This technique gives you a little extra insight into those annoying, nagging little things that come up in your life and times.

This page comes directly from the notes I took at Jill Melichar’s fantastic workshop on progressions1. I am posting them with her permission.

The natal void of course planet

Void of course technically means the planet will make no other major aspects with other planets in your chart before leaving the sign it’s in. It’s easy to find—in your natal chart, it’s the planet with the highest number of degrees. (In case of a tie, look for the highest number of minutes.)

The v/c planet represents the thing in life you tend to put on the back burner.

  • Find the houses in your natal chart with these signs on the cusp.
  • These houses are a source of constant minor irritation in your life.

That’s it! It’s a pretty simple technique.

Example: my v/c planet is Mars at 29 degrees Taurus. This suggests I put myself, my needs, sexuality, and physical activity on the back burner. Mars rules Aries and Scorpio. These signs are on the cusps of my 2nd and 7th houses. This suggests that finances and other people are sources of constant irritation to me.

The progressed void of course planet

Find the v/c planet in your progressed chart for an idea of today’s back burner issue. The house or houses that this planet rules in your natal chart are today’s sources of irritation2.

The progressed v/c Moon
In your secondary progressed chart, the Moon changes signs every two and a half years. A Moon v/c period precedes every sign change. In this case, the natal house with Cancer on the cusp is the source of irritation. In most cases, this is a short period, lasting as little as a month.

Irritations by house

This should get you started with some ideas about the ways these irritations and annoyances play out.

1st house: Dissatisfaction with your personality or appearance. Feeling like you should have said this or that. “Teenager” worries about skin or pimples, clothing. Advice in this case is to relax, nobody’s looking that closely.

2nd house: Worries about money or finances which may or may not be realistic. It seems like there’s never enough. Also worries about self esteem.

3rd house: Siblings, communications. Difficulty understanding others or being understood. Mechanical problems involving the car or computer, etc.

4th house: Difficulty finishing things, little things go wrong at home, family is on your case.

5th house: Being irritated by schmaltzy romantic rituals, or feeling deprived of romance. Your talents and hobbies are a source of stress or aggravation. Children are sassy, recreational plans don’t pan out.

6th house: Daily routine becomes unmanageable, pets chew the furniture, things at work are irritating.

7th house: Other people are annoying, your significant other does annoying things or has annoying habits. You are able to see others’ faults very clearly!

8th house: Sexual tension, being very horny, wondering if your intimate relationships are normal. Worries about taxes and audits. Play it straight with taxes because the extra bucks you save by fudging them are not worth the anxiety it would cause you.

9th house: In-laws, weird things happen while traveling, language barriers, problems with education or teachers. Legal issues or encounters with law enforcement.

10th house: Worries about career choice. “Shoulding” on yourself. Dissatisfaction with your public image.

11th house: Worry that your goals and objectives aren’t working. Being irritated with a group you’re in, feeling left out.

12th house: Subconscious thoughts are pushed far away from consciousness, too painful to address. Being told no, being restrained or confined is very irritating.

1 Jill presented a workshop on progressions to the NCGR Richmond, VA chapter on January 29, 2005. Jill does not claim credit for developing the technique. She credits March and McEvers, as well as a book by the late Nancy Hastings. As far as we know, the technique comes from generations of teachers. I thank them, and I thank Jill for continuing the tradition!

2 I learned this technique in a workshop about secondary progressions, but I suppose you could try it with Solar arcs, tertiary progressions, Solar returns, even horary charts!