The North and South Nodes: Our Karmic Past and Future

      
The North and South Nodes of the Moon represent the links to our past and present karmic lessons.  Astrology, as a psychological tool of self-analysis incorporates the eastern philosophy of karma.  The concept gives emphasis to previous experiences that we have mastered, and new concepts to be developed.  Our karmic reward and past achievements are fitted into our current life as talents and skills. 

    Their purpose is to assist us in our efforts as we strive to learn about who we are.  When we know from where we have come on the ladder of our soul’s evolution, we can better understand ourselves, and develop new growth.  This brings the karmic cycle of skills and talents to full circle:  as our psyche continues to grow, we are provided with the awareness of how we achieved that knowledge, and carry it within as a sense of achievement. 

    Each of us individually has his or her own choice of responses to life’s challenges.  How we respond to them, whether or not we choose to overcome or avoid them, can be seen in the overall pattern of the chart, as well as the singular and multiple interactions of the signs and planets.  Astrology also brings to us the awareness that we are progressing through the cycle of objectively learning lessons of the 12 signs in a particular lifetime.  The cycle will be repeated until we learn the strengths and overcome the weaknesses that each sign represents.  The nodes are the gifts that we take with us into our new lifetime.  The South Node represents those gifts that we have recently mastered, as well as a total package of obvious skills, and the North Node represents the next phase of the challenge.  The Nodes will be in opposing signs, to show the path from which we have come, and the new path to tread upon. Think of moonrise as it breaks the horizon in the evening: the North Node. Think of the moon at dawn when it sets: the South Node.

    The South Node represents the way in which we fall back on a combination of past attitudes, habits, and thoughts that remain from our growth patterns.  It is the comfortable way without being aware in which we immerse ourselves in being spiritually lazy toward correcting behavior.  The sign and house of the South Node represent our unconscious manner of allowing past-life memories to filter into our conscious expression.

  We tend to program these routines into daily life.  Therefore, the South Node has a 12th-house symbolism of psychological attachment to self-defeating patterns of behavior, and an opposite corresponding 6th-house manner of expression.  The sign and house are familiar to us, therefore, we find it easier to fall back on this expression, rather than find our new calling by developing the North Node.  The South Node does have a focus that allows us to call upon skills that were developed in previous lifetimes.  A South Node placement will give a “fall-back” vocational guideline to call upon.

    The North Node represents the future of the individual for growth through experiences yet to be faced.  It fulfills a sense of purpose to the highest level for which we can strive in harmony with Universal Thought.  It shows us a position in life yet untried, but its potential and rewards offered to beckon us to come closer.  Through that unfolding, the individual gains inner strength, character, and confidence, and the knowledge that a true lesson has been achieved:  the release and casting aside of the South Node habits.  The South Node talents are not lost as the North Node is developed!  The objective is to use those skills as a backup, a reserve source to be utilized as a sense of familiarity with one’s environment in this life. 

    The South Node will have a remembrance of situations in which we felt most comfortable and which we return to when we need to feel secure.  Therefore, it has an awareness of situations like the natal moon.  Of course, the South Node’s sign will also show the past habit traits that were undesirable as well, but just as significant.  The real gift is the use of the best qualities of the South Node to help bring forward the maturation to accept the quest for the North Node’s opportunities.  The North Node will provide structure for one’s efforts.  Therefore, it has a Saturn-type quality.  It should again be emphasized that this structure is a fulfillment of accomplishment for meeting a new challenge, and is not at all unpleasant.


(c) MDLOP8 2010

Chiron - The Wounded Healer's signature and expression

  The astronomical body, Chiron (once thought to be a comet or asteroid, now considered a "planetoid" or small planet-like body) is named after the ancient Greek, centaur demi-god who was horse from the waist down and human from the waist up. Chiron's orbit, unlike that of the asteroids, lies between Saturn and Uranus, and is irregular in that it occasionally crosses inside the orbit of Saturn. This astronomical characteristic is symbolic of Chiron's reputation for being somewhat of a maverick.

Psychologically and astrologically, Chiron's placement in the horoscope indicates one's experience of the wound that does not heal, (or the wound that does not seem to heal, because although an important lesson may be learned through dealing with it, the wound seems to spiral around with another lesson on a deeper level). Chiron represents one's experience of woundedness and the nature of the wound. Most often, this is a pattern of behavior-and-response learned through early childhood: often the result of parents dealing with their own issues and unaware of our own needs as we grew up.

