THE NODES OF THE MOON Part 4

by Brian Habit

July 12, 2003

In part 1 of this series, I described the South Node of the Moon as representing your past (whether in terms of genetics, reincarnation, or both), and I described the North Node as representing your future. Since then, I have interpreted the North Node in terms of several sign and house combinations: Taurus and the 1st house, Capricorn and the 2nd house, and Sagittarius and the 6th house. I also interpreted the South Node based on several combinations: Scorpio and the 7th house, Cancer and the 8th house, and Gemini and the 12th house.

This week, let's consider the significance of the South Node in Libra in the 5th house and the North Node in Aries in the 11th house. For purposes of illustration, let's assume that you have not only these nodal positions but also: the Sun in Libra and Mercury in Virgo (both in the 5th house); Cancer rising; the Moon in Taurus in the 11th house; Mars, Jupiter and Pluto in Cancer in the 1st house; and Uranus in Aries in the 10th house.

The South Node in Libra in the 5th House

Before we get into the South Node itself, let's review what the 5th house represents.

We all need to renew ourselves. We all need to play and indulge ourselves. We need to be expressive and creative, and that’s what the 5th house is about. Creativity is something very broad here. Being creative could mean acting, or dancing, or painting, but it doesn’t have to mean that. It could be any activity in which we make some energetic, striking show of what’s inside yourself or what you value. The 5th house represents how you express yourself creatively, whether it is by having a child or developing an idea (a “brainchild”) or a hobby. It’s how you take a creative risk, whether it is a financial risk (through gambling, or investment, or some entrepreneurial activity), or it’s an interpersonal risk (through being romantic with someone or showing your spontaneous side to someone). The 5th house is your experience of pleasure and playfulness.

OK, that’s the gist of what the 5th house represents. Now let's assume that your South Node lies in Libra, in your 5th house. Whether because of heredity or karma, you are automatically, instinctively adept at acting in Libran ways (exploring alternative points of view on the same subject, keeping the wheels of social interaction greased, making life more aesthetically appealing, and so on). You also have a natural orientation toward the affairs of the 5th house—having recreational experiences that soothe your nerves when life leaves them jangled, living in the moment, taking delight in what you create. From the get-go, you take a Libran approach to 5th-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 seek an interactive, collaborative approach rather than striking out on your own when it comes to taking creative risks.

Your South Node (representing what you’ve already done) lies in Libra, and your Sun (representing what you’re trying to achieve in this lifetime) also lies in Libra, but in the 4th house of personal roots rather than in the 5th house of self-expression. How well does what comes naturally prepare you for what you’re learning to do now?

Having your Sun and your South Node in the same sign provides some support for you, as you go about the task of developing an identity. You don’t have to start from scratch in getting to know your natural Libran strengths and learning how to act in Libran ways. This can help you get a “jump start” on developing a strong, coherent sense of identity. In addition, you have Mercury in Virgo in the 4th house. This, too, will help you develop your 4th-house Libran Sun efficiently, insofar as your path involves especially shining your light in your home life, or with members of your “clan,” or in dealing with real estate. On the other hand, you also have not only a Cancer Ascendant but also Mars, Jupiter, and Pluto in Cancer in the 1st house of style. Depending on how you direct your Cancerian energy, it could help you shine or frustrate you in this endeavor.

The planetary trio of Mars, Jupiter and Pluto might be anything but tactful. Neither Mars nor Pluto is inclined to share power with others, and while Jupiter can be generous, he can also act high-and-mighty. With this threesome in the 1st house, you could come off as being quite overbearing. Given that you have so much Cancerian energy bound up in your general style of approaching life, you could channel the drive, vision, and intensity of your 1st-house planets into nurturing, protective, or imaginative pursuits. Cancer is an emotional security-oriented sign, so a lot depends on how you’re feeling at any given moment. If you’re feeling secure, then you’re likelier to act in a confident, positive fashion. If you’re feeling threatened, you’re likelier to withdraw, lash out at others, or smother them--perhaps walk around with a chip on your shoulder, acting irritable or saying, “After all I’ve done for you, this is the thanks I get!”

To the extent that you apply your generosity or imagination productively, your cluster of planets in Cancer could help you shine your Libran Sun through aesthetic/domestic pursuits. To the extent that you withdraw into a self-protective shell, or provoke others, or dominate people, it could put major cloud cover over that Sun. In that sense, you may have to go down the same road and fall in the same "hole" repeatedly until you realize some important points. For example, it may take you a fair amount of effort to learn certain behaviors, such striking a workable compromise between doing what helps you feel good or safe in your home life and going after what feeds your own particular imagination or satisfies your personal agenda.

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 digging 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 thinking or communicating in ways that undermine your best interests.

Suppose you let your Libran love of pleasant aesthetic experiences run wild. In the pleasure-oriented 5th house, that’s a definite risk. Maybe you drink so much that it handicaps your career, or it complicates some chronic medical condition that you have, or you get arrested for drunk driving. Maybe you make a fair amount of money, but you spend so much that you’re constantly in debt. You could smoke too much, or eat too much, or indulge in some other pleasurable activity too much.

The 5th house can be associated with romance and creative pursuits, but if you try to live too much through your South Node, matters of the heart and creativity could be dreary—rather than delightful—spots in your life.

You might try so hard to please others that it warps your ability to relax. You could be like the kid whose parents expected her to make perfect grades, so she grew up trying to do everything perfectly. Fast-forward twenty years and she’s still trudging over the same territory, still pleasure-starved, only now she’s the uptight perfectionistic employee.

Or maybe you’re like the movie star who panders to the public at her own expense. Audiences eat up her portrayals of one smiling martyr after another, so of course the Hollywood machinery wants her to repeat such roles ad nauseum. She goes along with the crowd, and she enjoys a certain level of popularity and comfort, but she’s not growing as an artist. 

