Magical Timing with Astrology 101

You’ve taken the time to set up the perfect little money spell. You’ve consulted your books and collected the proper herbs and crystals, green candles, money-drawing incense, magical tools, and a couple of coins. You’ve set your will and visualized your goal. You’re good to go. Your spell will probably work because you took the time to think it out (and because you’re a kick-ass Witch). But what if you could do something more to give your magic a boost?

Timing your magic with astrology can give your spell that extra energy. One of the basic ideas behind astrology is that the planetary influences present at the time a person is born will help shape his or her life. Your birth chart is like a photograph of the positions of the planets at the moment you were born, and an astrologer can use this information to talk to you about your personality, habits, and major life events because clues or shadows of those things are represented by the planets in your chart. This concept also applies to projects and spells—whatever is going on in the cosmos at the time the project or spell is begun is reflected in the results.

Astrology is a metaphoric language for the movements of the cosmos. As above, so below; what we do here is reflected in the heavens, and vice versa. Working magic with astrology by choosing astrologically appropriate times for your spellwork is like floating down the stream instead of paddling against the current. It puts you in the cosmic flow, and when you’re working with natural forces instead of against them, you’re more likely to succeed.

“But,” you say, “I don’t know any astrology and it’s all full of math and stuff and it’s a pain to figure it all out.” It’s true that you can study astrology for years and never learn it all, but with just a little bit of work you can glean enough to greatly enhance your spellwork. Here are some astro tools that are very helpful for planning magic.

The Moon’s Quarters

The simplest way to use astrology in spellwork is to use the quarter of the Moon in your planning. The Moon takes about 29 and a half days to complete its full cycle from New Moon to New Moon. The cycle has four quarters, each about a week long. The first quarter runs from the New Moon to midway between New and Full; the second quarter runs from that midway point until the Full Moon; the third quarter runs from the Full Moon to the midway point between Full and New, and the fourth quarter runs from the midway point back to the New Moon. During the first and second quarters, the Moon is “waxing,” or, in simple terms, getting bigger as seen from the earth. During the third and fourth quarters, the Moon is waning, or getting smaller.

It’s pretty simple to put this information to good use. If you are working magic to increase something or draw it to you, do it during the first or second quarter. As the Moon waxes, so will your magic. Magic to decrease or banish should be done during the third or fourth quarters, and whatever you’re trying to get rid of should shrink with the Moon. Generally, we start projects at the New Moon and try to bring them to culmination at the Full Moon. The dark days just before the New Moon—the last day or two of the fourth quarter—are great for incubating new ideas for spells, like a seed underground waiting to sprout.

There are a couple of different ways to figure out what quarter the Moon is in. You can tell by simply looking up (assuming you can see through the clouds). The Moon is waxing when the light side is curved to the right, like a capital “D.” It’s waning when the light side is curved to the left, like a capital “C.” If it’s too cloudy, you can consult one of several astrological datebooks and calendars on the market. These list the quarter and sign of the Moon for each day and frequently give you a whole lot more astro info on top of that. Two of my favorite astrological datebooks are Llewellyn’s Daily Planetary Guide and Jim Maynard’s pocket astrological calendar. Llewellyn’s Moon Sign Book also lists the quarter and sign for every day of the year and goes into great detail about using this information for gardening and other activities.

The Moon’s Sign

Now that you’ve the phase/quarter thing down, try working with the Moon’s sign. During its monthly cycle, the Moon travels through all 12 astrological signs, spending about two and a half days in each (give or take). The Moon represents the “mood,” and whatever astrological sign the Moon is in on a given day affects the “flavor” or “energy” of that day. Just as you choose herbs and other props that are associated with or represent your magical goal, you can use that Moon-sign “mood” to enhance your magical or mundane tasks. It’s sympathetic magic.

For example, Taurus is an earthy, stubborn sign, so things begun when the Moon is in Taurus have sticking power. There’s a joke that says you should never go grocery shopping during a Taurus Moon when you’re on a diet because Taurus loves the rich things in life, and you won’t be able to pass up the Ben and Jerry’s. However, Taurus is also associated with money, so doing your money spell when the Moon is in Taurus is a great idea (and it should stick!).

