The Void of Course Moon
Every two and a half days the Moon finishes its business in a sign: it perfects one last aspect to some planet, and then, until it crosses into the next sign, it runs void of course. Nothing new gets underwritten. Horary astrologers have treated the void Moon as a verdict for a thousand years: matters begun now tend to come to nothing. Electional astrologers treat it as the first thing to check before scheduling anything that matters.
The good news is that nothing about it is mysterious: voids are exactly computable. The table below is solved live from the ephemeris, to the minute, for the next thirty days.
Void of course Moon times, next 30 days (UTC, computed live)
- Fri, Jul 10, 10:14 → Fri, Jul 10, 22:43leaving ♉
- Sat, Jul 11, 22:12 → Sun, Jul 12, 22:47leaving ♊
- Tue, Jul 14, 09:45 → Tue, Jul 14, 22:36leaving ♋
- Wed, Jul 15, 22:28 → Fri, Jul 17, 00:08leaving ♌
- Sat, Jul 18, 22:14 → Sun, Jul 19, 04:58leaving ♍
- Tue, Jul 21, 11:06 → Tue, Jul 21, 13:36leaving ♎
- Wed, Jul 22, 21:50 → Fri, Jul 24, 01:08leaving ♏
- Sat, Jul 25, 15:01 → Sun, Jul 26, 13:45leaving ♐
- Tue, Jul 28, 06:13 → Wed, Jul 29, 01:47leaving ♑
- Thu, Jul 30, 21:29 → Fri, Jul 31, 12:15leaving ♒
- Sun, Aug 2, 12:35 → Sun, Aug 2, 20:38leaving ♓
- Tue, Aug 4, 18:54 → Wed, Aug 5, 02:37leaving ♈
- Thu, Aug 6, 23:27 → Fri, Aug 7, 06:09leaving ♉
- Sun, Aug 9, 05:29 → Sun, Aug 9, 07:47leaving ♊
Refreshed several times daily. For day-by-day election grades built on these windows, use the free Electional Lab.
How a void happens
The Moon is the fastest body in the chart, sweeping about thirteen degrees a day and aspecting every planet in turn. Within each sign it forms a finite series of conjunctions, sextiles, squares, trines, and oppositions. The moment the last one perfects, the Moon has nothing left to apply to before the sign boundary: that remainder is the void. It ends, always, at the ingress into the next sign, which is why every window in the table above closes on a sign change.
Length is the wildcard. A last aspect that lands late in the sign leaves a void of minutes; an early finale can leave the Moon void for a day or more. The long voids are the ones worth planning around.
What to schedule around it
The tradition is specific about what suffers: beginnings. Contracts signed under a void Moon get renegotiated or quietly die; ventures launched then drift; purchases meant to last develop a way of not lasting. The decisive email, the first date, the grand opening: schedule them for when the Moon is applying to something.
And the void has its own genius. Because nothing comes of what starts now, it is the sky's best window for everything you want no consequences from: rest, routine maintenance, decluttering, drafts you intend to rewrite, and meetings you would prefer to be forgettable. Old-school astrologers filed paperwork they wanted ignored during voids, on purpose.
The classical exceptions are worth knowing: William Lilly held that the Moon performs somewhat in Taurus, Cancer, Sagittarius, and Pisces even while void, and that strongly fortified charts can carry a matter through regardless. Treat the void as a thumb on the scale rather than a wall.
Common questions
What does void of course Moon mean?
After the Moon perfects its last major aspect to another planet while in a sign, it travels void of course until it enters the next sign. Traditional astrology reads the void Moon as a gap in the sky's plot: matters begun then tend to drift, stall, or come to nothing.
How long does a void of course Moon last?
Anywhere from minutes to over a day. The Moon changes sign about every two and a half days, and the void is whatever remains after its final aspect in that sign, so length varies with how early the last aspect lands.
What should you avoid during a void Moon?
The classical list: signing contracts, launching ventures, making purchases meant to last, sending the decisive message, and scheduling first meetings. Routine work, rest, cleaning, editing, and finishing existing tasks are all fine and often better than fine.
Is anything good during a void of course Moon?
Yes: everything that benefits from nothing coming of it. Brainstorming without commitment, rest, meditation, decluttering, and tasks you want to slip past resistance. The old horary masters also noted that some matters protected by strong charts proceed anyway; the void is a caution, not a curse.
Keep going: best days calendar · Mercury retrograde dates · the year's planetary weather · your free birth chart