursday belongs to Jupiter, the great benefic planet of expansion, prosperity, wisdom, and good fortune. This is one of the most auspicious days for magic, particularly spells involving money, legal matters, higher learning, and spiritual growth. Jupiter-based money spells are especially powerful on Thursdays.

Jupiter’s benevolent energy makes Thursday perfect for prosperity magic and abundance-focused kitchen witchcraft. The planet’s expansive nature also supports spring money spells that focus on growth and new opportunities.

Friday – Venus’ Day of Love and Beauty

Friday is Venus’ day, governing love, beauty, harmony, and relationships. This benefic energy makes Friday the most popular day for love magic, and there’s good reason why Friday is considered the best day for love spells. Venus’ harmonious vibrations support any magic involving attraction, creativity, and pleasure.

Understanding how Venus signs influence love can enhance your Friday magic. You might explore love spells based on your Venus sign or delve into your Venus sign’s love style. For those concerned about relationship compatibility, learning about Venus sign compatibility or which Venus signs are prone to infidelity can inform your magical approach.

Friday’s Venus energy also supports glamour magic and Aphrodite-inspired love magic, making it perfect for spells that enhance personal magnetism and attraction.

Saturday – Saturn’s Day of Discipline and Banishing

Saturday is ruled by Saturn, the planet of discipline, structure, and limitation. While Saturn is traditionally considered malefic, its energy is invaluable for banishing magic, binding spells, and working with shadow aspects of yourself. Saturday is also excellent for building productive habits and long-term magical goals.

Saturn’s energy connects deeply with goddess work focused on destruction and transformation. You might explore working with Lua Saturni or understanding cosmic forgetting as aspects of Saturn’s transformative power.

The planet’s association with time and karma makes Saturday powerful for summer solstice work and deep shadow integration.

How Planetary Hours Work: The Chaldean Order Explained

The planetary hours system divides each 24-hour day into periods ruled by the seven classical planets, following the ancient Chaldean order: Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury, Moon. This sequence, based on the apparent speed of planetary motion from Earth’s perspective, creates a natural rhythm that repeats throughout the week.

Each day begins at sunrise with the hour of its ruling planet. Sunday starts with a Sun hour, Monday with a Moon hour, and so forth. The hours then cycle through the Chaldean order, creating a complex but predictable pattern. This system ensures that each planet gets equal time to influence the day’s energy while maintaining the primary planetary rulership.

The genius of this system lies in its mathematical precision. As each day contains 24 hours and we work with 7 planets, the pattern shifts by three positions each day (24 ÷ 7 = 3 remainder 3). This creates the familiar weekly cycle where each planet rules its traditional day.

For practitioners interested in the deeper mathematical relationships, there are extensive resources on traditional astrological timing and Hellenistic approaches that explore these ancient calculations.

How to Calculate Planetary Hours for Your Location

Calculating planetary hours requires knowing your local sunrise and sunset times, as the system divides daylight and nighttime into 12 equal segments each. Unlike our modern 60-minute hours, planetary hours vary in length depending on the season and your geographic location.

Daytime Planetary Hours

To calculate daytime planetary hours, subtract sunrise from sunset and divide by 12. For example, if sunrise is at 6:00 AM and sunset is at 6:00 PM, each daytime planetary hour lasts exactly 60 minutes. However, during summer, when days are longer, each daytime hour might last 75 minutes, while winter daytime hours might be only 45 minutes.

Nighttime Planetary Hours

Nighttime hours work similarly, dividing the time from sunset to sunrise into 12 equal segments. These hours are typically longer in winter and shorter in summer, balancing the seasonal variation in daylight hours.

Modern Calculation Tools

While you can calculate planetary hours manually, several online tools and apps make this process easier. Resources like this comprehensive planetary hours guide provide step-by-step instructions, while sites offering detailed planetary timing can help you understand the mathematical relationships.

For practical application, many practitioners use apps or websites that calculate planetary hours automatically based on your location. This allows you to focus on the magical work rather than the mathematics.

Complete Planetary Hours Tables for Each Day

The following tables, drawn from The Magical Treatise of Solomon (Hygromanteia), provide specific magical applications for each planetary hour. These ancient instructions have been used by magicians for centuries and remain relevant for modern practitioners.

