Monday Planetary Hours: Which Hours Are Auspicious?

In English the clue sits right in the name: Monday is the Moon's day. French lundi, Spanish lunes and German Montag say the same, and in Japanese the day is literally called "Moon day". In Turkish, by contrast, Pazartesi simply means "the day after market day", and the link with the sky has vanished from the word. The old science of timing never lost it, though: in the Yildizname tradition Monday belongs to Kamer, the Moon. In this article we gather Monday's 24 planetary hours into a single table, work out the length of an hour with a hypothetical example, and show which hour tradition reserves for which task through a moving-day plan.

The Swiftest of the Seven Lights

In classical sky lore the Sun and the Moon also count among the seven wandering bodies, and together they are called neyyireyn, "the two lights". The Moon is the closest of the seven to the Earth and the fastest across the sky: it passes from one sign to the next every two to three days and travels the whole zodiac within a month. Most of what tradition attributes to the Moon grows out of this restlessness. The Moon stands for journeys, comings and goings, news and the changing rhythm of daily life. It is also the planet of the mother, the home and the family, which is why it rules home-loving Cancer in the Yildizname.

Read together, these two faces give Monday its character: a day for setting out and a day for coming home. That a new week, a new school term or a new work routine so often begins on a Monday fits neatly with the Moon's meaning of "new rhythms". Classical natural philosophy considers the Moon cold and moist. Like the Sun, it holds a mixed but favourable place in tradition; with its waxing and waning face it is also the very symbol of change.

How Many Minutes in a Planetary Hour?

Planetary hours are not the 60-minute slices on a clock face. Daytime, the stretch from sunrise to sunset, is divided into twelve; night, from sunset to the next sunrise, is divided into twelve separately. That is why the length of an hour changes with the place and the time of year.

Let us take an example. Purely as a hypothesis, suppose that on a Monday the sun rises at 06:40 and sets at 18:10. The span between them is 11 hours 30 minutes, or 690 minutes. 690 ÷ 12 = 57.5, so in this example one daytime hour lasts 57 minutes 30 seconds. If we also assume the next sunrise is at 06:40, the night lasts 12 hours 30 minutes, or 750 minutes. 750 ÷ 12 = 62.5, so one night hour lasts 62 minutes 30 seconds. As the day grows shorter, the night hours grow longer; in this example one day hour plus one night hour adds up to exactly 120 minutes.

To calculate for your own city, use that day's real sunrise and sunset times. The figures here are only meant to show the method.

Monday's 24 Hours in Order

The first hour after sunrise belongs to the lord of the day, the Moon. The following hours flow in the Chaldean order: Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury, Moon, and back to the start. The night hours do not restart at sunset; after the 12th daytime hour, the same chain simply carries on from the 13th hour.

The table even checks itself: the 24th hour ends with Jupiter, and the 25th link in the chain is Mars, the lord of the following day, Tuesday. One more subtlety: in the Islamic calendar the day begins at dusk, so Monday evening is counted as "the night of Tuesday". In the planetary-hour reckoning, however, the day begins at sunrise, so the night hours from Monday's sunset to Tuesday's sunrise still belong to Monday's chain.

Counting the table also reveals the day's balance: the Moon, Saturn and Jupiter each appear four times, while Mars, the Sun, Venus and Mercury appear three times each.

Which Hour Does Tradition Reserve for What?

The meanings given to planetary hours come from tradition; they are best read as a language of timing, not as a firm verdict.

• Jupiter hours (3, 10, 17, 24): In tradition the Greater Fortune (sa'd-ı ekber). The most favoured hours for beginnings that hope for blessing, meeting elders, charitable work, study and important agreements.
• Venus hours (6, 13, 20): The Lesser Fortune (sa'd-ı asgar). Friendship, reconciliation, family visits, arranging the home and anything to do with beauty are matched to these hours.
• Moon hours (1, 8, 15, 22): Mixed but favourable. As Monday's own hours, they are linked with travel, home and family matters, sending news and short tasks.
• Sun hours (5, 12, 19): Mixed but favourable. Considered for official business, meetings with people in authority and work that needs to be seen.
• Mercury hours (7, 14, 21): In tradition mümtezic, a mixed hour that takes on the colour of what accompanies it. Seen as suited to correspondence, accounts, paperwork and learning.
• Saturn hours (2, 9, 16, 23): The Greater Malefic (nahs-ı ekber); the hours tradition treats with the most caution for a new beginning. They are left for patient, tidying-up work.
• Mars hours (4, 11, 18): The Lesser Malefic (nahs-ı asgar); associated with haste, tension and quarrels. Tradition approaches them with caution for setting out or for a delicate conversation.

Scenario: Moving House on a Monday

Now let us turn the table into a plan. Take the hypothetical day above (sunrise 06:40, sunset 18:10) and imagine a family moving into a new home that Monday. Someone familiar with the tradition might shape the day like this:

1. 06:40–07:37:30, 1st hour (Moon): The door of the old home is closed and the first boxes leave. The hour of the day's lord is chosen to mark the intention to change places.
2. 07:37:30–08:35, 2nd hour (Saturn): Nothing new is started; loading goes on, the list is checked and someone looks for anything left behind. Work that suits Saturn's patient nature.
3. 08:35–09:32:30, 3rd hour (Jupiter): The keys to the new home are collected and the first step is taken over the threshold. Tradition leaves this moment of hoped-for blessing to Jupiter.
4. 09:32:30–10:30, 4th hour (Mars): When heavy furniture is being carried, haste and sharp words come most easily in this hour; the plan keeps decisions that could spark an argument out of it.
5. 18:10–19:12:30, 13th hour (Venus): At sunset the night chain opens with Venus. The first evening meal in the new home and the first chat with family and new neighbours suit this hour.

If someone in the same family is setting off on a trip out of town that day, the afternoon Moon hour (13:22:30–14:20 in this example) stands out as Monday's second travel window. Traffic, work schedules and the children's school are of course part of the plan too; tradition does not ask you to surrender to the calendar, but to order your intention and your attention.

The Same Hour, Different Names

Everything described so far is the same for everyone: Monday's 3rd hour belongs to Jupiter in every city; only the minute at which it begins changes. The subtler layer of the tradition is personal. In the Abjad tradition every name yields a dominant planet from its letters, and how "open" an hour is for someone is judged by the relationship between the planet of the hour and that dominant planet. So the same Jupiter hour can be very strong for one person and quite ordinary for another, while for a third, Monday's Moon hours may turn out to be the most productive stretch of the week.

Which planet dominates your name, and which of Monday's 24 hours truly open up for you? The answer is not in the general table; it is hidden in the letters of your name.

This article shares the general approach to timing found in the Abjad and Yildizname tradition; it is not a definitive judgement, prediction or guarantee. Base your decisions on practical circumstances, your responsibilities and your own judgement.