In this post, I will share with you how to use planetary days and hours for more ease and success in your day to day activity.

Each day is ruled by a specific planet. Here are the days of the week together with their rulers: 

Planetary rulerships of the days of the week

Planetary rulerships of the days of the week

(The names of the days came straight from the planets that rule them, who were considered gods in ancient times.)

Each hour is ruled by a specific planet. You can find out which particular hour is ruled by what planet by following the steps detailed in William Lilly’s book Christian Astrology available for free here, beginning from page 482 (and check the tables from page 474 if you want to manually calculate the hours).

Or you can simply go to websites such as lunarium.co.uk to know what planet is ruling what hour on a particular day of the week. Just don’t forget to change the default location for accurate results.

But to put it shortly, the way to calculate planetary hours is this. You simply pay attention to what day of the week today is. For example, it’s Friday. Friday is the day of Venus. It means that on Friday Venus is always the ruler of the first and eighth astrological hour of the day.

Astrological hours are more accurate than the hours we use on a daily basis. These time units vary in length each day. You get astrological hours by dividing the time from the sunrise to the sunset into twelve equal parts; and also to know the night hours you divide the time from the sunset to the next sunrise into twelve equal parts.

The sequence of planetary hours is always the same: Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury, Moon, Saturn, etc. So if you know that it’s Friday today, for example, you know by referring to the table above that Friday is the day of Venus. So you will naturally know that Venus rules the first astrological hour of the day, and then it’s easy to calculate the rest of the hourly rulerships because their sequence is always the same.

So then starting from the first hour at sunrise, you will get this sequence of planetary hours on Friday:

First hour – Venus

Second hour – Mercury

Third hour – Moon

Fourth hour – Saturn

Sixth hour – Jupiter

Seventh hour – Mars

Eighth hour – Sun

Ninth hour – Venus

… and so on.

Here is the diagram explaining the sequence of the days of the week, and giving more information about the seven planets ruling our days:

seven pointed star diagram of planetary rulerships

Seven-pointed star diagram of planetary rulerships

As you can see, by following the rays of the star you will get the right sequence of the days of the week. If you look at the planets on each tip of the star and go clockwise, you will notice that the planets are:

  1. In the order of their movement through the zodiac (from slowest to fastest moving bodies);
  2. In the order of planetary hours;
  3. In the order of their placement as seen from the earth.

So as you can see, this seven-pointed star diagram is a perfect illustration of the astrological time. Because by following its rays you get the sequence of the days of the week, and by following the tips of the rays – the right sequence of planetary hours.

So this shows that this diagram has an arrangement that has a perfect order. In other words, it’s not just thought of by someone, but it’s likely to be the preserved order of how time flows.

How to use planetary rulerships to increase your success

As I already explained, the planet that rules the first astrological hour of the day is also the ruler of the whole day. So Sunday, for example, is ruled by the Sun the whole day, but it’s especially strong in the first and eighth hour of the astrological day as then it rules not only the day but those particular hours of the day also.

So the way to use this information about planetary days and hours is this. You should do the activities ruled or positively influenced by a particular planet on the day of that planet. Also, to make your activities easier and results even more positive, you can also do them on the hour that the planet rules, as the vibration of that planet is even stronger then.

So now I will describe what activities are ruled or positively influenced by each planet and which activities to avoid, and then I will tell you how to combine planetary days and hours for best results, together with other astrological and numerological factors; I will also give you examples of how to use this information for better clarity.

Planetary days and recommended activities

Here is the description of what activities are supported by different planets, and which ones are better to avoid. This applies to days ruled by specific planets as well as to planetary hours.

Sunday – the day of the Sun

Surya - Vedic God of the Sun

Vedic God of the Sun with seven horses representing seven primary colors which can be seen in the Sun (when sungazing) and the rainbow.

The Sun rules Sunday, and the first and eighth planetary hour of this day.

This day is suitable for matters connected with fame.