Second, by coming to terms with suffering through an acceptance of one's mortality, one arrives at a greater state of wholeness or healing. Third, Chiron shows how one comes into one's own as an elder or mentor who can provide healing and guidance to others. Thus Chiron also astrologically indicates the ways and means with which you can guide others, as well as the kind of mentoring and healing you seek for yourself.

Saturn is a Four-Letter Word!

  

(I used to tease students, "There's a 4-letter word that all of us learn to do. Some of us don't like it--and others enjoy it tremendously." And they'd all laugh. And THEN I'd say, "It ends in a 'k'. More laughter. And THEN I'd say, "WORK!" (Smiles would drop.) But let me explain:  Saturn in most people’s astrological vocabulary is an unpleasant issue—because it does involve incorporating a four-letter word that some folks find disdainful.  And that’s not just what one does for his or her job.  In psychological astrology, Saturn represents a Master Teacher who firmly and sternly reinforces learning a task—and along with it, the virtues of responsibility.  (What’s that? Responsibility has a virtuous quality)

Get serious about your life: that’s what Saturn is really about for us.  But many people choose to avoid, deny, push aside, reject, or otherwise approach with reluctance the demands of “growing up” because we feel it means having to work at something that has an unpleasant set of requirements and obligations.  Honestly, who among us absolutely thrilled when we were assigned homework as kids?  Or how much enjoyment can be found in doing tasks that demand we face up to “it’s a dirty job, but it’s got to be done”?  For example, how many new parents find delight in changing their baby’s diaper?  Oh, everyone wants to play with the child, but who gets the responsibility of 24-hour maintenance?  That price to be paid is part of what Saturn teaches us:  things that are worth doing well take time and effort—and the soul’s growth that accompanies these experiences (and lessons) are necessary in order to learn how and why we undergo the challenges we do throughout our lives.

In typical astrology, Saturn has books all about “hard obstacles to face; delays, limitations, restrictions, and doing without…” No smiley faces here; no cheery parties, and certainly, no obvious enjoyment.  But think about those achievements that we face that demand perseverance, determination, and endurance—and the satisfaction that follows when they are accompanied by recognition, respect, and accomplishment—and you’ll find Saturn toasting you with the best of champagne.  (Note that champagne takes time to age, just like Saturn’s goals and objectives are meant to Teach us to stay with the lesson over Time until the soul has mastered it—or at least really put ourselves toward learning it.)

A great personal example: in moving to the Alabama countryside, I found an immediate opportunity to return to teaching college English; in fact, four classes worth.  But it came with a price: I had to return to graduate school for another degree--or at least try two classes. During my 2nd return, I had to leave the U.S. and go to China to work at an international university as an English instructor--and NO, I don't speak Chinese. I ended up mentoring many students who REALLY needed help understanding finance and economics terms-which I ALSO don't know--but I could comprehend and explain. I ended up as the Director of Teaching Affairs, helping new arrivals who didn't know the routines. Looks great on my C.V.! And then it turned into a chance to come home to the U.S. and start all over again...in elementary education! What Saturn was saying to me at this time of my life was, “You need to undertake the process of advancing yourself as a professional; the personal gains and lessons undertaken will also serve you well. Never mind about the costs, time, or delays—nothing comes without a sense of worthiness and the willingness to secure it by effort.” 

We experience Saturn’s lessons and demands for our soul’s evolution at various cycles, one of which is the 7-year time frame.  At seven years old, we are learning to establish and create our first building block of individuality: learning to say to the world, “Here I am, and learning about life through school is how I am finding out about myself.”  Those lessons and assignments also mean learning to interact with others: our classmates and social contacts that require we gain a sense of responsibility for our actions; a cause-and-effect dynamic is more strongly emphasized at this time.  We hit this again at 14 years: the need to stretch our measure of self-identity by challenging and resisting authority (Saturn also represents parental issues, especially one’s father, as well as disciplinarians).  It is a time of effort to “build” (Saturn emphasizes structures in our lives that stand the test of Time) ourselves so that the “cement” of experience holds us together for the next phase: our 21st year. 

At this time, we’ve reached the first “tripod” of our existence: we’ve undergone three 7-year phases of growth opportunities, complete with achievements, setbacks, and results for both.  Saturn is ready to welcome us into a new level of wisdom that can only be gained through Time as a way of gaining maturity.  It’s a beautiful event: we are bursting with “Just let me show the World!” enthusiasm, rightfully gained by our studies and efforts.  And we then have the power and dynamics of our 20s…right up to the next “click” of the hands on Saturn’s Lifetime Clock as we hit 29—and our Saturn Return.

