Hora — Planetary Hours

What a Hora Is

The twenty-four hours from one sunrise to the next are each ruled by a planet. These are the horas, and the system is one of the oldest in continuous use — it is the reason the days of the week carry the names they do.

The planets follow the Chaldean order, arranged by apparent speed from slowest to fastest: Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury, Moon. The first hora of any day belongs to that day's lord, and the rest follow in sequence.

Why the Weekdays Are Named as They Are

This is the elegant part, and it is worth seeing.

Start Sunday's first hora with the Sun and run twenty-four horas through the Chaldean order. The twenty-fifth hora — the first of the next day — lands on the Moon. That day is Monday, Somvar, the Moon's day.

Run another twenty-four and you land on Mars: Mangalvar. Then Mercury for Budhvar, Jupiter for Guruvar, Venus for Shukravar, Saturn for Shanivar, and back to the Sun. The entire weekday sequence, in every language that uses planetary names, falls out of this one rule.

What Each Hora Suits

Jupiter is the most favoured — ceremonies, education, finance, advice, anything auspicious. Mercury suits study, writing, accounts, trade and negotiation. Venus suits marriage matters, purchases and anything to do with comfort or beauty. Moon suits travel, public dealings and matters of the home.

Sun is read as neutral, and is used for authority, government work and matters of position. Mars and Saturn are traditionally avoided for beginnings — Mars for its association with conflict, Saturn with delay — though Saturn suits labour and long-term work.

Equal Horas and Unequal Horas

Two reckonings exist, and it is worth knowing which you are looking at.

The equal hora divides the day into twenty-four sixty-minute periods from sunrise. This is the common reckoning, and it is what this page uses.

The unequal hora divides day and night separately into twelve parts each, so day horas and night horas differ in length by season, in the same way Choghadiya does.

Both are in genuine use. The equal reckoning is far more widely applied in Indian practice, which is why it is the one shown here.

Using It Sensibly

A hora is a light tool for choosing an hour, not a system for organising a life. Picking a Mercury hora to send an important email or a Jupiter hora to sign something is a reasonable, low-cost habit.

Treating a Saturn hora as a reason to postpone something that needs doing is not, and no serious practitioner would advise it.