Second Lunation: Waxing Moon Cycle
Days 1–15
A Word to the Wise: This lunation is our first opportunity to practice with the intensity offered by the Moon-Wise retreat schedule (Appendix D). Look at your calendar now to schedule time to engage in this important practice.
The Cardinal Magical Axioms
There are two sets of magical axioms, which provide an ethical framework for living a magical life. The magical axioms align with the compass directions as well as the Wiccan high holy days. Witches call the magical axioms that align with the four cardinal compass points (along with the four fire festivals) the cardinal magical axioms. Witches call the axioms aligned with the cross-compass points (and the Goddess festivals) the immutable axioms.
The magical axioms are part of a system that fleshes out, piece by piece, the traditional Wiccan Rede, which is, as you may recall from your first year of study, “An it harm none, do what ye will.” When one begins the path of the Witch, one may not have considered the important role ethics plays on the magical path. But consider that the first premise of magic and of Wicca is that all things are interwoven in the fabric of the universe.
It doesn’t take much to recognize this premise at work in our own lives. The lives of all creatures on the planet, the seas, the soil, the sun, the moon, the rain—everything you can name is responsible for your very existence. We know that the loss of animal or plant species on our planet can wreak havoc on our ecosystems and can have a deteriorating effect on human health and human existence.
One example of this is the plight of honeybees. Agriculturists have called the phenomenon in which honeybee colonies abruptly disappear “Colony Collapse Disorder.” For readers who are hearing of this for the first time, there have been huge declines in honeybee populations worldwide, and this has given rise to pollination problems, which, in turn, have affected plant health and global food supplies. The causes of Colony Collapse Disorder, while still not fully known, may be associated with immune deficiencies caused perhaps by pesticides, beekeeping practices (particularly the use of antibiotics), and electromagnetic radiation.
The chain of causation here is clear, and human activity that moves forward with its own agenda while not paying close attention to the importance of interdependence frequently plays a critical role in a whole host of troubles.
All things in this physical universe are interdependent and must be so for their very existence. Therefore, as Witches, to foster a direct awareness of how our lives intersect with everything else is an act of reverence. Witches revere the connections between all and seek to foster them, rather than control, isolate, or own.
Acts of controlling, isolating, or ignoring the interconnectedness of things broadly fosters separations. This way of being in the world works against the flow of nature (and thus, against the interdependence of all things). Therefore, actions that hinder the flow of life stand in direct conflict with the aims of the Wiccan Rede, which tells us to harm none.
Learning how to live in greater harmony is the broad basis of Wiccan ethical conduct and informs the magical axioms. When you choose to live in ways that contradict the magical axioms or stand in a position of interference with natural harmony, you cut yourself off from deity and deteriorate your magical effectiveness, and this can give rise to the accruing of negative karma.
What we choose to do, moment by moment in our lives, has consequences that reverberate from our personal lives outward to life as a whole. As above, so below. This means that if you are able to focus your attention, even for a moment, on what you are doing and the choices you are making, you can make a big difference in your own life and in the interconnected web. Change cannot occur elsewhere. It starts with you and with me. Therefore, if you recognize that an action you are taking fosters natural harmony (which is part of the macrocosm), then when you recognize and act with knowledge of your interdependence, you will ultimately make changes in the interconnected web of things that will improve your personal magical and spiritual effectiveness (the microcosm). When you live in ways that are less skillful or you are unaware of the big-picture effects of your actions, it becomes much more possible to act in ways that can cut off or interfere with natural harmony (the macrocosm). In disturbing the greater whole, you foster disharmony, and this usually results in an existence (at the microcosm level) that is weighed down with suffering.
Of course, you don’t have to aspire to noble or grand intentions in order to act with interconnectedness in mind. Even if you choose to act in ways that foster harmony simply to avoid a more painful life experience, that’s fine too. Or if you’re doing it to bolster your own magical effectiveness, there is no harm in that. All paths can lead to the spiritual center as long as you remain mindful of the importance of interconnectedness.
Contemplating Connectivity
Magical Purpose: To gain greater clarity of your role in the greater chain of universal connectivity.
