I have been doing a bit of thinking about the concept of planetary hours and planetary correspondences lately.  I do so love renovating my old Victorian house - it gives me lots of time to let my mind wander along such delightful fascinations.

I have come to appreciate the planets and the planetary hours in a sort of academia - a collegiate sort of way.  So, I drift back to my college days and I consider the gods of the planets as the faculty staff of Cosmos University. 

The Moon can be found most likely in her office/studio when she is not running a class on the fine arts or divination. From her, one can learn poetry, painting, and song, and how to delve into the depths of the soul in her studio by the riverside.

The Sun is out teaching in the noontime, running Yoga classes outside. rt When he's not doing that, he's got his regular classes in leadership and health, all in his open-air theatre office space.

Mars is usually found in the field, teaching the ROTC classes and the physical education classes. On his off-time, he's out coaching the sports teams.

Mercury has no office.  He's usually running about this way and that, and usually it's best to wait at the crossroads, where he'll be sure to pass soon.  But when he's not there, he's helping out at the college radio station, or teaching investigative journalism.

Venus is teaching the dance classes, the theatre arts classes, and the design arts classes, sharing her love of beauty and passion with the school. 

Jupiter is the head of the business department, of course.

And Old Saturn teaches the laws and the history, in the dark old expansive hall, where his voice echoes.

So this idea of the Universe as a University goes nicely in line with the oft-heard notion, "The Universe is your teacher.  The Universe is your University."

Now, as a student in this University, we are expected to work hard to better ourselves, to study our chosen major, but to always explore the other classes offered.  We are expected to do most of our work on our own, but with the guidance of the staff - the Planets.  We learn from all of them, and as we take the time to take their classes repeatedly, we graduate into their higher level courses, where there are fewer students and more attention from the professor.

As a student works more and more with a professor, they start to develop a rapport.  When it comes to an important and prestigious research opportunity, the professor is going to look to the students he knows and likes the best first.  And likewise, if you, as a student, need help with your own projects, then it would not be much of a stretch to drop that professor a line and ask for a bit of assistance.

Now, our professors do have other things to attend to and other things to do.  Venus has to make sure that beauty is appreciated in the world, and the Moon does have some Witches to visit tonight, this full moon.  The Sun has to be there when all the Yogis go out first thing in the morning for the Sun Salutation. 

So, the professors each have chosen a day when they will be on call at the University, teaching classes, helping out with the students.  They have designated a few specific time slots in which they will be available, in their office, ready to grant you an audience with their full undivided attention.  When you approach the professor on her office hours, you are going to get the best out of the professor.  Now, do call them anytime during the day, though, if you can't make it to the office hours.  The Moon will be available to help you all day Monday.  She'll also be in her office occasionally throughout the week - three times a day - though she might be slower to respond on those days.

In other words, if you are an artist who needs some inspiration with your latest work, then it is best to call on the Moon on Monday, during one of the planetary hours.  Calling on a planetary hour of another day will still get some results, but there may be delays.  Calling during the prof's off time might get results, but only if you already have a good established relationship with the professor.  To any other student, approaching out of the blue, they'll likely only get told to call back on the professor's office hours.

This Planetary Hours Calculator may prove to be helpful, if you choose to explore this concept further.

Clouds of heady incense fill the room, the curling smoke lapping against the flesh.  A low bassline rumbles through the floor as a woman's voice sings to the angels of love.  The breath fills the belly and the chest, deeply inhaling of the universal energy current which is there for all to swim in.  The sparkling air fills me, invigorates me, and ripples through the body, alighting the glistening skin.  A wailing violin courses through my veins, and the energy flows out my arms which create a mysterious sine wave, snaking through the incense.  The bass brings one hip to roll and another, arcing my hips into a hypnotic figure eight. 

Visions of ancient temples begin to overlay the tackily-posh living room and makeshift hookah lounge where I dance.  The last long rays of the daylight  duskily illuminate the sand, and I step out onto the portico around my temple, and give farewell for the day to the Mighty Sun, by offering Him a dance to kiss Him Goodnight.  My bare feet sink a little into the sand as I settle myself firmly upon Her, she who is Mother to all.  With each crescendo of the violin, my body rolls a wave of energy upwards in gratitude, love rising from my feet and bursting upward from my heart, the flow of the Eternal coursing through my veins.  My beautiful round hips languidly slide, and then burst into a flurry of shimmies.  Visions overlay upon myself as well - ancient priestess embodying the Goddess in prayerful dance, holy dance.  She who is Love, incarnate, enters my body, and my body moves according to Her wishes.  Through me, She kisses her lover in the sky.

