The absorption spectrum of aqueous Co++ is reinterpreted in light of ab initio calculations. CAS-MCSCF and MCQDPT calculations yield the spectral states and their oscillator strengths, as well as the spin-orbit coupling between the quartet and doubler states of four-, five-, and six-coordinate Co++-water complexes. Spectral states and oscillator strengths are also computed for these complexes with one water replaced by a hydroxide ion. The results of the calculations are compared with measured spectra obtained from room temperature and high temperature Co++ solutions. A completely symmetric six-coordinate octahedral metal-water complex will have zero oscillator strength because of its symmetry. We find, moreover, that the calculated oscillator strength remains very small (less than or equal to 10(-6)) even when the symmetry of this species is allowed to relax or when we distort the molecule asymmetrically. Therefore, the calculations suggest that the six-coordinate species can contribute little to the observed spectrum, even though it is the dominant form of Co++ in solution. On the other hand, the computed spectra of other aqueous coordination states of Co++ do show features of the observed spectra. We propose that the observed absorption spectra result from a mixture of thermodynamically disfavored but optically allowed species, with the largest contribution coming from the five-coordinate Co++-water complex.