MAGICK 101: Timing of Spells in Graeco-Egyptian Magic
Graeco-Egyptian magic has a fairly complicated set of timing considerations, but most focus on timing within a day, week, and month. Months within a year and seasons also factor in, but I won’t be drawing up a full calendar until much later. Here is the product of my research. I tried to make it as complete as possible.
This is timing only for Graeco-Egyptian magic but it may be helpful for other magical practices. (and learning about magical branches besides yours is still cool!) All these timing rules are about times when a spell will have the most power. Your magic won’t automatically fail if you don’t do it at the single perfect time. It would be nearly impossible to follow them all; the idea is just to stack beneficial factors.
Once again, pretty pictures to keep your attention in this huge information dump.
Hours and Days of the Week
If you take one thing away from this post, let it be this: the “hours” in Graeco-Egyptian magic are based on sunrise and sunset and do not correspond to modern hour calculation, nor do they necessarily last sixty minutes.
There are twelve daylight hours and twelve nighttime hours. Both are calculated by taking the time from sunrise to sunset (or sunset to sunrise) and dividing that period by twelve. It’s incredibly annoying to figure out what hour you’re in on your own, so I’d recommend using this lovely calculator which shows you the current hour number and its planetary ruler based on your location. This brings me to my next section…
Planetary Rulers of Hours and Days
Planetary hours and days date back to Hellenistic astrology and, as such, apply to Graeco-Egyptian magic. (see PGM XXXVI 320-32 for a spell meant to be done on certain planetary days) The planets that rule each day are:
The hourly planetary ruler begins with the day’s ruling plant and proceeds along Chaldean order: Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury, Moon. (this order is seen in PGM XIII 1-343) The calculator I linked above shows the hourly rulers for you, as I said.
I won’t go into what sort of spells each planet exalts (the calculator above has some notes at the bottom and there are many other resources available) but the idea is to pick an hour and day in which the ruling planet(s) complement your magic. A simple example is casting a love spell on Friday in an hour of Venus.
In addition to giving power to certain types of spells, the time that a planet rules can also be viewed as time its corresponding god(s) rules. As will be mentioned later, it’s best to petition deities during times which they rule over, thus when they are most powerful.
Which Greek gods correspond to each planet are obvious, but the Egyptian ones are less so. Herodotus and other Greeks equated Egyptian gods to their gods, but this uses Hellenized conceptions of the gods and the planets. This Greek mapping is:
Mercury: Hermes (and Thoth)
Venus: Aphrodite (and Hathor)
Jupiter: Zeus (and Atum-Ra or Amun)
Ancient Egypt had an entirely different association of the planets to the gods. The personification of the sun is Ra (although he also has different forms in the day and evenings, was merged with various ruler gods, but at the core it’s Ra) and the personification of the moon is Khonsu. The importance of other planets is minor. Only Mercury and Venus weren’t considered manifestations of the sky god Horus. Mercury was called “Seth in the evening twilight, a god in the morning twilight” and was seen as malicious in the evening but benevolent in the morning (the times Mercury is visible). I couldn’t find any gods associated with Venus.
The other planets were associated with the sky god Horus. The sun and the moon are both associated with him–as the sun is said to be his right eye and the moon his left–as well as several planets.
Mars: “Horus the Red” (wouldn’t be surprised if this included the more violent aspects of Horus, as red was the color of destructive forces)
Jupiter: “Horus who illuminates the Two Lands”, revealer of secrets and mysteries
Saturn: “Horus, Bull of the Sky” (perhaps a reference to strength)
This site has this information nicely compiled.
Given the recognition of Mars’s color and the cultural association with said color, I believe Mars can also be tied to Egyptian war deities on the side of ma’at. (given that Mars is tied to Horus) I believe Sekhmet and Neith, war goddesses clothed in red, are the best candidates for this.
Saturn, given its bull form, could also be associated with the Apis bull and Ptah or Osiris which the Apis bull was seen as a representation or intermediary of.
