There are many kinds of rituals in astral magic. Some rituals occur at sunrise and sunset. Some take place each day, on the planetary hours. Amongst the many times to do astral magic rituals, there is an approach to rituals that uses the stations of the Sun or another planet in the diurnal rotation of the earth. Each day, the Sun and other planets in the zodiac rise on the eastern horizon, culminate at the midheaven, set at the setting place, and anti-culminate at a point below the earth. This article gives suggestions for a few ways to do rituals on a twenty four hour basis, based on the model of the astrological house. These rituals should take place every six hours. One idea behind doing rituals at the points of the daily stations of the planets is that the planets are strongest at these times. They are more accessible and more willing to be favorable over matters that they rule. There are at least three approaches to these rituals. These include working with the Sun to explore the overall model, working with the seven planets for balance and awareness, and working with a particular planet for purposes of remediation.
There are a few approaches to doing rituals for a planet while it is on a pivot. One method is to focus on the Sun, and by extension the Moon. A reason for doing it might be to simply have a better relationship with the lights. The Sun’s relationship with the angles fits all biological life, and people already live their lives around the Sun’s daily journey. So, starting out with the Sun might be a good way to both explore ritual timing based on planets on the angles of a horoscopic chart, and also be a way to learn more about daily rhythms. From there, one could move on to the Moon, to further explore a person’s relationship with the lights. Another approach would be to work with all seven of the planets with the goal of improving understanding, achieving balance, and fixing any gaps or weak spots with the planetary archetypes that each planet represents. A person using this approach might start with the Moon, and then go through the rest of the planets in Chaldean order, such as Mercury, Venus, Sun, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. There are many reasons to choose another order, such as factors from one’s natal chart, one’s relationship with certain planets, a planet being in a domicile or exaltation while the rituals are being done, and so forth. It might also be best to start with the Sun first, as much of life on Earth fits the Sun’s daily journey, as mentioned above. With an approach toward knowing and building on one’s relationship with all seven planets, it is suggested to do the rituals for seven days in a row. The same can be said for any rituals done on the daily stations. However, it should be known that there was an Ancient Egyptian tradition of doing rituals on the stations that excluded certain stations at certain times in a calendar month, due to bad luck or misfortune. A third approach would be to time rituals to the stations of a planet that needs remediation in one’s natal chart. In addition to planetary charity, the creation of planetary talismans, focused efforts, and other methods of planetary remediation, it’s quite possible that working with the afflicted planet while its potency is greatest would be helpful towards the overall goals of remediation.
There are some concerns with doing rituals timed to the angles of the horoscopic chart. First, rituals should be done for at least ten minutes out of a two and half hour period that the planet is on its pivot. The two and a half hour window gives the ritualist some flexibility to find time to do the ritual. Next, the ritualist has to decide whether they will do rituals during the anti-culmination period, most likely by setting an alarm and waking up to do the ritual. One might choose to skip the anti-culmination period, which wouldn’t necessarily impact the timing of the rest of the rituals as well, though one potent time will be lost each day.
Photo Credits
1. The sun rises over the ocean. Photo by Midjourney. Prompt: the red sun over the gray waves of the sea, a bluish man with a trident swims. Creator: @david.k9
2. Photo by Midjourney. Prompt: a simple altar in an Ionian style temple has one man sitting in front of it in a long white toga. Creator: @david.k9
David has studied traditional astrology since 2014. The Bay Area native completed Chris Brennan’s Introduction to Hellenistic Astrology course in 2015, and attended courses taught by Austin Coppock, Nina Gryphon, and Ryhan Butler. He is interested in exploring the less well known aspects of astrology, divination, and spirituality.