The Void of Course Moon–A Lunar Sabbath?

Posted by: Donna Cunningham | April 29, 2009

The Void of Course Moon–A Lunar Sabbath?

Note: The following is an excerpt from my ebook, An Astrological Guide to Self-Awareness, the 2004 update of my book of the same name published in the 1970s. Available at moonmavenpublications.com .

One lunar phenomenon to be aware of is the void of course Moon, which you can track by using an astrological calendar. While the Moon passes through a sign, it aspects the transiting planets. When it comes to the place where it forms no more major aspects before leaving that sign, we consider it void of course. Under the date, the calendar will give the Moon sign and say something like, “Moon v/c 12:46 pm.” (Calendars may list either Eastern or Pacific times, so adjust for your zone.) These periods shift continually as the inner planets move through the signs. They can last anywhere from a half hour to a day and a half.

Cancerian Al Morrison was the first modern astrologer to popularize the void of course Moon. It’s not considered a good time to initiate important efforts or make important decisions, for “nothing will come of it.” Astrologers pay varied amounts of attention to this factor–anywhere from indifferent to hysterical.

One of our most talented astrologers, Michael Lutin, won’t even go grocery shopping, for he says the food goes to waste. Michael is a very hardworking guy, and I frankly think he uses the void of course Moon to rationalize some much-needed down time. Whatever it takes!

I’m more moderate (and more absent minded) about these periods but believe you can save yourself stress and wasted effort by not starting anything major then. Never knowingly mail off a manuscript, make an important business contact, or an agreement with another person in those intervals. Instead, tackle routine, undemanding work like housekeeping, filing, or trying to organize your desk. For your convenience, printed here is the top ten list of things not to do on a void of course Moon.

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The Top Ten List of Things NOT to do on a Void of Course Moon

1. Begin a class or conference.

2. Start a project.

3. Try to sell something.

4. Initiate new business contacts.

5. Start a job search or a job.

6. Make an important agreement.

7. Sign a contract.

8. Buy a car or house.

9. Get married or take on a partner.

10. Ask Michael Lutin to make a commitment.

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Like Michael, I do lots of mooning around the house, listening to music or vegging out in front of the television when the Moon is void. I also deliberately use it for things that should come to nothing–like every bit of work on my taxes.

You may be able to think of other matters you hope will come to naught–like responding to nuisance complaints, threatened legal actions, or invitations from people who bore you to tears. Let’s say the personnel office wants to meet with you about those lengthy lunch hours. You fully intend to reform, but for protocol’s sake they must cuff your ears. Meet when the Moon is void.

Keep a file on your desk of things to do purposely in those intervals. Fill in the void with tasks like tedious memos you’re supposed to respond to, senseless regulations that you can’t ignore, or your monthly statistics. Used creatively, the void of course Moon can be a hedge against the time-guzzling but trivial pursuits the solar world thinks we should spend our days doing.

How about some more uplifting applications for this phase? It’s good for meditation and inner work on emotions. I’ve done numerous workshops about emotional issues under this phase, and we reached profound depths. Plato said that the unexamined life is not worth living, and these phases are good for contemplation. Where possible, it is a time to be laid back and lunar.

Although the world judges us on our productivity, action isn’t always useful. In creative pursuits, a period of seeming inactivity when you read a steamy novel or play solitaire for hours on the computer often produces a fresh burst of inspiration. Just as there is a solar Sabbath on Sundays, the v\c Moon can function as a lunar Sabbath where we attend to our lunar hemisphere and emerge refreshed.

Would having the Moon void in the natal chart have any effect? I’ve only known one–a Cancer Moon, no less. I hated eating out with him, because we couldn’t get fed. He had dozens of food prohibitions and a very suspicious nature. He would drag me from restaurant to restaurant, scrutinizing the menus and interrogating the cooks. We’d finally wind up in some perfectly dismal hole where the food was tasteless but fit his diet. Whydidn’t I cook for him instead? I did cook a few meals, but always managed to add just that one minor ingredient he couldn’t eat, so I stopped. That lunar I’m not!

Where to find the Void-of-Course Moon periods: Astrological calendars and appointment books like Celestial Guide or Llewellyn’s annuals, and many astrology magazines also list them. If you feel lost when looking at these tables, a helpful guide to working with astrological calendars, including meditations for the New and Full Moons, is Anold Lane’s book, The Handbook for Reading the Astrological Calendar, found at http://www.encodingsoflight.com/.