Choosing when to cast a spell need not be complicated. If you feel like casting a spell, go to it. However, many people feel that spells are more powerful when they are cast during certain moon phases and moon signs and even during specific days of the week. This is because various planetary energies are believed to be more available for use during this time and those energies can add a bit of strength to your own.
There are many options for spell timing listed here. Please do not feel that you need to time your spell to coincide with all of these options. Any one is helpful. You can layer them if you like, but it is not necessary.
Spellcasting by the Moon
To use lunar phase energy to enhance your spells just follow this simple rule.
To draw something to you, or for binding spells, cast your spell any time between three days after the new moon to the full moon, with the day or night of the full moon being the best.
To send something away from you, or for banishing spells, cast your spell anytime between three days after the full moon to the new moon, with the day or night of the dark moon, before the new moon appears, being the best.
The moon enters various signs every few days. To find out when, visit the Universal Lunar Calendar to create a customized calender based on your location. Or you can download the iLuna app for your android device or for your Iphone.
Signs of the Zodiac
Aries
Ruled by Mars and the element fire
(Sun ~March 21-April 20)
The new moon is in Aries when the sun is in Aries. The full moon is in Aries when the sun is in Libra.
The Aries moon is good for starting new projects or business ventures, especially those that need a little push or extra courage. This is also a good time to buy, cleanse, bless, etc. any magical tool with a blade. Anything related to courage, matters of personal strength or self improvement (like breaking bad habits, esp during the waning moon), changes resulting in a complete change of how you do things or a paradigm shift, protection, especially for the military.
Taurus
Ruled by Venus and the element earth
(Sun ~April 21st to May 20th)
The new moon is in Taurus when the sun is in Taurus. The full moon Taurus when the sun is in Scorpio.
Anything concerning the arts, including work to support building new theaters, galleries, etc. , submitting manuscripts, auditions, the success of exhibitions and performances is best timed when the moon is in Taurus. Taurus energy is also concerned with the household, stability and security. Working toward peaceful relationships between family members, cooperation between business partners is supported. Taurus energy encourages prosperity and material comfort, building new habits for self-improvement, protection of material items from loss, damage or theft. Love spells are also supported at this time but are best aimed at strengthening existing long-term relationships or finding one's life partner.
Gemini
Ruled by Mercury and the element of air
(Sun ~May 21-June 20)
The new moon is in Gemini when the sun is in Gemini. The full moon is in Gemini when the sun is in Sagittarius.
When the moon is in Gemini, it is a good time to work on divination and prophecy, wishing spells, luck in gambling, communication, working for positive reception of manuscripts, articles and term papers, increasing web traffic, success in school, getting into the school of your choice.
Cancer
Ruled by the Moon and the element of water
(Sun ~June 21-July 20)
When the sun is in Cancer, the new moon is in Cancer. The full moon is in Cancer when the sun is in Capricorn.
Work on spells to increase love and respect within the family (waxing) or the banish barriers to familial harmony (waning), to calm emotional turmoil, to heal the pain of past wrongs within familial relationships, cleansing, blessing, purifying and protecting the home, psychic development and divination. Kitchen and garden witchery.
Leo
Ruled by the sun and the Element of fire
(~July 21-August 20)
When the sun is in Leo, the new moon will be in Leo. The full moon will be in Leo when the sun is in Aquarius.
Good for spells related to increasing sex and passion (waxing) or moving the focus away from these things and fighting obsession (waning), encouraging a good reception for concerts, theatre productions, and other performances, supporting hobbies, success in sports (waxing), removing barriers to success in sports (waning), any spells related to your companion animals.
Virgo
Ruled by the planet Mercury and the element earth
( ~August 21-September 20)
When the sun is in Virgo, the new moon will be in Virgo. The full moon will be in Virgo when the sun is in Pisces.
This is a good time to purchase, make, cleanse, consecrate, dedicate (etc.) any and all ritual tools and altars, also to purify and cleanse your home, any work related to health and the home will be supported today as well as work related to employment, especially employment related to health or service career. A good time to get organized and do magic related to finding good domestic help.
Libra
Ruled by Venus and the element of Air
(Sun ~September 21-October 20)
When the sun is in Libra, the new moon will be in Libra. The full moon will be in Libra when the sun is in Aries.
Any spells related to marriage, contractual partnerships, any and all legal matters and the justice system, including business contracts, leases, divorces and criminal court matters. Strengthening (waxing) or not (waning) marriages and romantic relationships. Spells to ensure someone gets what's coming to him.
Scorpio
Ruled by Mars and Pluto and the element of water
(Sun ~October 21-November 20)
When the sun is in Scorpio, the new moon will be in Scorpio. The full moon will be in Scorpio when the sun is in Taurus.
