a primer on planetary prayers, or, how to start praying to the planets
why pray to the planets?
It’s important to consider your why for praying to and with the planets. For myself, a primary goal is to continuously deepen my awareness, cultivation, and embodiment of what I perceive to be the planetary virtues. As an astrologer, I have a deep desire to express gratitude to each of the planets for the insights they provide. As someone who aims to be in a perpetual process of falling in love with being alive, praying to and with the planets fosters crucial animist relationships.
For you, the motivation might be curiosity about what it’s like to pray to the celestial spheres. You might want to work with a very handy structure for developing a daily meditation or spiritual practice. Prayer practices can help with bringing astrological knowledge down to a more embodied level. If your’e someone who engages with spirituality towards self-improvement and self-development, consistent contemplation of the seven traditional planets offers a well-rounded and well-rounding practice.
It is generally true that attuning yourself to the planets through meditation & prayer will enhance your perception of what the planets are up to more generally in your life and in the world at large. This includes a sharper eye for when a person or event seems to perfectly express a specific planet ("She's SOOO Jupiterian!") as well as a keener intuitive sensing of the planets in motion ("Wow, everything feels so different now that Venus has moved into Gemini.") I personally consider this to be ultimately a good thing, but for the sake of informed consent, do note that regularly engaging with the planets will very very likely mean that your intellectual, physical, & psychic perception of their movements will increase.
There's a lot more to say here, but I am trying to keep this "concise & brief" !
the fundamental structure, or, how to pray to the planets
On a basic level, praying to the planets can be as simple as reciting a hymn or poem, or even just saying "Hi, Jupiter!" However, the more you get yourself "in the zone," the more likely you are to have a profound experience, and the more profound the relationship you build with that planet will be.
I like to think of the process as:
Quiet the body
Attune to the “here & now”
Attune to the planet of the day
But how is this done?
Here’s a basic structure I’ve used while leading a week of planetary prayers for my Patreon patrons, and one that is similar to what I do within my own practice:
1. Get the body here & present via some amount of gentle movement.
2. Allow the brain to "off gas" by letting your thoughts do whatever they want for 2 to 5 minutes.
3. Attend to your breath, deepening it and expanding it.
4. Get settled into your heart space & check in with how your heart is feeling.
5. Fill your heart with love, awe, & wonder for the Earth and send that love towards the Earth.
6. Fill your heart with love, awe, & wonder for the heavens above and send that love towards the heavens.
7. Visualize connecting your heart to the planet of the day.
8. Read, recite, or extemporaneously speak a poem or hymn to that planet.
9. Contemplate that planet for however long you can or want to.
10. Thank the planet for whatever wisdom has come through.
11. Carry your awareness & any insights with you through the rest of your day.
The above process can take 10 minutes or it can take an hour, depending on how much time you take with each step and whether or not you add or subtract anything.
basics to consider
You want to pray to a planet on the day that is attributed to that planet. Fortunately, the day names give us the clues:
SUNday = Sun
MOoNday = Moon
TUESday = Mars (for Tyr, a Norse warrior God)
WEDNESday = Mercury (for Odin/Wotan, a Norse God, associated with learning, communication, traversing the Worlds, language, etc)
THURSday = Jupiter (for Thor, a Norse God, associated with thunder & storms)
FRIday = Venus (for Frigga or Freya, Norse Goddesses associated with beauty, attraction, love, union, pleasure, war, etc)
SATURday = Saturn
The most ideal time to pray to a given planet is not only on its day, but during its planetary hour. I am not going to explain planetary hours in this "brief" primer, but generally speaking, the first hour or so after sunrise will reliably be within that planet's hour on its day. That being said, praying to the planet whenever you can on its day is better than not praying at all! Don’t use a struggle to line up with the planetary hour as an excuse!
Regular planetary prayers are less about constantly asking for stuff, and more about acknowledgement & contemplation of that planet's nature and cultivating direct relationship with them. Poems & hymns dedicated to the planets assists with the contemplation part. It's super common to use the Orphic Hymns to the Greek deities related to the planets for this. Here's a list of how the Greek deities relate to the planets:
Sun = Helios or Apollo
Moon = Selene or Hekate
Mercury = Hermes
Venus = Aphrodite
Mars = Ares
Jupiter = Zeus
Saturn = Kronos
Other cultures/mythologies/traditions will have deities that can be related to each of the seven traditional planets. If you don't want to use the Orphic/Greek connections, I encourage you to just make sure that you're engaging with a practice that is appropriate for you to practice AND that is appropriate within the culture/tradition you do want to incorporate.