As you go through the next couple of days, focus your attention on interdependence. Find at least five instances each day where you can clearly see interdependence at play. Catch yourself before you take action in any given moment, and take note of how your action is connected to what happened before, what may happen next as a result of the action, and how the action responds to the moment at hand. Journal about this as the day goes along.
At the end of the day, sit in silent meditation. Focus only on your breath, and keep returning the mind to inhalations and exhalations for at least ten minutes. Then take a look at the five instances of interconnection that you included in your journal. See what you wrote and think about where you can elaborate and expand upon the interconnectivity you’ve already noticed.
Consider the following questions, and either journal a response or contemplate each until you have clarity about your response:
• Can I live my life without connections? In what way?
• What in the universe exists without something else?
• Is it possible to “cut,” or eliminate, some connections?
First Cardinal Axiom
|
Direction: |
East |
|
Power: |
Knowing and wondering |
|
Season: |
Spring |
|
Festival: |
Spring Equinox |
|
Theme: |
Balance, with an emphasis on the waxing light |
|
Dates: |
Around March 19–22 |
|
Axiom: |
A practitioner of the Old Ways maintains and encourages an impartial mind. |
First Cardinal Axiom
“The power to know” is the magical power Witches typically associate with the compass direction of east. The energies of the east and “knowing” include learning, gathering information, research, data, facts, and communication.
In Wicca, we strive to mirror the balance of nature, which encompasses the balance point of every polarity you can name, including male/female, light/dark, up/down, good/bad, and activity/receptivity. Witches strive to find the balance point between outward-directed and inward-directed action and energy.
In understanding this, it becomes clear that in nature, every “active” principle has its own “receptive” polarity. In magical practice, the outward, active energy captured by the symbolism of the east of the magic circle is “the power to know,” and its receptive polar energy is “the power to wonder.”
Whereas knowledge is about facts, wondering is about opening to possibilities that go beyond the known, crystallized data. While there is power in knowing the facts, information eventually decays and becomes stagnant. The knowledge of today frequently falls into obscurity with the passage of time; therefore, knowledge has its limits. If facts and data were timeless, then we’d still believe that the earth was flat, and that it was the center of the universe, that it rode on the back of a turtle, and so on. As quaint as some of these ideas seem to us now, they were once upheld as knowledge.
Wondering—the polar opposite of knowing—takes you beyond facts and data. It evokes a mental state that tests the possibilities and remains flexible and fluid, no matter the circumstances. It takes us into a pure, tabula rasa experience of life, which can be evocative, renewing, and empowering in its own way. Of course, living your life in a perpetual state of wonder is not something to be sustained. If you retain no basic knowledge, then you might step out in front of a bus, consume poisonous materials, or engage in any number of dangerous behaviors. So wondering, too, has its own set of limits.
Therefore, it is important to find the balance point between knowing and wondering. Staying focused in the present time is the most flexible, magical mindset we can adopt as the balance point of knowing and wondering. When you remain as present as possible, using all of your senses as well as your mind to perceive information as it arises moment by moment, you are ready to respond at a moment’s notice to life’s circumstances. When you learn to sustain a mindset of flexible presence, you cease to cling to outmoded information. You release your ideas and opinions. But you also do not live in a “blank slate” mindset.
The mental flexibility of sustained, focused presence of mind frees you up for immediate and spontaneous action. This is a central axiom of powerful magic. Magic is not an isolated instance that you engage in for specific purposes and then set aside. It is a pervasive, ever-present way of life. If you attempt to engage with magic in isolated instances rather than living it moment by moment, you reduce your effectiveness significantly, and you live in a disempowered way.
Over the next several days, you will engage in practices that will help you align with the balance point of knowing and wondering.
Knowing/Wondering Incense and Oil
Magical Purpose: Creating herbal aids to help foster a balance between the poles of knowing and wondering.
Prepare the following incense and oil, which you will use over the next several days of practice.
Knowing/Wondering Incense
What you’ll need:
• ¼ cup powdered sandalwood
• 1 teaspoon white balsam
• 1 teaspoon cedar bark, either powdered or chips
• 1 teaspoon cassia, powdered
• 2 drops jasmine essential oil
• 2 drops lemongrass essential oil
• 2 drops rose essential oil (Try to use the best quality rose essential oil you can find. It can be expensive, but it is useful.)
