Hours and days for casting spells: planets and angels.

10/07/2024

It seems evident that, just as there are rituals guided by the lunar phases or key dates of the seasons, there are also some precepts about which days or hours are most auspicious for certain spells. Although all these rules are guided by astrology, these "rules" have changed over time: today we can find a wealth of information and many contradictions. However, there are some things that remain, and we will try to present them in this article as a brief guide for those who work magic with this hourly or daily aspect, and for those who study the symbolism of these practices over time.

First of all, we must bear in mind that in Western esotericism, there have been two major currents of interpretation regarding the influence of the stars on magical acts: on the one hand, the planets associated with Greco-Roman mythology, and on the other, the stars associated with angelic powers. To all this must be added the various theories about the elements.

Planetary Days

The planets have clearly influenced the days of the week. Let us remember that the 7 ancient planets were actually 5 planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn) and the Sun and the Moon, because the current definition of a planet was not taken into account, but rather that of a visible celestial object. Thus, we have:

Monday = Moon

Tuesday = Mars

Wednesday = Mercury

Thursday = Jupiter (Jove)

Friday = Venus (Veneris)

Saturday = Saturn (Saturday)

Sunday = Sun (Sunday)

Therefore, the days each planet affects were established. It was then necessary to specify each planet's sphere of influence to determine which day would be most effective for performing a spell for that purpose. The associations of the ancient planets were made with mythological figures, so it seemed obvious that their magical facets would also be associated with them. Thus, we obtained:

Monday - Moon - goddess Diana/Selene = the wild, the occult, fertility, childbirth... Likewise, its phases symbolize different degrees of metamorphosis. An auspicious day for family and health spells.

Tuesday - Mars - god Mars = blood, masculine energy, conflict, war...

Wednesday - Mercury - god Hermes/Mercury = speed of thought, commerce, business, travel, projects...

Thursday - Jupiter - god Zeus/Jupiter (Latin genitive Jovis) = leadership, judgment, success at work, money.

Friday - Venus - goddess Venus (Latin genitive Veneris) = love, friendship, sex, persuasion... Also for self-esteem and self-love.

Saturday - Saturn - Roman god Saturn (not the Greek Cronus) = moments of reset, cleansing, reflection, purification, renewal.

Sunday - Sun - god Apollo/Helios = light, success, revelations, solutions, general well-being, joy.

Planetary Hours

Planetary hours are the times when each planet was considered to have the greatest influence on the celestial vault. The 24-hour day was divided into two sections: daylight hours (from dawn to dusk) and night hours (from sunset to sunrise). Both periods are divided equally by 12, as the length of these periods varies depending on whether it is summer or winter, or in the northern or southern hemisphere.

The order of the planetary hours is always the same, but shifts by one hour each day of the week, beginning with the star that reigns each day. Thus, for example, we obtain that the twelve daytime hours on Sunday would be divided into:

Sun-Venus-Mercury-Moon-Saturn-Jupiter-Mars - Sun-Venus-Mercury-Moon-Saturn

On Monday, we must start with the Moon, which is the ruling astrological planet:

Moon-Saturn-Jupiter-Mars - Sun-Venus - Mercury-Moon-Saturn-Jupiter-Mars - Sun - Venus.

On Tuesday, Mars will begin, on Wednesday, Mercury, and so on.

When we want to take into account the nocturnal planetary hours, we must continue twelve more hours from the list of planets for the specific day. For example, if we want to know the Sunday nighttime planetary hours:

Daytime hours

Sun-Venus-Mercury-Moon-Saturn-Jupiter-Mars - Sun-Venus-Mercury-Moon-Saturn...

Nighttime hours

...Jupiter - Mars - Sun-Venus - Mercury - Moon-Saturn - Jupiter - Mars - Sun - Venus - Mercury.

It's simply a matter of following the same order of planets over and over again. Furthermore, we'll notice that the Sunday nighttime hours end right on Mercury, giving way to the Monday daytime planetary hours right on its ruling planet, the Moon.

This order is not random. It is based on studies by ancient astrologers and reconstructed by various occult orders of later centuries, including the Rosicrucians and the Golden Dawn, who have strived to achieve a repeating cycle that makes sense in ancient cosmic conception.

Angels, Days, and Planets

As has been mentioned several times in this blog, as well as in works dealing with the history of esotericism, one of the most common biblical Kabbalistic and astrological associations of the stars is precisely the angels.