Sunday Planetary Hours

Hour	Planet	Traditional Use
1st	Sun	Public speaking and presentations
2nd	Venus	Gaining favor with authority figures
3rd	Mercury	Diplomatic communications
4th	Moon	Important meetings with leaders
5th	Saturn	Avoiding unwanted encounters
6th	Jupiter	Appearing before authority figures
7th	Mars	Rest period – avoid important actions
8th	Sun	Any matters involving leadership
9th	Venus	Love and relationship magic
10th	Mercury	Written petitions and applications
11th	Moon	Important speeches
12th	Saturn	Rest period – avoid important actions
13th	Jupiter	Helping friends and networking
14th	Mars	Preventing opposition
15th	Sun	Influencing powerful people
16th	Venus	Influencing women in authority
17th	Mercury	Rest period – avoid important actions
18th	Moon	General work and productivity
19th	Saturn	Rest period – avoid important actions
20th	Jupiter	Talismans for gaining favor
21st	Mars	Binding and constraint magic
22nd	Sun	Appearing before kings or leaders
23rd	Venus	Appearing before queens or female leaders
24th	Mercury	Rest and reflection

Monday Planetary Hours

Hour	Planet	Traditional Use
1st	Moon	Business and commerce magic
2nd	Saturn	Curse work and hexing
3rd	Jupiter	Opening new businesses
4th	Mars	Closing or restraining businesses
5th	Sun	Sales and marketing magic
6th	Venus	Negotiations and deals
7th	Mercury	Travel and journey magic
8th	Moon	Purchasing and acquisition
9th	Saturn	Binding and restraining magic
10th	Jupiter	Business establishment
11th	Mars	Preventing competition
12th	Sun	Business foundation work
13th	Venus	Rest period
14th	Mercury	Career and livelihood magic
15th	Moon	Personal affairs and projects
16th	Saturn	Rest period – avoid important actions
17th	Jupiter	Self-advocacy and promotion
18th	Mars	Binding and hindering competitors
19th	Sun	Beginning new projects
20th	Venus	Rest period
21st	Mercury	Stirring up beneficial change
22nd	Moon	Planning and strategizing
23rd	Saturn	Rest period – avoid important actions
24th	Jupiter	Opening new opportunities

Tuesday Planetary Hours

Hour	Planet	Traditional Use
1st	Mars	Magic and talismans for war victory
2nd	Sun	Taking spoils and claiming victory
3rd	Venus	Displaying military skills and prowess
4th	Mercury	Preparing for battle or conflict
5th	Moon	Night battles and covert operations
6th	Saturn	Caution – avoid warfare
7th	Jupiter	Appearing before enemies or giving thanks
8th	Mars	Asking for aid and support
9th	Sun	Conquering strongholds and claiming prizes
10th	Venus	Performing mighty deeds
11th	Mercury	Making excuses and diplomatic solutions
12th	Moon	Claiming victory spoils
13th	Saturn	Exercise caution
14th	Jupiter	Discrediting opponents
15th	Mars	Seeking aid for salvation
16th	Sun	Useless hour – avoid important actions
17th	Venus	Rising in honor and reputation
18th	Mercury	Escaping and concealing
19th	Moon	Winning over opponents
20th	Saturn	Marching against enemies
21st	Jupiter	Keeping secrets concealed
22nd	Mars	Prayer and spiritual protection
23rd	Sun	Appearing at war or in conflict
24th	Venus	Enviable hour – general success

Wednesday Planetary Hours

Hour	Planet	Traditional Use
1st	Mercury	Magic for invisibility and education
2nd	Moon	Resting and cheerful activities
3rd	Saturn	Useless hour – avoid important actions
4th	Jupiter	Practicing alchemy and transformation
5th	Mars	Revealing secret things
6th	Sun	Harmful magic – use with caution
7th	Venus	Dominating and influencing women
8th	Mercury	Magic regarding legal decisions
9th	Moon	Intimate relationships and bonding
10th	Saturn	Exercise caution
11th	Jupiter	Begin whatever you desire
12th	Mars	Rest period – avoid important actions
13th	Sun	Begin praising and honoring others
14th	Venus	Beginning prayer and devotion
15th	Mercury	Magic and talismans for dreams
16th	Moon	Casting binding spells
17th	Saturn	Useless hour – avoid important actions
18th	Jupiter	Harmful magic – use with caution
19th	Mars	Useful for everything and justice
20th	Sun	Beneficial for all activities
21st	Venus	Sending prophetic dreams
22nd	Mercury	Teaching and instruction
23rd	Moon	Hour of success and achievement
24th	Saturn	Useless hour – avoid important actions

