Hora is an ancient system that gives each hour of the day to one of the seven visible planets. It is often used together with Choghadiya to fine-tune a good time.
How hora works
The time from sunrise to sunset is split into 12 horas, and sunset to sunrise into another 12. The first hora after sunrise belongs to the planet that rules the weekday: Sun on Sunday, Moon on Monday, Mars on Tuesday, Mercury on Wednesday, Jupiter on Thursday, Venus on Friday and Saturn on Saturday.
After that the planets follow a fixed order: Sun, Venus, Mercury, Moon, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, then back to the Sun. This old order is based on how fast each planet appears to move, and it is also why the weekdays come in the order they do.
Which hora for what
| Hora | Good for |
|---|---|
| Sun | Government work, meeting senior people, health |
| Moon | Travel, meeting people, home and family |
| Mars | Sports, property, courage; avoid agreements |
| Mercury | Trade, writing, study, communication |
| Jupiter | Ceremonies, money, teaching, advice |
| Venus | Romance, shopping, arts, new clothes |
| Saturn | Hard work, repairs; slow for new starts |
Combining hora with Choghadiya
A simple method: choose a good Choghadiya first (Amrit, Shubh, Labh, or Char for travel), then within it look for a matching hora. For example, a business meeting fits well in a Labh Choghadiya during a Mercury or Jupiter hora. Rekha's best-time finder ranks windows higher when the hora also matches your activity.
A worked example
On a Thursday with sunrise at 6:30 am and sunset at 6:10 pm, the day is 700 minutes long, so each day hora is about 58 minutes. The first hora (6:30 to 7:28 am) belongs to Jupiter, the lord of Thursday. Then come Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury, Moon and Saturn, and the cycle repeats. A meeting at 10:25 am would fall in the 5th hora, Mercury, which suits business and communication.
Hora in daily life
Some business owners schedule key calls in a Mercury hora, sign financial documents in a Jupiter hora and avoid starting work in a Saturn hora. Hora is also used to pick a time to pray to a particular planet: for example, Saturn prayers in a Saturn hora on Saturday.