Deaf Pagan Crossroads

Let’s take a look at March 2011’s Full Moon, which will occur on Saturday, March 19th. The moon will be at full stage at 1:10 in the afternoon Central Time.

photo taken by fellow Deaf Professional Ken Arcia of San Francisco

Thanks, Ken!

Here we have a moon that’s on the cusp – in the midst of transitioning. While it’s in the sign of Virgo at the time it turns Full, the Moon will enter the sign of Libra less than two hours later.

Actually, the Moon will go “void of course” at the same time it goes into Full Moon stage.

This of course begs the question:

Just what is a Void of Course Moon?

A planet or moon is said to be void of course when it is in the process of moving from one astrological sign to another. It’s like being on the cusp… being “between signs” so to speak. Dr. Loretta Standley has a good way of describing it on her website:

Look at it this way . . . you know how you feel when you move from one house (residence) to another house? There is a lot of packing, moving about and just general chaos keeping track of all of your stuff in trucks as it’s being shuffled from one house to another. Well the energy of a planet preparing to move feels the same chaotic way. Energy is shifting and it feels off balance and cranky to say the least.

I think this is a good analogy. The moon is transitioning, preparing to move from one astrological sign to another. The focus is on that shift, and as a result things can feel rather unsettled and indeed chaotic. The energy is often unstable, and one can feel like s/he is losing her/his footing. There’s often a feeling of inconsistency, of being disconnected from reality. This can be a mixed blessing – since Full Moons are often the time when many Pagans gather to conduct their monthly Esbats or perform their own personal solitary rituals, that sense of detachment can be beneficial in allowing an individual to move beyond this realm to immerse oneself in another level of cosmos. Indeed, some astrologers believe a void of course moon to be the best for spiritually oriented people to engage in such endeavors.

On the other hand, a void of course moon is believed to be the best time to take a break…to just “chill out” as the saying goes. It’s a time for relaxing and not focusing on anything – to rest and rejuvenate; enjoying a good book or a favorite musician.

It’s not the time to be making decisions, starting new projects, doing important things. As many astrologers would advise:

Plan nothing, Decide nothing, Commit to nothing, Purchase nothing, Communicate nothing.

A void of course moon occurs approximately every two and a half days – the average length of time that the moon takes to pass through an astrological sign. Fortunately they generally only last a few hours, although they have been known to last anywhere from a couple of minutes to a couple of days. March’s void of course Full Moon will last for just a little under two hours, going void at 1:10 in the afternoon Central Time and remaining such until 3:03 when it enters the sign of Libra.

I have not been able to find any specific information about a Void of Course Full Moon, but I am inclined to believe that the combination of a Full Moon with being void of course only heightens the need to “proceed with caution.” While a Full Moon can be a time of working some pretty powerful mojo, personally I would recommend waiting until it has completed the move into Libra.

A Virgo/Libra Full Moon. What does this signify for us? Since Virgo is ruled by the element of Earth, and Libra by the element of Air, this Moon suggests the idea of moving from terra firma into the lofty heights of the sky. Having your feet firmly planted on the ground isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but the fact that the Full Moon occurs at the time of void of course out of Virgo hints at the possibility of having become too grounded in one place. Perhaps it is time to shed that practical, efficient aspect of yourself and begin thinking in more abstract concepts. It’s good to have concrete objectives, but unless you apply some intellectual visualization to those goals, nothing’s going to happen. Let the airy creativity of Libra give flight to those ideas.