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Void of Course
A planet is generally said to be void of course when it is not applying to an aspect with any
other planets, although the specific requirements of the condition vary based on which
definition is used.
Originally the concept was only applied to the Moon, and typically when it is used today this is
still the primary application, although in some traditions other planets can be void of course
as well.
There are at least two different definitions of void of course that are used by astrologers from
different traditions, and potentially as many as three. All three definitions will be given
separately below.
The concept of “void of course” first appears in the Hellenistic tradition, around the 1st
century CE.
The original Greek term for void of course was kenodromia (κενοδρομία), which means
“running in the void” or “running in the emptiness”.
The condition of being void of course was only applied to the Moon, and it was originally
defined as occurring when the Moon was not applying to an exact Ptolemaic aspect with any
other planets within the next 30 degrees, regardless of sign boundaries. This definition is
given in chapter 23 of Porphyry of Tyre’s Introduction to the Tetrabiblos.
In this way the Moon is figuratively running through a void or an empty spot in the zodiac,
because she does not form any aspectual relationships with other planets during an entire two
day period.
In the Medieval tradition the definition appears to have changed, so that void of course was
said to occur when the Moon did not complete or perfect an exact aspect with any other
planets until it moved into the following zodiacal sign.
Within this context, the range in which the Moon is void of course starts as soon as it
completes its last aspect with another planet in the sign that it is currently in, and it ends as
soon as it moves into the next sign.
In the Medieval tradition the definition was also changed so that any planet could be void of
course, although the Moon was still the main body that the condition was usually applied to.
It is not clear why the definition of void of course changed so drastically between the
Hellenistic and Medieval traditions, although it may have had to do with the development of
horary astrology, which places more emphasis on the perfection of aspects before planets
change signs than natal astrology does.
The Medieval version of the definition of void of course was used by the early English
astrologers of the 17th century, and from there it was transmitted to the modern tradition,
thus becoming the prevailing definition of void of course in modern astrology.
Beginning in the late 1980s and early 1990s some astrologers noticed that the famous 17th
century astrologer William Lilly did not seem to use the typical modern definition of void of
course consistently in his chart examples, and some inferred from this that he was using a
completely different definition of void of course.
In her 1995 article titled The Considerations Before Judgement astrologer Sue Ward
argued that Lilly’s definition of void of course had been misunderstood. Lilly is usually used as
a primary source for the modern definition of void of course, where a planet is void when it
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will complete no other aspects until it moves into the next sign. However, Ward argued that
Lilly’s actual working definition in chart examples was that a planet is only void when it is not
applying to an aspect with another planet within orb, regardless of sign boundaries.
This interpretation of Lilly’s definition of void of course is similar to the original Hellenistic
definition in that it ignores sign boundaries, although it happens much more frequently than
the Hellenistic definition because Lilly’s orb for applying aspects tends to be less than 10
degrees.
Unfortunately since this interpretation of Lilly’s definition of void of course is largely based on
inferences made from his chart examples, it is still somewhat controversial. Some astrologers
agree that this is a correct interpretation of what Lilly meant, and thus that there is a third
definition of void of course, while others do not agree that this is a correct interpretation of
the text, and thus they believe that there are only two potential definitions.
1. The Moon does not complete an exact Ptolemaic aspect with any planet within the next
30 degrees.
2. The Moon does not complete an exact Ptolemaic aspect with another planet until it moves
into the following sign of the zodiac.
3. The Moon is not applying to an exact Ptolematic aspect within orb.
Further Reading
Dykes, Benjamin N. (trans. and ed.), Introductions to Traditional Astrology: Abu Ma’shar and
al Qabisi, Cazimi Press, Minneapolis, MN, 2010.
Porphyry the Philosopher, Introduction to the Tetrabiblos, trans. James Herschel Holden,
American Federation of Astrologers, Tempe, AZ, 2009.
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