Skip to main content

"Voodoo Hours" for Enhancing Your Magical Powers - Famous Spell for Real Magick

a ticking magic clock
Jim Haskins, reportedly taking his information from the Voodoo Museum of New Orleans, reports on the "Voodoo Hours" that are used for spell enhancement. He then prints a list of the hours of Venus, used to enhance love spells. Now, one familiar with European grimoire magic quickly recognizes these are the same as the planetary hours from the Petit Albert.

I know from some comments I've gotten about my translation of the Albert as well as my other works that there are some people who really resent the idea that hoodoo and voodoo have any bookish European influences in them, but this is in an instance where we have undeniable evidence that, at least in the modern practice, this piece of European grimoire magic made it into the ritual repertoire. (Probably through the Petit Albert which was extremely well-known in the French speaking parts of the Americas, and spells from which actually pop up all the time in folk magic practices.)

Traditional planetary hours are reckoned by the time of the sunrise and can vary in length depending on how many hours of daylight are actually available in a day (the "hours" thus rarely span sixty minutes.) The Voodoo Hours are evidently a simplified version, reckoned by the hours of the clock, which eliminates the need to recalculate the hours for each day of the year and to account for location when doing the math. However, the hours are different for each day of the week. 

Sunday's hours
Sun: 1 AM, 8 AM; 3 PM, 10 PM
Moon: 4 AM, 11 AM; 6 PM
Mercury: 3 AM, 10 AM; 5 PM, 12 PM
Mars: 7 AM; 2 PM, 9 PM
Saturn: 5 AM, 12 AM; 7 PM
Venus: 2 AM, 9 AM; 4 PM, 11 PM
Jupiter: 6 AM; 1 PM, 8 PM

Monday's hours
Sun: 5 AM, 12 AM; 7 PM
Moon: 1 AM, 8 AM; 3 PM, 10 PM
Mercury: 7 AM; 2 PM, 9 PM
Mars: 4 AM, 11 AM; 6 PM
Saturn: 2 AM, 9 AM; 4 PM, 11 PM
Venus: 6 AM; 1 PM, 8 PM
Jupiter: 3 AM, 10 AM; 5 PM, 12 PM

Tuesday's hours
Sun: 2 AM, 9 AM; 4 PM, 11 PM
Moon: 5 AM, 12 AM; 7 PM
Mercury: 4 AM, 11 AM; 6 PM
Mars: 1 AM, 8 AM; 3 PM, 10 PM
Saturn: 6 AM; 1 PM, 8 PM
Venus: 3 AM, 10 AM; 5 PM, 12 PM
Jupiter: 7 AM; 2 PM, 9 PM

Wednesday's hours
Sun: 6 AM; 1 PM, 8 PM
Moon: 2 AM, 9 AM; 4 PM, 11 PM
Mercury: 1 AM, 8 AM; 3 PM, 10 PM
Mars: 5 AM, 12 AM; 7 PM
Saturn: 3 AM, 10 AM; 5 PM, 12 PM
Venus: 7 AM; 2 PM, 9 PM
Jupiter: 4 AM, 11 AM; 6 PM

Thursday's hours
Sun: 3 AM, 10 AM; 5 PM, 12 PM
Moon: 6 AM; 1 PM, 8 PM
Mercury: 5 AM, 12 AM; 7 PM
Mars: 2 AM, 9 AM; 4 PM, 11 PM
Saturn: 7 AM; 2 PM, 9 PM
Venus: 4 AM, 11 AM; 6 PM
Jupiter: 1 AM, 8 AM; 3 PM, 10 PM

Friday's hours
Sun: 7 AM; 2 PM, 9 PM
Moon: 3 AM, 10 AM; 5 PM, 12 PM
Mercury: 2 AM, 9 AM; 4 PM, 11 PM
Mars: 6 AM; 1 PM, 8 PM
Saturn: 4 AM, 11 AM; 6 PM
Venus: 1 AM, 8 AM; 3 PM, 10 PM
Jupiter: 5 AM, 12 AM; 7 PM

Saturday's hours
Sun: 4 AM, 11 AM; 6 PM
Moon: 7 AM; 2 PM, 9 PM
Mercury: 6 AM; 1 PM, 8 PM
Mars: 3 AM, 10 AM; 5 PM, 12 PM
Saturn: 1 AM, 8 AM; 3 PM, 10 PM
Venus: 5 AM, 12 AM; 7 PM
Jupiter: 2 AM, 9 AM; 4 PM, 11 PM


Venus hours are best for love magic; Jupiter for money and luck; Mars for hatred or protection; Saturn for death and also for wealth; Mercury for changes, swift results and mystic rites; Moon for safe travel and protection from disease; Sun for success, eloquence, friends and purification.

sinister magical spell casting hours

There is another special timing system for spellcasts, reported by Zora Neale Hurston after what kind of magic she had practiced during the 1920s -- these are the "Good and Bad Hours."