It’s also good for work to do with the government and administration, as well as the activities that one enjoys and likes to do in his or her free time.

It’s good with matters connected with children and love and all activities which bring joy.

It’s good to undertake something that requires lots of energy because the Sun is the provider of energy.  It’s difficult to recover from illnesses that start at the day or hour of the Sun.

It’s a day that’s good for asking something from the people of high achievements; it’s a favorable time for establishing communications with them.

Monday – the day of the Moon

Diana - Roman goddess of the Moon

Diana – Roman goddess of the moon; the ruler of giving birth, woodland, hunting, and animals.

You should avoid buying pets at this time or going to see your doctor.

It’s best not to begin any building work or lend money.

This time is good for making food, eating, flirting, sending children to school.

It’s usually a favorable time to start traveling and to find out who caused some problem in your life.

It’s also a great time to go abroad, but it’s best to return another hour or day. It’s a great time to stay at home and do some homework, like cleaning or decorating.

It’s favorable for women and children, and also for doing activities traditionally associated with women, like some care work or also something connected with fashion and beauty.

Tuesday – the day of Mars

Roman god Mars

Mars – the Roman god of war, destruction, and masculinity. Guardian of soldiers.

This is a day of danger and caution.

It’s best during it not to take any important action.

It’s bad for journeys and it increases the possibility of accidents, experiencing violence, or getting robbed.

If your natal Mars is afflicted, it’s best to avoid doing anything that has the possibility of hurting you, like driving (as you might get into an accident) and especially work involving metals since Mars rules metal; also avoid working with machinery and handling sharp objects.

It’s a day favorable for war and competitive sports or any other war-like activity, like aggressively going for what you want in business, for example. It gives you the energy of aggression, and this can sometimes be used constructively.

If Mars is favorably aspected in your natal chart, you might act on this day if the activity needs the force of aggression, such as fearlessly going into some great business deal, or doing something dangerous, as it will provide you with courage. So it might even be used to ask someone you like out if you lack courage on other days.

But if your natal Mars is afflicted, then you are likely to get hurt or experience failure by acting in such ways. Also, look at the number of the day, if you are thinking of doing something dangerous on that day (to make sure it’s not a number of misfortune).

Wednesday – the day of Mercury

Hermes - Greek god of speed and the messenger of gods.

Hermes – Greek god of speed and the messenger of gods.

This day is great for sales of all sorts, for buying, writing letters, posting items, going to see your doctor.

It’s a good day for sending children to school, doing some intellectual work;

It’s good for beginning a journey, for lending or borrowing money or beginning to build some building.

It’s not good for marriage, buying houses or lands, re-entering your house after you were abroad;

It’s not good to hire any people on this day or hour.

It’s a good time to plant, and it’s also a favorable time to contact people of renown.

Thursday – the day of Jupiter

Roman god Jupiter - the father of gods

Roman god Jupiter – the father of gods

It’s a good time to communicate with judges and people in high positions.

It’s a good day to take long journeys or to leave your home in general, like for some short trip.

It’s also a favorable day to sow seeds and to plant.

It’s easy to recover from illnesses if you get sick on the day or hour of Jupiter. It’s also a favorable time to lend or borrow money since this planet rules money. It’s not a good time to start traveling by sea or to buy animals.

It’s a favorable day for dating if you want it to result in marriage.

Friday – the day of Venus

Aphrodite - Greek goddess of love, sex, fertility and wealth.

Aphrodite – Greek goddess of love, sex, fertility and wealth.

It’s a good day for beginning some journey, also for love, flirting, dating, marriage and anything else associated with love. Sea journeys are not recommended.

It’s good for enjoyable activities, such as engaging in some sort of entertainment, like going to see a movie or going to the theater. It’s also a good time to see a doctor.

Usually, a disease that arises on this day or hour is caused by overindulgence of some sort. It could also be a venereal disease.

