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Void-of-Course Moon (VOC)
When the Moon is "Void-of-Course" (VOC) very subtle ways, everything is upside down. VOC Moons have a strong impact on our perception. It helps tremendously to distinguish those periods, and if at all possible to align our lives to these extreme changes. On a very practical day-to-day level the simple knowing of when the Moon is 'void' will prevent all kinds of ill-decisions and problems.
Every 2 - 3 days, after the Moon has moved passed its last exact Ptolemean aspect (0, 60, 90, 120 or 180 degrees) to the Sun or one of the main planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto) it literally loses direction and runs into the "Void" until it enters a new sign of the Tropical zodiac. This state can vary in duration from a few minutes only to up to more than two days. Many astrological pocket calendars indicate in their daily aspect section the exact times when the Moon passes past its last aspect in any given sign, marking it with the letters "V / C'. There are quite a few calendars available which have that special feature.
When the Moon is void, it has no focus, is directionless, all over the place, irrational and confused - at least regarding mundane matters and rational functioning.
VOC is right-brain. It can be very creative and highly spiritual, a wonderful time to be in meditative flow, when free of agendas. One could call it dreamtime. Rational mind is weakened, so at best intuition takes over.The Moon is Earth's planet, actually the only planet of Earth, the single one of all the celestial objects that is geocentric. Hence its string influence and unique power. The Moon is the lens between us and the cosmos at large.
Yes, the Moon is such an important factor, one cannot emphasize this too many times. Somehow its influence is even stronger than that of the Sun (Vedic astrologers look at the Moon first). The Moon is about 600 times closer then the Sun and moves some 13 times faster around the zodiac.
Because of all that, her influence is very direct and physical. Not even the Sun has such a strong effect in matters of gravitational pull, generating the tides we know. And tides are not a merely material affair, they're even more so a psychological phenomenon, expressing in all sorts of moods, ranging from ecstasy to agony, including fear, depression, sadness, despair, etc. If you live close to the ocean you might want to watch the daily rhythm of the tides. During rising tides there is more active and male energy available, whereas falling tides invite us to let go, relax and go with the flow. The Moon is directly linked with how we feel; vibrating with our primordial being, our animal soul, inner child, the part within us which is tremendously impressive, in need to be nurtured and cared for.
Above and beyond, the Moon has a dual nature (being number two after the Sun; represented by the second card of the Tarot (the High Priestess), embodying the archetypal Yin, the impressive and receptive; the keepress of the Mystery).
In yet another way the Moon's dual nature is found in her special position of being the magic link between Earth and cosmos at large. Looked at from Earth, the Moon is the lens through which we connect with the eternal and infinite (becoming the channel, the medium to what we call our soul); and on the other hand, as seen from eternal and bodiless spaciousness, the Moon is the lens that receives all the myriad of waves, compressing them into material form - literally becoming the mother, grounding the ephemeral and subtle. After all, the words Moon, matter and mother all derive from the same Sanskrit root 'ma'.