Finding today’s Moon sign is simple. You can use one of the astrological guides I’ve already mentioned, or if you’d rather look up the Moon sign online, check out the Astrodienst site at www.astro.com. The sign each planet is in is listed in the left nav. You can also use the site’s many free chart-drawing functions to calculate a chart for the time when you are thinking of doing your spell. There is a glyph key on the site so you don’t have to try to figure out what all the little squiggles on the chart mean. This is more information than you need, but it includes the Moon’s sign and it’s kind of fun.

Classifications of the Signs

What signs are good for what types of magic? Whole books have been written on the subject. Later, I’m going to give you a basic, simplified list of the signs and some of their correspondences to get you started, but first of all, I want to give you four ways to think about the signs in terms of magic. The signs are classified by gender, element, and quality, and each is associated with a planet. Knowing these classifications can help you gain some insight into the signs and some understanding of why the ancients assigned them the qualities that they did.

Gender: Signs are called “masculine” or “feminine,” and they carry traits associated with those genders. However, in modern times, getting into genders is a hornet’s nest because not everyone views the genders the same way. It may be better to think of them as yin (female) and yang (masculine), although that has its baggage too. The feminine signs are Taurus, Cancer, Virgo, Scorpio, Capricorn, and Pisces. The masculine ones are Aries, Gemini, Leo, Libra, Sagittarius, and Aquarius. You may want to take the sign’s gender into consideration if you are doing a working that is particularly “male” or “female,” like a rite of passage into womanhood or manhood.

Elements: There are three signs for each of the four elements: earth (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn), air (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius), water (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces), and fire (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius). The signs share traits with their elements. Earth signs are, well, earthy and practical. Air signs are intellectual and “heady.” Water signs are sensitive and emotional, and fire signs are assertive and outgoing. Each sign has its own attributes, of course, but you can generalize a little bit by element. For example, fire signs tend to be good for assertive or protective magic and air signs for magic that involves communication or speech.

Quality: The signs are divided into three qualities: cardinal, mutable, or fixed. The cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn) direct their energy forward or outward. The mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces) shift to match their surroundings or the situation. The fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius) hold their ground and put down roots. Knowing the quality of a sign is particularly helpful in things like determining if you want exploding power or staying power in your spells. For example, cardinal Aries energy almost forces its way into the world. It conquers. Fixed Taurus energy, on the other hand, is strong and practically unmovable.

Planetary rulership: Each sign is “ruled” by, or associated with a planet. Planets and the signs they “rule” share some traits (Cancer and the Moon are both watery and mother-oriented, for example), but they also have qualities distinct from one another. Planets and signs are not the same thing. One difference is that planets are more active forces because they move, while signs are like the persona or attitude, for lack of a better word, that a planet takes on when it’s moving through that sign. This is a subtle distinction, but an important one.

So What Sign Is Good for What?

Below is a list of the signs, some of the things they are associated with (remember, this is sympathetic magic) and some of the types of magic that they’re most useful for. If you want to do a working taking advantage of the energies of a particular sign, you’re going to use your calendar or website to choose a day when the Moon, the zodiac timekeeper, is in that sign.

Aries is a masculine, cardinal air sign ruled by the planet Mars. Its symbol is the ram. In medical astrology, it is associated with the head. Protection, competition, sticking up for yourself, asking for what you want, and banishing are all great Aries Moon activities. Aries is useful for breaking through and starting new things, but it lacks staying power. It’s a pioneer. In this column I’ve often called it the “Captain Kirk” of the zodiac, boldly going where no one has gone before. This energy is great if you are stuck in a rut and need to get out.

