Orphic Hymn to the Sun: Empower Your Solar Prayers & Magic

Renaissance magicians focused a great deal on the Sun, the bringer of light and warmth, through whose power all life on earth exists. For most people, especially those born during daylight hours, Solar devotion would be a great place to start building relationships with planetary spirits. In fact, the Renaissance magician-physician Marsilio Ficino advised as a general rule for people “to increase the influence of the Sun, of Jupiter, or of Venus.”

Invocations, prayers, and offerings to a planetary spirit can help you attune to and come into rhythm with that planet. There are many ways to pray to or invoke a planetary spirit, including simply speaking from the heart, but a natural place to start is one of the most common and accessible prayers to Sol: The Orphic Hymn to Helios.

The Orphic Hymn to the Sun

The Orphic Hymns are a collection of Hellenistic religious poems that were involved in the practices of Orphism, a mystery religion centered around the mythical figure Orpheus. The infamous magician Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa wrote that “nothing is more effective in natural magic” than the hymns of Orpheus.

The Orphic Hymn to the Sun, traditionally referred to in the Orphic tradition as Helios, exemplifies one approach to planetary prayer, which is to regale the spirit with praise, listing many noble qualities, powers, accomplishments, and superlatives associated with that spirit.

Hear golden Titan, whose eternal eye
with broad survey, illumines all the sky.
Self-born, unwearied in diffusing light,
and to all eyes the mirror of delight:
Lord of the seasons, with thy fiery car
and leaping coursers, beaming light from far:
With thy right hand the source of morning light,
and with thy left the father of the night.
Agile and vigorous, venerable Sun,
fiery and bright around the heavens you run.
Foe to the wicked, but the good man’s guide,
o’er all his steps propitious you preside:
With various founding, golden lyre,
’tis mine to fill the world with harmony divine.
Father of ages, guide of prosperous deeds,
the world’s commander, borne by lucid steeds,
Immortal Jove, all-searching, bearing light,
source of existence, pure and fiery bright
Bearer of fruit, almighty lord of years,
agile and warm, whom every power reveres.
Great eye of Nature and the starry skies,
doomed with immortal flames to set and rise
Dispensing justice, lover of the stream,
the world’s great despot, and o’er all supreme.
Faithful defender, and the eye of right,
of steeds the ruler, and of life the light:
With founding whip four fiery steeds you guide,
when in the car of day you glorious ride.
Propitious on these mystic labors shine,
and bless thy suppliants with a life divine.
—Orphic Hymn to Helios, tr. Thomas Taylor

The Orphic Hymn to Helios can be recited on Sundays, the day of Sol, particularly during the planetary hours of the Sun. We recommend lighting a candle and burning incense with any prayer or invocation. Frankincense is an excellent choice of incense for the Sun, as would be amber or aloeswood (lignum aloes). You could light a single candle or if you were performing a more involved ritual or petition you might use six (the number associated with the Sun).

In addition to Helios, there is also an Orphic Hymn to Apollo. The Sun as a celestial spirit is not identical to Apollo, of course. However, Apollo embodies archetypal Solar qualities and powers that are helpful to keep in mind, and the Orphic Hymn to Apollo deserves mention when we are thinking about solar prayers.

Blest Pæan, come, propitious to my prayer,
illustrious power, whom Memphian tribes revere,
Slayer of Tityus, and the God of health,
Lycorian Phœbus, fruitful source of wealth .
Spermatic, golden-lyred, the field from thee
receives it’s constant, rich fertility.
Titanic, Grunian, Smynthian, thee I sing,
Python-destroying, hallowed, Delphian king:
Rural, light-bearer, and the Muse’s head,
noble and lovely, armed with arrows dread:
Far-darting, Bacchian, two-fold, and divine,
power far diffused, and course oblique is thine.
O, Delian king, whose light-producing eye
views all within, and all beneath the sky:
Whose locks are gold, whose oracles are sure,
who, omens good reveal’st, and precepts pure:
Hear me entreating for the human kind,
hear, and be present with benignant mind;
For thou survey’st this boundless æther all,
and every part of this terrestrial ball
Abundant, blessed; and thy piercing sight,
extends beneath the gloomy, silent night;
Beyond the darkness, starry-eyed, profound,
the stable roots, deep fixed by thee are found.
The world’s wide bounds, all-flourishing are thine,
thyself all the source and end divine:
‘Tis thine all Nature’s music to inspire,
with various-sounding, harmonising lyre;
Now the last string thou tune to sweet accord,
divinely warbling now the highest chord;
The immortal golden lyre, now touched by thee,
responsive yields a Dorian melody.
All Nature’s tribes to thee their difference owe,
and changing seasons from thy music flow
Hence, mixed by thee in equal parts,
advance Summer and Winter in alternate dance;
This claims the highest, that the lowest string,
the Dorian measure tunes the lovely spring .
Hence by mankind, Pan-royal, two-horned named,
emitting whistling winds through Syrinx famed;
Since to thy care, the figured seal’s consigned,
which stamps the world with forms of every kind.
Hear me, blest power, and in these rites rejoice,
and save thy mystics with a suppliant voice.
—Orphic Hymn to Apollo, tr. Thomas Taylor

If the aesthetics of 18th century poetic verse do not appeal to you, then be aware that other more modern translations of the Orphic Hymns exist, such as in the Orphic Hymns Grimoire by Sara Mastros.