This is a good time to cast obsession spells (if there is ever a good time) as well as self-defense and protection spells and exorcisms(waning), banishing of negativity (waning). Spells to increase courage (waxing) and spells for transformation are also given strength during this time as well as spells related to death, rebirth and inheritance, sex, lust, human fertility and passion.
Sagittarius
Ruled by jupiter and the element of fire
(Sun ~November 21-December 20)
When the sun is in Sagittarius, the new moon will be in Sagittarius. The full moon will be in Sagittarius when the sun is in Gemini.
A good time to do work to support your studies, getting into the college of your choice, making a good impression on professors, etc. Also, any sort of religious activity, connection to higher purpose, spirits, Gods, divination, also long-distance travel.
Capricorn
Ruled by Saturn and the element of earth
(Sun ~December 21-January 20th)
When the sun is in Capricorn, the new moon will be in Capricorn. The full moon will be in Capricorn when the sun is in Cancer.
Any spells related to male fertility, fatherhood or your relationship with your father are appropriate here. All types of banishment (during the waning moon) is supported. Support for all business and career ventures, especially moving up the ladder. Success.
Aquarius
Ruled by Saturn and the element of air
(Sun ~January 21-February 20)
When the sun is in Aquarius, the new moon will be in Aquarius. The full moon will be in Aquarius when the sun is in Leo.
This is not a good time to do magic for yourself. Instead focus on any groups or organizations you belong to or wish to influence or support. It's also a good time to do dream work, attract friends or new members to a group, strengthen friendships and group ties, reveal or uncover mysteries or secrets or work to ensure that they stay hidden.
Pisces
Ruled by jupiter and Neptune and the element water
(Sun ~February 21-March 20)
When the sun is in Pisces, the new moon will also be in Pisces. The full moon will be in Pisces when the sun is in Virgo.
Good for all astral and dream magic and journey aimed at expanding consciousness. All psychic work and divination is also supported. Also personal development and expanding your boundaries.
Void of Course
Put simply, void of course occurs at the point the moon leaves one sign and ends when it enters another. Common wisdom says you shouldn't cast any spells during this time though there is some disagreement as to the reasoning. Some say all your efforts will simply be wasted during this time while others say the your results will be disastrous.
Days of the Week
Monday
Ruled by the moon.
Increasing female fertility(waxing) banishing infertility (waning) and regulating cycles, celebrating stages of a woman's life, reconciliation (waxing), banishing strife (waning), dreams, receptivity, love.
Tuesday
Ruled by Mars
Developing courage (waxing moon), banishing fear/stage fright (waning moon), binding enemies (waning), breaking negative spells (waning), protecting military personnel (waxing), achieving military honors (waxing), driving away military threat (waning)
Wednesday
Ruled by Mercury
Banishing barriers to communication (waning), increasing communication (waxing), banishing writer's block (waning), encouraging positive response to a written paper, manuscript, article (waxing), increasing web traffic (waxing), divination, influencing others through communication, increasing luck (waxing), banishing bad luck (waning), safety in travel, healing (waxing), banishing illness (waning)
Thursday
Ruled by Jupiter
Increasing prosperity/wealth (waxing), increasing male fertility/verility (waxing), justice, banishing male infertility/impotence (waning), supporting a job hunt (waxing), asking for a raise or promotion (waxing), banishing problems associated with your job (waning), supporting any personal ambition or business goal, dealing with issues related to people in authority.
Friday
Ruled by Venus
Increasing love and general love and lust spells (waxing), banishing barriers in love relationships (waning), increasing romance (waxing), increasing happiness (waxing), banishing sadness (waning), find a way to travel, find new friends (waxing), increasing beauty (waxing).
Saturday
Ruled by Saturn
Psychic attack, psychic defense, astral travel, astral magick, banishing negativity (waning), communicating with spirits, seances, cleansing, purifying, blessing the home, bringing in harvests (waxing), increasing prosperity (waxing), banishing infertility (particularly in crops and livestock) or poverty (waning). Increasing fertility of crops and livestock (waxing).
Sunday
Ruled by the sun
Supporting efforts to get a new job, raise or promotion (waxing), auditions, removing barriers to career success (waning), bringing in wealth/prosperity (waxing), achieving recognition for accomplishments (waxing), finding lost things, preventing war (waning), encouraging peace (waxing), making new friends (waxing), finding new associates to further career goals.
Solstices and Equinoxes
Vernal Equinox
Spring cleaning, out with the old to make way for the new, new beginnings, fertility, love, family and home.
Summer Solstice
Weddings, contracts, male fertility & energy
Autumnal Equinox
Endings, harvest, contracts
Winter Solstice
Family connections, new beginnings, home and hearth
Spellcasting by the Clock
A spellcasting method used in Conjure is to time your spells according to the clock. This is an analog clock with a face and hands, not a digital clock.
