Void Moons and Dead Presidents.

There has been some hysteria in the bloggosphere about void moons and dead/failing presidents.

Mostly, it is astro-hysterical nonsense wherein a few salient facts are highlighted, a great deal of innuendo is attached to the remaining facts, and a lot of important information is omitted.

The tell-tale signs of astro-hysteria are an emphatic (negative or positive) disposition combined with large quantities of astro-jargon, and factoids strung together with innuendo. There is little sound reason behind an astro-hysterical diatribe.

The interest in the Void-Of-Course moon (VOC) and the presidential inauguration on this blog has prompted me to do some research.

Where a President dies or resigns the office, the Vice-President completes the Presidential term as President. This is called Presidency by succession.

The following figures have been rounded within acceptable error for simplicity’s sake-

The basic facts,

• One in six presidential terms have been completed by succession.
• One in six VOC presidential terms have been completed by succession
• One in four presidential terms begin under VOC
• One in four inaugurations occur under VOC

Primary conclusion:
VOC has no noticeable effect on whether or not a president finishes his or her term.

The rest of this post contains various facts, figures, and definitions that support my primary conclusion.

It is my personal opinion that VOC has little real place in mundane astrology beyond its significance in relation to the mood of the people, (see explanation of VOC below).

There are have been 17 Presidential inaugurations under a VOC moon by the medieval definition of the term. (Including the Obama inauguration, whose term is not finished so it is not counted in the rest of the analysis). VOC is a medieval technique which should, for consistency’s sake, only make use of the Classical planets, and Ptolemaic aspect by sign.

The 17 VOC presidential inaugurations are

John Adams, March 4, 1797, 12 noon, Philadelphia, PA
James Monroe, March 4, 1817, 12 Noon, Washington, DC (1st term)
James Monroe, March 4, 1821, 12 Noon, Washington, DC (2nd term)
Andrew Jackson, March 4, 1831, 12 Noon, Washington, DC (2nd term),
James K. Polk, March 4, 1845, 12 Noon, Washington, DC
Millard Filmore, July 09, 1850, 22:30, Washington, DC (succession)
William McKinley, March 4, 1897, 12 Noon, Washington, DC (1st term),
Woodrow Wilson, March 4, 1917, 12 Noon, Washington, DC (2nd Term)
**Franklin D. Roosevelt, January 20, 1945, 12 Noon, Washington, DC (4th term)
Harry S. Truman, April 12, 1945, 16:35 Washington, DC (succession)
Harry S. Truman, January 20, 1949, 12 Noon, Washington, DC (2nd term)
**John F. Kennedy, January 20, 1961, 12 Noon, Washington, DC
**Richard M. Nixon, January 20, 1973, 12 Noon, Washington, DC (2nd term)
Gerald R. Ford, August 9, 1974, 12 Noon, Washington, DC (succession)
Bill Clinton, January 20, 1997, 12 Noon, Washington, DC (2nd term)
George W. Bush, January 20, 2001, 12 Noon, Washington, DC (1st term)
Barack Obama, January 20, 2009, 12 Noon, Washington, DC

In all there have been 55 presidential terms, begun by 34 different elected presidents and 9 of these terms have been interrupted necessitating completion of the term by succession.

Roughly one in six presidential terms has required completion by succession since 1789.

64 inaugurations have transpired for 43 presidents. The current President is number 44.
Of the 64 inaugurations, 16 have taken place under VOC moon. Roughly one in four inaugurations takes place under VOC moon.

Of the 16 inaugurations under VOC moons, 3 have been interrupted requiring succession. This represents slightly more than one in six, but less than one in five, however it does not represent a significant departure from one in six.

Of the 55 presidential terms determined by election, 13 have started under a VOC moon. Roughly one in four presidential terms has begun under a VOC moon.

Of the 47 presidential terms completed without succession, 10 have started under a VOC moon. Roughly one in 5 presidential terms that ran their full measure have taken place under a VOC inauguration.

All 9 presidencies by succession fulfilled the term of the original president. Three of these successions happened under VOC moons.

William McKinley was assassinated, but in his second term, not his first term.

James Monroe and Harry Truman both had two VOC terms, none of which were cut short.

For clarity, these are my definitions.

Void of Course Moon:
A chart wherein the Moon applies to no Ptolemaic aspect or bodily conjunction with a Classical Planet before leaving the sign it is in: where “applies to” means approaching aspect (as opposed to “separating” or leaving aspect), “Ptolemaic aspect” is opposition, square, trine or sextile by sign, “Classical Planet” refers to the 5 visible planets plus the Sun and Moon.

Explanation:
VOC is a medieval technique used primarily in Horary astrology (asking direct questions of the heavens) and Electional astrology (selecting auspicious times). In both of those occasions, the chart is purely subjective, the chart is dictated by no influence external to the question.

In my opinion, there is no place for modern planets in the application of the VOC principle. The VOC principle took shape a long time before Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto were discovered.

Presidential inaugurations are determined by factors outside the control of the President or anyone involved. I am disinclined to use VOC beyond the Moon as indicator of the direction of the people in mundane astrology.


Inauguration of the President:
Noon on the date at which the previous term expires, or the moment of death or incapacity of a sitting president, whereby the Vice President assumes the office of president. There are accurate times for all of these events.

Explanation:
The Office of President is obtained by the vote of the electoral college, or by the death or incapacity of the sitting President.

A President assumes office at the beginning of his or her term or the Vice President assumes the Office upon the death or incapacity of the sitting President. The pertinent wording in the constitution considers the Office to be conferred without pause from one term to the next. Where a President dies or is otherwise unable to complete the term, the Vice President becomes President for the remainder of the term.

The Oath of Office allows the President to execute the Office, but cannot be construed as the means by which the office is obtained.

Therefore, the Presidential term begins at Noon on the day of inauguration, regardless of when or how the oath of office is sworn. The remainder of the term belongs to the Vice President should the president die or become incapacitated. The Vice-President-now-President takes the partial term from the moment of incapacity or death.

There is never a time at which there is no President. There have been moments when the president has no capacity to execute the office he or she holds. Those are the moments, where they exist at all, between the assumption of office and taking the Oath of Office.

So, to be clear, all of my inauguration charts are for the moment the office is assumed, irrespective of the vagaries of the time the Oath of Office was sworn.