Astrological time is interesting. Have you ever wondered why there are 12 months in a year? 7 days in a week? 24 hours in a day?
There are 12 months because the moon completes 12 cycles (12 full moons) during a year (see the word “moon” in “month”?). That’s also why there are 12 zodiac signs.
There are 7 days in a week because there are 7 astrological planets. One owns each day.
There are 24 hours in a day because there are 12 signs, and the day has 2 halves, daytime and nighttime. 12×2 = 24. The first half of the male signs and last half of the female signs belongs to the lord of the daytime, the Sun. The first half of the female signs and the last half of the male signs belongs to the lord of the night, the Moon. So, there are 24 hours.
The planet who owns the hour, day, month and year gets a boost in how astrologically strong it is at the time.
It is based on this universal principle:
| Day | Planet | |||
| Sunday | Domingo | 日 | Sun | 日 |
| Monday | Lunes | 月 | Moon | 月 |
| Tuesday | Martes | 火 | Mars | 火星 |
| Wednesday | Miercoles | 水 | Mercury | 水星 |
| Thursday | Jueves | 木 | Jupiter | 木星 |
| Friday | Viernes | 金 | Venus | 金星 |
| Saturday | Sabado | 土 | Saturn | 土星 |
Just remember that the astrological day starts and ends at sunrise, not at midnight! So, if your normal calendar says “Monday” but it is before sunrise on that day, the astrological day is still Sunday.
The astrological “year” starts on the day the Sun enters Aries. Whatever planet owns the day of the week on which this happens becomes the lord of the year and gets a slight boost in strength for the duration of the year (15 virupas).
Astrological “months” start every time the Sun enters a new sign. Whatever planet owns the day of the week on which the Sun enters a new sign becomes the lord of that month a gets a boost in strength during that month (30 virupas).
Astrological days are simple. All you have to remember is that they start at sunrise, not midnight. Whatever planet owns the weekday gets a boost in strength during that day. (45 virupas).
Astrological hours are not exactly the same as our modern hours, but are based on sunrise. At sunrise, the first hour begins. The duration of time between one sunrise and the next gets divided into 24 portions. A different planet rules each hour. The lord of the weekday owns the first hour when the Sun rises. The next hour belongs to the lord of the 6th weekday from the Sun, Venus. The third hour belongs to the lord of the 6th weekday from Venus, Mercury. The fourth hour belongs to the lord of the 6th weekday from Mercury, the Moon. And so on. Whatever planet owns the current hour gets a significant boost in strength (a full rupa, 60 virupas).
