Without at all departing from the phonetic evaluation of sounds as given in the Universal Alphabet (Kabala, p. 30), it is possible to evolve a number of methods by which the same results may be reached, but I find none more satisfactory than that of the Law of Number and Vibration as related to Planetary Hours.
It has already been explained that Planetary Hours depend on the length of the day, or the time that the Sun is above the horizon, in any locality. Take, for instance, the 18th October, when the Sun is above the horizon for some 10½ hours. On that day the Sun sets in these latitudes at five o’clock, and these five hours are divided into six Planetary Hours, each of fifty minutes’ duration.
These Hours, again, are divided into seven Periods, each of which is governed by or related to a planet, and these Periods will therefore be about seven minutes in duration, since fifty divided by seven yields seven and a fraction. Then for this day we have the Planetary Hour equal to fifty minutes and the Planetary Period to seven minutes.
The usual mistake of those who have dealt with the use of the Planetary Hour is that they divide the whole time of the Sun’s diurnal arc by twelve, and apply these Hours to the time of sunrise. This must not be done. The quarters of the day must be dealt with separately, the quarter from sunrise to noon by itself, and that from noon to sunset by itself. Six Planetary Hours are always completed at noon. Thus on the 18th October aforesaid, the Sun rises at about 6.25, and consequently the time from sunrise to noon will be 5 hrs. 35 min. and this is equal to 335 minutes, which being divided by six yields the Planetary Hour for the first quarter of the day, namely, fifty-six minutes. Then, again, we find that the time of sunset is 5 p.m. and this is equal to 300 minutes, which, divided by six gives the Planetary Hour for the second quarter of the day as equal to fifty minutes.
This is very different to taking an average of fifty-three minutes for the Hour and applying it to sunrise, as the following comparative table will show.
| False Hours, begin | True Hours, begin |
|---|---|
| 6.25 sunrise. | 6.25 sunrise. |
| 7.18 a.m. | 7.21 a.m. |
| 8.11 ” | 8.17 ” |
| 9.4 ” | 9.13 ” |
| 9.57 ” | 10.9 ” |
| 10.50 ” | 11.5 ” |
| 11.43 ” | 12.0 noon. |
Having found that the afternoon Hours are each equal to fifty minutes in duration, we have to add this amount successively to noon to get the beginnings of the 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th Hours. These may be set out in a single line—
| 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | 11th | 12th |
| 12.0 | 12.50 | 1.40 | 2.30 | 3.20 | 4.10 |
And if to these beginnings of Hours we add successively seven minutes, being one-seventh of the Hour of fifty minutes, we shall have the times at which the various sub-periods begin. But it is also necessary to affix the signature of the Planet ruling the Hours and Periods, and for this purpose we may note that the 8th Hour is always ruled by the planet that gives the day its name, as Mercury on a Wednesday, etc. The 18th October, 1911, was a Wednesday. Also note that the first Period of each Hour is ruled by the planet that gives its name to the Hour, the rest following in the usual Chaldean order.
The table when fully set out will therefore present the following appearance:—