The endorphins work their magic, my sweating body's heart rate racing them to every nerve in my body.  My flesh tingles, and feels so very alive, prickly and delicious with the passion of the dance.  The Goddess and I are one when I dance.

In all my decade and a half of being on the path of studying the Craft and magical arts in all of their many forms, I would think that by now I would have a great grasp on the basic concept of centering.  However, just a few short weeks ago, I came to an entirely new appreciation for centering.

"Ground and center." That sentiment is at the top of rituals and practices, from the British Traditional circle casting to the LBRP to hatha yoga.  In my tradition, grounding means to connect solidly with the earth beneath your feet.  Your energy body is connected to the energy body of the earth.  You are one with the earth, a tree rooted firmly upon the soil. 

In magic, this gives us solidity in the real world, which yields real world results - after all, if our heads are constantly in the clouds, how can we be doing anything upon this earth? In ceremonies in which we honor the Goddess as Mother Earth, this helps solidify our connection with her.  In all practices, it helps us because we have a place to put our extra energy after a rite or a working. 

Centering, though, is somewhat more elusive.  In rituals such as the Middle Pillar ritual, chakra-aligning rituals, yoga and kundalini work, centering is talked a lot about.  However, I never really got the depth of the importance until I started back with belly dance classes, and started working out with a Wii Fit.

I have been doing a lot of training to build myself up to be a better belly dancer.  It has been my new years' resolution to drop the extra fat, to tone the muscles, and to better my body so that I can live more vibrantly.  So far, so good - it's almost February, and my momentum is still going.  Part of what has kept it going is the fascination with centering.

The Wii Fit is a delightful little device.  You stand on the board, which has four weight sensors - one for the front and back of each foot.  It measures how far you are leaning to any side, thus helping you see, visually, problems with your posture.  Having your center of balance not too far to the front, back, left or right is optimal for the best health.

I'd been walking sideways, leaning to the left for all of my life and never knew it.  My lower back was constantly being needlessly strained because I wasn't supporting myself properly.  A hip injury that I had about 6 months ago might have healed a lot faster if I had not been working against it.

The direct feedback given by the Wii Fit helped me to find where my center of balance is, and what it feels like to stand in perfect alignment.  It takes a bit of work, as the lower abs, glutes, and thighs need to tone up to keep your body properly supported and centered.  It wasn't easy the first few days as my body was working muscles that I let get far too lazy.

The most amazing thing I noticed was the proper stance for a neutral stance in belly dance is by being supported by strong lower abs, glutes, and thighs.  Proper belly dance posture - what they teach you in your first belly dance class - is all about being properly centered, perfectly aligned between front, back, left, right, up and down. Again, no wonder I was having so much trouble with certain moves - I was leaning to the left and my muscles were improperly balanced.  Once I trained myself to drop immediately into a centered position, my dancing came much more readily to me, and the dance itself became much more graceful and beautiful as I flowed more naturally.

The lesson here is this: when you're centered, things just flow more readily.  When we do rites that involve invoking aspects of the six directions (north, south, east, west, up and down), we are psychically centering ourselves.  We are putting ourselves neatly between the push and pull of the logic of the east and the emotion of the west, the stillness of the north and the passions of the south.  When we place ourselves firmly in the center of Up and Down, we live in the here and now, standing firmly and proudly upon our memetic and genetic heritage, and aspiring ever toward the infinite possibilities that our futures hold.

By putting myself in my body's center as a bellydancer, I have access to the widest range of motion - my body can move left, right, forward, back, up and down and back to center again.  By putting myself in the center of the circle, I have access to the widest range of abilities, tools, and realms - my mind can go to the west, north, east, south, up or down, and back to center again. 

This is important, because when we are faced with challenges to which the answer is not obvious, we can look in another direction and draw strength from there.  Not able to complete the difficult mathematical task?  Step away from the east, as Archimedes did, and go to the west.  Take a bath, let the mind relax, and go back to the east again when your mind is ready.  Is the heart heavy with depression and stasis, feeling in a rut?  Then turn on the music and let the fires of dance, sex, or an invigorating workout light you up again.  Feeling nostalgic and homesick?  Aim toward the skies, and start planning out a future endeavor.

The mind and body are inherently linked.  When the body is centered, the mind becomes centered.  When the mind becomes centered, the body becomes centered.  Learning how to properly center myself has been an immense help to me in both the physical world of bettering my health, and in the psychic world of bettering my mental and emotional abilities.  As above, so below.