Taurus is a feminine, fixed earth sign ruled by Venus. Its symbol is the bull, and it’s associated with the throat. Money, luxury, love, and fertility magic work well under a Taurus Moon. It enhances artistic endeavors, including singing (remember the throat). Taurus is determined. It is the tortoise in the tortoise and the hare story; its motto is “slow and steady wins the race.” Because it’s a fixed earth sign, it’s great for beginning anything that you want to last. Choose your Taurus Moon magic carefully though. It’s not easy to undo something begun in Taurus.

Gemini is a masculine, mutable air sign ruled by Mercury. Its symbol is the twins, and it’s associated with the arms and hands. Writing, communication, siblings, short-distance travel, computer stuff, commerce, and wit benefit from a Gemini Moon. Gemini is also great for things that require fine motor skills. Because of its dual, mutable nature, it can flex itself to fit nearly any situation, so it is both the zodiac’s great publicist and its used car salesman. It’s great for divination that involves solving a puzzle or problem.

Cancer is a feminine, cardinal water sign ruled by the Moon. Its symbol is the crab, and it’s associated with the breasts and chest. Cancer is all about nurture, fertility, motherhood, protection, the Goddess, empathic work, and kitchen Witchery of both the magical and culinary kinds. Cancer is sensitive and comforting, and a Cancer Moon is great for any working that requires empathy or compassion. However, Cancer is also a mother bear (or crab), so it’s a perfect sign for magic that protects loved ones.

Leo is a masculine, fixed fire sign ruled by the Sun. Its symbol is the lion, and it’s associated with the heart. Loyalty, success, energy, vitality, drama, and the theater, the God, self-confidence and courage are all highlighted under the Leo Moon. Leo is an incredibly powerful sign. It has an inner restlessness that drives it constantly to search for affirmation. That’s what you get when you try to fix or contain fire. If you want to do magic to bring something or someone into the spotlight, make your mark on the world, take charge of your life, or change a bad habit, Leo energy can help.

Virgo is a feminine, mutable earth sign that is ruled by Mercury. Its symbol is the virgin, and in medical astrology it is associated with the stomach and bowels. Magic that has to do with health, analyzing, cleanliness, writing, being practical, getting to the heart of something, domestic animals, or pets can benefit from a Virgo Moon. Virgo’s motto is “it’s all in the details,” so think small picture rather than large picture with a Virgo Moon. This is not a sign for lighthearted magic, but it’s great for getting work done and serving others.

Libra is a masculine, cardinal air sign ruled by Venus. Its symbol is the scales, and in medical astrology it is associated with the kidneys and adrenals. Art, music, relationships, justice, balance, negotiation, and the social graces are all favored under a Libra Moon, but especially partnerships. This is a sign for doing magic with others, for working toward common goals. A Libra Moon is also the time to channel your inner Martha Stewart and redecorate the covenstead or rearrange your altar.

Scorpio is a feminine, fixed water sign ruled by Pluto. Its symbol is the scorpion, and it is associated with the sex organs. A Scorpio Moon is a real boon to Witches and Pagans because it emphasizes many of the things and themes we hold dear (or at least relevant): sex, subconscious, death, the underworld, power, control, stealth, obsession, anything “occult” as in “hidden,” and high magic. A Scorpio Moon is time to do the “deep” work: shamanism, past life regression, divination, and anything else that requires focus and a great deal of power.

Sagittarius is a masculine, mutable fire sign ruled by Jupiter. Its symbol is the archer, and it’s associated with the hips and thighs. Religion, philosophy, humor, honesty, luck, gambling, higher education, foreign or long-distance travel, foreign people and languages, sports, and animals are all highlighted under Sagittarius. Sagittarius is about grand gestures; this is no time to think small. It is the time to learn more about your favorite pantheon and the people who worshipped it and to either teach others or find a new teacher yourself.

Capricorn is a feminine, cardinal earth sign ruled by Saturn. Its symbol is the goat, and it’s associated with knees and bones. Capricorn Moon magics are great for career, success, work, time, tradition, money from work, the past, assertiveness, and drive. Capricorn is the CEO of the zodiac, so this is a good time to work magic toward anything that involves advancement. Capricorn also loves tradition, history, and nostalgia, so magical projects involving long-gone famous Witches or magicians or bringing old practices back into use would also be great ways to use a Capricorn Moon.