• 1 ounce vegetable glycerin or other carrier oil
• An airtight container
Mix the dry ingredients together first. Add the essential oils to the glycerin or carrier oil. Mix everything together until the dry ingredients take on the scents from the essential oils and the mixture looks fluffy. Keep stored in an airtight container until you use it.
Knowing/Wondering Oil
What you’ll need:
• 2 drops jasmine essential oil
• 2 drops lemongrass essential oil
• 2 drops rose essential oil
• Pinch of dried white sage
• 1 ounce vegetable glycerin or other carrier oil
• An amber or dark-colored bottle with a tight lid
Mix the ingredients together and store in an amber or dark-colored bottle that has a tight lid to preserve the magical properties of the essential oils.
Invoking the Balance/
Knowing and Wondering
Magical Purpose: Using herbal, energetic aids
to foster a balance between knowing and
wondering.
Light the Knowing/Wondering Incense and dab your third eye, at the center of your brow between your eyes, with Knowing/Wondering Oil. Stand facing the east while holding the incense burner. Draw an air-invoking pentagram (Appendix E) in front of you using the smoldering incense.
Set the incense aside and take a seated position for meditation, as described in Practice Days 18–19 of the previous lunation. Set a timer for fifteen minutes. During this time, use the mindfulness meditation technique of counting your exhalations. However, this time, as you sit, you will keep paper and pen with you.
While you are engaging in the count, you will eventually begin to notice your emerging habitual thinking patterns. These represent your personal version of “knowing” that can limit your flexibility and interconnections to the whole of life.
Take notes occasionally, especially if you begin to notice that there is a pattern to your thoughts. For example, you may discover that you’re always planning. Or you may find that you’re obsessed with your work or with specific thoughts about people. Just mentally noting and then jotting these thoughts down each day for the next several days will be enough for these habitual thinking patterns to rise into your full awareness, which is the balance point between knowing and wondering.
When you are finished, pick up the incense burner (add more of the Knowing/Wondering Incense if it has stopped burning), and with it, draw an air-banishing pentagram while facing the east.
Take time to review the notes you took during this magical meditation, and consider the following questions:
• What are your “knowing” patterns?
• How might these thought patterns keep you from acting with full effect in the moment?
• How might these habitual thoughts keep you disempowered?
• Do they empower you in some way, or do they keep you feeling comfortable and safe?
Who Am I?
Magical Purpose: Considering the effects of context as a defining influence on how you
live your life.
Light the Knowing/Wondering Incense and dab your third eye, at the center of your brow, with Knowing/Wondering Oil. Stand facing the east while holding the incense burner. Draw an air-invoking pentagram (Appendix E) in front of you using the smoldering incense.
Set the incense before you and place a blank piece of paper between you and the incense burner. Write a sentence that starts with “I am.” Finish the sentence with something positive that you “know” about yourself. It should be the crown jewel of who you are. For example, you might write “I am kind” or “I am well loved.” Write whatever you think is a good representation of your most treasured positive quality.
Next, write another “I am” sentence, but this time finish it with a dark, forbidden, or horrifying thing about you that you hope no one else notices. You could write “I am mean” or “I am selfish.” Go ahead. Admit it, and write it down. But pick something that you “know” is true.
Now look at both “I am” statements and consider the following questions:
1. Are these statements true in all circumstances?
2. Are they true for all people?
3. Are they true in all environments?
4. Are they true at every moment of the day?
Chances are, you’ve said no to all four questions about your statements. That’s because we can’t hold on to only one or two facets of ourselves and hide or submerge the others. It’s impossible to be those things in all circumstances, with all people, in all environments, all the time. But we still want to cling to these ideas, which are the “knowing” of who we are.
The truth is far more complex.
So now, with this understanding, end the sentences you started with the following words: “or not.” So the positive one might read, “I am Mother Teresa, or not.” And the negative sentence might read, “I am a jerk, or not.” Think of these statements now in terms of the broader sense of who you are.