The Hygromanteia Prayer to the Sun

Another prayer to the Sun comes from the Hygromanteia, also known as the Magical Treatise of Solomon, a group of Byzantine-era grimoires focused on astrological and planetary magic. The Hygromanteia prayer to the Sun is somewhat more commanding than the Orphic Hymn to Helios, and you may wish to use it when you have more experience invoking and petitioning Sol.

This prayer, like the Orphic Hymn, lists some of the qualities of the spirit, which the text describes as “the powers and the graces of each planet.” In contrast, though, the Hygromanteia prayer appeals to the spirit by a list of names associated with the Sun. Different versions appear in the text, one of which is as follows:

In the name of the almighty and supreme God, I conjure you lord Sun, the illuminator, the king of all stars, the begetter of vision. O Sun, who nurtures and causes the herbs and the trees to bear fruit, who adorns the whole world with majesty, who banishes adversities in the darkness, and who divides the beautiful things from the ugly ones; O Sun, the embellishment of the priceless things, the beauty and the majesty of pearls, gold and precious stones, the glory of the kings and the thought of the judges; I conjure you, Sun, lord Sun, inconceivable, incomprehensible, who sees the powers of heaven and understands the splendors of the supreme God. I conjure you, lord Sun, candle that burns before the dreadful God Sabaoth, do not disobey me. I conjure you in your following names: Pithankouz, Doriel, Sinae, Madoel, Lytrophar, Phryktouel, Pelkadon, Andraphor, Iymedon, Alianos, Gararouel. In your above names, grant your grace, power and virtue in the present work I want to attempt.
—Hygromanteia, MS Harleianus 5596, tr. Ioannis Marathakis

The Heptameron Conjuration of the Sun

Another somewhat more involved prayer can be adapted from the Heptameron, a grimoire of spirit invocation attributed to Peter de Abano. A translation of the Heptameron by Joseph H. Peterson is available at Esoteric Archives. The Heptameron takes a very different approach than the Orphic Hymns or the Hygromanteia prayers. Rather than appealing to Sol itself, this invocation approaches the spirit by appealing to other spirits in the same cosmic hierarchy. The Heptameron also involves facing and calling upon spirits of the different directions. You can think of this type of prayer as locating yourself within the Great Chain of Being so as to best position yourself to appeal to a particular spirit.

This particular invocation invokes the planetary archangel of the Sun, known as Michael (note that different systems assign the angels differently, and some grimoiric traditions assign Raphael to the Sun). The Heptameron planetary invocations are prefaced by invocations of angels of the relevant level of heaven in the four directions. An abbreviated ritual for appealing to the angels of the Sun could go as follows:

[Facing East:] Samael. Baciel. Atel. Gabriel. Vionatraba.

[Facing West:] Anael. Pabel. Ustael. Burchat. Suceratos. Capabili.

[Facing North:] Anael. Pabel. Ustael. Burchat. Suceratos. Capabili.

[Facing South:] Haludiel. Machasiel. Charsiel. Uriel. Naromiel.

[Facing North:] I Conjure and confirm upon you, ye strong and holy Angels of God, in the name Adonay, Eie, Eie, Eia, which is he who was, and is, and is to come, Eye, Abray; and in the name Saday, Cados, Cados, Cados, sitting on high upon the Cherubin; and by the great Name of God himself, strong and powerful, who is exalted above all Heavens; Eie Saray, maker of the World, who created the World, the Heaven, the Earth, the Sea, and all that in them is in the first day, and sealed them with his holy Name Phaa; and by the name of the holy Angels, who rule in the fourth Heaven, and serve before the most mighty Salamia, an Angel great and honourable; and by the name of his Star, which is Sol; and by his Sign; and by the immense name of the living God, and by all the names aforesaid, I conjure thee, Michael, O great Angel, who art chief Ruler of the Lord’s day; and by the name Adonay, the God of Israel, who hath created the world, and all that therein is, That thou labour for me, and fulfil all my petitions, according to my will and desire, in my cause and business. [speak your own petition or request here].
—Heptameron, XVIII. Considerations for the Lord’s Day, tr. Joseph H. Peterson

Note that the Heptameron is a highly complex grimoire and the above prayer is a simplified adaptation of a much more extensive rite of conjuration. You may wish to further research the text before delving into this prayer.