Now, which system of gods is best for a spell depends on which type of spell you’re casting. If you’re casting a spell from the PGM (originally in Greek) then it should be fine to use the Hellenized equation of the Greek gods to Egyptian ones. The PGM uses super Hellenized versions of them anyway. If you’re using the PDM (originally in demotic) I’d recommend using the Egyptian god-planet associations but still the Hellenic ideas of what powers each planet maps to (Mercury to communication, Venus to love, etc.)
If you’re doing purely Egyptian magic, I’d recommend dropping planetary hours and days altogether. These are meaningless in that magical system.
In addition to planetary rulers of each hour, there are also gods of each hour. But don’t worry! These don’t need to be carefully chosen, you simply need to hail the god of the hour before performing a rite during the day. (unless you’re casting to Judaeo-Christian forces, in which case hailing a different god first is inappropriate) These “gods of the hour” are aspects of Helios, the sun. As such, I’m unsure who, if anyone, you should hail at night when the moon rules.
The gods of the hour include an animal, so an example of a simple hail would be, “Hail to you, Helios, in this, the _____ hour. In this hour, you have the form of a _____ and your name is _____. Give power to this spell so I may succeed in my purpose.”
PGM III 494-611 includes an incomplete and contradictory list to PGM IV 1596-1715, whose names are repeated in PGM XXXVIII 1-26. As such, this is the complete and repeated list of names.
Serpent; AMEKRANEBECHO THŌYTH
If you are doing any magic to Judaeo-Christian forces (yes, there are some Graeco-Egyptian spells that are Christian!) you must keep in mind the Hebrew or Christian Sabbath. The Sabbath is from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday. The “Lord’s Day”, typically Sunday, is used in many sects of Christianity as a similar day of rest.
I know Jewish folk magicians who do practice magic on the Sabbath because they consider it part of their worship, not work. I know some who don’t practice magic on the Sabbath. Personally, as someone who is Jewish through my mother but isn’t really a Jew, I avoid the Sabbath when I work with Hashem out of respect. I’d recommend that other pagan practitioners are similarly respectful of the religion’s day of rest when calling on their deity.
On any given day, the simplest timing to observe is whether a spell should be performed at day or at night. This timing is most important for any spirits associated with bodies visible at day or at night. Spells to solar spirits/deities are most powerful during the day and those to lunar or astral spirits/deities are most powerful at night.
This also extends to deities who are connected to a specific time of day. For example, spells to Harpocrates or Khepri, who are associated with the rising sun, are best performed at dawn. In general, gods should be petitioned at the time which they rule over. In my opinion, this rule trumps the planetary ruler guide. For example, if you need to perform a spell to Khepri on a Wednesday, it is better to perform it at sunrise then to wait until the Sun hour that occurs midday, a time he doesn’t rule over.
In addition to deity rulings, some categories of spirit are more powerful at certain times of day.
Across cultures, night is seen as the time in which the division between the realm of the living and the dead is the thinnest, and ancient Egypt and Greek culture are no different. Spells directly petitioning the dead are best performed at night.
Summoning an angel or some daimons is frequently described as a “star descending” and taking the shape of the spirit. From my own experience, a star will only literally descend if the magic is being performed in a dream. Regardless, the idea still holds that spells summoning an angel or celestial daimon should be performed at night or dawn, when stars are visible.
Sunrise and Sunset/Moonrise
Sunrise and sunset are the most referenced times of day in the PGM. These are times of transition and sunrise always has the same planetary hour and day ruler. Dawn/sunrise is especially powerful in Egyptian culture as it is the rebirth of Ra. Yes, sunrise can be a pain to wake up for but I highly recommend that you leverage its power when you can.
Here are spells that are most powerful at these times of day or are considered “proper” to perform then:
Before dawn/at night: spells to pick a plant, restraining spells
Dawn or sunrise: invisibility spells, all-day favor spells
Sunrise: spells to a sun deity or spirit, especially enchantments, vision spells, and initiations
Sunset: spells to a sun deity of spirit for destruction and spells for them to send up a spirit of the dead or a daimon during the night
Moonrise: spells to a moon deity or spirit
Some spells “bookend” sunrise and sunset, having the magician perform one to the sun at sunrise and a second at sunset.