Can you sense how wording the statements in less-self-certain terms opens up some space for you energetically?
Finally, cross out all of the evaluative words in your sentences, leaving only the first two words, “I am.”
Imagine yourself in this moment with no labels, with no markers, identifiers, or notions of your past or future. Just enter this moment only as “I am.” What is it like for you to exist in this moment without so many labels (either pro or con)?
When you are finished with this initial exploration, pick up the incense burner (add more of the Knowing/Wondering Incense if it has stopped burning), and with it, draw an air-banishing pentagram while facing the east.
Your task for the next few days is to approach each moment in your life with this label-less sense. No matter the task or situation, enter the moment just as this “I am,” with no additional labels.
At the end of each day, take time to journal or reflect on what it was like to live within the moment that exists outside of labeling. This is to live within the balance point between knowing and wondering.
Key of Solomon Magic
For the next days, we will explore the Key of Solomon, a fourteenth- to fifteenth-century grimoire (spell book or textbook of magic) that played an influential role in the forms and practices of contemporary Wicca.
As mentioned in the introduction, during our Second Degree year and a day, there will be a considerable focus on a few of the ancient texts and practices that have come to inform the contemporary Craft. Craft practitioners and historians alike consider The Triumph of the Moon, written by University of Bristol professor Ronald Hutton, to be the definitive account of the history of modern Pagan Witchcraft. According to Hutton, the father of contemporary Witchcraft, Gerald Gardner, likely developed his Wiccan rituals and initiations as a pastiche of the many occult influences of his day. Gardner was an avid student of the occult, and his writings—including Ye Bok of Ye Art Magical, which was the first version of his now well-known Book of Shadows—were likely amalgams of pieces “borrowed” from several sources, including Margaret Murray’s The God of the Witches, Charles Godfrey Leland’s Aradia, the rites of Freemasonry, Ordo Templi Orientis (or O.T.O., a magical fraternity developed by Aleister Crowley), the writings of Crowley himself, and the now-famous grimoire called the Key of Solomon.
And even more broadly, we might say that via the O.T.O. and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, there has always been a link between Wicca and the ancient grimoires that have informed many of its magical practices. Many concepts are woven into our sense of timing, our magical correspondences, and the like. The influence of the old grimoires may be indirect at times, but it is ever-present in our Craft, and these grimoires can serve as magical resources, if approached sensibly.
That being said, Witches practice differently from ceremonial magicians. Contemporary ceremonialists, such as those of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and the O.T.O., practice forms of magic that command and compel spiritual forces in order to create change. Rather than exert a specific force for commanding or compelling, Witches align with nature, which flows from one moment to the next, as it is. A Witch’s focus is on harmonizing with the natural world, and using this harmony as the basis for creating change from within.
When Witches encounter the Key of Solomon or other grimoires from antiquity (as we will during this year’s study), the primary interest is in harnessing these foundational magical forms for the purposes of developing focus and intention, rather than for contacting and compelling the spiritual energies reputed to be aligned with pentacles and magic squares.
I really enjoy working with the pentacles and magic squares from the various antique grimoires. They seem to help us connect to energies that are as old as the earth itself and as powerful today as they were long ago. I’ve found working with them to be useful in changing consciousness and in aiding my own magic.
The current version of the Key of Solomon that you can readily find in bookstores and online is not to be considered a standard volume, but one that existed as a framework for ancient magicians who added their own stylistic flourishes to the grimoires. S. L. MacGregor Mathers, one of the important leaders of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, used at least seven versions of the Key to arrive at the version magical folk commonly use today.3
Mathers referred to the Key of Solomon as “the fountainhead and storehouse of Qabalistic Magic, and the origin of much of ceremonial magic of medieval times.”4 Mathers asserted that the Key’s elaborate pentacles were originally inscribed by the biblical King Solomon. However, the version to which he is referring was in all likelihood written in the fourteenth or fifteenth century in Italy.
There were many grimoires written in the late Medieval period through the Renaissance, and authors of such grimoires commonly ascribed their work to biblical (or other historical) characters to lend power and authority to their works. So Mathers simply followed suit in the long-standing tradition of believing that the Key was written by the biblical King Solomon.