It’s a good day to do activities that are related to women, such as grooming, buying some fashion item, preparing for some event or doing something related to beauty. It’s a good day for sports too.

This day and hour may encourage overspending. Spending might be emotional or based on a sense of vision rather than intellect.

Saturday – the day of Saturn

Shani (Saturn) - Hindu god of justice, who gives exactly what one deserves.

Shani (Saturn) – Hindu god of justice, who gives exactly what one deserves.

No long journeys should be taken. It’s recommended not to cut your hair on this day.

But it’s a good hour to buy, to take house leases or lands. It’s a good time to be involved in the business.

It’s also a favorable day to do land work, like digging and plowing.

It’s best not to borrow money on this day, and if you fall sick on Saturday the disease might be prolonged and sometimes may cause death.

I personally follow the rule of not doing any public work on Saturday but just do the preparatory research work rather than publishing articles or videos. I also take it easy on that day, and I find that the next day I’m rewarded for that.

Since Saturn stands for obstacles and limitations, I find that the less work I do on that day and the more I’m on my own, the more I am rewarded, and the rewards are usually financial. (Saturn can help you to increase your income, but it comes through obedience and hard work. But when it comes, it stays.)

Some examples of how to apply this information

So the way to use the above information is this. For example, you want to travel. The best day would be Wednesday to start your journeys because it’s ruled by the planet Mercury which is about movement. And if you want to make sure the journey is successful, start it at the hour of Mercury too.

Again, Mercury would rule the first and eighth astrological hour (as you may know by now, astrological hours start being counted from the sunrise). But what I would also personally do is to look at the number of the day as well, as described in this article. Then if the number of the day is favorable, I would definitely travel then.

Also, it’s wise to check your natal chart too, to see if you have any opposition to the planet Mercury that would make you accident-prone or any afflictions to the third or ninth house ruling journeys. Then, for example, if you find out that because of speeding you may get into an accident, travel on Wednesday on the day of Mercury, but avoid speeding. So combining all these aids will guarantee a smooth journey.

And if you want to really make sure the journey would be successful, it’s also good to look at current planetary transits to make sure nothing obstructs the journey. But even if you just regard the rulership of the day alone, your journey is likely to be more successful than if you don’t pay attention to such things at all.

And here’s another way to use planetary days and hours. If you are interested in natural healing, you should find out which herbs vibrate according to which planet. Some herbs have the vibration of Mercury, some – of Venus, and so forth. If I’m not mistaken, it was Paracelsus who wrote about the vibration of herbs, but there might be other people who wrote about it too, maybe even Edgar Cayce. So if you know which vibration a particular herb has, you can pick it on the day and hour of its planet, and its healing qualities will be much stronger then.

So to apply this information, you should simply look at which activities a particular planet supports and do them on that day. And make sure you avoid doing activities that the planet might disrupt, like taking journeys on the day and hour of Saturn.

Finally…

So as you can see, our days are influenced by a variety of factors: which planet rules a particular day, what planet rules a particular hour, what transits are taking place now, what fixed energies of your natal chart show; what’s your number and what’s the number of the day.

All of this and much more influence us on a daily basis. If we understand the language of stars and work accordingly, we greatly increase our chances of having successful and easier days than those who take no interest in such matters at all.

If this information seems overwhelming for you, simply start by paying attention to planetary days. Then you may choose to look at the number of the day, planetary hours, and only later – your natal chart, transits, and other considerations. Little by little you will be able to fully use all these indications without feeling overwhelmed. The most important thing is to start somewhere.

It’s easier to get a suntan when the sun is out, and it’s best to travel on a day when it doesn’t rain. So by understanding the indicators mentioned, you increase the chances of doing your activity with the least obstructions.

Hi, I'm Simona Rich, the author of this site.

I'm from Lithuania, though most of the time you'll find me somewhere in Asia.

I write about spirituality and self-improvement, and consult on those topics.

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