Thursday Planetary Hours

Hour	Planet	Traditional Use
1st	Jupiter	Healing people and animals
2nd	Mars	Useless hour – avoid important actions
3rd	Sun	Appearing before kings and leaders
4th	Venus	Appearing before queens and female leaders
5th	Mercury	Learning rhetoric and communication
6th	Moon	Changing residence and moving
7th	Saturn	Exercise caution
8th	Jupiter	Good and blessed hour
9th	Mars	Causing jealousy and discord
10th	Sun	Magic and talismans for bodily health
11th	Venus	Healing women and feminine ailments
12th	Mercury	Emigrating and traveling away
13th	Moon	Success and achievement
14th	Saturn	Useless hour – avoid important actions
15th	Jupiter	Hour for every kind of healing
16th	Mars	Making surgical incisions
17th	Sun	Healing kings and male leaders
18th	Venus	Healing queens and female leaders
19th	Mercury	Protection from robbers and thieves
20th	Moon	Joyous hour – celebration
21st	Saturn	Useless hour – avoid important actions
22nd	Jupiter	Do whatever you desire
23rd	Mars	Causing hassles and difficulties
24th	Sun	Magic regarding courts and authority

Friday Planetary Hours

Hour	Planet	Traditional Use
1st	Venus	Love magic and romantic spells
2nd	Mercury	Messages of matchmaking
3rd	Moon	Good for everything
4th	Saturn	Causing obstacles in love
5th	Jupiter	Gifts and pleasant conversations
6th	Mars	Causing jealousy in relationships
7th	Sun	Good hour, beneficial for love
8th	Venus	Love magic and romantic attraction
9th	Mercury	Messages concerning engagements
10th	Moon	Good hour for everything
11th	Saturn	Useless hour – avoid important actions
12th	Jupiter	Making agreements and contracts
13th	Mars	Causing hatred and discord
14th	Sun	Binding couples with love spells
15th	Venus	Binding someone with love magic
16th	Mercury	Sending dreams of love
17th	Moon	Good hour for everything
18th	Saturn	Sending dreams of hatred
19th	Jupiter	Magic for any beneficial aim
20th	Mars	Rest period – avoid important actions
21st	Sun	Good hour for general purposes
22nd	Venus	Hour for love and romance
23rd	Mercury	Hour for alchemy and transformation
24th	Moon	Binding and restraining in love

Saturday Planetary Hours

Hour	Planet	Traditional Use
1st	Saturn	Magic for harming enemies or sending illness
2nd	Jupiter	Causing shipwrecks or harming someone
3rd	Mars	Setting up enchantments
4th	Sun	Making lords fight one another
5th	Venus	Causing hatred between couples
6th	Mercury	Finding treasure and hidden things
7th	Moon	Speaking with demons and spirits
8th	Saturn	Performing basin divination
9th	Jupiter	Performing skull divination
10th	Mars	Causing people to plunge into chaos
11th	Sun	Making litigants angry at each other
12th	Venus	Causing fear and enmity
13th	Mercury	Beneficial for discovering secrets
14th	Moon	Seeing dead people and spirits
15th	Saturn	Seeing visions through water divination
16th	Jupiter	Useful for teaching and instruction
17th	Mars	Very malignant hour – extreme caution
18th	Sun	Useless hour – avoid important actions
19th	Venus	Gaining money through games of chance
20th	Mercury	Restraining every good thing
21st	Moon	Hour without virtue
22nd	Saturn	Causing visions and apparitions
23rd	Jupiter	Useful for profit and gain
24th	Mars	Hour for hassles and enmity

Understanding the Planetary Hour Patterns

These tables reveal fascinating patterns in how ancient magicians understood planetary influences. Notice how certain combinations create especially powerful or dangerous hours, while others are marked as times for rest or caution.