Good Hours:


2 o'clock
4 o'clock
5 o'clock
6 o'clock
7 o'clock
9 o'clock
11 o'clock
12 o'clock

Bad Hours:


8 o'clock
3 o'clock
10 o'clock
1 o'clock


Bad hours are for performing evil or "bad" work, and good hours are for good, beneficial works. Note that love spells were usually considered to be good work, at this time.

(It may be of note that the Bad Hours align to Saturn's Saturday Hours in the Planetary/Voodoo Hours system.)

Want professional spellcasting? Visit Hoodoo Online for services, or browse my books on Amazon.

Popular posts from this blog

Paper-in-Shoe Spells

A popular and very traditional hoodoo spell, often used for any situation where you need to control someone with magic , is the namepaper-in-shoe spell. It's very easy: you write the target's name 3, 7, or 9 times on a paper (depending on intent and who's giving instruction) then fold it up, sometimes after dressing it with oils or powders, then put it in your shoe. This "keeps the person underfoot" or "stomps out the trouble" or "puts pressure on them" or any other number of metaphors. I have had this work several times over the years. In one instance, I was working for a very unpleasant boss, on a short-term job. It was the last day, and I only had about 3 hours of work left on the project; and I wanted him to up my pay for the day since it almost wasn't worth the trip across town for the amount he was paying me, for only 3 hours. He was very reluctant. So I wrote his name 3 times on a 5-dollar bill he'd given me, and dusted it...

Ammonia - A Spiritual Cleansing Agent for Magick

Ammonia is a strong cleansing agent in hoodoo magick, both physically and spiritually. In Edwardian times it was advised as an old home remedy for a nerve tonic (see recipe below.)  "Household ammonia" or "ammonium hydroxide" is a solution of NH3 in water. Household ammonia ranges in concentration from 5 to 10 weight percent ammonia. The Romans called the ammonium chloride deposits they collected from near the Temple of Amun (Greek Ἄμμων Ammon) in ancient Libya 'sal ammoniacus' (salt of Amun) because of proximity to the nearby temple of Amun, the chief god of ancient Thebes. Salts of ammonia have been known from very early times; thus the term Hammoniacus sal appears in the writings of Pliny, although it is not known whether the term is identical with the more modern sal-ammoniac (ammonium chloride). In the form of sal-ammoniac (nushadir) ammonia was important to the Muslim alchemists as early as the 8th century, first mentioned by the arab chemist...

Spiritual Use of Turpentine in Hoodoo and Witchcraft

  I have posted in the past about the use of giving one's bedding a spiritual cleansing from time to time.  I recently was laundering my pillows in the same load of laundry as some turpentine-soaked rags, with the result that the pillows emerged from the wash reeking of turpentine.  From a magical perspective, this may not be a bad thing. Turpentine is used in old-time hoodoo rituals for purposes such as uncrossing, protection and sometimes as a feed for mojo bags. Its solvent powers and strong odor do indeed suggest a powerful spiritual cleansing agent, and it is still used in some modern day cleaning products on a purely practical level for these same reasons.  Old time medicines sometimes included turpentine as a thing to drink, in small doses. A book from the 1850s, The Domestic Medicine Chest , recommends giving it to children in a dose of one teaspoon for killing tapeworm. Relatedly, in old time hoodoo cures for "live things" turpentine might be made into a tea...

Magical Water Recipes - Old Style Hoodoo, Real and Genuine Magic Spells from History

Hoodoo Style Magical Waters for Magic In hoodoo tradition, some of the oldest and most traditional ingredients are natural gathered waters. While cologne and perfume is sometimes classed as a water for conjure purposes, special waters are based on water, sometimes taken from a specific location. They can have additional ingredients added, but the magic is generally held to be in the water itself. They've become a little less common since the rise of commercial hoodoo, perhaps due to manufacturer's tendency to sell any old tap water as "alleged glory water" or whatever it's labeled; and also there is difficulty in shipping liquids like water that aren't inherent in somewhat thicker mixtures like soaps or oils. (For example, a bottle of oil won't evaporate if left out too long.)  Here's a list of some traditional hoodoo magical waters and how to make them: Glory Water Glory Water is a recipe I did not include in my Conjure Cookbook , as it's not ...

The Intranquil Spirit

(EDIT: Up to date information about the Intranquil Sprit can be found in my book  The Intranquil Spirit , available on Amazon.  This post has some incomplete information which is clarified in the book.) The Intranquility spell is, unfortunately, the first resort of many a rejected lover. In some ways it makes sense -- the more unhappy and forlorn one is about a breakup, the better this idea of making the other partner feel just as much so starts to sound. Unfortunately, this spell is often not well suited to a case. The purpose of the standard Intranquility spell is to have the person be tormented by the spirit until they make contact with you, or whomever the spell is being cast for. This means that if a person is already in good contact with their ex OR if they're one of those people who cannot restrain themselves from initiating contact, then this already is probably not the right spell for that case. If you've had an Intranquility spell cast and you make contac...