Planetary hours calculator
See today's planetary hours for your city, from sunrise to the next sunrise. You see which planet rules the hour you are in now, and when each of the 24 hours begins and ends. In Vedic astrology, these hours are called horas.
Your city, for its sunrise and sunset. Nothing else. The hours are the same for everyone in the same place on the same day.
What are planetary hours?
The time from sunrise to sunset is split into twelve equal parts, the day hours. The time from sunset to the next sunrise is split into twelve more, the night hours.
Each hour is ruled by one of the seven visible planets. They come in a fixed order, from the slowest to the fastest as seen from Earth: Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the Sun, Venus, Mercury, the Moon, then Saturn again.
In the West this is called the Chaldean order. In Vedic astrology the same hours are the horas, and the classical texts use the lord of the hora as one of the measures of a planet's strength.
Where do the days of the week come from?
The first hour of each day belongs to that day's planet:
- Sunday: the Sun
- Monday: the Moon
- Tuesday: Mars
- Wednesday: Mercury
- Thursday: Jupiter
- Friday: Venus
- Saturday: Saturn
The order of the weekdays comes from this cycle. A day has 24 hours and the sequence has seven planets. So after three full rounds there are three hours left over, and each new day begins three places further along. Saturn's day leads to the Sun's, the Sun's to the Moon's, and so on round the week.
English keeps three of the names plainly: Saturday, Sunday, Monday. Hindi keeps all seven, from Ravivar to Shanivar.
Why is a planetary hour not sixty minutes?
Planetary hours change with the seasons. In summer the day hours are long and the night hours short. In winter it is the other way round. Only near the equinoxes, in March and September, are they all close to sixty minutes.
How far north or south you live changes them too. In London in late June, a day hour runs to about 83 minutes and a night hour to about 37. Near the equator, the hours stay close to sixty minutes all year. That is why the tool needs your city. It works out your sunrise and sunset for the day, and divides from there.
How can I use planetary hours?
Each planet has its day: Jupiter's on Thursday, Saturn's on Saturday, and so on. The planetary hours offer a finer choice. This is our suggestion, not a classical rule: if you want to work with a planet, do it in that planet's hour.
The easiest is the first hour after sunrise, which on a planet's own day always belongs to that planet. That day the planet rules four hours in all: the 1st and 8th of the day, and the 3rd and 10th of the night. Pick the one that suits you.
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Open the sample readingWhat planetary hour is it now?
The tool at the top of this page shows it for your city: the planet ruling the current hour, when that hour ends, and which planet comes next. The answer depends on your local sunrise and sunset, so two cities can be in different planetary hours at the same moment.
How are planetary hours calculated?
Take the time from sunrise to sunset and divide it by twelve: that is one day hour. Take the time from sunset to the next sunrise and divide it by twelve: that is one night hour. The first hour after sunrise goes to the day's planet, and the rest follow in order: Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury, Moon.
What is a hora in Vedic astrology?
Hora is the Vedic name for a planetary hour. The same seven planets rule in the same order, and the first hora of the day belongs to the day's planet. The classical texts use the lord of the hora as one of the measures of a planet's strength. The word also names half of a sign, which is a separate idea.
Why do some almanacs show horas of exactly one hour?
Some Indian almanacs split the day into 24 equal horas of 60 minutes, counted from sunrise. We use seasonal hours: sunrise to sunset split into twelve, and sunset to sunrise into twelve more. That is also how Western tables usually give planetary hours. Near the equinoxes, the two come out almost the same.
Do Rahu and Ketu have planetary hours?
The hours use only the seven visible planets, from the Sun to Saturn. Rahu and Ketu are the two points where the Moon's path crosses the Sun's. They have no body of their own, and no hours or weekdays of their own either.
The hour tells you when. Your chart tells you which planet.
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