Aquarius is a masculine, fixed air sign that is ruled by Uranus. Its symbol is the water bearer, and it’s associated with the ankles, calves, and circulation. Invention, innovation, inspiration, detachment, freedom and independence, and humanitarian causes are all Aquarian themes. Aquarius is the maverick of the zodiac, shaking up the status quo. It’s a rebel, a lightning strike, and sometimes just the kick in the pants your magic needs to bring it to a new level. Aquarius Moons are a good time for creating new rituals and ways of doing things, breaking free of whatever is holding you down and inspiring others or being inspired yourself.

Pisces is a feminine, mutable water sign ruled by Neptune. Its symbol is the fishes, and it’s associated with the feet. Mutable water is boundless, so it’s no surprise that dream and psychic work, shamanism, alcohol and drugs, compassion, intuition, and imagination are highlighted under a Pisces Moon. If you want to try to communicate psychically with someone, take an astral trip, or connect with the fey or otherworldly beings, the Pisces Moon is a good bet. Pisces also has a strong public service or martyr streak, so doing charity work or helping others is appropriate for a Pisces Moon.

If you would like to delve further, any basic astrology book or website will give you keywords associated with each sign. Two of my favorite astrological books specifically for spellwork are A Time for Magic by Maria Kay Simms and Astrological Magic by Estelle Daniels. These are great because they’re astrology books focused on magic, as opposed to astrology books focused on birth charts. They’re not “easy” reads if you’re new to astrology, but the information that you need about the signs is easily accessible in them. Basic birth chart books can still be useful too because they give a general idea of the “flavor” of each sign, and they don’t assume you have any prior astrological knowledge.

Now you can combine the phase and sign to enhance your magic. For that money spell, you’d probably want the Moon to be waxing and in Taurus, unless you’re trying to banish debt, in which case a waning Aries Moon might do the trick. You can find a sign and quarter combination that’s helpful for just about any spell you can dream up.

Mercury Retrograde and Moon Void of Course

You may want to watch out for a couple of astrological pitfalls when using the Moon to plan your magical workings: the Moon void of course and Mercury retrograde.

The Moon void of course is the time period between the point when the Moon has made all of the important angular relationships to other planets that it’s going to make while in a given sign and the point when it enters the next sign. It’s like it has finished its work and is sprawled out on the couch watching Law and Order and eating Doritos until it enters the next sign and starts work all over again. Since the Moon is the zodiac timepiece, when it’s not at work (when it’s distracted by Law and Order and Doritos) time feels a bit wonky. Generally, things begun under a void of course don’t work out. A void can last a couple or several hours. Voids are usually listed in Witchy and astrological calendars and datebooks. You can find them frequently on astrological websites too.

A similar phenomenon is Mercury retrograde. Mercury is the planet of communication. While it really has nothing to do with the Moon work we’ve been discussing, when Mercury is retrograde, or appearing to move backward as seen from the earth, communication is also backward, and that can mess up your spellwork. Magic done under a Mercury retrograde often doesn’t work, or it doesn’t work out as planned. The astro calendars and websites will list Mercury retrogrades for the year. There are usually four of them, and they last for about three weeks.

Taking It One Step Further: Planetary Hours

Okay, that was reasonably simple. In as much time as it would take to look up what herb or what color candle or stone to use in a spell, you can figure out the quarter and sign of the Moon. Here’s a more complex way to time your spells with astrology: the planetary days and hours. Personally, I think that the planetary hours are a more potent tool for timing than the Moon’s phase and sign, but that might simply be because they take a little bit of work to figure out, so you spend that much more time focusing on your goal.

