Moon went void at 12:11AM…not to enter Libra until 2:54PM ET. See if you notice any twists in your normal routine. Will your alarm clock not go off? Will a traffic jam cause you to take another route to work? Will you be running late for a bus, not have time to eat breakfast — only to find two happy-faced Wendy’s employees giving away free coffee and cinnamon buns right at your bus stop (that happened to me last month). For the benefit of new subscribers to this forecast, I’m posting an updated explanation of Moon voids (and how to manage them) below.

As for the energy of the day after 2:54PM ET, with the Moon in people-pleasing Libra, relationships and issues of fairness, justice and equality may pull focus. Staying balanced, however, may be a challenge, as Moon is opposed by Venus (suggesting self-indulgence or other excess) and also by Uranus (suggesting a surprise or a breakthrough). Perhaps more of whatever you’re experiencing along with yesterday’s hook-up between Venus and Uranus?

Moon continues in Libra until 5:09PM ET on Sunday. I’ll write more about Sunday in another post…but please note that Mars, planet of action and aggression is running wild in perfectionist Virgo all weekend (including Friday). Keep that in mind if you find yourself being overly critical — or if you’re subjected to someone’s nitpicky jabs.  Instead, try to find a productive channel for all that energy that is dying to get something organized or plan a perfect strategy.  Peace out.

WHAT IS A VOID-OF-COURSE MOON?

Here’s a visual for you: think of a pinball game. On Wednesday at 12:32PM ET, Moon entered the sign of Virgo. Now imagine the Moon as the pinball being launched into that sign. As the Moon travels through a sign, it makes aspects to other planets, like a pinball making contact with all the bumpers and gizmos in the game. Think of the dynamic way the pinball bounces off those bumpers and gizmos; it moves with purpose and clear direction, usually in a straight line, right? A Moon that is not void-of-course tends to move like this.

But what happens to the pinball after it hits the last bumper and falls to the bottom of the pinball machine, before it is relaunched into the game?  It loses steam, right? Sometimes the pinball just hangs for a while…before finally dropping…like a sigh. This is often how we experience the energy of the Moon when it is void-of-course.  The void — or v/c or VOC — is the time between the Moon’s LAST connection to a planet in one sign…and the time it enters the next sign.

When the Moon is void of course for a few minutes, we may not even notice it. When the Moon is void for a few hours or more, many of us definitely notice the difference.  Especially sensitive types may notice a floaty feeling — or may have difficulty focusing on a task at hand. I like to say that when the Moon is void of course, it can be challenging to travel in a straight line.  We are more likely to encounter curve balls, detours and other twists along the way. Ordinary tasks sometimes take FOREVER — or so it seems. Clients call with crises that later turn out to be nothing. Lines of communication get crossed. Your waiter says “Good Morning!” and it’s four in the afternoon. You pour hot water over whole bean coffee — oops — you forgot to grind it before putting it in the coffee maker.  You answer the phone and it’s someone you’ve been trying to avoid. During voids, details can fall through the cracks; it’s important to double check everything — you get the idea.

Moon voids are good for a nap, sleeping in late, leaving work early, a creative brainstorm, writing music, meditating, doing yoga or other activities that are considered routine or “going with the flow”. Moon voids are not ideal for buying things on impulse, especially if they are costly. I’ve tested this rule many times by breaking it, so now I avoid buying anything (even on sale) because I find I just don’t use them. The exception to this rule is when you find you NEED to buy something — like the time I had to buy a shawl because I was wearing a summer dress in fall weather, and I couldn’t go home and change. I do get a lot of use out of that shawl.

Activities initiated during Moon voids often have no consequence…and sometimes that is a good thing. Let’s say you want to return something to a store; voids are a good time to do that. Traveling during voids can bring unexpected rewards, like a $400 travel certificate because your flight is overbooked (that’s going with the flow!). On the other hand, when you want your event to have consequence — like an important business meeting — try to schedule that when the Moon is NOT void. I would never recommend signing a contract during a void.

There’s a higher “flake factor” during voids – people don’t show up for planned events. Other “twists” include upsets in sports matches (it’s a good time to bet on the underdog). The classic example of a Moon void during an election is the presidential election on Nov 7, 2000 — Bush v. Gore — which happened during a Moon void AND when Mercury was stationary direct — talk about a set-up for errors and confusion!

During a void you can likely get away with sleeping in. This is a natural cosmic rest period, so try to take it easy until the Moon moves into the next sign. Of course there will be times when you’ve got some big thing scheduled during a Moon void — that’s just life. The key then is to be AWARE of the void and BE FLEXIBLE in response to whatever twist comes up. I promise you this awareness will save you hours of frustration…