Picatrix Prayer to the Sun

A more extensive prayer to the Sun can be found in the premiere grimoire of astrological magic, the Picatrix or Ghayat al Hakim. This prayer can be used on its own, but was originally intended as part of a more extensive rite of petition involving complex suffumigations and other ritual trappings.

The full version of the Picatrix prayer involves all three approaches we have seen so far: listing epithets and qualities, appealing to different names of the spirit, and appealing to associated spirits in the relevant cosmic hierarchy. A partial selection of the Picatrix prayers to the Sun that shows some of the similarities and differences to the other prayers follows:

You who are the foundation of heaven and are exalted above all the stars and all the planets, holy and revered, I ask that you may hear my petition, and grant to me the grace and friendship of noble individuals and leaders. I conjure you by Him who gave you light and life. You are the light of the world. I invoke you by all your names: that is, in Arabic, Yayemiz; in Latin, Sol; in Chaldean, Maher; in Roman, Lehuz; in Indian, Araz. You are the light of the world and its illumination; you stand in the middle of the planets. You it is who cause generation in the world by your virtue and heat; from your sublime place. I ask you for your exaltation and will, that you may deign to help me so that all those who have authority over me shall put me in an exalted and sublime position, that I may have dominion and exaltation just as you are the lord of the other planets and the stars, who receive their light and illumination from you. I ask you who are the foundation of the whole firmament, that you will have pity upon me, and listen to the words and prayers I say to you.
—Picatrix, tr. John Michael Greer & Christopher Warnock, Book III, Chapter 7

For the full version of the Picatrix prayer to the Sun, consult the full version of the Picatrix, available from Christopher Warnock.

Writing Your Own Prayer to the Sun

The above prayers from the Orphic Hymns, the Hygromanteia, and the Heptameron are excellent general-purpose texts for coming into relationship with the Sun. If you intend to pray to or petition Sol for a very specific purpose, such as making an astrological talisman with a particular intention or keyword, you may wish to write your own prayer.

As we saw above, there are generally three main approaches to praying to a particular spirit that are exemplified in the prayers listed above. These are:

Listing noble qualities, powers, or deeds of the spirit;
Calling upon the spirit by their various different names and epithets;
Situating oneself in the relevant cosmic hierarchy by invoking or appealing to other spirits associated with or ruled by the spirit.

Prayers in astrological and planetary magic can serve as double duty for a request or petition: that is, one can appeal to what the spirit does effectively and downplaying what is not in line with the spirit’s influences. As Agrippa writes:

“[C]omposing [prayers] for attracting the virtue of any star or god…is accomplished by praising, extolling, amplifying, and adorning that which the star typically brings about and influences, while suppressing and rejecting that which the star typically destroys and impedes. Pray and implore for that which the star typically destroys and impedes; reprimand and detest that which one desires to destroy and impede.”
—Three Books of Occult Philosophy, Book I, Chapter 71, tr. Eric Purdue

A good place to start with this is primary sources about the spirit. The Orphic Hymn to Helios and Picatrix prayer to the Sun each have some great epithets, names, and descriptions of Sol. The Hygromanteia and Heptameron likewise have associated names, spirits, and effects of the Sun. Agrippa also lists a number of epithets and descriptions of Sol that you may wish to draw upon:

“The Sun is called Phoebus, Diespiter, Apollo, Titan, Pean, Phanes, Horus, Osiris… It is also called bow-carrier, burning, fiery, golden, flame-bearing, radiant, fiery-haired, golden-haired, eye of the world, light-bringer, seeing much, holding all, creator of light, king of the stars, the great lord, good, fortunate, distinguished, the world, aware, understanding, wise, glowing over the entire world, governing and vivifying all bodies that have a soul, prince of the world, keeping all of the stars under him, lighting all of the stars and obscuring their virtues by its nearness, burning and overcoming them, yet by its light and splendor, it gives light and splendor to all. At night he is called Dionysus, but in the day Apollo as if driving away evil; therefore, the Athenians called it Alexicacon, and Homer called it ‘Ulion’—that is, expeller of evil. However, it is called Phoebus because of its splendor and brightness, and Vulcan from its violent fire, because that power depends much on fire. But it is called the Sun because it contains the light of all the stars; hence, the Assyrians call it Adad, which signifies ‘alone’ and from the Hebrews Schemesch, which is intrepreted as ‘individual.’”
—Three Books of Occult Philosophy, Book II, Chapter 59, tr. Eric Purdue

Research into the mythology of Helios and the epithets of Helios can also help provide perspectives from which to approach the planetary spirit. Also, the mythology of Apollo can provide another angle on Solar devotion. Although the Hellenistic god and the planetary spirit are not identical, it can help provide an inroad into the aspect of the spirit you wish to invoke.

Other Resources

Other resource posts in this series:
Diana Rose Harper‘s primer on planetary prayers is an excellent general place to start for beginners.
Christopher Warnock’s book The Celestial Way provides a more extensive resource for planetary devotion.

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