Gryphon Astrology Blog

In traditional astrology, the seven classical planets rule everything. We are familiar with the idea that all planets rule physical, tangible things.  For example, Venus rules tangible things like women, sweet foods, and works of art. However, the planets also rule intangible constructs, like time. According to modern thought, all time is the same, divided into equal portions, with one hour being just like another hour. However, traditionally, all the hours in a day were ruled by different planets, and the quality of a Saturn hour would be considerably different from a Jupiter hour. This is a very basic but powerful form of electional astrology - the idea that we can affect the outcome of events by beginning our project during an astrologically propitious hour. As an example, if we want to create the most beautiful painting within our means, we start working during a Venus or Mercury hour.

How Planetary Hours Work

1. Each day of the week is ruled by one of the seven planets. Sunday = the Sun, Monday = the Moon, Tuesday = Mars, Wednesday = Mercury, Thursday = Jupiter, Friday = Venus, and Saturday = Saturn. Each day begins at sunrise and ends at sunrise the following day. As a result, if the sun rises at 6 a.m. on Tuesday, and it is currently 4 a.m. on Tuesday morning, we are ruled by the previous day’s planet, the Moon. When 6 a.m., Tuesday, rolls around, the day ruler is now Mars until sunrise on Wednesday.

2. Each day is divided into two halves: daytime and nighttime: daytime is sunrise to sunset, and nighttime is sunset to the next sunrise. Then, each half, daytime and nighttime, is divided into 12 equal hours, giving us a total of 24 hours in one day.

Still with me? If you’re thinking ahead, you will realize that in the depths of winter, when night is a lot longer than day, the 12 nighttime hours will all be very long, whereas the 12 daytime hours will all be quite short, as all twelve of them have to squeeze into a short amount of daytime. The reverse is true in the summer, when the night is very short and the day is long. This is why the system is also called “the unequal hours” system. A daytime hour and a nighttime hour will usually be of unequal lengths, depending on the time of year.

3. Every day, the first hour after sunrise will be ruled by the same planet as the day ruler. Therefore, the first daytime hour of Saturday, the day ruled by Saturn, will be ruled by Saturn as well. The planets always go in this order, indefinitely (from the slowest planet to the fastest): Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury, Moon. So a Saturn hour is always followed by a Jupiter hour, and so forth. A Moon hour is again followed by a Saturn hour.

So how do you figure out what planetary hour you are currently in?

Yes, you could calculate it all by hand, but I prefer software. If you use Windows, get ChronosXP. It’s not beautiful, but it is highly functional. If you’re a Mac user, you’re in luck, because you can get Astroclock, the world’s most gorgeous planetary hours screensaver. When I first saw it on someone’s computer, I seriously considered getting a Mac. Astroclock also shows you the dodecahour (5 minute) and sub-dodecahour (2.5 minute) planetary rulers. I don’t use these minor subdivisions, but they certainly sound cool.

Tomorrow: What to Do with Planetary Hours?

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