The Orphic Hymns have been translated into English several times by different people. The most commonly-available and definitely-public-domain translation is by Thomas Taylor, and you can find all of the Thomas Taylor versions on theoi.com. In the week of planetary prayers I led for my Patrons last year, I read from Sara Leann Mastros's more contemporary but still rhyming translation of the Orphic Hymns, as found in her Orphic Hymns Grimoire. Apostolos N. Athanassakis has published a book of non-rhyming, more "direct" translations of the hymns that several of my colleagues prefer, and Patrick Dunn created a modern translation targeted at "occult practitioners" which happens to include the Thomas Taylor translations as well. I’ve personally written hymns for all of the planets, and strongly recommend doing so if that’s something that appeals to you.
However! You do NOT need to buy a book of hymns, nor do you even need to recite a hymn or poem if you don't want to. Using hymns that have been spoken by countless others can lend a sort of magical continuity to your prayer practice, and also assist with getting to know a planet via the inspired writings of others, but remember it is far more important that you show up with an honest heart & sincerity than showing up with the fanciest memorized poems.
add-ons to consider: planetary correspondences
These things are extra and not necessary options. You can engage in respectful, healthy prayer practice without any of these additions. However, they can get you into a more global state of attunement with a given planet, particularly if you don’t only “do it by the book,” but engage with deeper research on these things (especially plants) in order to better comprehend the connection between the planet and the not-planet thing.
Personally, I will usually light a candle, burn some incense, and offer & drink a tea made from a plant appropriate for that planet (or appropriate to me specifically as I relate to that planet!). I also frequently choose to wear clothing & jewelry appropriate to each planet on each day.
If you want to incorporate such things, what follows is a VERY BRIEF list of things to consider for additions to your practice — please note that what follows is NOT AT ALL a comprehensive outline of all the possible correspondences in existence! Instead, I’ve edited it down to what I consider to be the basics, with an eye on what is likely to be relatively accessible.
Planetary Colors
Planetary colors are useful for choosing a candle, an altar cloth, or an outfit:
Sun: yellow, gold, white
Moon: silver, blue, white, some shades of green
Mercury: orange, multicolored patterns
Venus: green, white
Mars: red, oxblood
Jupiter: blue, purple, white
Saturn: black, brown, indigo
Planetary metals & stones
Planetary metals can assist with selecting altar items, like candle holders or offering dishes, and alongside planetary stones, can help you to choose jewelry appropriate for a given planet if you so desire.
Sun: gold, ruby, garnet, amber
Moon: silver, moonstone, selenite, pearl
Mercury: alloyed metals, banded agates
Venus: copper, emerald, aquamarine, malachite, {not traditional but functional in my experience: rose quartz, garnierite}
Mars: iron, bloodstone, red jasper
Jupiter: tin, yellow citrine, yellow sapphire, lapis lazuli
Saturn: lead, dark sapphires, jet, onyx, obsidian
Planetary herbs for tea
Preparing an herbal infusion or tea with a plant associated with a planet can be an amazing way to create an embodied connection. Planetary teas can be consumed IF you have confirmed it’s safe for you to do so (ALWAYS check this, especially if you are on ANY medications!) or added to a bath.
These are what I have personally used; there are massive amounts of plant-planet correspondences out there, and the study of the how & why of correspondence is too huge to get into here.
Sun: helichrysum, calendula, rosemary
Moon: milky oats, blue lotus, mugwort
Mercury: gotu kola, lavender
Venus: rose, red clover, violet
Mars: damiana, nettle, ginger
Jupiter: agrimony, burdock, sage
Saturn: oatstraw, blackberry leaf, pine [do note that a majority of Saturnian plants are poisonous!]
Planetary Incenses & Scents
Planetary scents can be included via the burning of incense as well as via the application of perfumes or scented oils.
