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THE NODES OF THE MOON Part 1

by Brian Habit

July 2, 2003

NOTE: To find out where the nodes are in your birth chart, go to www.astro.com, enter your birth information, and print a free copy of your chart. Then find the "True Node." That's your North Node. The South Node (not shown) lies directly opposite the North Node, in the opposite sign and house.

Most of the key points in a person's birth chart are planets. Each of the planets corresponds to some physical body in our solar system. The Nodes of the Moon are unlike the planets in this respect. Rather than correspond to physical bodies, the Nodes relate to the Moon’s revolution around the Earth. They always come in pairs: the North Node always sits exactly opposite the South Node in a person’s birth chart—in the opposite sign, and in the opposite house.

The South Node: Your Past

Simply put, the South Node represents your past, and the North Node represents your future.

You came into the world marked by history, with a past. A series of causes and effects unfolded before you were born. We could think of the past in terms of genetics or reincarnation or both.

If we think of the past in the sense of our genetic inheritance, then the South Node symbolizes the impact that our ancestors have on us. Our genetic endowment ensures that we’ll have certain strengths and weakness. If we think of the past in terms of reincarnation, then this life is one in a series of lives, and over the course of them, we develop awareness. We develop both productive and destructive tendencies. We bring these tendencies or karma into life with us. We can think of karma as cause and effect: past behavior affects the quality of one’s life—or lives—in the future.

It’s beyond the scope of astrology to determine whether reincarnation is an acceptable belief. Such a question falls within the purview of philosophy, or religion, or another type of belief system. However, whether we believe in reincarnation or not, we can say that the South Node represents the lingering influence of the past on the present. The South Node represents the past and how it affects us, whether we talk about it in terms of the past lives of our ancestors or in terms of our own past lives. It indicates instinctive, automatic ways in which we act. It represents both positive and problematic potentials. The South Node’s house represents an area of activity to which we are effortlessly drawn. The South Node’s sign represents the attitudes or motivations that come naturally for us. These unconscious biases shape how we perceive our experiences.

Now let’s consider the point that lies opposite the South Node--the North Node.

The North Node: Your Future

The North Node represents the future to which we are drawn. It symbolizes the newest stage of our growth. Your North Node indicates which of the qualities indicated elsewhere in the chart that you’re developing through conscious effort, starting almost from scratch.

If we let ourselves experience our North Node, then we leave ourselves open to newness. With newness comes both awkwardness and excitement. We feel fascinated and anxious at the same time. After all, there’s not nearly the certainty that comes with South Node behaviors based on experience. With the North Node, all we’ve got is the uncertain future.

If we first learn to recognize our natural biases and, secondly, decide to go beyond them through an act of will, then we’re on our way to growth. If we’re going to grow in this life, though, we have to stretch ourselves toward our North Node. That way lies both stress and fulfillment. The North Node indicates what we need to become in this lifetime. We can’t know from looking at our charts whether we will become that. The answer to that question depends on us. 

South Node in Scorpio in the 7th House

To better understand the lunar nodes, let's assume that you have the North Node in Taurus in the 1st house. If that's the case, then where's your South Node?

It lies in the opposite sign from Taurus (Scorpio) and in the opposite house from the 1st house (the 7th house).

For the purpose of illustration, let's further assume that your birth chart contains: the Sun in Libra in the 7th house; the Moon in Sagittarius; an Aries Ascendant; Mercury and Neptune in Scorpio in the 7th house; Venus in Libra; Mars, Uranus and Pluto in Virgo; Jupiter in Leo in the 4th house; and Saturn in Pisces in the 12th house.

To get a handle on your nodes, let's start with your past--the South Node.

Your South Node lies in Scorpio, in your 7th house (the house of intimacy). Whether because of heredity or karma, you are automatically, instinctively adept at acting in Scorpionic ways (getting beneath superficial appearance to underlying truths, collaborating closely or bonding deeply with others, and so on). You also have a natural orientation toward the affairs of the 7th house—establishing and maintaining close bonds with others, collaborating with others, acting interdependently. From the get-go, you take a Scorpionic approach to 7th-house matters. In the process, you weed out the development of behaviors that clash with such an approach. You prevent them from developing. For example, you naturally tend to explore situations thoroughly with others who are close to you when deciding what to do and what not to do.

