Witchcraft, Magick And The Planets
If you are practicing some form of witchcraft , performing a specific spell at a specific time of day, on a specific day of the week can greatly influence the power and intent of the spell. So paying attention to the movement of planets, or knowing what planet rules the day or time you are planning on casting during, can greatly help or hinder your success.
The sun, moon, and stars are as much a part of the practice of witchcraft as the casting of the circle or the burning of candles. The universe plays a supportive role in the creation and the fulfilling of spells we project into it. Human intent can be strengthened or hampered by the movement and position of a planet or the time of the month the spell is cast.
As long as humans have known of their existence and have tracked their paths across the sky they have been associated with magick and superstition. Early in our history men that we now call astrologers believed that the position of the sun, moon, and planets at the time of our birth determined everything from our personalities, what type of person we would marry, and often our destiny. That belief became a part of witchcraft when pagan religions became frowned upon by monotheistic religions.
The planets closest to Earth are those that are recognized, worshipped, and thought to have the most power over human life. The main reason for this is because these planets were known, observed, and charted for centuries before the outer planets were discovered.
The planets pull in the universe was thought to play a role in how our moods and actions on a daily basis can be effected and changed. They are also believed to have as much magickal power and influence over spell work as a well planned ritual.
All of this belief and influence has been translated into a few chart systems so the average human can look and see what pesky planet is going to mess with them, or help them on a given day. Every day of the week has a planet that rules the day, and each hour of the day has a planet to associate itself with. This is called planetary rulership of the days and hours.
Each planet takes a turn being the first planet of the day, depending on the day of the week, which the planet that rules the day always is the first planet. And each hour is ruled by a different planet depending on which planet the day started with. Sounds very complicated but a basic chart helps immensely.
Here is an example. The day Sunday is ruled by the Sun, so the first hour of the day, beginning with sunrise, is ruled by the Sun as well. Special little note here, every day’s planetary rulership chart begins at sunrise. Now the planets all take their turn ruling for an hour until sunset. Problem here is that the hour that is being spoken of is not the traditions 60 minute hour we use to tell time. The span of time is broken down into 12 slices of equal time and each planet moves through their allotted time until the sun sets. Then the process happens all over again for the time from sunset till the next sunrise. So you have the day broken into two pieces sunrise to sunset and sunset to the next sunrise. Then you have the time of each piece broken into 12 slices of equal time.
There is also a time when a planet is in retrograde, which means the planet appears to be moving backwards across the sky. It only looks this way, and all of the planets except the sun and the moon have a time like this. It is believed that during this time the planet’s energy is reversed, and that if you are planning on doing any spell work you should focus on reversing something, reconsidering, or turn your energy inward to the self for reflection and inner healing.
By Crimson Earth