The reason why invisibility spells are performed early, usually with instructions to perform them right after waking up and before speaking to anyone, is because the sun was viewed as what makes things visible. Thus these spells cloak the caster in the first rays of the sun and are meant to last until sunset or until the user dispels them. Favor spells have a similar rationale of metaphorically changing how someone is “seen.”
An interesting thing to note is how several restraining spells are meant to be performed only at night and have the contents of them disposed of before dawn. (a talisman being thrown into a body of water) Also note how all slander spells (the least moral of the love spells) are meant to be performed at night, most directly to Selene, and several insomnia love spells imply being done at night through use of a live bat and/or the crossroads. (see PGM IV 2943-66) I’m unsure if cursework was done during the night because it was a time when more evil lurked or because the sun was viewed as a moral figure, but I’d recommend performing harmful or immoral spells at night, out of view of the sun.
True midday and midnight, or the points that are halfway between sunrise and sunset, are the second most powerful times to perform magic. They are good times to invoke the power of the sun or moon, whichever is up. True midday or midnight are referenced in spells that are meant to be performed in the 6th hour or end by the 7th hour. There are a few types of spells that are specifically strongest if performed at midday or midnight:
True Midday: spells to gain control over shadows
True Midnight: summoning Selene, dream divination
Across cultures, the waxing moon is used for construction/attracting spells while the waning moon is used for destruction/banishing spells. This is no different in Graeco-Egyptian magic. The Attic calendar, used in Athens and the calendar referenced throughout the PGM, is a lunar calendar. As such, I’ll write both the day of the lunar month and the phase of the moon.
New Moon (1st): A time of beginning and secrets, used for foreknowledge and memory spells, initiations involving learning divine knowledge, and the first day of one or two week long spells
3rd: Day of moon’s crescent really reappearing, best time for drawing blessings for the house or yourself, love spells, and initiations involving Helios
Waxing Moon (4th-14th): Love spells, favor/victory spells, making magical jewelry, and divination to moon deities
Full Moon (15th): A time of heightened power, used for summonings, petitions to the dead, direct visions and dream divination, and when Selene/Khonsu are at full power
Waning Moon (17th-26th): (do not use for divination to a moon deity) Banishing spells, binding or restraining spells
27th: Last day of moon’s crescent really visible, day to perform spells threatening the moon and/or natural order if a task isn’t completed
For learning the current Attic date, I’d recommend this website. If you want to check the current phase of the moon and when important phases are, this website has you covered.
Which sign the moon is in is one of the most annoying aspects to time since the moon stays in each sign for only 2.5 days. Performing spells in certain signs are referenced in many spells, and two entries specifically name the types of spells to perform when the moon is in each sign. PGM III 275-81 gives a fragmented list and a complete list is given in PGM VII 284-99. I put a slash where they disagree and put in italics where they agree.
Aries: lamp divination, love spells
Taurus: incantations to a lamp (divination?)
Gemini: favor spells / binding spells
Cancer: making phylacteries / reconciliation spells, air divination
Leo: making rings, binding spells
Virgo: anything is obtainable
Libra: necromancy / invocations, spell of release
Scorpio: spells inflicting evil
Sagittarius: spells to the sun or moon
Capricorn: do what is appropriate
Pisces: foreknowledge spells / love spells
The consistent rule of thumb is this: moon in Virgo boosts all magic. For everything else, I had theories on uses and then asked Thoth in a long tarot divination. (He didn’t know the Babylonian/Hellenistic astrological signs so it took a while) I got results that were consistent to what I saw in the PGM for all except Aquarius, for which I drew cards with a clear theme but one that didn’t match the recorded use of “love spells.” As such, this list is bolded except for Aquarius, which I’ll still consider a theory. I also gave summaries of the general theme, in my mind, of each sign.