Your South Node (representing what you’ve already done) lies in Scorpio, and your Sun (representing what you’re trying to achieve in this lifetime) lies in Libra. How well does what comes naturally prepare you for what you’re learning to do now?

In many respects, Scorpio and Libra are quite different. Scorpio is a probing, emotionally reactive sign—determined to get to the heart of what’s going on even if it’s disturbing to oneself or others. Scorpio is motivated to live life with intensity, as if every day were the last—to engage deeply in whatever one does. In contrast, Libra is a logical, social sign, inclined toward civility and light, pleasant exchanges with others.  Libra is motivated to bring separate people or elements into a harmonious or pleasing arrangement. Scorpio doesn’t prepare you for learning how to approach life with such a soft, aesthetically-oriented touch. Some of your chart is similar to Scorpio. You have combative Aries rising, Jupiter in passionate Leo in an angular house, and the Moon in zealous Sagittarius.

Therefore, in some respects, you have to learn how to have a working personality from scratch. You may have to go down the same road and fall in the same “holes” repeatedly until you realize some important points. It takes you a fair amount of effort to learn certain behaviors, such as objective, detached reasoning. On the other hand, you do have Venus in Libra and three planets in the 7th house (the natural house of Libra), and such elements provide some support as you cultivate a Libran identity. They help you collaborate with others.

Now, if we don’t recognize our natural biases and stretch ourselves beyond them, then we get into a rut. We cover the same ground over and over and dig a hole for ourselves. We could take the easy way out and stick to South Node behaviors and pursuits. Based on experience, we know that if we act in certain ways, we’ll tend to get certain results pretty reliably. If we focus primarily on doing those things in our lives, we may seem successful because we’re such “naturals” at it. However, the victories that we win could feel very hollow. We might be successful in the world, but we also feel bored, unsatisfied, and empty. The work of the South Node is all work that we’ve finished already. It’s behind us, not ahead of us. We’ve done everything we can in that department of our lives, and it’s time to move on to new assignments. The South Node indicates which of the qualities indicated elsewhere in the chart we have developed through experience.

Let’s look at some examples of the sorts of problems that you could run into if you focus on acting in South-Node kinds of ways. Focusing on the South Node means getting into intense power struggles, unbalanced relationships in which one party acts cruel and overbearing toward the other.

If you act cruel and overbearing, then you brutalize other people. You aggress against them by wielding your power at your disposal in an abusive manner. For example, you might take extreme measures against a neighbor after the two of you get in a dispute over him playing his music too loudly. Maybe you act in ways that other people find scary, or you commit crimes, such as burglary or forgery. Perhaps you conspire with one person to do harm to a third party, or you focus on trying to bring other people down. You’re the government worker who gets arrested after participating in an unsuccessful coup to overthrow the administration.

If you are on the receiving end of someone else’s cruelty, then you still get embroiled in power struggles. You’re just playing a more reactive role rather than instigating the action. Maybe your parents belittle your work and your worth as a person, or your spouse vandalizes your property, so you take out a restraining order to protect yourself. You’re like the person who gets charged with heresy during the Inquisition and thrown in prison for it. Maybe people resent your success, or you make drastic changes in your work, and you provoke such a strong opposition that you end up leaving your position. If you become a writer, then perhaps you criticize certain types of people in your writing, and a segment of society rises up in opposition to you. 

Another possibility is that you go awry in terms of forming close bonds with others. In that case, you might act on intense feelings by pairing off with someone who’s not appropriate for you. Suppose you have a close friend, and she’s married. She dies, and her widower and you console each other in your grief over losing someone who was special to both of you. Then you marry each other, but you soon realize that you got married for the wrong reason, because you were sharing the intense emotional experience of grief. Or suppose you’re a budding musical performer. You sign a recording contract with a company, and when you put out an album, the company takes a less-than-enthusiastic approach to promoting it. You trust your agent to help advance your career, but he doesn’t take a very active interest in it. By relying too heavily on him, you hold yourself back from becoming more successful.

Those are all examples of focusing on your South Node—investing intense emotional energy in close interactions with other people, getting embroiled in abusive or neglectful relationships, and suffering for it.

Not that we have a sense of what your South Node represents, let's move on to the North Node.

