Ceremonial Magic Calendar 2026

Planetary dignities, ritual timing, Thelemic holy days, and Sephirotic correspondences for the ceremonial magician. Golden Dawn, Solomonic, and Hermetic traditions.

✡ Essential Dignities — Planetary Rulerships

A planet in its domicile or exaltation sign is dignified — its energy expresses strongly and reliably. In fall or detriment, the planet is weakened or distorted. Plan operations when the ruling planet is dignified for maximum effectiveness.

PlanetDomicile (rules)ExaltationDetrimentFall
♄ SaturnCapricorn, AquariusLibraCancer, LeoAries
♃ JupiterSagittarius, PiscesCancerGemini, VirgoCapricorn
♂ MarsAries, ScorpioCapricornLibra, TaurusCancer
☉ SunLeoAriesAquariusLibra
♀ VenusTaurus, LibraPiscesScorpio, AriesVirgo
☿ MercuryGemini, VirgoVirgoSagittarius, PiscesPisces
☽ MoonCancerTaurusCapricornScorpio

⏱ Ritual Timing Guide

☉ LBRP / Daily Practice
Optimal: Dawn (sunrise) and dusk (sunset) — the liminal hours when day meets night. The Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram is tradition-agnostic on planetary hours, but sunrise aligns with solar energy and sunset with the transition to nocturnal work. Many practitioners also perform at noon (peak solar) and midnight (peak lunar).
♂ Mars Operations
Day: Tuesday. Hour: Mars. Moon: Waxing for invocation/strength, waning for banishing/destruction. Dignity: Mars in Aries or Scorpio (domicile) or Capricorn (exaltation). Avoid: Mars in Libra (detriment) or Cancer (fall). Work: Geburah pathworking, pentagram rituals of Mars, martial talismans, Kamea of Mars.
♀ Venus Operations
Day: Friday. Hour: Venus. Moon: Waxing for love/attraction, full for maximum power. Dignity: Venus in Taurus or Libra (domicile) or Pisces (exaltation). Avoid: Venus in Scorpio or Aries (detriment). Work: Netzach pathworking, Venus talismans, love and harmony rites, Rose Cross ritual.
♃ Jupiter Operations
Day: Thursday. Hour: Jupiter. Moon: Waxing or full for expansion. Dignity: Jupiter in Sagittarius or Pisces (domicile) or Cancer (exaltation). Avoid: Jupiter in Gemini or Virgo (detriment). Work: Chesed pathworking, Jupiter talismans, prosperity rites, Greater Ritual of the Hexagram — Jupiter.
♄ Saturn Operations
Day: Saturday. Hour: Saturn. Moon: Waning or dark for restriction/binding, full for confronting Saturnian forces. Dignity: Saturn in Capricorn or Aquarius (domicile) or Libra (exaltation). Work: Binah pathworking, Saturn talismans, binding, restriction, karma work, necromancy, Saturnian evocation.
☉ Solar Operations
Day: Sunday. Hour: Sun. Moon: Full for maximum solar-lunar balance. Dignity: Sun in Leo (domicile) or Aries (exaltation). Work: Tiphareth pathworking, solar talismans, the Bornless Ritual, HGA invocation, solar adorations, healing and illumination.

📅 Key Dates — 2026

Feb
1
✡ Candlemas / Imbolc
Midpoint between winter solstice and spring equinox. Purification rites. GD: preparation of temple for the equinox working.
Passed
Mar
14
✡ ☿ Mercury Retrograde Begins
Avoid initiating Mercury operations (talismans, invocations). Hod workings weakened. Good for review and revision of existing practice.
Passed
Mar
20
✡ ☉ Vernal Equinox
Thelemic New Year. The Sun enters Aries — 0° cardinal fire. GD: Equinox ceremony, changing of officers. Crowley: Feast of the Equinox of the Gods.
Passed
Apr
8
✡ Feast of the Three Days of the Writing
April 8–10. Anniversary of the reception of The Book of the Law (Liber AL) in Cairo, 1904. The three most sacred days in Thelema.
Passed
May
1
✡ Beltane / Walpurgisnacht
Fire festival. The veil thins. Traditional night for major evocations and spirit work across multiple European traditions.
Passed
Jun
21
✡ ☉ Summer Solstice
Sun at 0° Cancer. Peak solar force. Solar adorations at their most powerful. GD: Solstice ceremony. Optimal for Tiphareth workings.
Passed
Aug
1
✡ Lammas / Lughnasadh
First harvest. Midpoint between summer solstice and autumn equinox. Sacrificial symbolism connects to the dying god current across traditions.
6days — next
Aug
12
✡ Feast of the Prophet & His Bride
August 12. Feast honoring the Beast and the Scarlet Woman. One of the principal Thelemic feasts from Liber AL.
17days
Sep
22
✡ ☉ Autumnal Equinox
Sun at 0° Libra. Day and night balanced. GD: Equinox ceremony. Balance workings. Review of the magical year's first half.
58days
Oct
31
✡ Samhain / All Hallows
The veil between worlds thinnest. Prime window for necromantic operations, ancestral contact, spirit evocation. Major night across all Western traditions.
97days
Nov
1
✡ ☿ Mercury Retrograde 3 Begins
Third retrograde of 2026. Avoid new Mercury talismans and Hod workings. Good for reviewing magical journals and revising ritual scripts.
98days
Dec
21
✡ ☉ Winter Solstice
Sun at 0° Capricorn. Longest night, rebirth of the light. GD: Solstice ceremony. Saturn-ruled — powerful for Binah and restriction workings. The return of the solar current.
148days

About This Calendar

This calendar serves practitioners working within the Western esoteric tradition broadly — including Golden Dawn, Solomonic magic, Thelema, Hermeticism, and related systems. The common thread is the use of planetary hours, essential dignities, and Kabbalistic correspondences as the core timing framework.

The essential dignities table follows Ptolemy's system as used by the Golden Dawn and most Western ceremonial traditions. Planetary hours follow the Chaldean order. The Sephirotic correspondences follow the standard Tree of Life attributions from the Golden Dawn and Aleister Crowley's Liber 777.

Thelemic holy days are included for practitioners who observe Crowley's calendar. The equinox and solstice dates are astronomical — calculated from the Sun's actual ecliptic position, not approximated.

For real-time planetary hour calculations specific to your location, use our planetary hours calculator. The full correspondence tables provide additional detail on metals, herbs, stones, and magical actions per planet.

Want a calendar shaped around your selected interests?

Create Free Account