Magic and sorcery were frequently part of King Solomon’s legends, especially in the ancient world. Owen Davies, a professor at the University of Hertfordshire and the author of numerous books on Witchcraft and magic, describes a book called the Testament of Solomon, which likely was an ancient world precursor to the Key of Solomon.5 Davies notes that the Testament of Solomon is reportedly a Greek manuscript that may have been written in either Babylonia or Egypt sometime during the first five centuries.
The Testament of Solomon describes how Solomon was aided by spiritual forces to build a temple when the angel Michael gave him a magical ring engraved with a seal that could stop demons from hampering his progress. The Testament goes on to say that Solomon, after losing favor with God for being drawn into worshipping several of the spiritual entities he controlled, wrote the work to serve both as a warning to others and as a guide.
The period from the late Medieval period through the Renaissance in Europe was a particularly fertile time for “high magic,” or “ceremonial magic,” which frequently relied upon the old grimoires, such as the Key. Though such practices were frowned upon by the church, the availability of paper, the invention of movable type, and an ever-growing literate population allowed for a greater dissemination of such magical works.
The magicians using the Key (or other such systems) typically used the grimoire’s pentacles to evoke the presence of spiritual forces. The magicians would then contain the spirits they evoked in magical designs and compel them to do their bidding.
Witches use magic less forcefully. Magic is meant to put you in touch with the flow of life. Therefore, during the next days of practice, you will not learn ways to compel anything at all. Instead, you will use the pentacles in ways that foster earthier, more harmonious, and spiritually collaborative magical relationships.
Craft historians suggest that Aleister Crowley may have played a role (either directly or indirectly) in the development of Wicca’s rituals. Crowley was a member at one time of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, which was led by Mathers. It is interesting to imagine that Crowley and others had any interest at all in simplifying the complexities of high magic and distilling some of their forms into the earthy Wiccan path, which tends to take its cues from the designs of nature more than from the designs inspired by so-called angelic entities (such as those found in the Key). Going from complex systems like the Key of Solomon (which we are about to explore) and Kabballah to Pagan forms that are so comparatively minimalistic in terms of symbolism must have felt like a relief to these stuffy old guys, a chance to loosen their ties a bit and take a breath of fresh air.
But why would a system of magic with apparent roots in Judaism and Christianity hold interest for Witches? We are, after all, on a Pagan path. The systems of magic represented by the Key are bound to be resonant for more than just the narrow audience of intended recipients. If we consider this for a moment, we can see that this holds true for sacred music, like Gregorian chants, chants or songs of indigenous peoples, and other mystical music. We could say the same for sacred spaces, like old forest groves, soaring cathedrals, and mist-shrouded stone circles. They hold symbolic, archetypal power or energy that seems universally relevant. That being said, once you see the seals of the Key, you’ll understand that these are not representative of anything either Christians or Jews would readily recognize as part of their religious practices.
Not only that, but we are working within the human world, and as marvelous as our tools are, we have only so many. Overlap (and the discovery of shocking interconnections) is inevitable. The Key of Solomon contains a magical set of symbols that have the same archetypal hold on the imagination as do the forest groves, sacred music, or stone circles. The symbols go beyond their immediate cultural trappings, and tap into something very magical and alive for us right now.
Key of Solomon
and Correspondences
As you may recall from your first year and a day of practice, Wiccan magic is synergistic. We change our consciousness and magic ensues. But aiding that change of consciousness are a variety of correspondences that help provide spiritual alignment for magical tasks. The correspondences themselves are meaningless without human engagement and activation. But let’s take a deeper look at Wicca’s magical roots and how Wicca adopted this interest in spiritual correspondences.
There is an important, pivotal magical maxim that Witches use that traces its roots to a mystical work (that scholars say appeared between the sixth and eighth centuries) called the Emerald Tablet of Hermes (or the Smaragdine Table). The history of the Emerald Tablet is rich with speculation, and scholars generally do not agree as to its origins. However, most seem to agree that The Book of the Secret of Creation is the earliest source document that contains information similar to the Tablet. The Tablet is thought to be an amalgam of Hellenistic thought and Egyptian mysteries that spread throughout the Hellenistic world and eventually became translated into Arabic, where we find our earliest textual source.