Beneficial Combinations

The most powerful hours occur when benefic planets (Jupiter, Venus, and to some extent the Sun and Moon) align with complementary activities. For example, Venus hours on Friday are consistently marked for love magic, while Jupiter hours on Thursday are ideal for healing and prosperity work.

Malefic Warnings

Saturn and Mars hours, particularly on their respective days, often carry warnings about exercising caution or avoiding certain activities. This doesn’t mean these hours are “bad” – rather, they require more skill and care to work with safely.

Neutral Planets

Mercury and the Moon often provide neutral hours that can be adapted to various purposes, making them excellent for general magical work when you need flexibility in your timing.

These ancient tables provide a foundation for your planetary timing, but remember that you can adapt these correspondences to modern magical needs while honoring the traditional wisdom they represent.

Choosing the Right Planetary Day for Your Spells

Selecting the optimal day for your magical work depends on your specific intentions and the type of energy you want to invoke. While planetary hours add precision to your timing, the daily planetary rulership provides the foundation for your magical planning.

Love and Relationship Magic

For love spells, Friday’s Venus energy provides the strongest foundation. However, you can enhance your work by understanding the nuances of each day. Thursday’s Jupiter energy supports spells for commitment and marriage, while Sunday’s solar energy helps with confidence and charisma in relationships.

A comprehensive collection of love spells can be timed to different days based on your specific intention. Candle spells for beginners work particularly well with planetary timing, as you can choose candle colors that correspond to both your intention and the ruling planet.

Money and Prosperity Magic

Thursday’s Jupiter energy provides the strongest support for money spells, but different days offer different approaches to abundance. Wednesday’s Mercury energy supports spells for business communication and negotiation, while Sunday’s solar energy helps with career advancement and recognition.

Protection and Banishing

Tuesday’s Mars energy offers the most direct approach to protection magic, but Saturday’s Saturn energy provides deeper, more lasting results for banishing and binding work. The choice depends on whether you need immediate protection or long-term resolution.

Spiritual and Psychic Development

Monday’s lunar energy supports psychic development and spiritual growth, while Wednesday’s Mercury energy helps with learning and communication with spirit guides. Sunday’s solar energy aids in spiritual leadership and teaching.

Healing and Transformation

Different aspects of healing work with different planetary energies. Thursday’s Jupiter energy supports overall health and recovery, while Monday’s Moon energy helps with emotional healing. Saturday’s Saturn energy assists with healing chronic conditions and breaking unhealthy patterns.

Advanced Planetary Magic: Combining Days and Hours

Once you understand the basic planetary correspondences, you can create more sophisticated timing strategies by combining daily and hourly influences. This layered approach allows for incredibly precise magical timing that can significantly amplify your results.

Planetary Hour Reinforcement

The most powerful planetary hours occur when the hour’s ruling planet matches the day’s ruling planet. For example, Venus hours on Friday or Jupiter hours on Thursday create double-strength planetary influence. These are ideal times for important magical work requiring maximum planetary support.

Contrasting Planetary Energies

Sometimes you’ll want to work with contrasting planetary energies for balance. For instance, you might perform a love spell (Venus) during a Mars hour on Friday to add passion and intensity to romantic attraction. Or you could do prosperity magic (Jupiter) during a Saturn hour on Thursday to ensure long-term financial stability rather than quick windfalls.

Sequential Planetary Work

Advanced practitioners often create multi-day or multi-hour magical workings that incorporate several planetary influences. For example, you might begin a complex love spell during a Venus hour on Friday to establish the foundation, continue with a Mercury hour on Wednesday to improve communication, and complete the work during a Jupiter hour on Thursday to ensure lasting happiness.

Modern Planetary Considerations

While traditional planetary magic focuses on the seven classical planets, modern practitioners sometimes incorporate the outer planets into their work. Uranus energy for chaos magic can add revolutionary power to your spells, while Neptune’s influence on luck can enhance manifestation work. Understanding Pluto’s transformative power can deepen your shadow work and personal transformation spells.

Modern Applications: Using Planetary Timing in Daily Life

Planetary timing isn’t limited to formal spellwork—you can integrate these cosmic rhythms into your daily life for enhanced success and well-being. Understanding planetary influences can help you make better decisions about when to tackle different types of activities.