North Node in Taurus in the 1st House

Your North Node lies in Taurus, in the 1st house of style. You’re developing a mellow style, a comfort with simplicity, an ability to remain calm and conserve your energy in the midst of drama or turmoil. You have a variety of resources indicated elsewhere in your chart to help you do this. For example, you have self-disciplined Saturn in meditative Pisces, in the 12th house of seclusion and self-transcendence, in a mutually supportive relationship with your Mercury and Neptune in intense Scorpio. You also have three planets in deliberate, earthy Virgo.

When you have experiences of a Taurean or 1st-house nature, they call into question your automatic assumptions about life. In other words, when situations call for you to act self-sufficiently, without “comparing notes” with those who are close to you, you might feel lost at first. The same could happen when it’s time to take a matter-of-fact, keep-it-simple approach to engaging with life. The same thing could also happen when it’s time to enjoy life’s simpler pleasures—the feel of something on your skin, the sounds of nature, the scent of a candle or a flower—rather than engage in heavy introspection or intense conversation with others. When you have such experiences, you feel like you’re out of your element.  The unfamiliar is scary, at least at first.

With your North Node in Taurus in the 1st house, you may not appreciate just how calm, practical, and decisive you could be. You may sell yourself short when it comes to acting independently in the world. Maybe teachers or others along the way tried to make you think you were less than competent. Maybe some strong figure led you to believe that you didn’t know what was best for you, and you should follow that person’s lead instead of taking charge of your life. However, the more you stretch yourself in such directions, the more satisfying you’ll find it in the long run. By all means cultivate close relationships. Consider what other people have to say. Look beneath the surface. Talk about taboo subjects. Have intense, probing conversations, but don’t limit yourself by relying too much on such behaviors. Concentrate on moving into territory that let’s you take a “Just the facts, Ma’am” approach. Concentrate on following your own lead, taking the initiative, approaching the world in a way that helps you feel serene. 

How could you do this? Choose your own path in life rather than doing something that someone else would want but you would dislike. If you’re feeling pressure to take over the family business, but you feel called to pursue something else, then calmly and firmly stick to your guns. Don’t make a big scene about it, but don’t give in either. Focus on developing your own personal style, as a composer, orator, inventor, or whatever the case may be. Cultivate a calm, down-to-earth style as a basic, levelheaded person—someone who emphasizes substance over showiness. The same goes for acting with patience and perseverance in the face of setbacks or delays. By developing an imperturbable steadfastness, your self-confidence and poise will spill over into other parts of your life, helping you along there, too. The more you practice doing this, the easier and more satisfying it will be.

Suppose you’re a writer. You want to write not only poetry but also novels, and publishers jump on your poetry, but they’re cool toward your prose. Or your writing gets banned for being obscene in your homeland when it first comes out. Hang in there. In time you just might become a quite successful author. If people underestimate you or scorn you, then see how you might capitalize on the fact that they discount you.

Imagine that you’re a politician. You could run the slow-but-steady race and come out ahead in the ahead. Stand fast if opponents try to use blackmail or other hardball tactics against you. You could be the dark horse candidate who surprises people by winning office and accomplishing great feats once you get there. Maybe you exercise bold leadership, or you’re the diplomat who achieves compromises about thorny issues.

You could just as easily succeed in other areas that depend on cultivating style. It doesn’t have to be in politics. For example, maybe you become a model. You take advantage of your good looks and you make the most of your image. Perhaps you become a major social activist. You develop electrifying oratory skills, and it helps you become a hero to the public. Maybe you become a prolific, successful writer and the matriarch of a literary colony, recognized for your wisdom and expertise. 

Whatever you do, it should emphasize the very personal style that you bring to it. And while you’re at it, pamper yourself with pleasures that delight your senses. Don’t feel like you have to share everything that you enjoy with others. Reserve some favorite candy bars or delicious moments just for yourself. You should also take matters firmly into your own hands as you develop your style and determine the path that you will take. Rather than count on others being there for you, focus on managing your own course. Consider managing your own career, one project at a time, rather than expecting someone else to look out for your best interests.

The more you do such things, the more spiritually satisfied you’ll be. It’s like learning to ride a bicycle. It feels foreign at first. You wobble and fall sometimes, but ride it out. Stick with it. Give it time. You’ll be amazed how far it will take you in the long run.

Looking Ahead

Next week, I will continue my exploration of the lunar nodes by looking at their positions in another combination of signs and houses.

And What About Your Nodes?

Do you want me to interpret your North and South Node, and other key parts of your birth chart? Then order your very own birth chart interpretation. Click here to learn more. 

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