In Hebrew astrology and Kabbalah, there are seven heavens (which Dante transformed into nine), and therefore seven celestial rulers. Aside from 7 as a sacred number, we can see that it also coincides with the seven planets known in antiquity. Therefore, the seven celestial spirits in charge of each of the celestial spheres will be associated with those planets.

Of these spirits, only three are clear to Judeo-Christian esotericism: the three biblical archangels: Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. The rest of the angels or archangels vary depending on the tradition followed; here we present one of the most common.

Sunday = Sun = Michael ("Who is like God"). The Sun is the king star and the giver of life, therefore, it seems inevitable that the archangel closest to God, and conqueror of darkness, is associated with the Sun, in the first heaven. Petitions for strength and grace.

Monday = Moon = Gabriel ("Strength of God"). Linked to the Moon for being the second in order (to the left of God), the night star being in the so-called second heaven. It also corresponds Kabbalistically to the sphere of Yesod, which is also associated with the Moon. Likewise, in esoteric traditions, it is associated with the Moon due to its relationship with the Annunciation and the fertility of women, as well as the idea that the moon reflects light. Petitions for endurance, fertility, good news, and change.

Wednesday = Mercury = Raphael (Medicine of God). He appears in the Book of Tobit and is associated with medical and exorcistic practices, and later as a guide of souls, so his association with the god Hermes/Mercury, whose symbol is the caduceus and who was also a psychopomp in Greek mythology, was obvious. However, his celestial position is not so clear, as in some cases he is placed in the third heaven and in others in the fourth. Requests for health and well-being.

Let's now begin with the rest of the archangel-planet angels of the most common esoteric traditions. These angels are only recognized in the esoteric world, not in the three official religions of the Book:

Mars = Mars = Samael (Poison of God). Although some think the warrior god should be equated with the archangel Michael, the truth is that he is associated with Samael (sometimes identified with the Devil), who is said to be the archangel of destruction and death, whom God would have sent during the massacre of the Egyptian firstborn, for example. He is also identified as Chamael (See God), because he is found on the Kabbalah tree between Geburah and Yesed. The mythological relationship between Mars and Venus means that when he is associated with the devil Samael, his relationship with Anael is thought of as Lilith. Requests for revenge, liberation.

Thursday = Jupiter = Zadkiel (Justice of God). He would be found in the sixth heaven, although in Kabbalah he is in the fourth sephira (corresponding to Seded, mercy). Unlike Samael, Zadkiel would be non-violent divine justice, representing the law, like the Roman Jupiter. Requests for justice, balance, and agreements at work.

Friday = Venus = Anael (Joy or Pleasure of God). This Archangel is related to love but also to sex; in fact, one of his sigils is a phallus. Although it is not certain, it seems that this connotation comes directly from its planet and therefore from the goddess Venus/Aphrodite. Venus is an ever-visible star, and when it becomes visible, it announces the approach of dawn, so it is located in the third heaven (at which point the dispute over which heaven Raphael should be in begins). Requests for friendship, love, and sex.

Saturday = Saturn = Cassiel (Knowing God). Saturn's movement is slow, and Saturday is the Sabbath, the holy day in the Jewish community. Related to its name, it is a day for reflection and temperance, although due to the image of the ancient Roman agricultural god, he is depicted with a scythe and associated with death. However, he would be in the seventh heaven and would be an angel of renewal. Requests for change, progress, and reaping the fruits of labor.

Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto were associated with angels later; we won't mention them in this article because these planets have no relevance to the days of the week or in traditional magic.

Hours and Angels

Once the distribution of planets and angels is known, determining the angelic hours is much simpler. It would simply involve using the planetary hours, replacing the planet with the angel you want to work with at the spiritual-magic level.

For example, if on Sunday we had the twelve daylight hours as:

Sun-Venus-Mercury-Moon-Saturn-Jupiter-Mars - Sun-Venus-Mercury-Moon-Saturn...

Their equivalent in angels would be:

Michael - Anael - Raphael - Gabriel - Cassiel - Zadkiel - Samael - Michael - Anael - Raphael - Gabriel - Cassiel...

The system is frankly simple once you understand the association of day-planet and planet-angel. The difficulty comes from the different associations one can find in various grimoires. For example, as we mentioned, the changes in location between Raphael and Anael; or in the Keys of Solomon, where for purely astrological reasons Raphael is associated with the color red and therefore with Mars, altering the entire angelic hierarchy through values. It is therefore up to the practitioner to choose one model or another to work with.

Pietro V. Carracedo Ahumada - pietrocarracedo@gmail.com