What is Planetary Magick?

What is Planetary Magick?

Chronicling what planetary magic is, is not as easy as you might think. For many years, the main practioners of the craft were often sworn to secrecy, and harbored a sense of elitism in the information they would release. At other times, the system was often couched in symbolism and purposeful subterfuge, so that the meanings were lost to even strict adherents. But wherever man existed, there has always been a small group of people who are totally dedicated to the Light, and who have followed the teachings of the planets to an exact degree.

One group of people who have always delved into these studies are the followers of what’s called the “Western Mystery Tradition” which encompasses groups like the Golden Dawn and the OTO. These organization still undoubtedly teach many of the lessons of planetary magick, but this book is aimed at a different audience altogether: solo practioners who aren’t affiliated with any lodge or group. It’s important to mention our experience before we go any further. My wife and I are business people. This simple statement should suffice to explain the background with which we approached the subject. Neither of us have ever been affiliated with any esoteric group, and we are extremely well-grounded in the “real world.” Business people tend towards rationalism in their approach, and we’d like to believe we have approached this subject with just such a leaning. To us, demystifying the art is as important as anything else.

So much clap trap has been written about planetary magick, that I think it’s important to define our terms. Planetary magick, is, a system of evolution that involves simple methods of communication with entities that are not “of this body.” These entities have been described in myriad terms, primarily based on the experiences of the operators. To a demon-obsessed citizen of the 16th century, most contacts with entities appeared to be the “work of the devil.” For some in this new 21st century, any visit with an entity would likely be considered an encounter with an alien race. Others, for fear of being labeled crazy, would chalk off any such content as being a mere “pychological phenomenom” taking place primarily with the individual psyche of the magician. Personally, I don’t care for any of these descriptions and don’t place a particular emphasis on them.

As far as I’m concerned, I don’t really care what these entities are called. For me, it’s easiest to take them at face value, and treat them as they may have been treated thousands of years ago. For me, it’s just as easy to think of the Intellgence of the Planet Mercury as a god named “Hermes” or “Thoth” and to think of such contact in a literal manner. If it’s important to you to think of these entities in other terms, have at it. There is no right or wrong answer, despite what may be presented in opionated books. What’s important is that you establish contact, and decide for yourself whether the information presented to you is helpful or not. If it isn’t, then it really doesn’t matter whether the info comes from Satan or Jesus himself. The primary trait of any would be planetary magician is discernment. You must become expert at separating the wheat from the chaff.

The wheat we’ve separated from the chaff primarily is based on the works of Israel Regardie and Aleister Crowley, one-time frineds who have dominated occult literature for nearly a century now. Planetary magick is still used by many, in particular you’ll still see a large emphasis on planetary hours for charging talismans, but it does seem that many people have ignored the larger system. The planetary hours are hugely important, but they only scratch the surface of what can be achieved.

When we look at the basic ways that Planetary Magick is used, we’ll see these prime areas of study:

1) The planets are used to charge sigils or talismans
2) The entities associated with the planets are called upon for guidance

What we generally don’t see is these planets in the context of a cohesive system, including magick, but also encompassing a complete philosophy. The key to the entire system is balance. The affect that these planets have on people are in the realm of the psyche. Of course modern science has long since proven the existence of Uranus and Neptune, so a seven planet system is archaic. However, as it refers to the psyche, it hasn’t changed a bit. More importantly, since the system is neatly dedicated to the days of the week, there really isn’t much room for a Neptune or Uranus ritual. In essence, although the system does not correspond to much planetary science, there are still plenty of correlations that should prove interesting. Again, there’s no need to bog yourself down in the technical details. An open mind and discernment should be enough to do some serious work.