My standard planetary incenses are from alchemy-works.com — the person who runs that shop has created some really excellent loose incense blends that smell incredible. However, they also all have to be burned on a charcoal, and are therefore a bit more effortful than just lighting a stick of incense.
Frankincense is an all-purpose incense that can be used for all of the planets. However, it’s also a resin whose harvesting is some level of questionable at this point; I’ll let you do your own research and come to your own conclusions as to whether or not you’d like to use frankincense resin or frankincense-scented incense sticks.
When it comes to widely-available stick incense, my two preferred brands at this point are Maroma and Kayuragi. They’re available at several retailers online, and you’re likely to find them in shops in the US.
I also utterly adore Sphere + Sundry's wares. As they are Most Precious, I generally do not use their incenses for regular daily prayers, and instead use them for special occasions.
If you prefer not to burn incense, oil in a diffuser or perfume applied to your person are both excellent ways to include olfactory correspondence. The aforementioned Sphere + Sundry has talismanic perfumes created in collaboration with Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, but any perfume with key scent notes associated with a particular planet can work. I personally quite like Lvnea Perfume’s Saffron Rouge as a Solar scent, and Wild Veil Perfume’s Saturn is an astounding work of art.
Some scents by planet:
Sun: frankincense, saffron, citrus
Moon: jasmine, lotus, iris
Mercury: lavender, cinnamon
Venus: rose, lilac, violet, vanilla
Mars: dragon’s blood, ginger
Jupiter: juniper, sage, nutmeg
Saturn: myrrh, cypress, cannabis, pine
go forth and pray
There are lots of other things you could choose to incorporate in your practice, such as music, food, study topics, activities, etc. There are loads of "how to organize your prayer practice" considerations that can be worth taking time with. There are considerations related to the cleansing & consecration of yourself, your space, and any tools that you use. There are oodles of both contemporary and ancient codified rituals for engaging with the celestial spheres, not to mention the piles of different meditation methods from around the globe. All of these things can be sources of inspiration, learning, and clarification of practice, BUT they can all also be top-notch sources of anxiety and perfection paralysis!
Remember that simple and actually done is always better than super complicated and only ever imagined. My goal in sharing this very rudimentary primer is to encourage you to actually experiment with doing the thing, in whatever way fits into your current lifestyle, interest levels, & experience levels.
I recommend putting together a simple, doable, & sustainable structure to begin your practice with. There's no requirement to actually do this every single day for every single planet; you can begin with the planet you feel the greatest affinity for, and just observe what happens over time as you more deliberately engage with relating with that planet.
Praying to the planets can absolutely feel like a strange thing to engage in at first. Doing so means shifting from a materialist view of the celestial spheres towards an animistic view, a devotional view, a re-enchanted view. A background with "prayer" that includes oppression, marginalization, and/or specific religious traumas can contribute quite a bit of side-eye about praying with and to planets, including fears around doing it “right.” In my experience and the experience of my friends & colleagues with planetary devotion practices, it’s clear that the planets are not smiteful, spiteful, jealous gods eager to punish you for your transgressions — they’re very big, very old beings, and choosing to relate with them is choosing to perceive their gifts, their virtues, and their beauties in a whole new light.
This post is an edited version of one I shared to my Patreon on May 22, 2021. It was originally a follow-up guidance post after I led my patrons through a week’s worth of planetary prayers. I’ve shared it here at the request of a few of my colleagues looking for a good, simple, and accessible resource on planetary prayers to share with their own clients.
It’s important to note that while my practice & opinions are my own, I have been influenced & taught by several other brilliant astrologers, animists, & devotional-types, most notably Austin Coppock, Kaitlin Coppock, Althaea Sebastiani, Aeolian Heart, Amaya Rourke, Jessica Tieman, Pallas K. Augustine, Ari Felix, Marsilio Ficino, Christopher Warnock, Sam Block, Hawk Grubb, friends who prefer to remain anonymous, and a long list of others. Spirituality & devotion happen within multiple ecosystems, never a vacuum.
If you enjoyed this post and would like to participate in live discussions where exploring planetary devotion is welcome, do consider joining me over on Patreon.
If you enjoyed this post and want to send me a bit of gratitude, you can do that here.