That figure matters, Aug. 23 -- 48:49 am IST, the Sun crosses out of Leo into Virgo, ending a fortnight of eclipse theatre and opening a season that rewards precision over performance. Five hours earlier, at 2:29:05 am IST, the Moon had slipped out of Sagittarius into Capricorn, closing a void-of-course window of just twenty-eight minutes.

00:52 am IST, a trine to the Sun, and reached zero degrees Capricorn at 2:29:05 am. Readers who remember an earlier ten-hour void in Libra will recognise how much difference the length of that pause makes to the working shape of a day.

One correction is worth making plainly. Several syndicated horoscope pages have published Sunday as the day the Moon enters Aquarius. It does not. The Moon is in Capric...