Photo by Magenta
We specialise in astral magick. This means everything we do here is all about timing magick using astrology. There is a branch of astrology called ‘electional astrology’ which forms the basis for our method. We looked at what astral magick is in a previous article, so now we are looking at how the timing works .
Timing magick using electional astrology
Electional astrology is a process for electing – or choosing – the optimum time to do something. Perhaps this is choosing the best time to propose to someone, or the best time to apply for a job. When it is used in magick, it is choosing the best time to cast a spell.
Does timing magick using astrology work?
Astrology works through the belief that there is a relationship between what is going on up in space, and our lives here on Earth. Magick is about blending a philosophy and art together to affect intended change. Astral magick sits at the intersection between these things.
Modern astrologers would probably point to our human ability for pattern recognition as the source of how astrology works. This means that for thousands of years, humans have built up an amazing metaphorical database of where the planets were when events took place on Earth, and drawn up meaningful coincidences based on those factors.
Magickal practitioners would also point to our human ability to recognise patterns and meaningful coincidences. However, most magickal practitioners are not looking upwards at the stars, they are using earthly correspondences between herbs, rocks, words or rituals.
Magick can be timed by using the patterns found in astrology alongside those earthly magickal ingredients. By timing magick using astrology, a practitioner is electing to cast a spell at the most opportune moment by pulling on everything humans have learned about celestial events and their connection to us on earth. Think of it as magick’s version of card counting at a casino, except astral magick won’t get you in trouble!
New words to learn when using astrology in magick
Planets
Ok, probably not a new word but from an astral magick perspective it’s worth knowing the 9 planets of the solar system that are used. The Sun and the Moon are both planets from an astral magick perspective, as is Pluto. The Earth itself is not used, and neither are many of the other dwarf planets and asteroids that crop up in astrology.
Astral magick focuses mostly on the core planets of the solar system, which are Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. So timing magick using astrology might mean understanding where the planets are before casting a spell.
Signs
The signs of the zodiac are also used in magick. These are a band of fixed stars that the planets appear to move in front of, at least from our Earth-bound perspective. When planets are moving in front of these 12 signs, they can each blend their characteristics together. It is this blending of characteristics, and when, that is used in astral magick. So timing magick using astrology might mean waiting for a planet to arrive in a sign before casting a spell.
Houses
Houses are the 12 different ‘zones’ that the sky is divided into that go all around the Earth. There are 6 ‘zones’ we could see above the horizon from East to West. Then there are 6 ‘zones’ going around the other side of the Earth because after all the Earth is round, from West to East. Each house represents a different part of our human experiences, such as relationships or career. These houses stay fixed and the planets and the signs move through them. So timing magick using astrology might mean waiting for a planet to appear in a certain house before casting a spell.
Aspects
Planets when they travel across the sky form ‘aspects’ with each other. This is basically how they line up with one another. Sometimes they line up quite nicely, this is called forming an easy aspect. Sometimes they line up in a difficult way, this is called forming a hard aspect. Planets that form easy aspects are generally thought of as getting along, blending nicely. The ones that form hard aspects, aren’t getting along so well. So timing magick using astrology might mean waiting for a planet to form an easy aspect with another one before casting a spell.
Great resources that help work out the timing
Back in the day, working out what the planets and the moon were up to as they moved across these different parts of sky involved some damn hard maths. But thankfully, these days we have the internet and apps that work it all out for us.
Some of our favourite apps and website are
Time Nomad is a great little app for iPhone users to plan magick using things like aspects and phases of the Moon. It’s not available on Android though.
iLuna is perfect for understanding what the Moon is doing, and what sign it’s in. It also comes with little descriptions about the Moon’s relationship in the sign.
We use Planetary Times because it calculates the planetary hours as each hour in the day and night is ruled by one of the planets (Time Nomad also does this, but we’re Android users).
Cafe Astrology has got loads of little nuggets of information, such as the electional astrology and the best times to do stuff for the current month.
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