Manipulating someone to get what you want, or being manipulated by someone else, is another possible scenario with the South Node in Libra in the 5th house. Here we might find the parent or step-parent who exploits a child, the staff member who embezzles funds, or the person suckered into marrying a prisoner who’s up to no good.

Those are all examples of focusing on your South Node—going awry somehow as you channel your social or aesthetic inclinations into having fun or being creative, and suffering for it.

Now let’s look at the point opposite your South Node--the North Node.

The North Node in Aries in the 11th House

The North Node represents the future to which we are drawn. It symbolizes the newest stage of our growth. Your North Node lies in Aries, in the 11th house of goals. Before we go further into the node, let's review the symbolism of this house.

The 11th house is where you stretch toward whatever future you envision…or you drift along aimlessly, going nowhere fast. It represents the goals and priorities that you set for yourself, especially those that require the participation of other people in order for you to be able to accomplish them.

The 11th house is the traditional House of Friends, but let’s be clear about what “friends” means in connection with this house. Here, friends are people with whom you share a sense of common cause. Whether or not you like each other, you cooperate with each other in order to attain some mutual goal, such as helping the same place of worship, or club, or company thrive. Friends here could include any individuals, groups, organizations or movements with which you join forces, to get from the present to your future. You network with them, or you hang out with them. You identify with them. If you have any planets in your 11th house, it’s common that, as you become older and more mature, they become more significant in your life. For example, with your Moon in the 11th house, the issues associated with the Moon become increasingly significant once you reach middle age.

The North Node indicates which of the qualities indicated elsewhere in the chart that you’re developing through conscious effort, starting almost from scratch. Your Node lies in Aries, so you’re developing your Arian independence, courage, and feisty, pioneering drive. Your Uranus in Aries in the 10th house helps pull you in that direction, if you show the world your uniqueness rather than trying to keep it under wraps. Your North Node also lies in the 11th house, so you’re learning to stretch beyond immediate gratification or pleasure to realize a particular vision for the future. Your Moon in the 11th house helps you do that.

However, note that your Moon is in security-loving Taurus, which harks back to your cluster of planets in Cancer. You don’t have any planets in Aries in the 11th house, so you may have to push yourself to take risks, if you’re going to have the kind of future that gets you excited, rather than one that simply feels safe. 

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.

When you have experiences of an 11th-house or Arian nature, they call into question your automatic assumptions about life. In other words, when situations call for you to lead the group meeting or challenge a group’s direction, you might feel lost at first. The same thing could happen when situations call for you to define your personal goals and strategies, independent of what those around you want to pursue. When you have such experiences, you may feel like you’re out of your element.  The unfamiliar can be scary, at least at first.

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 lie 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. 

With your North Node in Aries in the 11th house, you may not appreciate just how much of an entrepreneur or a leader you could be. You may sell yourself short when it comes to coming on strong, promoting your social agenda or advancing your creative goals. However, the more you stretch yourself in such directions, the more satisfying you’ll find it in the long run. The more you congregate with others to pursue challenging goals, the more satisfied you’ll be. The more you shape your personal direction and agenda, the more satisfied you’ll be. By all means enjoy moments surrounded by soothing music or beautiful natural surroundings. Develop close, mutually supportive bonds with others. Spend time living in the moment. Just don’t limit yourself to such behaviors.

How could you do this?

One way you could do it would be blazing a new trail, acting as a leader in a group, or boldly going in new directions as your life goals change over time. Use your Libra social skills or aesthetic sense as a springboard for creativity; but instead of “performing” strictly as a “solo artist,” operate as a part of a group or larger structure. If you’re politically oriented and see the need, then create a public interest lobbying group or a new political party. If you believe in social service, then pick a population that you identify with (such as youth or unwed mothers), and pitch in to help them out. Start a clothing and accessories business or a publication. Open a cooking school or a yoga center. Apply to become the president of a college or the head of a company. Join a club or society and become speak on related topics. If you’re a musician, start a band.

And if you get tired of performing in the band, and you want to shift into music production or some other area, then do it. Suppose you feel limited by your current surroundings. You’re overshadowed as a “team player,” and you want to take on a meatier role. If that’s the case, then set your sights on striking out in a new direction. Yes, that means rocking the boat and taking a risk, but doing so could allow you to achieve greater success than staying put would allow.

To stretch toward your North Node, you could also cultivate bravery, the ability to do what you want in spite of whatever fear you might be feeling about it. Encourage yourself to be hard hitting—not to pull your punches. Nurture an attitude that life is not for the faint-hearted, that one must grab the bull by the horns. “If you want it done right, you’ve got to do it yourself.”

If you do this, then you could be like the investigative reporter who becomes noted for her hard-hitting interviews, in which she refuses to “play nice” with people regardless of how much political power they hold. You might even pursue your interests in the spirit that you want to help people feel intensely alive, that you’d rather they be against you than be indifferent. Maybe you’re like the citizen who witnesses a murder and helps the police apprehend the perpetrator. Stepping forward requires that you and your family enter the witness protection program and relocate, but to you, it’s worth it because you acted to in a way that helped promote justice.

Bravery can take a variety of forms. If you are drawn to the thrill and challenge of feats of physical courage, then explore an outlet of that sort. Learn to scuba dive, or explore caves, or race a car. Take up skiing, mountain biking, or hang-gliding.  

The more you pursue such Arian/11th-house strategies, the more spiritually satisfied you’ll be. At first it can be like learning to bicycle, wobbly but exciting. Ride it out. Give yourself time to master such techniques. You’ll be amazed how far they can take you in the long run.

Looking Ahead

Next week, I’ll take up the North Node in Virgo in the 4th house and the South Node in Pisces in the 10th house.

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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