Spells to draw or bind things to you should be done when both clock hands are on their way up while spells for banishing, binding things away from you and reversals should be done when both hands are on the way down. Alternatively up might be for "good" and down for "evil" working.
The moment of midnight is significant, representing a balance between good and evil. Helpful workings are thus best done in the half hour leading to the stroke of midnight while harmful work should be done within the first half hour after midnight.
Timing Spells at Caronlina Conjure
Spell Timing Time of Day or Night, Clock Time discussion at the Lucky Mojo forums
Planetary Hours
You may choose to schedule your ceremony or spell during a specific planetary hour if there are no helpful lunar or solar influences in the near future or you may wish to schedule your ceremony during the corresponding planetary hour on the day you have chosen in order to bring as much planetary energy into your working as possible.
To calculate planetary hours, you can use this tool: http://www.lunarium.co.uk/planets/hours.jsp or if you like this one better: http://www.astrology.com.tr/planetary-hours.asp or you can do it yourself by following the directions below:
Planetary hours are calculated from the time of sunrise one day to the time of sunrise the next. To calculate these hours you need the following information:
Time of sunrise on a given day in your specific location.
Time of sunset on that day in your location.
Time of sunrise the next day in your location.
You will first need to calculate the length of the day hours and the length of the night hours. To do this, you must calculate how many minutes there are from the time of sunrise that day to the time of sunset that day and divide that by twelve. This is the length of your day hours. Next, find out how many minutes there are between sunset and sunrise the next morning and divide that by twelve. This is the length of your night hours.
The first planetary hour of the day begins at sunrise and corresponds to the planetary day. Thus Monday's first hour corresponds to the moon, Tuesday's to Mars, Wednesday's to Mercury, Thursday's to Jupiter, Friday's to Venus, Saturday's to Saturn and Sunday's to the Sun. Then, using the length of the planetary hours you've already calculated, you add the minutes from the first hour (the moment of sunrise) and that gives you the second planetary hour and so on.
The hours go in this order (this is known as the Chaldean Sequence)
Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury, Moon
You can visit our Planetary Correspondence Table or the individual planets pages to find out how best to use the energy of these hours.
See Also
Recommended
How can we improve this section?
Just an FYI that there is an error on this page. The Chaldean Sequence/Order should read: Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury, Moon. You have listed Saturn twice.
Thank you, this correction has been made.
Hi
Another correction re aries moon.
It says new moon when sun is in twice. Should there be a full moon in sun when… ?
Thanks for all of this. This is sooo incredible and well done.
Peace.
All fixed. Thanks for helping to make the Witchpedia better.
Ok, so other than those two things, everything is on point? I'm new :)
I fixed those typos, as far as I know it's all good.
Love this site. Extremely helpful for a less knowledgeable witch such as myself.
Hello! You said that when the moon is in Gemini, it is a good time to cast spells. When exactly is the moon in Gemini?
When the moon is in Gemini is not the only good time to cast spells. If you look at the various zodiac signs, you will see that they each have their strengths. The moon passes through each sign each month, at a different time each month, usually spending a day or two in each sign before moving on to the next along its path. The Sun spends about a month (28ish days) in each sign. When the Sun is in a certain sign, the new moon is in that sign. The next sign it passes through will be the next sign on its path, the same as every month, by the full moon, it will be at the opposite sign the Sun is in. You can consult a lunar calendar to find out where things are. The links given above in the "Spellcasting by the Moon" section to the Universal Lunar Calendar and the Iluna app are very good.
I noticed under the heading Days Of the Week under Thursday, you said for "asking for a raise or promotion (waning)" ??? Shouldn't it be waxing?
You're right. Fixed it.
I just wanted to say, its impressive that you are keeping on top of your article and keeping it up to date and making corrections to it when needed. You find many articles abandoned on the internet where you may want ask a question or make a comment. Sadly, the creators of the articles don't respond or have discontinued communicating with the readers. Also, I applaud your swiftness to responding. :) Keep up the great work!!!
Signed,
J. White
Thank you! I haven't been able to write any new articles in awhile but I do try to keep up with maintenance.
Hiya, just to ask - I want to cast a love spell and it's still light outside and it's 8pm in the evening. Can spells be cast when the sun is still shining? How would the sun and the moon impact the spell, and which is best? Thanks so much for your great article.
It's absolutely ok to do spells while the sun is shining. The impact of the Sun's energy is affected by the sun's sign, which is just the zodiac thing and it peaks at noon. The moon's energy is likewise impacted by the sign it is in and it peaks when the moon is full. Both energies are always present. If you are using the full moon energy, you might want to wait till the sun goes down because the moon is always in the opposite sign of the sun at that time, but I don't think it's that serious. Personally, I do all my magic when the sun is out because that is when I am most active. I'm not going to be as effective when I'm sleepy.