Now comes the first Life Final Exam (within a year—and what’s more, it’s about Lessons that We Didn’t Know We Needed to Learn.  Oh, the pain, the frustration, the demands made upon us to grow in a way or factor of Experience that comes across as uncomfortable, unpleasant, or in general, just isn’t any fun! (Where’s all that “Hey, I’m 25 and loving it!” party time?)  Uh-uh, Mr. Saturn is here to say that you’ve enjoyed things for a while and it’s time to get serious about your life. Now is when we face up to something that we didn’t know we needed to learn—and as our Master Teacher, Saturn takes us and says, “With love I give you this new lesson of Life to learn—for in staying with the delays and limitations set upon you, strength and knowledge are yours in return.”  Responsibility becomes a practical reality (many of us become parents or marry at this time—and those events are the beginning of our real worthiness as individuals.)

By the way, Saturn’s Lessons travel on a 2.5 year phase through the 12 regions of Life Activity (the houses) in our charts—so Saturn makes sure we clean, organize, activate, or in general, apply ourselves.  There’s no compromise: Saturn will not hand you a diploma, certificate, passing grade, or “three cheers!” without ensuring the presentation of the Life Experience assignment was undertaken.  And that’s “work” in any language: “work for the soul’s growth.”  And that Saturn Return comes back with a bigger Final Exam Review and Test at the next 29-year phase of our life at age 58.  Whatever it was that we learned (or didn’t want to face, depending on the individual) will present itself again in even bigger terms.  (Hey, since when was life not about overcoming challenges by applying some positive attitude? Or did you think that Life Learning was only done for a few years and then it doesn’t have to be faced again? Oh, yeah? Lemme see that Life Contract! See? Says it right there in the small print! How now, Mr. and Mrs. Lessons-to-be-Learned Procrastinator?!)

   

There are two types of Saturn-like people whom you might know: a Capricorn who just thrives on meeting goals and deadlines (success is measured by what one produces and the gains made, said the Puritans), and a not-abiding-by-the-rules-type of Aquarius.  (They realize that the only way to establish a new and unique world of brother-sisterhood is by doing the groundwork.  For an example of the latter’s type of perseverance to achieve and yet be Aquarian-like different, think of Mr. Michael Jordan.  And that’s “Mister” because he worked so hard to be successful, yet maintain his own uniqueness.)

So the next time that something challenging comes your way, stop and ask Saturn about the lesson to be learned.  More than likely, you’ll find that he’s got the textbook, rulebook, and playbook all together and ready to present to you.  No, the homework isn’t always fun, and yes, the requirements to complete it will take away from all the good things (and distractions) that you’ll surely throw in the way—but when it’s done and finished, you’ll be a stronger, wiser, and more complete person.  And isn’t that what you want for yourself?  Just thank Saturn for the course objectives; you’ll surely hear “job well done!” in your heart and soul.


(c) MDLOP8 2010/2018

Bartender! I need an astrological cocktail!!

Bartender! Bartender!!

I need a drink! 

(Obviously, the bartender is a Pisces;

did you expect any other sign?)

Aries:  Bloody Mary, and heavy on the Tabasco.

Taurus:  Pina Colada, and lay on the pineapple and coconut juice—and don't hold back on the rum too.

Gemini:  Jolt Cola—or anything with a caffeine kick and sugar too. On the other hand, a Gemini would ask for a double, being the sign of the Twins.

Cancer:  Milkshake—and could you serve it in a baby bottle?

Leo:  Cognac.  Of course.

Virgo:  Alcohol-free beer, or fresh veggie juice.  Carrots and parsley, please.

Libra:  Your best champagne, sir!

Scorpio:  Castor oil—and some Metamucil.  Or if you have any snake venom, just leave a few drops on the side with a knife and the antidote--cobra is preferred.

Sagittarius:  A mocha latte with a pinch of nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon.

Capricorn:  Martini.  And a scotch chaser.

Aquarius:  Holiday punch—spiked, of course, with some good acid.

Pisces:  Keep pouring until I say stop (or can’t say anything any more), and maybe a peyote button to chew from the dish at the bar. While you’re at it, leave the bottle on the bar too.


(c) MDLOP8 2010