Renaissance alchemists, hermeticists, and philosophers used this body of writings as the basis of their practices, and they ascribed the work to Hermes Trismegistus, which was an amalgam of the gods Hermes and Thoth, both of whom are said to govern magical affairs.
In any event, the actual translation of the maxim that continues to exert its influence over magical practices is as follows: “That which is below corresponds to that which is above, and that which is above corresponds to that which is below, to accomplish the miracle of the One Thing.”
Witches today have truncated this maxim to say, “As above, so below.”
The original maxim cuts to the core of magical practice, laying bare the importance of the interconnectedness of all things and labeling the unifying energy of all things as “the One Thing.” It shows the connectedness of microcosm and macrocosm. Thus, the maxim expresses the central idea that experiences occurring on any dimension (whether on the spiritual, mental, or physical plane) will also be reflected on other levels.
Mix and Match Magic
Magical Purpose: Exploring and contemplating tables of correspondences.
Our practice on days 9–10 included learning about some of the history of our grimoires and the central maxim that guides magical practice, which can feel like a lot to take in. Today, review some of the classical correspondences from the ancient grimoires, as these will be important for our next several days of workings. While some of these were discussed in Wicca: A Year and a Day, it is important to reacquaint yourself with these tables, which will inform much of our practice through the end of this year and a day.
Important to this practice is understanding how to align the tables of planetary hours to the actual hours of your local day. You’ll see that the tables show twelve hours of “day” and twelve hours of “night.” This is a pretty basic system that you can adapt simply by applying the first hour and its planetary correspondence to your local sunrise. All other hours follow from there.
So, if in my hometown the sunrise is at 5:00 am on Sunday, then the first planetary hour between 5:00 and 6:00 am is aligned with the Sun. The second hour, between 6:01 and 7:00 am, aligns with Venus, and so on. Likewise, my “night” hours would start twelve hours following the official local sunrise. So that means on that same Sunday, my “night” table of correspondences starts at 5:00 pm. So between 5:00 and 6:00 pm, the planet that aligns with that first “night” hour is Jupiter. The second night hour corresponds to Mars, and so on.
Play with the tables of planetary hours by finding correspondences that match with your astrological sign, your favorite day of the week, favorite color, favorite time of the day, etc.
Also, take time to commit to memory information from the third table, which lists the correspondences between planets, numbers, colors, herbs, days of the week, astrological signs, and elements. Since the information in this table may be a bit much to commit to memory in one sitting, first try simply memorizing which planets align with the various numbers. Then at another time, try to memorize which planets correspond to the various colors, and so on. Breaking this memorization task up into several days may work best. But memorizing this information is a common task initiators will require of their initiates in the second year of study.
Contemplate the following questions:
• When you consider your life as a whole (including your work, hobbies, and other life patterns), what planetary/magical influences do you find are most heavily involved in your life?
• Using this same line of reasoning and pattern matching, which planetary influences seem to be least involved in your life?
