In the previous Epicycle we discussed what a planetary hour is and how they can be calculated. We also briefly touched on how they can be used. Much of the remaining orbits of this series will explore these other techniques. However, before addressing these additional observances I think a valuable question we should be asking ourselves at this point of the discussion is: “What good does all of this do me? Why does timing matter when working with magick?”
To try to address this question I’ll serve as my own angel and demon and take both a sympathetic and critical stance on the subject.
The first position (the infernal one) is that these calculations really don’t do you any good other than exercise your skill at chronological arithmetic. The order of the planetary hours is by nature an antiquated and flawed system for a number of reasons and its use therefore should be discouraged.
The first and foremost reason for this criticism is because of its seemingly arbitrary nature. The hour of Jupiter or any of the other classical orbs does not mark a significant, observable astrological state. What relation does the hour actually have to the dynamic reality of the planet as it moves through space?
This is the same complaint mentioned by Abraham of Wurms (c. 1458) in the sixth chapter of the third book of the greatly respected and revered Book of Abramelin, the Mage (Dehn/Guth edition):
“… ‘Here,’ they say, ‘we have the Planetary Hours, and the Planet appropriate to each Hour.’ O what Planets! O what fine order! Tell me, I pray you, what advantage you get by this division? You will reply: ‘A very great one, because it shows us in all things, either good or bad fortune!’ I tell you, and I repeat absolutely, that this is in no way true; that they produce thus a change of the time and of the Air, I in part concede; (…) Now tell me, I pray you, doth it always happen that when the Day of Monday commenceth, that is to say, when the Sun riseth in its horizon, that the Moon riseth also together with him, and that she setteth also together with him? They cannot answer this. Wherefore then do they apportion unto the second day of the week and unto its first hour the Moon? They can tell you no reason, except a likeness to the name (of the Day).
“O! how gross an error! Hear and tell me when it is that a Planet hath the greatest force in the Elements; whether when it is above or when it is below your Horizon or Hemisphere? We must however avow that it is more powerful when it is above, because being below it hath no power save according unto the Will of God. Why then, even further than this, should we attribute unto a Planet a Day and Hour, if during the whole period of such Day it appeareth not above the Horizon!”
A second flaw of the system not yet known to either Abraham or Abramelin was the true nature of the Solar System and its arrangement. The “planets” used in most Hermetic workings are Ptolemaic in order and sequence and are therefore geocentric and Pre-Copernican with the Earth serving as the hub of the Universe. In our present cosmic situation the Sun and Moon are no longer “planets,” the Sun is the center of our solar system, we have discovered past Saturn the planets Uranus and Neptune (sorry Pluto!), and beyond this solar system we have discovered hundreds of exoplanetary systems. Any magical technique which utilizes such an antiquated view of the cosmos will be, by design, flawed and tainted by error.
As an amusing aside, I’ve often entertained the notion that one could create a modern sequence for the calculation of planetary hours using the methods given in the previous Epicycle with the modern planetary ordering. I suspect in these moments of fancy that such an arrangement would probably go as follows: Neptune, Uranus, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus & Mercury. Of course to remain consistent to the spirit of the ancient system the names of the days would have to change as well. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday would stay the same in both position and name, but the rest of the days would be associated with orbs that differ from their namesake. Monday would no longer relate to the Moon but rather Uranus and hence might be called Skyday; Wednesday could become Aegday (Neptune); Friday could instead be Hermsday (Mercury); and the revised week would end possibly with Vanaday (Venus) instead of Sunday. The Sun and Moon, due to their unquestionable importance in our lives, would remain separate from this sequence. Operations dedicated to them could be based on the nocturnal lunar phases or the daytime solar positions of dawn, noon, dusk and midnight. Certainly old man Abramelin’s criticisms still stand either way, but at least you would have a sequence that is closer to what we currently perceive and know to be out there.
Leaving the realm of speculation, let’s get back on track and discuss our second and less critical position. Our angelic attorney suggests we take a two-pronged approach working with a microcosmic and macrocosmic approach.
(To the little I) What use can the old planetary hour system afford us?
In a nutshell, the planetary hours are useful as a method of reminding ourselves of the psycho-spiritual energies that are traditionally associated with the planets. These energies are not emitted by the planets themselves (like St. Fourier’s aromal rays), but instead by what these planets and their associated mythic complexes activate in a disciplined and creative imagination. Therefore, it doesn’t matter so much where the planets are since their presence as it relates to our lives is internalized as a complex of symbols. I understand this may not be a particularly popular stance to any readers who count themselves as hardcore astrologers, but it is a stance which I believe is shared by others – others who maintain an interest in the “baby” of these types of techniques without worrying overmuch about the “bathwater” particulars of astrology.
(To the big U) Most importantly I have also found that the planetary hours are particularly helpful in calculating specific times (± 1 min.) during the course of the day whereby we can call our attention to and recognize the palpable and un-imaginary relationship between our lives, the Earth on which we live, the Sun which grants us both light and life, and the wondrous pageantry of our solar system. In short, the “hours” serve as reminders of our stellar nature and heritage.
So assuming you, the reader, our court’s judge and jury, are interested in this peculiar and antiquated area of study, I will see you again at our next Epicycle where we can continue to dig deeper into related methods to find more specific (albeit still arbitrary) relationships which can be culled from our original calculations.
Next, Epicycle III: Solar Adoration (SPF 0)
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Mustafa al-Laylah Bey is a Queer Moorish-American who aligns himself spiritually as a Gnostic Thelemite and Moorish Scientist. He has resided in Assassination City and its surrounding environs since the late eighties. Since that time he has substantially colluded with a number of peculiar folks that have been instrumental in shaping the cultural underground of North Texas. It is advisable that you should avoid prolonged contact with him if you have either an overdeveloped sense of self-righteousness or any suspiciously good-looking friends.
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