The theory behind planetary hours is simple: Each day of the week and each hour of the day is “ruled,” or corresponds with, a planet. In turn, each planet “rules” or corresponds to areas of life that you might be working magic for. For example, Venus is associated with love, so love magic is best done during a Venus day or on a Venus hour (or on a Venus hour on a Venus day). The easiest way to incorporate this information is to just use the appropriate day of the week. Sunday is ruled by the Sun; Monday the Moon; Tuesday is Mars; Wednesday is Mercury; Thursday is Jupiter; Friday is Venus; and Saturday is Saturn (for the purposes of astrology, the Sun and Moon are considered planets). So if you want Venus energy for that love spell, do your working on a Friday.

Figuring the Planetary Hours

Using the planetary hours is trickier, but rewarding. As an example, let’s say that I’m going to do a spell today (January 5, 2004). First I need to find the times for sunset and sunrise on the day I’d like to do my working. You can find this information online or in a newspaper.

Next I need to figure out the length of today’s daylight and night hours. Daylight planetary hours are computed by taking the amount of time between sunrise and sunset and dividing it by 12. Nighttime hours are computed by taking the amount of time between sunset and the next sunrise and dividing it by 12. On days like today we don’t have full 12 hours of daylight time, so a daytime planetary “hour” is not going to be 60 minutes long. The Sun rose today at 7:57 a.m. and it set at 4:32 p.m., so we had 8 hours and 35 minutes of daylight and 15 hours and 25 minutes of night.

The easiest way to figure the length of each planetary hour is to convert the daylight and night hours into minutes. Eight hours and 35 minutes is 515 minutes. Fifteen hours and 25 minutes is 925 minutes. When I divide 515 and 925 each by 12, I get daylight hours of 43 minutes (rounded) and night hours of 77 minutes (also rounded).

With this information, I can figure out at what time each planetary hour begins. The Sun rises at 7:57 a.m., so that’s when the first daylight hour begins. I figure the rest by adding 43 minutes to each previous time, so the second hour begins at 8:40 a.m., the third at 9:18 a.m., the fourth at 10:01 a.m., the fifth at 10:44 a.m.; the sixth at 11:27 a.m., the seventh at 12:10 p.m., the eighth at 12:53 p.m.; the ninth at 1:36 p.m.; the tenth at 2:19 p.m.; the eleventh at 3:02 p.m., and the twelfth at 3:45 p.m. (You notice that this gives the twelfth hour 47 minutes. This is because of the rounding. We’ll compensate for this later.)

I figure the nighttime hours starting at 4:32 p.m. and adding 77 minutes: second hour, 5:49 p.m.; third hour 7:06 p.m.; fourth hour; 8:23 p.m.; fifth hour, 9:40 p.m.; sixth hour, 10:57 p.m.; seventh hour 12:14 a.m.; eighth hour 1:31 a.m.; ninth hour 2:48 a.m.; tenth hour 4:05 a.m.; eleventh hour, 5:23 a.m.; twelfth hour, 6:40 a.m. (this comes out close to exact).

Putting the Hours in the (Chaldean) Order

Now that I know the start times of each planetary hour, I need to know which hours are associated with which planets. To do this I need to remember seven planets in a specific order—called the Chaldean order, after the people who made it up—determined way back when rocks were new. The planets, in that order, are Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury, Moon.

To determine the planets that rule the hours for my example day, I begin in the list with the planet that rules that day, and keep cycling through until I’ve determined the planet for each of the 24 hours. My daylight hours work out as follows: first is the Moon; second, Saturn; third, Jupiter; fourth, Mars; fifth, Sun; sixth, Venus; seventh, Mercury; eighth, Moon; ninth, Saturn; tenth, Jupiter; eleventh, Mars; and twelfth, Sun. Nighttime hours continue the list where the daytime ones left off, so they are: first, Venus; second, Mercury; third, Moon; fourth, Saturn; fifth, Jupiter, sixth, Mars; seventh, Sun; eighth, Venus; ninth, Mercury; tenth, Moon; eleventh, Saturn; twelfth, Jupiter.

