North and South Node in Astrology – The Karmic Points

The North and South Node of the Moon are extremely  important in understanding the path or direction in the natal chart. These are not planets or angles but points where the Moon crosses ecliptic. Ecliptic is the path of the Sun seen from the earth. All the planets revolving around the Sun are in the same ecliptic but Moon is orbiting around the earth, at a 23 degrees angle from the ecliptic. The moon’s orbit and the ecliptic are like 2 intersecting hula hoops. So its crosses the ecliptic at 2 points – the north node and south node. The north node or the ascending node is where the moon crosses from south of ecliptic to north, and the south node  or descending node is where it crosses from north of the ecliptic to south.

South Node

This is the point of beginning where you are initiated into certain habits both positive and negative, skills inherited, attitudes and behaviors learnt from your early family and childhood environment, and the cultural and religious nuances from the world around you. This is the initial package that is given to you maybe from your past life – your karmic bank balance – so in this lifetime you may evolve into the next lesson plan. It takes a compassionate Universe to teach and guide us although this may not be very clear when we are in midst of our lessons. We’ll all get there – it’s just a matter of time. Let’s say Mr. A found a way to escape responsibility and kind of fleeted through life in his previous birth, and now he is born with south node in Pisces and north node in Virgo. What does the Pisces south node indicate? What traits come easy to him in this lifetime? With a Pisces south node this person may be born in a family where the boundaries were loose and the expectations not clear. He may have a weak or a detached relationship with one or more of his parents leaving him with a confused identity. So he kind of drifts through life again afraid of making decisions until and when he learns that being stuck in this energy is not functional and takes the steps to cross over to his Virgo North Node.

North Node

This is the like the land across the river where one has to swim upstream, dodge alligators and whirpools, sometimes get stuck in cross currents, but in the end its all worthwhile and in truth there is no real way of escaping this anyway! In the previous example of Mr. A who has his north node in Virgo the learning happens when he starts discriminating and discerning the world around him, and making the right choices instead of just being pulled randomly in different directions. Once Mr.A works consciously on expressing the energy of the north node, he may experience more harmony and balance. Yes, north node can be a challenge as it may not come easy but the more one tries to incorporate it the closer they get towards completing their soul lessons.

As another example, let’s say a person has her north node in the 11^th house of teams, friends, groups, etc. In this case it may be easier for her to be self centered, creative (south node in Leo) and involved in individualistic pursuits than to be belong to a group of friends or even extended family members. They may have an inherent fear of being part of groups as there is a sense of being lost in the crowd. Part of the lesson plan here is to lay down one’s ego for the sake of a larger goal by working together as a team. The Universe may offer opportunities to form friendships that open up doors to learning new skills. The more risk a person take in crossing over to the north node, more balance he or she will feel.

Moon Nodes in Chart Compatibility

When comparing natal charts, nodal connections show a karmic imbalance that now has an opportunity to be harmonized. The nature of the planet conjuncting the node often shows the kind of connection. If someone’s node is conjunct Saturn then the person with Saturn plays the role of a teacher. If the conjunction is with Moon, there is a sense of comfort and safety in the relationship; with Venus, it is about harmony and affection. There is an instant recognition, romantic or otherwise, when one’s node touches an angle or planet in another’s chart, like a window is open.   This understanding comes from the subconscious knowing that the other person can help with the lesson plans. It is not surprising then with the example given above with Mr. A who has a Pisces south node and Virgo north node that he may attract somebody who has a strong Virgo archetype in order to get help in incorporating his north node energy.

In chart compatibility, the learning comes in two ways:

In south node connections, the idea is to resolve past life matters – something that was skipped before and now needs to be completed and embraced.
In north node connections, the purpose is to learn ways of bringing in more of the north node connection into their life. If someone’s north node is conjunct the moon in Gemini then the learning here is to feel safe enough with the Moon in Gemini partner so as to open up to this energy.