|
Hour |
Sunday |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
Saturday |
|
1 |
Sun |
Moon |
Mars |
Mercury |
Jupiter |
Venus |
Saturn |
|
2 |
Venus |
Saturn |
Sun |
Moon |
Mars |
Mercury |
Jupiter |
|
3 |
Mercury |
Jupiter |
Venus |
Saturn |
Sun |
Moon |
Mars |
|
4 |
Moon |
Mars |
Mercury |
Jupiter |
Venus |
Saturn |
Sun |
|
5 |
Saturn |
Sun |
Moon |
Mars |
Mercury |
Jupiter |
Venus |
|
6 |
Jupiter |
Venus |
Saturn |
Sun |
Moon |
Mars |
Mercury |
|
7 |
Mars |
Mercury |
Jupiter |
Venus |
Saturn |
Sun |
Moon |
|
8 |
Sun |
Moon |
Mars |
Mercury |
Jupiter |
Venus |
Saturn |
|
9 |
Venus |
Saturn |
Sun |
Moon |
Mars |
Mercury |
Jupiter |
|
10 |
Mercury |
Jupiter |
Venus |
Saturn |
Sun |
Moon |
Mars |
|
11 |
Moon |
Mars |
Mercury |
Jupiter |
Venus |
Saturn |
Sun |
|
12 |
Saturn |
Sun |
Moon |
Mars |
Mercury |
Jupiter |
Venus |
Planetary Hours of the Day
|
Hour |
Sunday |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
Saturday |
|
1 |
Jupiter |
Venus |
Saturn |
Sun |
Moon |
Mars |
Mercury |
|
2 |
Mars |
Mercury |
Jupiter |
Venus |
Saturn |
Sun |
Moon |
|
3 |
Sun |
Moon |
Mars |
Mercury |
Jupiter |
Venus |
Saturn |
|
4 |
Venus |
Saturn |
Sun |
Moon |
Mars |
Mercury |
Jupiter |
|
5 |
Mercury |
Jupiter |
Venus |
Saturn |
Sun |
Moon |
Mars |
|
6 |
Moon |
Mars |
Mercury |
Jupiter |
Venus |
Saturn |
Sun |
|
7 |
Saturn |
Sun |
Moon |
Mars |
Mercury |
Jupiter |
Venus |
|
8 |
Jupiter |
Venus |
Saturn |
Sun |
Moon |
Mars |
Mercury |
|
9 |
Mars |
Mercury |
Jupiter |
Venus |
Saturn |
Sun |
Moon |
|
10 |
Sun |
Moon |
Mars |
Mercury |
Jupiter |
Venus |
Saturn |
|
11 |
Venus |
Saturn |
Sun |
Moon |
Mars |
Mercury |
Jupiter |
|
12 |
Mercury |
Jupiter |
Venus |
Saturn |
Sun |
Moon |
Mars |
Planetary Hours of the Night
Tables of Planetary Correspondences
I want to introduce a quick note about the tables of planetary correspondences and the origins of these correspondences. The origins of magical correspondences can vary from one Witchcraft tradition to another. That is because many of the correspondences you find in Witchcraft traditions originated in a wide variety of source grimoires, such as the Key of Solomon, the works of Agrippa, or even the workings of long-standing ceremonial traditions like Ordo Templi Orientis, etc. Following this, individual covens and individuals try out the “traditional” source information and apply practical experimentation. What works and what doesn’t in magic can vary from person to person, and whatever works is what gets passed down the lineage in a Book of Shadows.
The correspondences that I provide are culled from a variety of sources, including adaptations from my own Book of Shadows and other traditional sources, along with studies in astrology, pieces from “source” grimoires, and Agrippa’s Three Books of Occult Philosophy. Of course, simply because something is “traditional” or “old” does not necessarily mean that it is inherently “right.” Some of the correspondences provided here may not ring true for you personally.
Again, my recommendation is to look at the correspondences I have provided and then adapt them as needed to suit your own magical sensibilities. Magic is, after all, about changing consciousness. That is, it is about changing your consciousness, not mine. If it makes sense to me, it might very well make sense to you too. But it might not. Magic is an art. It isn’t science, with exact formulas and equations that render perfect results. Remember, you are dealing with the subtle energies of the mind and spirit; you are working with the etheric forces of planets that change vibrationally all of the time (and unless you are an astrologer, you may not know how to anticipate these changes). Always bear in mind that you are looking to create change from within. So give yourself permission to play with these tables and determine what seems sensible and what does not.