Now I need to know which planet best fits my needs for my spell. As with sign correspondences, planetary correspondences are easy to find online or in books. The book A Time for Magic, which I mentioned earlier, is all about the hours and how to use them in magic. The author also covers the planets in a fair amount of depth and includes tables of planetary hours that you can use to skip all of the math if you know the latitude of your city. Another very useful book is Rex Bills’ The Rulership Book, which lists just about everything you can think of, including the kitchen sink, and what planet rules it. If you can’t find these, a basic astrology book with information on the planets will do, but here’s a simplified list of correspondences to get you started. Again, this is not comprehensive or even close to complete.

Saturn: Endings, discipline, authority, tradition, career, accomplishment, the sign Capricorn (and in old-school astrology, Aquarius).

Jupiter: Expansion, wisdom, generosity, religion, education, idealism, legal affairs, philanthropy, luck and the sign Sagittarius (and in old-school astrology, Pisces).

Mars: War, heat, anger and aggression, competition, passion, accidents, courage, the military, the sign Aries (and in old-school astrology, Scorpio).

Sun: Leadership, vitality, creativity, the God, fatherhood and the father, the sign Leo.

Venus: Love, wealth, harmony, balance, relationships art, the rich things in life, the signs Taurus and Libra.

Mercury: Thought, communication, teaching, writing, computers, cars, speech, and the signs Gemini and Virgo.

Moon: House and home, domestic affairs, the Goddess, motherhood and the mother, fertility, anything to do with water, the sign Cancer.

You’ll notice that there is some overlap between the things associated with the planets on this list and the things associated with planets’ corresponding signs on the other list. Planets and the signs they “rule” share some traits (Cancer and the Moon are both watery and mother-oriented, for example), but they also have qualities distinct from one another. Planets and signs are not the same thing. One difference is that planets are more active forces because they move, while signs are like the persona or attitude, for lack of a better word, that a planet takes on when it’s moving through that sign. This is a subtle distinction, but an important one, and it’s one reason why—in my opinion, other astrologers might disagree—the planetary hours pack a little more oomph than just using the sign and quarter of the Moon for planning magic.

You’ll also notice that Uranus, Neptune and Pluto are missing, and Mars, Jupiter and Saturn are listed as having an extra sign affiliated with them. Uranus, Neptune and Pluto had not yet been “discovered” when the ancients first assigned the signs to the planets, and there weren’t enough planets so each sign could have its own, so Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn were given double duty. (Mercury and Venus still rule two signs each to this day.) The system of planetary hours was also created before the outer planets were found, but this works out fine, because there are only seven days of the week anyway, so those extra three planets would be left out in the cold.

Putting It Together

Now, if I want to do a love spell, I should really wait for a Venus hour on Friday, the Venus day, but since I’m impatient I could do my spell during the sixth daylight or first or seventh night hour, depending on which fit into my schedule. A more appropriate working on a Monday (Moonday) would be fertility magic, and I could use a Moon or Venus hour, again depending on which one fit my schedule best. If I wanted to use Monday because I was doing a working for my mother (the Moon is associated with mother), and she was applying for a new job, I could use a Saturn hour (work and career), a Mercury hour (communication and computers), or a Jupiter hour (luck and money), depending on which suited her needs. If I wanted to get super-detailed, I could also choose to do the working on a planetary hour and day when the sign and quarter of the Moon were compatible too. Talk about focusing on your goal!

One last thing about planetary hours: Since you usually end up rounding off, you don’t want to start your working right when the hour starts. Allow yourself some fudge space and start at least five minutes into the “hour” to make sure you’re in the correct hour. If you want to be precise and calculate your hours down to the seconds so you can start exactly on time, more power to you. You’re more strong willed than I am.

If you have read this far and you’re really jonesing on using astrology in magic, you might consider looking into the branch of astrology called “electional,” which is used for choosing the best time to begin important projects. The sign and phase work we did earlier is basic, basic electional astrology. You might also consider studying enough basic natal (birth) astrology to read your own birth chart to gain insight into your magical strengths. The twelfth house is magic and the occult, so you could see what you have lurking in that house for starters. Whatever you choose to do, have fun incorporating astrology into your magic!