The Keeper's Path

Magical timing focuses on making use of certain correspondences.

Correspondences (more here) are things that go together — that correspond to one another, and could include: deity or another Otherworldly being, elemental, astrological, seasonal, lunar, herbal, stone, symbol/sigil/glyph, sympathy, or color.

When speaking of magical timing, the correspondences usually narrow down to lunar and astrological ones, with perhaps a sprinkle of seasonal or deity added to help.

For the purposes of this article, I will focus on lunar and astrological correspondences for magical timing.

I will define a couple of terms now to help clarify things as we go on.

Aspect — in this case, an aspect means the way that two planets (including the sun & moon because in astrology they are also called ‘planets’) are looking at each other. Some aspects are favorable — the planets are getting along and their energies blend well; others are detrimental— the planets do not like each other and disagree on things.

You probably want favorable aspects to help your rite go smoothly and achieve the results you’re seeking.

Void of Course (V/C) — This is the in-between time while the moon is moving from one sign to another. It is empty space or dead air time when the moon is not in any astrological niche. Think of it as similar to when your cell phone loses its signal — you can’t be reached, or the phone call will be garbled and impossible to understand. It’s the same thing when the moon is V/C. When you pick up a signal again, all is right with the world and your conversation can continue.
Lunar Timing:

* Follows the phase of the moon through waxing, full, waning, and new cycles, utilizing related energy tides in magic.

* Aligns with astrological timing based on the sign the moon is in during a particular rite or working, and any relevant aspects to other planets.

* Watches out for periods when the moon is V/C.

In general, working during the moon’s waxing period (new towards full) is best for things you seek to increase in your life — wealth, success, health, growth, new relationships, and strengthening connections while working during the waning period (full towards new) is good for minimizing or getting rid of things— banishing negative influences, getting rid of illness or pain, limiting the influence of someone or something, etc.

There are more specific times and rites for the particular phases such as a crescent moon, gibbous moon, or balsamic moon, and I will detail those in a future article. To get an idea of specific lunar energies and how they work, please check out my Lunar article here.

Astrological Timing:

* Follows elemental and dominant traits of individual signs for choosing the time for a particular rite or working.

*Looks at astrological aspects in determining a favorable time to perform a rite or working.

Astrological Timing is kind of the next level in focusing on lunar timing for magical work. They cross paths in the magical practitioner looking for what astrological sign the moon is in, preferably during a favorable phase, to do their chosen rite or working.

If you’re going to seriously utilize astrology in your magical work for selecting beneficial times, then I encourage you to study astrology on its own to gain the most benefit. But, a short summary that focuses on each sign’s attributes will help you a lot.

Generally, people are most familiar with their own astrological sun sign, and that’s a great place to start. Whatever your sun sign is, learn all you can about it — learn its elemental affinity, ruling planet, main attributes, etc. Then, when the moon is in that sign (you can check this out using an ephemeris or picking up any sort of astrological/magical pocket calendar or datebook). Then you can begin piecing together what that sign rules and does with what phase the moon is in during that sign. Learn to recognize both tides of power and energy and how you could apply that to your work.