|
Planet |
Number |
Color |
Herbs (partial list) |
Day of Week |
Astrological Sign |
Element |
|
Sun |
1 |
Yellow, gold |
St. John’s wort, chamomile, cinnamon, rosemary |
Sunday |
Leo |
Fire |
|
Moon |
2 |
White, silver, pale blue, pale yellow |
Star anise, ginger, orris root, jasmine |
Monday |
Cancer |
Water |
|
Mars |
3 |
Red |
Basil, cayenne, broom, chili, hyssop, pine |
Tuesday |
Aries |
Fire |
|
Mercury |
4 |
Mixed colors, most commonly purple, orange, and gray |
Bayberry, |
Wednesday |
Gemini, Virgo |
Air |
|
Jupiter |
5 |
Blue, purple |
Hyssop, mistletoe, oak, myrrh, thorn apple |
Thursday |
Sagittarius |
Fire |
|
Venus |
6 |
Green, pink |
Flowers, bergamot, catnip, boneset, |
Friday |
Taurus, Libra |
Water |
|
Saturn |
7 |
Black, brown |
Belladonna, hellbore, hemlock, monkshood |
Saturday |
Capricorn |
Earth |
Planetary Correspondences
|
Planet |
Associated Energies |
Governs |
|
Sun |
Masculine principle, leadership, success, achievement, men in general |
Health, authority, rank, title, identity, forward progress |
|
Moon |
Feminine principle, receptivity, Mother, Maiden, Crone, women in general |
Tides, phases, receptivity, feelings, desires, growth and fertility, psychic powers |
|
Mars |
Desire, force, power, work, construction (making, doing, building), competition, suddenness, death |
Surgery, sorcery, compelling, forcing, separating, commanding, action, drive, intention, focus, accidents, animal powers (including familiars), inflammation, cuts, burns |
|
Mercury |
Reason, intellect, communication, |
Magic, speaking, writing, communicating, flexibility, thinking, understanding, memory, spirits, channeling |
|
Jupiter |
Leisure, expansiveness, prosperity, |
Growth, prosperity, gain, money, leisure activities, higher learning, luck, aspirations |
|
Venus |
Art, culture, aesthetics |
Charm, magnetism, appeal, beauty, attractiveness, youth, music, dance, poetry, creativity, relationships |
|
Saturn |
Discipline, responsibility, karma |
Reincarnation, stopping, halting, law, order, rules, sorrows, delays, death, wisdom, aging |
Planets and Energies
Making Your Own
Tables of Correspondences
Magical Purpose: Understanding these planetary influences as they manifest in your life.
Make a table of correspondences that aligns with each of the key activities (or even key interests) of your life. Start by looking at the tables of correspondences in this book and see which activities among them are most influential in your life. For example, if you are a writer, like me, you might want to know more about when Mercury is influencing you each day, so you can harness those energies. Or if you teach children, maybe you want to pay attention to Saturn’s hours, because they can influence disciplined activity, like study and concentration. If you are an artist, maybe you want to follow closely the hours of Venus.
Look at the next few days on a calendar and list the hours that will align planetarily with your key activities or interests. Next, look at the ordinary daily schedule you follow (by routine or even by necessity) and determine if you are somehow aligning with those influential planetary hours, particularly as they align with your key life activities.
Keep in mind that today’s exercise is not meant to shock or shame you into somehow radically changing your life to fit the varying forces of planetary energies. That would result in a pretty hectic and chaotic life. The purpose of this activity is only to increase mindfulness, drawing your attention to why certain times of the day might flow more smoothly than others, particularly as they relate to your key interests and activities.
At the conclusion of this exercise, reflect on what you’ve discovered and contemplate the following:
• Are my life’s activities or interests in harmony with the actual planetary influences?
• Which areas of my life can I alter to synchronize them more with the planetary energies?
• If there are some time frames in my life that cannot change, what can I do to help align out-of-synch times/activities with the planetary energies to promote greater harmony? (Use the tables here as a guide.)
Full Moon Ceremony
Take time to determine the central theme of your full moon ceremony, and use the planetary tables to help you decide when you should begin the ritual. For example, if you are doing the ceremony in honor of building a relationship, you might want to align the hour of the ritual with the hour of Venus. If you are focusing on stopping a bad habit, you may wish to align your circle with the hour of Saturn, and so on.
While doing this may feel impractical at times, it is best to continue to press on and experiment with using the magical hours of the day as enhancements to your practice. Keep in mind that there are usually at least two hours within any given day that have the same planetary power. Also, there are many ways to approach the same task. For example, if you were looking to enhance a friendship, you could certainly do this in the hour of Venus. But using the Sun’s influences of happiness and optimism could also add a tone or layer to the outcome.
Look through the tables and consider your magical purposes with different planetary influences as guides.