Career and Business Applications

Use Sunday’s solar energy for important presentations and leadership activities. Schedule negotiations and contracts during Venus hours on Friday. Plan business launches during Jupiter hours on Thursday. Handle difficult conversations during Mars hours on Tuesday when you need courage and directness.

Personal Development and Habits

Saturn’s structured energy on Saturday is perfect for starting new discipline-based practices like exercise routines or meditation practices. Use Wednesday’s Mercury energy for learning new skills or starting educational pursuits. Monday’s lunar energy supports emotional healing and therapeutic work.

Creative and Artistic Work

Friday’s Venus energy enhances all creative endeavors, from art and music to writing and design. Fire magic throughout the zodiac year can be timed to different planetary influences for maximum creative inspiration. Sunday’s solar energy supports creative leadership and sharing your artistic work with others.

Health and Wellness

Time medical appointments and health-focused activities using planetary correspondences. Thursday’s Jupiter energy supports healing and recovery. Monday’s lunar energy is excellent for emotional therapy and mental health work. Saturday’s Saturn energy helps with chronic conditions and long-term health goals.

Relationship and Family Time

Use planetary timing to enhance your relationships. Friday’s Venus energy is perfect for date nights and romantic activities. Sunday’s solar energy supports family gatherings and celebrations. Wednesday’s Mercury energy helps with important family discussions and communication.

Spiritual Practice Integration

Your daily spiritual practice can be enhanced by planetary awareness. Monday morning lunar devotions set a intuitive tone for the week. Friday evening full moon rituals during Venus hours combine love and lunar energy beautifully. Saturday’s Saturn energy supports deep shadow work and transformative spiritual practices.

Seasonal Magical Integration

Planetary timing becomes even more powerful when combined with seasonal awareness. Special moon-phase chocolate elixirs can be timed to specific planetary hours for enhanced effectiveness. Full moon tea rituals work beautifully during Monday’s lunar hours, while Artemis-focused practices can be enhanced with precise lunar timing.

Simple Daily Integration

For practitioners with busy schedules, simple witchcraft practices can be enhanced with basic planetary awareness. Even knowing which day of the week aligns with your magical intention can significantly boost your results without requiring complex calculations.

Connecting with Elemental and Deity Magic

Planetary timing can be powerfully combined with elemental magic and deity work. Sea witchcraft practices align beautifully with Monday’s lunar energy, while working with Hekate during the full moon can be timed to specific planetary hours for maximum effectiveness.

Jupiter’s benevolent energy on Thursday provides excellent support for Zeus-inspired magical work, while understanding your rising sign’s potential can help you choose the most resonant planetary energies for personal transformation.

For those interested in traditional approaches, exploring historical Key of Solomon elections and advanced planetary orders can deepen your understanding of these ancient systems.

Conclusion: Embracing Cosmic Timing in Your Practice

Planetary hours and days offer a time-tested method for enhancing your magical practice through cosmic timing. By understanding the unique energies of each planet and learning to work with their natural rhythms, you can significantly amplify the effectiveness of your spells and rituals.

Start simple by choosing appropriate days for your magical work, then gradually incorporate planetary hours as you become more comfortable with the system. Remember that planetary timing is a tool to enhance your magic, not a rigid requirement. Trust your intuition and adapt these ancient methods to fit your modern practice.

Whether you’re casting love spells using herbal magic, working with daemonic energies, or simply seeking to align your daily activities with cosmic rhythms, planetary timing offers a powerful way to connect with the greater patterns of the universe.

The key is consistent practice and observation. Keep a magical journal noting which planetary timings work best for different types of spells and activities. Over time, you’ll develop an intuitive sense for these cosmic rhythms that will serve you throughout your magical journey.

For those wanting to explore deeper aspects of planetary magic, resources like this comprehensive podcast on planetary conjurations and theoretical frameworks for planetary magic offer excellent starting points for advanced study.

Remember that planetary timing is one of many tools in your magical toolkit. Combined with clear intention, proper preparation, and genuine emotional investment in your magical work, planetary hours and days can help you create the changes you seek in your life while honoring the ancient wisdom of our magical ancestors.