The Nodes

Karma, fear, past lives, leveling up

I became an astrologer in the early 1990s after working as a professional psychic for a few years. It was because I met so many amazing astrologers that my eyes were opened to the value of this art. I spent more than 30 years ignoring the nodes because I never got a clear answer as to what they actually were or did. Western astrology has only vagaries about the North Node being “where you are headed in this lifetime” and the South Node being “where you are coming from.” In the broadest sense, this may be true. But how do you apply this idea to anything? You really can’t. It is as good as meaningless. I think the nodes were sanitized like many other things in modern esoterica.

We have enjoyed eighty years of peace and prosperity here in the West. Our understanding of the universe started reflecting this privileged position. There has been a spiritual whitewashing the New Age has been engaged in that I constantly rail against. I do this because earth is not all love in light, which we are clearly being shown as darkness has unfolded over the past 7-8 years. This hit me hard when I studied older shamanic spirituality and Vedic astrology. Vedic astrology is harsh, reflecting the caste system and intense extremes of poverty vs privilege that are pervasive in India. I began studying it in the mid-1990s-early 2000s in an effort to find firmer ground in astrology. It has the gritty feeling of certainty that Western astrology seems to lack. It is very fatalistic, reflecting the fatalism of the Indian culture. Someone born in the shadow caste can ascend to great heights as long as they lie or cover up their caste. I know this first hand as one of my closest friends in college told me firsthand stories of how his family became Christian so they could hide their caste and move up in the culture. Once people found out, they were shunned despite his father being a famous author and his mother a well-known and well-respected scientist and doctor.

These two astrological systems embody the old war between fate and free will. Vedic astrology is full of impenetrable yogas, configurations of planets, aspects, and rulerships that ancient astrologers gave specific meanings to. Western astrologers who have gone Vedic have softened it and made it more Western. Frankly, I see no reason for that. If you soften Vedic astrology, it becomes a more confused version of Western astrology. That being said, there are things to learn from Vedic astrology. Mostly, the Vedic take on the nodes.

The nodes are, of course, the Moon’s eclipse points. In astrology, the Moon represents past lives, and the eclipse points, according to Vedic astrology, indicate past life issues. In the Vedic system, the North Node is considered a malevolent Saturn, meaning only the negative aspects of Saturn, fear, restriction, karma, and shadow issues bleeding into this life. The South Node is considered a malevolent Mars, meaning how you act out of that past life fear, fueled by your fear and shadow issues. The South Node is how we respond to our fears, restrictions, karma, trauma, shadow stuff, and act out of our past life troubles.

Vedic astrologers also say that planetary conjunctions to the nodes imply mental illness. I would say this is true, but it isn’t always literal - meaning a nodal conjunction to the Moon can indicate the native’s mother is mentally ill, and the native has a karmic tie that makes them feel responsible for their parent(s) and/or their family of origin. It can also indicate that the native also has emotional issues or both. Unlike Vedic astrology, which often borders on black-and-white thinking, it has been my observation that there is incredible nuance to the natal chart, which requires an able interpreter who has in-depth knowledge of astrology and at least a pinch of intuition as a chart can manifest and be used in many ways. Just like a road map gives the lay of the land, one individual may only travel a couple of blocks from home while another individual will use that map to explore every nook and cranny.

So, let me break it down for you to understand in straightforward ways that will finally make sense of the nodes. I finally cracked the code about six years ago, which has been hugely helpful. Think of the nodes as the repository of karma that is bleeding through into this life. It is the karma you came to work on. It represents the lessons you are supposed to learn, so in that way, the North Node does represent where you’re going. The North Node represents the fear you must conquer in this life in order to evolve and level up. If you do not face that fear, you are dragged down by it. There is no staying still in life, only forward or backward movement. The South Node represents how you act out of the fear represented by the North Node of restriction, karma, or shadow stuff, hence the Mars quality of the South Node.

Planetary conjunctions complicate the interpretation of the nodes. For clarity and brevity, I will only talk about what each node placement means and how the North and South Nodes are connected without convoluting it with conjunctions to planets. I will delineate the meaning and later talk about how to modify them by house placement.

Below is a basic, truncated way to think about the nodes and their placements; find yours and other people you know, and you will get a handle on what unconsciously drives you and them. Remember, the house placement will augment the meaning. I’ll give a brief description of how at the end.

North Node in Aries, South Node in Libra - Fear of being alone, standing up for oneself, being independent, fear of fighting, war, anger, delegating, so the individual seeks out relationships with others and feels they need to have a partner, best-friend or spouse and/or will be a peacemaker, afraid of arguing, disagreements or getting angry. These individuals will feel more comfortable being passive, being in relationships with others, and wanting to make peace at all costs. They like spending time with others, and fear being alone. They will avoid situations where they must be the sole leader or boss. They will avoid delegating to others. In reality, the individual with this configuration must learn to be independent and be ok with anger, self-direction, leadership, and self-determination. They will have to break out of codependency lingering from other lifetimes. They may also have karmic partnerships and karma with those close others in this life (Libra). The lessons from those close others will push them toward autonomy, self-direction, carving their own path, being a boss, and standing up for themselves. (Hugh Jackman has the North Node in Aries in the 9th house and the South Node in Libra in the 3rd house.)

South Node in Aries, North Node in Libra - This person fears relationships; they fear the other. They are afraid of commitment and afraid other people will take advantage of them or they will lose themselves in a partnership. They are most comfortable alone, doing their own thing, forging their path. They are not afraid to fight, stand up for themselves, or be the boss and must learn peace, negotiation, social skills, and the inclusion of others in this lifetime. These individuals will have karmic relationships with partners, spouses, and best friends that teach them how to balance their needs with other people’s needs. (Ashton Kutcher has the North Node in Libra in the 5th house and the South Node in Aries in the 11th house.)