Aries; raw, burning power: divination or initiation using fire, love spells, spells to powerful and destructive deities
Taurus; sturdy positive effects: spells to gain power, vessel divination, favor spells
Gemini; gaining or losing good: dream and vessel divination, favor spells, binding spells, restraining spells
Cancer; washing clean: direct vision spells, reconciliation spells, cleansing spells
Leo; crafting: making rings and amulets for strength or healing, making talismans for binding or restraining spells
Virgo; shining blessings: all spells
Libra; calling to the over and underworld: necromancy, spells to the sun and celestial spirits for success
Scorpio; bringing beneath your feet: spells inflicting suffering, spells to acquire spirits to serve you
Sagittarius; the divine in arm’s reach: spells to deities of the world order, divination in dreams or direct visions
Capricorn: a bad time for magic, avoid if you can
Aquarius; bringing joy and peace: spells to send off lost souls, happiness and success spells, restraining anger spells
Pisces; acquiring the divine: foreknowledge spells, love spells, spells to gain power over fate
Another good rule of thumb I found is fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius) produce the most stable divination spells while fire signs (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius) produce the most powerful divination spells.
Moon Aspects with Other Planets
In addition to different zodiac locations being beneficial, aspects of the Moon to other planets also assist in the power of spells. Only a couple of the most complex rituals to gain power mention these, presumably because it is necessary in order to increase the energy enough for the spell to succeed, but these can be used for any spell. However, given how quickly the moon moves, a rite would need to be timed very carefully to create a tight aspect with another planet. I’d recommend ignoring these for most magic.
Note that “aspect” here means “major aspect.” (conjunction, opposition, sextile, trine, square)
Moon in conjunction with Venus or Jupiter (strongest)
Venus in Taurus or Libra or Jupiter in Sagittarius or Mercury in Gemini or Virgo while the Moon is in aspect with it
Moon in aspect with Mars or Saturn
As you can see, the rules follow the benefic and malefic planets.
For all astrology-related aspects, you can check the current transits here and look at where the planets will be at future dates.
While there is little mention of the days of the month outside referring to the moon, PGM VII 155-67 provides the following guide on which hours on which days of the lunar month to use for divination in the day hours:
At dawn and in the afternoon
No description is given for the night hours, which is odd as many dream divination spells, as you would expect, are explicitly to be done at night. Currently, I treat “dawn” as including some of the night and “the whole day” as including all of the night.
Now I believe this calendar shouldn’t be treated as ground truth. As I mentioned, different papyri contradict each other. However, by examining the trends of this and contextualizing it with the other spells, I’ve come to a few theories:
The best times for divination, overall, are right before and on the full moon, when power is most heightened, and right before the new moon, when the moon has waned to a crescent and the magician can exert power over it.
As soon as the full moon (on the 15th) ends and the moon starts the wane, there is a “refractory” divination period. (the 16th and 17th)
Just as the 3rd day is important in Greek death rituals, the 3rd of the month is a day for special rituals like blessings on the house, initiations, but not particularly for divination (the person who wrote this continued it for the sixth and ninth day as well)
Now my theories are just theories, of course, but I think they hold some water. Personally, I’ll be using these concepts to pick days for divination.
PGM VII 272-83 has a list of days in the Egyptian calendar unsuitable for magic and there are also a couple Egyptian records of lucky and unlucky days. Egyptian calendar also has lucky and unlucky days. (see this paper) However, I won’t be including these because 1) they’re long 2) they’re contradictory and 3) I’ve seen differing accounts of which days of the Gregorian calendar map to which of the Egyptian calendar. The moon, at least, is easy to match up.
Well, I hope someone actually read this entire post. As you can see, it’s a very dense timing system and definitely not something I’d expect anyone new to Graeco-Egyptian magic to follow everything. However, I’d recommend anyone looking to try out one of these spells to look into incorporating at least a couple of these. Maybe hail the god of the hour and do it at a time when a good planet is exalted. If you can manage to wake up for it, try out a spell at sunrise. Or, more reasonably, try one at moonrise. See how it feels and how it works out for you!
