Planetary magic uses celestial bodies as part of a magical system of timing, correspondence, and ritual. In much historical Western material, the seven planets are Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the Sun, Venus, Mercury, and the Moon. “Planet” here follows the older astrological usage, including the two luminaries.
Correspondences and images#
Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa's second book of occult philosophy gives numerical tables, planetary images, and discussions of celestial influence. The associated materials and figures form a network through which the practitioner attempts to join earthly things with a celestial power.[1]
The Picatrix supplies another influential body of material concerning images and celestial conditions. Its practical and philosophical setting differs from Agrippa's Renaissance synthesis. A planetary association can recur while the ritual, ingredients, or explanation changes.[2]
Days, hours, and operations#
The Heptameron arranges angelic work through days and other time-dependent names. The Ars Paulina gives a further example of an angelic system joined to hours and zodiacal degrees. These texts show that planetary work can include spirits and divine names as well as astronomical timing.[3]
Modern practice often simplifies older correspondence systems. Saturn may be treated as a focus for discipline or limitation, while Venus is associated with attraction. Such summaries describe only part of a tradition. Fraternitas Saturni gives Saturn a central initiatory interpretation, making it useful to distinguish a planet's place in a lodge's philosophy from a list of generic correspondences.
See also#
References
- Agrippa, Three Books of Occult Philosophy, Book II (accessed 2026-10-01) ↩
- Dan Attrell and David Porreca, Picatrix: A Medieval Treatise on Astral Magic (2019) · University-press translation and publisher account of the text. (accessed 2026-10-01) ↩
- Heptameron, Joseph H. Peterson edition (accessed 2026-10-01) ↩